Protest at Numaish Chowrangi against the bomb blast in Mastung on Shiite pilgrims

Last night we attended the sit-in (known as “dharna” in Urdu) at Numaish against the violent killing in the bomb blasts in Mastung, Baluchistan on Tuesday 21^st January 2014 of Hazara Shiite pilgrims. I belonged to a different background and had never actually visited or participated in such sit-ins before and I was filled with anxiousness at how the protest would actually turn out to be.

When I reached Numaish Chowrangi (with my friend and former accountancy student Musawir and fellow Pi Studio member Hussain Zaidi), I was overawed that how non-violent means can actually put the government to a standstill. The protests showed that people still stand up for their rights, with countless women; children and men were gathered in a disciplined manner protesting against injustice.

Little girls holding placards and demanding justice for the victims of the Mastung blast

In the current attack on the Hazara Shiites, the entire bus carrying Shia pilgrim returning from Iran was blown away and 28 people were martyred and around 40 people were wounded. The Hazara community has been continually targeted by terrorists in Balochistan, thus countless innocent lives have been sadly lost. Yet, the terrorist attacks continue unabated in Pakistan. Innocent lives are being lost on a massive scale now.

We all must stand up and protect our nation against this maniacal wave of terrorism whose fires have spread to every corner of this country and have now permeated our daily lives. My heart cries out for sanity to return back to my beloved nation, where everyone can coexist in peace.

In the end I would like to pray for the martyrs of the Mastung attacks and other countless attacks recently, such as the one on our armed forces, the bomb blast in royal artillery bazaar in Rawalpindi, the bomb blasts in Peshawar. In the end I would like to leave all of you with the following words, over which we all should ponder:

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

Nelson Mandela

For the pictures of the protest please click here.

Inner conflicts

There is a conflict. A conflict of the heart and mind. A conflict of hope and reality. A conflict of who we are and what we have become. A conflict that engulfs family, friends and everything I have held closely to my heart.
This conflict is the conflict of money. The one soul ingredient which can destroy everything and anything which crosses its path. I am saddened by my country's economic system, which forces us to think about the basic necessities of life everyday. I am saddened and hurt that there is absolutely no safety net for people like me to fall back on.
What saddens me the most is that even though I stand up for my country, everybody else is right in their decision to migrate, in search of a better life for their families, so that the family does not need to struggle. I sincerely hope I can pass this economic challenge too.
I used to be a fun person eons ago. I had good friends or so I thought I did. Yet the brazen realities of life took their toll and one by one, the economic system took away all that I loved and cared for. Now it threatens my existence again in its unique and charming manner. But I will continue to fight and stand up just like I always have.
Maybe someday, people of our country can dream of a secure future. Maybe someday, our talent will not be washed away under the dredges of slavery. I will continue to try my best and work for this dream to come true, for I cannot bear to see my country's future generations engrossed in what we are currently busy in today, paying our bills and trying to survive.
Pakistan Zindabad!

To be or not to be

There comes a time in every man's life when he begins to ponder over various questions and issues that have bogged him down in his life until now. Thinking and pondering and creating an imaginary bubble seem to be the only source of solace.

What I have dreamt has started coming true, all the proverbs and philosophical works that I have read pertaining to mental strength and the power of grit and hard work are turning out to be true. Now I am wondering whether my rebellion was worth it and do I really want to live a different existence. My insides want me to fade away into oblivion and follow the rut which the rest of the world is following. Yet I am clinging on to hope, the hope for a better future, the hope for progress, the hope for freedom and the hope to be remembered.

I have been hurt in my life, left to rot at the whims of the unjust social system and also been downright broke quite a few times. Yet I have refused to surrender and bow down to the society. I have started testing how the system reacts to the stimuli which I instigate against it. Most of the times the results are ghastly and the psychological damage is permanent.

However, I have cleansed and improved my lens of perception through the cleaning power of pain, hurt and loss. The power of true love and the beauty of willpower have taught me many lessons in my journey. Yet the question within me remains that if I am ready to dive deep down into the tumultuous waters of my soul or that this mere shallow depth snorkeling was enough!

Happy birthday Quaid e Azam and Merry Christmas everyone!

It was a lazy morning today and again I did the error of surfing the channels, while some channels were at least recognizing that today is Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s birth anniversary, there was one channel who was debating whether faith healing can help a wife controls her husband!

Unlike my previous blog about morning shows and their idiosyncrasies, I am here to stress and remind us all Pakistanis who we were and wanted to pay homage to the great man who formed this great country Pakistan. I was recently hurt and bewildered of the mind numbing herd like attitude and the rat race for money which has consumed my contemporaries.

People around me have a simple way now: study (without realizing the fact that very few in our country can get this great privilege), go abroad, earn and die. Whenever one asks them that why do they want to go abroad, they have one explanation: Pakistan is in a state of turmoil and we have no future here. My heart breaks to see these people and the way they have ignored and forgotten the sacrifices by the millions of people who made for this great country and the great struggle of Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

We are all lost in the humdrum and get fascinated by the bright and fuzzy world of the emerging market economies (such as Middle Eastern countries). What we fail to understand is that every day lost in bickering and complaining about Pakistan is a day we lag behind.

Recently, the world paid tribute to the great Nelson Mandela on his funeral and the South African people made sure that the world knows and realizes the greatness of their great leader Nelson Mandela. But sadly in Pakistan, we have forgotten this great man and the message he brought.

For all of you, who are enjoying comfortable lives, I call to your soul and ask you one simple question: “Won’t it be worth it that your life can matter more if you start thinking beyond your desires?”

The answer lies in your soul, I hope and pray you wake up. We at Pi Studio will continue our efforts to make sure that we try to stir up your soul and see our nation prosper.

Let us all remember the great man who taught us that people of all religions should co-exist in harmony in Pakistan, with his following quote:

“You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed—that has nothing to do with the business of the State.” 

― Muhammad Ali Jinnah

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE AND PAKISTAN PAINDABAD!

From lusting for money to journeying into my soul

During the last few months, I have come across various different types of personalities from travelers, accountants, musicians, comedians to entrepreneurs. Previously my soul was struggling with the dichotomy of trying to be an artist and trying to make my ends meet via a day job. All I thought about was a certain amount of money to fill my pocket.

But as it turned out, money was an illusion! And the answer did not lie in the bank accounts or cars or vacations or designer clothes or great restaurants. I realized that through meeting so many people, I was addressing was a hidden desire to find myself. Moreover, I thought that I could get answers about my own self by learning about their lives from them.

But contrary to my perception, I ended up with a wild goose chase and found that the answer lied in my soul all along! This was taught to me by my fellow Pi Studio member Hussain Zaidi. He said that I like countless others is stuck in the illusion of everyday life and it is he who told me that I need to straighten my priorities in life and what I want from it. After this I started my process of introspection.

I realized that the only thing I actually feel and care about and love the most is work. Whether, one works as an accountant or a photographer, it is only through the rigors of honest and hard work that I can realize myself. No doubt people explore themselves through travel, but I explored myself lately through work. All work teaches us something about ourselves, most importantly it teaches us to love and appreciate other people and their diversity.

It is my solemn promise now that I shall work as hard as I can for myself and for my country as a photographer and documenter of love and hate. I want that the next generation of my country will not be stuck in the dichotomy I was, to earn and pay the bills or to follow my heart. Pakistan will change where people can follow their true calling, for it is in the reconciliation of the heart and mind of the nation that we can progress and prosper into the future.

PAKISTAN PAINDABAD!

As my city bleeds.....

It is indeed a sad day like many sad days which we Karachiites have suffered due to repeated incidents of violence. The news ticker shows a heartbreaking fact - thirteen people lost their lives today, eight of them within a span of one hour!

We usually talk about change, entrepreneurship and progress at Pi Studio. But the hard solid fact is that these things are only possible once there is peace and we have normality in our lives again. The continual target killings, sectarian clashes, ethnic violence and gang wars have sucked the life out of our beautiful city.

We are heartbroken and saddened at this madness which has made us all numb and desensitized to violence. Let us all raise our hands in prayer that may Allah grant peace and tranquility back to our city.

Pakistan Paindabad!

 

And I grin and I hide

My hand trembles, the palpitation of the previous night’s intellectual overdose is still gripping my heart. Dumbfounded at my physical response to pain and affection, I try to move myself out of bed. I move but instead I curl up near her feet.

Her warmth is comforting and soothing to my soul and I close my eyes again to fall into another round of sleep. My bad sleeping habits and continuous eating have made me lose my once lithe physical structure and fat has taken precedence in my depressed existence. In the process of this contemplation over my increased rotundity, I hear her shift in the bed again and I look up to see her face on the other side of the bed. Her tranquil face is etched into a faint smile around the corners of her lips making me uneasy and thus I try to lightly push my head on her feet.

She shifts and partially wakes up and says to me in a drowsy voice, “Baby, please sleep, I will give you breakfast soon”. Soon she is back to sleep and I gently keep lying beside her, careful not to wake her up again. I can see that the day is breaking through the sides of the window blinds as the pale yellow light shines through its sides giving it an angelic halo. Some light spills on her face and her curly hair light up almost magically leaving me awe struck and perplexed at the reason why I am here next to her.

I remember meeting her in a lane, where she was finding a path and the moment I laid eyes on her I was awe struck, but strangely I did not feel anything. Maybe she was searching for a path in her life or just walking by, I can never be sure. But I still am grateful that she took a soulless creature like me under her care.

My memory of the past is interrupted by the alarm clock ringing, telling her it is time to wake up and begin a new search. She wakes up and stretches her lovely arms and her mouth parts in a graceful yawn. She looks down the bed to me and says:

“Aww, good morning Cheshire Baby, come let mama give you some food.”

I purr affectionately and reply, “Meow”, which is my way of saying thank you Alice, maybe someday I might just love you.

She replies, “ Cheshire Baby, are you grinning at the idea of breakfast? You always have been very naughty, now don’t disappear again”.

I just continue to grin in response and then get amazed at the coldness of my soul…..