No matter how tough the times, when you ask someone how they are, they say Allah ka shukar hai despite all their troubles. i find it truly beautiful, truly fascinating!
Wednesday 25 May 2011
Wednesday 18 May 2011
poetry...like dew drops...rare and pure
heres something i wrote for a masters project, a radio program on women empowerment....
was stored in memory..thought should hav a backup copy too
mai apnay wajood ki shanakht chahti huun
mai apni zaat ki baqa chahti huun
mai chahti huun izzat, muhabbat o raahat
mai khushiyooon bhara ik jahaan chahti huun
meri aankhoon mai sapnay basay hain kuch aisay
k sadiyoun ka piyasa ho sehra mai jaisai
mai iss piyaas ki kuch dawa chahti huun
mai apni sada, ik nida chahti huun.....
Tuesday 17 May 2011
a day at the passport office
it is a ride you are better off without, but then it is unavoidable too, in case you are planning to travel abroad. and yes, i have committed the grave mistake of wanting to do just that, and have paid a price for it too, too high id say but now that i have, i can be in peace for the next five years:D whoppie.what a relief. one less govt department to go to.
it has been 4 years since our marriage but except for an umrah trip right after our wedding, we havent been outside pakistan. this year, when we planned to take a trip, a major step was getting my passport modified from single to married and of my 3 yr old daughter made. we applied for an urgent passport and then with the application in hand, previous passports in purse, ID cards in pockets, B form in handbag and photocopies of these all in a file, we headed to the passport office. on the way, i kept asking my husband why couldnt the NADRA office correspond with the passport dept to verify our bio data and save everyone the hassle, time n fuel (all of which is rare today,except hassle ofcourse) anyway, this was not all we took with us. there was an ice cold water bottle, my daughters umbrella, 3 of her toys, french toast in case she got hungry and her milk. 15-20 ladies were already ahead of me in line when i reached the office at 8:15. let me clear that this was outside the gates of the office in extreme heat devoid of any shade whatsoever. i rolled up my sleeves and got ready for a rough day ahead. thankfully i hadnt bothered to dress up or apply any makeup but those who had, had their outfits all wrinkled and ruined with ladies pushing on each other and pressing against each other. anyway, the gates finally opened at 8:30 and a sea of ladies and gents poured into the next stage, a somewhat similar waiting area, better in the sense tht it had a fibre glass roof to give shade and worse, as while the middle ring was for the ladies, men encircled the ring from outside so that whereever you stood, you had men stnding next to you, leisurely harrassing you with their cheap looks. bear that, i told myself, there aint no other way, you have to go through this and then it'll be over. i couldnt help wondering who desgined this system for the islamic republic of pakistan. shouldnt they have arranged for segregation!>?but then i realized.
, why bother thinking?who cares anyway. all eyes were on the golden doors of paradise, which would take us in to start the process but the wait wasnt over. out came the kings royal guard, the only hope for everyone to relieve them of this waiting. he, very well knowing his worht and value, treated us all as a herd of sheep, shushing and whooshing us to spread out into a straight line. he then opened the ladies gate and took the first three ladies in and shut the gates immediately. An outcry burst out, please take us too but he was long gone. all left looked at each other in dismay, wondering when the grand guard witll appear next. elderlies were worn out due to the long wait and some, having no better option, had chosen to sit on the dirty floor. i asked the lady next to me if these rings werent meant for quick procedures and not to keep people standing for hours in line without any place to sit. applicants more than 65 years of age had a separate line but they too had no seating facility. people looked with envy at those leaving and entering from the main door of the office, who were people either making it in through agents, or thorugh contacts. my husband teased me, saying it was you who was so bent on applying the RIGHT way, without using any shortcuts or contacts. i wonder if you still stand by your point. i was too drained and yes, uncertain to answer.
anyway, an aunty, very cleverly pushed her way from the back and came to stand in front of me. i was not ready to take any more nonsense and i said so to her that why are you pushing your way in. another applicant joined me in apprehending her to which she said, beta, i have heart problem, so ive come to stand under the fan, i will go at my own turn though so dont worry. we eased into silence, but as the line moved forward, we saw that that aunty too crawled along very conveniently. i was too shocked. that got me going, i said to the girl next to me that we should talk to the aunty, she better not be thinking of tricking us and getting away with it but it felt so awkward that i couldnt bring myself to confront her, even though i knew i was right. we thought of being very polite, reminding her that the fan was back there and she had unconciously moved with the line but the second we mentioned this, it seemed that she was hit by a 400 watt current. she said i know where my place is, you dont need to tell me where to stand. we, keeping our tone in control said, but aunty you said you only needed some air, thats why you moved to the front otherwise your turn was way back. but was she ready to listen!?no sir!but were we ready to quit!>?no sir! khamoshi ka boycott:) i thought if we let her get away this time, not only will she boast of her tactics later, but others too, will try to make similar attempts and getting away with them too. so we set our foot down and thus was the beginning of a series of arguments to make her realize her mistake. our intention was never to embarrass her but im not wrong in saying that she called it upon herself. she mightve thought that we'd give up after a while but seeing that not happening, she started cursing us and moved aside.
i had had enough but my turn hadnt even come and all that i wanted at that moment was to rush back home n never return. to hell with passport and travelling. but worse awaited us as arguments rose on the gents side, men climbing up on the railings and shouting curse,indecent words at each other, one daring the other of who he was and how well contacted he was! some elders interferred and got the matter resolved and then finally, the gates of heaven opened to us!
glimpses from more to follow
AC leaking water
washroom
i was in the first lot to enter the buliding but it was already half full
lied to the guard that my aunty is in sick ear pain and parked the car in no parking zone
oh!so you need to modify your passport!sorry, start all over again:D enjoy the ride
it has been 4 years since our marriage but except for an umrah trip right after our wedding, we havent been outside pakistan. this year, when we planned to take a trip, a major step was getting my passport modified from single to married and of my 3 yr old daughter made. we applied for an urgent passport and then with the application in hand, previous passports in purse, ID cards in pockets, B form in handbag and photocopies of these all in a file, we headed to the passport office. on the way, i kept asking my husband why couldnt the NADRA office correspond with the passport dept to verify our bio data and save everyone the hassle, time n fuel (all of which is rare today,except hassle ofcourse) anyway, this was not all we took with us. there was an ice cold water bottle, my daughters umbrella, 3 of her toys, french toast in case she got hungry and her milk. 15-20 ladies were already ahead of me in line when i reached the office at 8:15. let me clear that this was outside the gates of the office in extreme heat devoid of any shade whatsoever. i rolled up my sleeves and got ready for a rough day ahead. thankfully i hadnt bothered to dress up or apply any makeup but those who had, had their outfits all wrinkled and ruined with ladies pushing on each other and pressing against each other. anyway, the gates finally opened at 8:30 and a sea of ladies and gents poured into the next stage, a somewhat similar waiting area, better in the sense tht it had a fibre glass roof to give shade and worse, as while the middle ring was for the ladies, men encircled the ring from outside so that whereever you stood, you had men stnding next to you, leisurely harrassing you with their cheap looks. bear that, i told myself, there aint no other way, you have to go through this and then it'll be over. i couldnt help wondering who desgined this system for the islamic republic of pakistan. shouldnt they have arranged for segregation!>?but then i realized.
, why bother thinking?who cares anyway. all eyes were on the golden doors of paradise, which would take us in to start the process but the wait wasnt over. out came the kings royal guard, the only hope for everyone to relieve them of this waiting. he, very well knowing his worht and value, treated us all as a herd of sheep, shushing and whooshing us to spread out into a straight line. he then opened the ladies gate and took the first three ladies in and shut the gates immediately. An outcry burst out, please take us too but he was long gone. all left looked at each other in dismay, wondering when the grand guard witll appear next. elderlies were worn out due to the long wait and some, having no better option, had chosen to sit on the dirty floor. i asked the lady next to me if these rings werent meant for quick procedures and not to keep people standing for hours in line without any place to sit. applicants more than 65 years of age had a separate line but they too had no seating facility. people looked with envy at those leaving and entering from the main door of the office, who were people either making it in through agents, or thorugh contacts. my husband teased me, saying it was you who was so bent on applying the RIGHT way, without using any shortcuts or contacts. i wonder if you still stand by your point. i was too drained and yes, uncertain to answer.
anyway, an aunty, very cleverly pushed her way from the back and came to stand in front of me. i was not ready to take any more nonsense and i said so to her that why are you pushing your way in. another applicant joined me in apprehending her to which she said, beta, i have heart problem, so ive come to stand under the fan, i will go at my own turn though so dont worry. we eased into silence, but as the line moved forward, we saw that that aunty too crawled along very conveniently. i was too shocked. that got me going, i said to the girl next to me that we should talk to the aunty, she better not be thinking of tricking us and getting away with it but it felt so awkward that i couldnt bring myself to confront her, even though i knew i was right. we thought of being very polite, reminding her that the fan was back there and she had unconciously moved with the line but the second we mentioned this, it seemed that she was hit by a 400 watt current. she said i know where my place is, you dont need to tell me where to stand. we, keeping our tone in control said, but aunty you said you only needed some air, thats why you moved to the front otherwise your turn was way back. but was she ready to listen!?no sir!but were we ready to quit!>?no sir! khamoshi ka boycott:) i thought if we let her get away this time, not only will she boast of her tactics later, but others too, will try to make similar attempts and getting away with them too. so we set our foot down and thus was the beginning of a series of arguments to make her realize her mistake. our intention was never to embarrass her but im not wrong in saying that she called it upon herself. she mightve thought that we'd give up after a while but seeing that not happening, she started cursing us and moved aside.
i had had enough but my turn hadnt even come and all that i wanted at that moment was to rush back home n never return. to hell with passport and travelling. but worse awaited us as arguments rose on the gents side, men climbing up on the railings and shouting curse,indecent words at each other, one daring the other of who he was and how well contacted he was! some elders interferred and got the matter resolved and then finally, the gates of heaven opened to us!
glimpses from more to follow
AC leaking water
washroom
i was in the first lot to enter the buliding but it was already half full
lied to the guard that my aunty is in sick ear pain and parked the car in no parking zone
oh!so you need to modify your passport!sorry, start all over again:D enjoy the ride
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