Violence is the Language of Insanity!

In case of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan, there can be only one winner; death and destruction!

It all seems very exciting on the big screen; the explosion, the sound effects, the magnanimity of impact, Booooom!!!!!!!!!! the bomb goes and you get an adrenaline high as there is an outburst of colours, fumes and fire.

That is how a bomb blast is captured in a movie and yes, that is how violence is glamorized and sold, and even unconsciously, encouraged perhaps, nothing to matter more than winning and conquering.

Multiply this with the impact a nuclear bomb can cause and the figures will astound you. Yet the recent tension between India and Pakistan has once again raised the topic of nuclear weapons as a means to threaten and establish dominance of one country over the other. While it may appear to some naive people to be a very courageous or patriotic stance by either party, it is quite the contrary an emotional call, neither wise nor sensible.

In case of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan, there can be only one winner; death and destruction.According to estimates, such a war would result in so much smoke that global temperatures would fall below those of the last Ice Age, One “average” nuke dropped on a major city would vaporize everything within 1.6 km, and kill 12 lakh people in the first 24 hours, with significantly more deaths from radiation exposure and injuries in the following weeks. Why is it that such facts are not taken into considerations before making such statements, or are they conveniently overlooked to play with the sentiments of the naive public, fooling them into falling for their 'brave' leaders?

Who doesn't know what a bomb blast does to a person, a family, a nation? Unfortunately, we have accounts, witnesses and victims of even an atomic bomb, whose mere photographs are enough to give us the shivers. 

The atomic bombing on Hiroshima directly killed an estimated 70,000 people which, due to injuries and radiation, reached to 90,000-166,000 by the end of the year. In the words of one survivor,' There were people crying out for help, calling after members of their family. I saw a schoolgirl with her eye hanging out of its socket. People looked like ghosts, bleeding and trying to walk before collapsing. Some had lost limbs.'

''There were charred bodies everywhere, including in the river. I looked down and saw a man clutching a hole in his stomach, trying to stop his organs from spilling out. The smell of burning flesh was overpowering.”

Yet, despite these frightful accounts, we so conveniently discuss the possibility of a nuclear attack on another country, maybe because it appears to be the 'easy-way' out instead of acting like grownups, who can talk, negotiate, be fair and resolve their differences through discussion.

In order to highlight the graveness of the present tension between India and Pakistan and to bring a human element to all this atmosphere of hate and accusations, last week, over a hundred and fifty activists in India and Pakistan took part in a photo campaign to call on world leaders to never use nuclear weapons. From New Delhi to Islamabad, Bangalore to Karachi, Amritsar to Lahore, Global Zero volunteers took photos saying “Don’t Nuke Us, PM Sharif and Don’t Nuke Us, PM Modi” with the hashtag #NoRedButton. 

The objective of such a campaign is not only to promote peace, but to attempt to build regional solidarity in the face of war, working to eliminate nuclear weapons forever. As long as we live in an undemocratic system that gives one person absolute control over mass destruction, we can never be safe.We must demand our leaders say 'No to the Red Button' for the world is a safer place without nuclear weapons, not with them.

As I worked on this piece about nuclear weapons, I frightfully realized that there aren't many images left anymore that would shake our souls and brim our eyes with tears, for we have seen too much destruction, pain, death and turmoil in the last few years! It is extremely disturbing and shocking. The photo of a small child covered in blood and crying, alone, helplessly doesnt do much to generate an action, a movement, a call out; you can easily swipe it away to the next image!

How can the image be gripping and engaging enough for viewers to be moved to the core!!!

Pain and agony doesnt grow less by increasing in magnitude, destruction everywhere does not make destruction acceptable!
Every bullet hurts, every life counts, every step matters!

At the end of the day, in our vision to look at the bigger picture, we should never consider overlooking the little details, for in the little details, lie the signs of life, the smile of a child, the joy of a mother, the fragrance of a flower!

source for the quote:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/31/japan-atomic-bomb-survivors-nuclear-weapons-hiroshima-70th-anniversary

The Hype about the Chai Wala

I know I'm late, the topic has been done and over with mostly but just felt like giving my two cents on this. while I'
m loving the photographers wise and graceful stance about all this and how it seems to be doing good for Mr.Arshad too, the entire hype does reflect a few things about common people psyche.

Well, for starters, looks arent the property of a particular class alone. Yes, there are all sorts of treatments and facial and hair care that can only be bought with money but Allah hasn't differentiated His blessings of beauty or intellect based on wealth. Yet, unknowingly, we tend to associate these with the financial status of a person. Yes, grooming makes a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge difference so even if your looks are not that attractive, with proper grooming, confidence and style, you can easily be a stunner at any party.

Maybe its also that we dont really give compliments to people who come from the working class like tailor, waiter, maid or chai wala:) How often do we say to our guard that you look smart today or to our maid, this color suits you. It's as if they neither deserve nor should expect to be given compliments for what are they but mere means of our comfort and for our service. What do they need looks or compliments for and when can they ever look good enough to be noticeable for us. They are the invisibles, the robots that serve us,open our doors, clear our paths, wash our dishes, pave our roads, sweep our floors but pretty, handsome, good looking, smart, intelligent, cute, brave, wise, pious, those are not the terms we commonly use to define them:)

I know its not totally true but this is a general trend we may have developed over the years unconsciously and i'm sure we can very easily change it too, by being more considerate, humble, attentive, kind and most importantly, by developing the sight to see beyond the walls of class segregation.

I have had helpers who had amazing, attractive looks and in my own head, I would give them a complete makeover and grooming and they wouldnt look any less than a princess. So what if they are born in families that do not afford to rejoice their beauty or intellect, a small compliment or encouragement can give their self-esteem a boost, making them feel good about themselves, giving them realization and reasons to be thankful to Allah and take life positively despite the mountain of challenges it may hold.

Blind in Hate!

It was a little past midnight, We had just reached Muzaffarabad and were on our way to Kuttan, a spot quite close to the border, we had been told. We didnt think there was anything to be afraid of or worried about, yet when we asked the way from a few people, a look of concern and contemplation filled their faces. 'You are going to kuttan at this time?'

'Yes, is something wrong? Are the roads bad?'

'No no, nothing like that, its just that its not that advisable to travel at this time and that too, with family.'

'Ahan', we said, not really understanding what he was trying to say but not so sure about our decision anymore. Still, continuing on our way, we started following a Mehran that seemed to be going the same way. Thinking that it would be safer to request the driver to act as our guide, we signaled him to stop. He was an old baba ge, white beard and all. When Usman told him that we were on our way to Kuttan at that hour, he was shocked.

'You are going at this hour? Aap nai mujh sai mashwara toh nahe kiya laikin mai aapko iss waqt uss rasstay pe janay ki ijazat nahe doon ga!'(his apnaiyat and owning up us was quite cute). Explaining why he thought it was a bad idea, he said,'The Indian army can fire at anyone and anything, especially at this time and then justify it as a probable threat they feared.'

It felt very strange to hear this. Would they or army on our side actually do that? Target innocent civilians without any proof or reason! Yet, that is what we were told. We had Indian songs playing in our car, some were sung by Pakistani singers.The lyrics , thoughts and ideas were universal; kindness, love, self discovery, passion, celebrating life. and yet, there was this parallel reality right before us, where all that we saw in each other was an enemy, a hateful entity! Does one really grow that blind in hate, and are we supposed to respond to it in the same way or our patriotism would come under question!

All these questions surrounded me as I sat in my car, baba ge guiding us to a hotel to spend the night in. They say love is blind, yet I couldn't help thinking how blind hatred can make you!