Alain De Botton

Some time back I read Alain De Botton's marvellously engaging book 'The Consolations of Philosophy' and was completely bowled over. The book affirmed a lot of ideas that had always been a part of my consciousness but had unfortunately never been shared or voiced by any of the people around me. I particularly found his ideas on what defines happiness truly insightful and think his philosophies are a perfect antidote to a world utterly consumed by notions of 'competition' and 'success'.

So it was with great delight I discovered that he had spoken at the recent TedGlobal 2009. As expected he brought forward his gentler, kinder ideas about the world in his typically humorous and humane manner and made many people laugh at his 'absurd' yet astute insights into the nature of craving material success. As is wont to happen in an 18 minute talk, Botton doesn't really manage to explain his ideas fully but they are hopefully good enough teasers for many more people to delve into the world of his delightfully easy to read, yet profound books

King Roger

I would look at this picture with such longing on the eve of every French Open Final. Finally.



P.S. Do click on the picture to view it in all its glory. Even the thunderous weather is reflective of today's victory. Federer all storm and fury under a cloudy Parsian sky.

Ted Robinson quote: "We always want to see the king defeated, but it's impossible to feel that way about Roger Federer."





But a litlle voice keeps nagging at me, is the victory really the same without Nadal?

Will Wonders Never Cease!

Rafael Nadal is out of the French Open, 2009! I really didn't think I could possibly be writing these words in the Fourth Round of the French Open. If there was one thing that was a given it was Nadal in that Roland Garros final. Who could have predicted such a thing as this? Oh, that is the beauty of sport. It really ain't over till the fat lady sings.

I think I am really deadly for players whose fan I become. In the past few weeks I had begun to see Rafa in a different light, actually beginning to admire his simple humility and pluck. The moment I started feeling those benign thoughts he crashed out. Hmmm.....should have thought of it last year when he was pulevrizing Federer in the French Open final. But truth be told this is a bit of a let down. A Grand Slam final just isn't a Grand Slam final without the presence of those amazing two rivals.

Having said that, this is quite a slap in the face of all those commentators who were already beginning to claim that it is Rafa who should be seen as a contender for the all time great of tennis rather than Federer. A matter of jumping the gun a bit, don't you think? Federer has reached his position today through a sustained effort that has lasted years. He has not gone below a Grand Slam semi-final since 2006 and remained at the top for four years. But this French Open commentary was no fun, it took away the special 'historicity' of the event and they immediately switched over to the Ivanovic-Azarenka match, where the defending ladies champion also lost. Talk about bad broadcasting. We needed some disection, some good commentary on the match. I want Star Sports to begin giving the French as much importance as Wimbledon that has so many critical analyses before and after and so much build up and follow up to each match.

Truth be told I just wanted to see Vijay Amritraj's ashen face and a softening of his Nadal superlatives!! I am torn between disbelief, happiness and sympathy for Nadal, as well as sadness over losing out on another Nadal-Federer pressure cooker final. I love the two together! Viva Rafa. For the moment.


A bit of Soderling-Nadal history:
Two years ago Soderling took Nadal to five sets in Wimbledon in a match where Soderling mimicked Nadal's habit of fiddling with his shorts. Watch video here (Nadal's expressions are priceless).




Nadal said after the match that Soderling is the most unpopular player in the locker room.

"He's very strange," he said of Soderling. "I have said hello to him seven times to his face, and he has never said hello to me. He never answers. I thought it was me. But I asked around the locker room; almost nobody had anything nice to say about him."

But the more ironic comment is the following (taken from a Washington Post article):

"Is not nice," said Nadal, whose English is still evolving. "In the end, we will see what's happening in the end of the life, no?"

Aaahh....not quite the end of Rafa's life yet certainly but he sure stopped him in his tracks today.

Women at Liberty

I remember being struck by this sight as I walked down the Liberty Market roundabout last year. Even then it somehow occurred to me that this was a special moment that i needed to capture.

In Pakistan the presence of women in the public sphere is abysmally low, mainly due to the fear of catcalls, jeers, leers and groping that all women can and, more often than not, do face when they step out of the house. But in the Musharraf years thanks largely to his active women promotion policy in the media and elsewhere (whether or not at the behest of America is a moot point here), the sight of women in the public sphere became much less of an anomaly--that he slipped up and let his mentality shine through in his comment on Mukhtaran Mai and Pakistani women in general is a sad fact that detracts from the other things that he did do right. Urban centres saw more varying degrees of attire on women than I have ever seen before and women seemed to be playing a more active public role in many arenas such as sports, media, banking and even flying.

The voice that Musharraf gave to the previously largely complacent upper middle class urban majority (ironically most so in the case of civil society rising up against him in the judiciary issue) is the one that is today holding up against the Taliban most vocally in Pakistan's larger cities.

Getting back to the picture. If you notice you can barely make out any men in it, which is what I found fascinating and wanted to capture in the frame. It was a strangely liberating experience for me to see such a thing in a Pakistani bazaar--women sitting without fear out in the open, relaxing, eating chaat and taking a break from their busy shopping. From the conservative manner in which they are dressed it can be conjectured that they do not belong to the upper social strata of society thus their breathing freely in the open air is all the more heartening. Not that I buy into the idea that women in Pakistan belonging to the middle and upper middle classes are more free in any truly substantial way than are their less economically fortunate counterparts.

With the shadow of the Taliban looming large over us fear and oppression has crept right back into society. The other day a friend was telling me that there have been reports of young lads going around Liberty and slapping women who have uncovered heads. A Facebook status of a friend of mine who is visiting Lahore these days informed us that she had just witnessed a man beating up his wife with a wooden pole right in the middle of the road. All those who are forever harping about how respectable Muslims and Pakistanis are just need to look at the level of hostility towards women in this country and the larger Muslim world to find gaping holes in their theory. In the 'elite' institution that I teach at ideas are as pedestrian as one would expect on the streets. The ground we had gained in the past decade or so seems to have been lost in one fell swoop, maybe because it was ultimately only cosmetic, maybe because the chauvinistic ideals of the land are too deeply ingrained for just one single, not so popular President to be able to change so soon. And now things are only going to go from bad to worse.

Till such time as they are still in the flux some brave women of Lahore have started cycling on its streets (along with a group of men). The organization is called Critical Mass, Lahore and ever since its inception in December has garnered a loyal following of around 30 people. I love cycling and would love the opportunity of being able to use this means of transport on my city's roads without any fear, but for now doing it in a controlled environment is a good start. If only the political scene did not look so ominous one could hope to impact people's mindsets by forcing them to watch women out and about on city roads, and once the novelty factor would wear off, accepting it as a normal, everyday occurrence.


While women in the country (and i will reiterate most Muslim countries) find it hard to breathe the fresh outdoor air and to feel their limbs alive and free, defenders of the 'East' abound persuading us to believe that women here are somehow deeply respected, even revered. The worst kind are the 'born again Muslims and Easterners'. Amongst women it is usually your average Convent educated aunty who has suddenly rediscovered her 'roots' and goes around eschewing Goras, Hollywood, Jews and in some cases even *gasp* her whitening cream. Two colleagues I know are shining examples of the above. One is poisoning young minds through the teaching of a warped version of Islam while the other with her own psychological issues cannot see anything wrong whatsoever with the darling little Princes she has been teaching (read spoiling) for years. One teacher, musing upon my brother's marriage to a Shia girl, declared the other day that the family my sister-in-law belongs to is 'mixed breed, not pure' Syeds . These are the teachers of our land teaching to the errr.....'creme de la creme'. What more can one say.

But sadly the scourges of chauvinism, racism and stupidity don't just plague one side of the planet, there are many examples of it all over the world.

On to Swat?

For the moment I have set my accumulated cynicism of the last year aside. It is deeply heartening to know that protesting and resistance can actually work, even in our times. Even in our country. This is just another reminder of the fact that apathy never got anyone anywhere. I am back to watching news channels, but these ads for Care Fairness Cream and Hoor Beauty Soap will be the death of me. Just goes to show in how many directions we still need to protest. Swat and female education being the top priority. Will the people of Pakistan also ever rise up as one against extremists and terrorists in their midst and protest the murder and persecution of innocent civilians at the hands of barbaric fanatics? Will they stand up for the rights of oppressed women along the length and breadth of the country? If only some day the anti Taliban movement could gain as much currency in the Land of the Pure.

Long March indeed

Ever since this Long March began I have just tuned in to Geo for the first time in six months or more. My once avid political enthusiasm has turned into complete cynicism and disdain for the Pakistani political circus. Because of the lack of any political leadership in Pakistan I see no point in rooting for a Long March bringing corrupt right wing leaders into direct conflict with even more corrupt, no ideology except money, PPPers.

There is no denying though that news channels provide the greatest bit of reality T.V drama for entertainment hungry Pakistanis. With the lack of something like Bollywood to sustain national interest in home grown entertainment, news channels fill an important gap in our country's cultural landscape.

The only thing that this march has going for it is Aitzaz Ahsan. If there is one person I could think of voting for amongst the entire Pakistani political scene, it is him. But he needs to make his separation from the PPP loud and clear. Make a breakaway faction or an entirely new party that will give enthusiastic and sane Pakistanis a chance to battle against the forces of Talibanization, intolerance and Imran Khan. A library in his house that I still recall with great awe, independent minded daughters who were sent abroad to study according to their wishes, a son who is about to get a novel published, well respected in his professional community and a life spent being loyal to his party, he seems to have a lot of the right credentials.

Will he have the courage to come out of the closet and lead in the right way though? Can someone like him ever capture the imagination of the Pakistani awaam? Can you possibly lead Pakistan when you have a reputation for not being overtly religious and have led a largely 'liberal' life. Do credentials like brains, honesty and commitment matter to a people who feel guilty if their leader doesn't at least pretend to be pious. A black President in America is possible but the election of a largely secular yet honest man to the office of PM seems like an impossible Pakistani pipe dream.

Universe de os nukray

Me explaining to Talha how dastardly the acts that have recently stunned Lahore are and that there will be no cricket in Pakistan from now on. He has in his 7 year old life gone to the Gaddafi Stadium numerous times and feels very excited whenever its floodlights shine and there is a possibility of a day out in the stadium.

He asks me 'Kabhi naheen hon gae match?'

I say 'Seems like it, thanks to those bast***. Unfortunately the world can be a terrible place'.

Talha looks perplexed and frustrated and says: 'Tau hum kisi aur dunya mayn shift ho jaatay hayn.'

Khaak Mayn Lithray Huay Khoon Mayn Nehlaae Huay

For years those flowers at the Liberty roundabout had heralded the coming of Basant. How many times have I driven down that road and smiled at the beauty of the Lahore spring and in better days read colourful banners announcing 'Jashn-e-Bahaaraan' and all manners of fairs and festivities. They all slowly watered down and ultimately completely disappeared in the past few years leaving in their wake a country fast turning into another Afghanistan. Blasts at the Rafi Peer, sporting events cancelled due to security fears, Basant a distant memory and now an attack that had been long feared and anticipated. Strip a country of its culture and entertainment and all you will be left with is murder, rape, gore and violence as the only outlets for frustration and self expression. Convince human beings that laughter and fun are sins. Give them a sense of purpose with jingoistic platitudes, religious inflammation and a bogey enemy and voila the job is done.

Random Birthday Thoughts

• I am rather kiddish about my birthdays. I suppose that is why they tend to be anti-climactic. But a physical gift in the mail and a handmade card, wishes from two friends I thought I'd never hear from again, Lilies in the lounge and the prospect of having friends turn up on their own in the evening do all make for a festive atmosphere. 
  

• Why is student expression such an outmoded thing today? Is it the American kid syndrome of branding emotions that do not fit into a prescribed box as senti or cheesy? 
  

• Handmade cards, shop bought cards, e-cards and now it's just a small greeting on 'The Wall'. Quality may have suffered but quantity has sure received a huge boost.
  

• Traversing the desert is made so much easier by (insert Charles Lamb title here). 
  

Ann

Dunya mayn aek saal ki muddat ka qurb tha/Dil mayn kaee hazaar qaran ki shareek thee

(Mustafa Zaidi)