Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Bloody Eid!!

I was just referring to Eid ul Azha which is commonly known as "Bakra Eid", even though the cows seem to have a fair share of all the blood flowing along the roads and bends of the city. Its certainly not fair for the cow not to have a share in the name of the occasion designed to train a spotlight on bakras and cows specifically.I think it should be called "Gaee Bakra Eid" but thats quite a mouthful don't you think? And we are so used to Bakra Eid we might shorten it to GB Eid in order to get past the name which is even worse because.... well its not right..

Anyways! No, I have not gone crazy.Yet. I'm just blabbing away because I'm hungry,its 2am in the night and I simply cannot wait for the 'kaleji' which will be cooked tomorrow morning or rather afternoon,thanks to the qassai and our beloved cow.The 'qassai' is the most important personality on this Eid.We grovel at his feet literally, to give us the honour of sacrificing our animal first.But he is as stubborn as the cow that he kills and he will arrive only when he wants to..*sigh*

Now this Eid is specially characterised by the amount of red meat cooked and eaten by households.I mean there's no end to it.Firstly there are so many parts to be cooked, with so many different ways and methods of cooking them and a huge variety of recipes to to cook them with! It's a never ending business and pretty intimidating, if you ask me! But then what are Mothers for?? They are always up to any challenge and we get to eat the most delicious,mouth watering foods for at least two weeks straight, post Bakra Eid. I'm salivating just thinking about the nihari,haleem,chops and what not! Plus there's nothing to be guilty about because the poor are just as satisfied as the rich in terms of getting a huge supply of meat to relish.

Now theres something about this Eid that I personally just detest! The highlight of this occasion is the enormous amounts of poop,piss and grass strewn all over the streets,roads,pavements,even in front of peoples houses (not inside the house mind you) and AND surprisingly enough nobody seems to be bothered by it.People just ignore it(once its out of their house),step over it or ON it and don't seem to mind the fact that it is disgusting and unhygienic for crying out loud! Once its out of the house, it becomes invisible to people. A rare kind of shit, I must say.As for me, my obsessive compulsive instincts are on high alert during the entire Eid and I'm usually inside the safe and poop-less precincts of my house. Post sacrifice one is faced with another dilemma,that of blood.Everywhere.All over the city.Its like the best place a vampire could be but only if he/she is a 'vegetarian',if you know what I mean..(you would if you have read Twilight :p). People do not even bother to sacrifice their animal near a ground or clearing so that the blood gets soaked in the dirt.No.They will drag the poor animal right in the middle of the road for the benefit of the onlookers and then sacrifice it.What about the blood on the road? Who cares until its out of the house. I mean the road will clean itself probably overnight or the vampires may drink it up.Who knows...

So what else? Other than the fact that people spend most of their time with the animal feeding,cleaning and taking care of it, totally ignoring their daily routine and families, and after the sacrifice distributing the meat, storing it and then eating it,that is pretty much it, right? Do we meet our relatives? No,not really.Only if they have this "dawat" and only if we are "invited" and these are blood relations we are talking about!

What is the point of Eid, people? Eid comes twice a year for us to forget our differences,finish family feuds and truly and sincerely make an effort to be happy and spread happiness.But all we spread nowadays is text messages which are read once and then deleted.However true happiness should not be deleted,CAN not be.We meet because we HAVE to not because we WANT to and that is the saddest part, in my point of view.Personally I have divided my relatives into two groups, those I want to meet and those that I have to...All of us have become so busy in our own lives that we do not see others.We are happy inside a shell,afraid to break out,anxious and apprehensive.Do we ever think,these are the people we played with as kids..Selfishness,miserliness,hatred,jealousy..are these the only traits left in us?? Where is compassion,respect,sincerity? Love? And then whats the use of celebrating Eid, a friend asks me and I say that Eid comes with the prime purpose of dissipating negativity and bring people closer.It comes with a lesson,with a reason which must not be overlooked.If all days were spent like normal days we would become robots.We would never be excited or happy or anxious or sad.Think about it...
So when you are busy washing the blood from your front yard do not forget your own blood relations.When you are busy chewing a juicy piece of meat,do not forget that Eid is a time to reunite and kill all our prejudices,like literally, just like the cow or bakra or camel!!

Have a juicy and spicy Eid!
Cheers!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The (not) Lost Generation

A conversation between my mom and paternal uncle instigated me to rush up to my room,grab a blank sheet of paper and with a new found dexterity compile all my thoughts in the form of the following article.Now you must be wondering what they were talking about which led to such drastic consequences..However it may not strike you as something unusual when I will say that the topic under discussion was the misuse (read: use) of technology by the young generation.

As I was the focal point of their argument it put me in an aggressive mood and I felt like one of those typical teenagers who are forced to listen to a lecture without actually hearing anything.Their obvious dislike towards me using the cellphone,laptop, iPod or any new gadget for that matter could be discerned through the frowns on their faces and the rapidity with which they bombarded me with their remarks.The situation being unequal,I sat there meekly, nodding to whatever they were saying and an occasional sigh was let out on purpose in order to make the opposition realize that their argument was falling on deaf ears...

Their dialogue consisted of the usual rant about how teenagers are immersed in these new devices,hardly care to talk to their parents (its the other way round usually), do not indulge in physical activities (yeah right!), care nothing about traditional values(does anybody?)and are,in a nutshell, going astray,on a path which has in store nothing but eternal doom for them! Both of them went on to talk about how in "their" time studies were on the top of a person's priority list, how there were no distracting (read: useful) gadgets in that time and life was very peaceful, not to forget brimming with domestic happiness and cheerfulness. A fairyland sketch was drawn by both my relations and I smiled at their story-telling capabilities, good enough to win them a laurel for Fiction Writing.Surely, they were not expecting me to believe in all that! I'm not that naive or stupid to think that everything was hunky dory at that time and everyone was a good,noble person living to do good to others! That kind of world is Utopia.It doesn't exist...and it did not convince me that today's generation is good for nothing.

Today's generation is apparently up to no good,does not bother about current affairs, is senseless to everything around them, made to party and basically on a path to destruction..but..BUT I am very very proud to be a part of this very generation! I say this because we have the potential to revolutionize this whole world.And this is just an understatement.Trust me we are just waiting for a chance ; of recognition from our parents,our teachers, the people we look up to.A word of encouragement, a pat on the back, a smile that signifies that they have our backs and are ready to defend us no matter what..Is this so hard to give??
Just a little support and guidance is needed for us to bring about change, a change for good.
I do not speak in theory..There are many examples out there to support my argument.Like the boy genius who scored 22 A's in his A-levels or the group of teenagers who got together and wrote the first mystery novel of  Pakistan called "Shades of Prey"..or more recently the throngs of teenagers and young people who came out on the roads to collect funds for the flood victims. There are many more budding minds ready to bring a change. All we need is constructive criticism, a necessity for one's social growth, and trust from our elders.

I agree that the use of technology has seemingly virtualized our existence but I assure all the elders out there that we are very much there, in flesh and blood, preparing for a better future a better world, for "I can change the world and I refuse to believe that I am part of a lost generation"

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Confessions of an AAP (anti anger person)

Yes AAP thats a new word I just invented because I wanted to lure more readers to my blog and make them read what I'm about to write! So now that you have already started why don't you just read till the end...

Anger does surprising things to people.Some people vent out their frustration and anger by shouting,screaming or throwing things which come in their way.While some stomp away to their room and bang the door shut.Yes we all may be aware of the absolutely satisfying feeling one gets after nearly breaking the door off its hinges.Some people ,like me, endure the anger outburst with silence,usually moving away from the place or thing which has instigated us.

What I would like to share with the readers today is a typical Saturday at my house and how each of my family members react when they get angry..(which by the way is happening all the time).Lets start off with my siblings.I have been blessed (ironically) with two younger sisters and to my great pleasure the first thing they do in the morning is fight with each other and with my mother.Now that's a skill we all should be learning from them because usually one can only fight with one person at a time.However the norms of life don't usually apply to these two young ladies.

Now any normal child who gets up after a good nights sleep would straight away wash and get dressed.However normal is not a word to be associated with them because the first thing that they do is get out of bed and switch on the telly.Yes yes that big huge rectangular(or square) box that we all have in our living rooms!!Then they fight begins over which channel they should watch while my mother is constantly scolding and persuading by turns,in the background,for them to wash and have their breakfast.

What an absolutely refreshing start to a new day! Here kicks in the anger(or it already has).First my youngest sis bangs the remote control on the floor or table,whatever is close to her and stomps away to a corner of the room.Then my other sis glares at her for a few seconds and then turns back to watching the TV.Now my mother steps in and drags one of them by the hand to the washroom,pushes her in and bangs the door shut.By this time my sister(the one inside the toilet) is usually screaming her vocal cords out and the neighbours might be hearing her two or three blocks away.

If my highly esteemed father is at home, he is throwing things out of his way,screaming at my other sister and glaring at my mother all at the same time.Not only that but from his mouth is falling a tirade of assaults aimed at all three of us sisters claiming things I might not be able to quote over here.But you get the idea don't you?
The only thing left is smoke coming out of his ears and nostrils which I have yet to witness.

All of you must be wondering where I am during this commotion and confusion.Well, like the noble warrior of olden times who endured his punishment silently, I'm usually cooped up in my room trying to drown out the voices with the latest Linkin Park song!

Cheers!