Chowk is 9 Today

CHOWK:

A very Happy 9th birthday. May it become stronger & help lead the way to to reinstall the glorious past.

``Man kee dunyaa meiN na payaa meiN naiN a`frangi kaa raaj
Man kee dunyaa meiN naa daikhay meiN nay shaikh O Brhaman``..ALLAMA IQBAL


I know that I have not been your ideal citizen but your patience & perseverence has definitely seen, I hope, some merit in me as well. Reflecting the ``true``[ virtual Reality] society I will proudly wear the badge of a rebel, a renegade, an insurgent, or even a terrorist--oh how times lend a new vigour, a polished lustre and a refreshing respect to words when uttered by the decadent & immoral farangi .

Chok-Staff,

I`ve been the biggest proponent of this forum for enlightened discussion amongst grown-ups. I have fought for this forum on all fronts, may it be intellectual or in the wolf pits. I hate to see it being taken over by bigots, and saboteurs.

Please ... some discipline. I had been told by one of the prominent interactors to `evolve` as Chowk is evolving. But it is evolving to what? Back to apes?

Happy Birthday, and Many Happy Returns.

And on this auspicious occasion, I implore Chowk-Staff to make it a paid subscription site. No more freebees. The people who do not respect Chowk, and regard it as a `dumb` and `useless` forum and they vist here just to `kill` time, do not belong here.

Besides, it is unfair for us to expect Chowk staff to continue doing this great and noble service from money out of their own pockets.

Sincerely.

Zeemax

Today, there are many voices out there that reach out and ask us to speak “As Chowk” on issues that concern the people of the sub-continent. So far we have consciously avoided editorialization but do wonder if that is soon to become our responsibility too. We seek your thoughts and opinions on this important decision.

That doesn`t seem like a good idea to me. You`ll be always accused of being partisan, besides, indeed falling prey to partisan views.

Don`t do it. You cannot create idealism, only channel it.

HAPPY BIRTH DAY CHOWK

A very happy birthday to chowk. This website is doing a great service to the people of the sub-continent.

Kindly keep it free of barriers like censorship as well as subscription. You have done a great job so far.

Chowk Staff,

Happy birthday Chowk.

Chowk is a collective consciousness, much an amalgamation of its editors and the proponents of its existence and evolution.

If Chowk`s gist can be defined, then its nature can also be understood. If the nature of Chowk can be articulated, then it also can be inferred as to what is not Chowk.

Everyone who stands firm on the educated ideals that govern his/her essence is dogged by the negativity of opposites. I have been with Chowk for a little less than 3 years so I can not profess to know what exactly Chowk stands for, per se.

In my journey to know Chowk more still, I would like Chowk to propel its educated nature. Among the key points that, I think, define Chowk is that it`s a medium of thought-provoking insight and analysis. And also it is a medium to educate the masses who stumble upon philosopher`s pebble to discover Chowk and stay there a while.

In a shrinking global culture where a myriad of beliefs brush up against one another, some pleasantly and some unpleasantly, are undergoing a period of transition which itself is surfing the waves of chaos. Definitions are clarified and natures elucidated of the schools of thoughts which are backed by enlightened masses.

One of the jobs Chowk must look into and complete is to expound upon the Indo/Pak identity and the socio-political and socio-religious diaspora that highlight it and attempt to intersubjectively state the spirit of their beliefs.

At base, Chowk must strengthen its discovered nature and evolve continuously. If Chowk has enemies, it merely means that Chowk stands for something.

Peace!

``In a time of moral crisis neutrality is complicity.`` - Hamza Yusuf

Heppy budday chowk! As you enter your 10th year, it would be nice to throw up some factoids about the site: e.g.
1. who was the first interactor and what did s/he post about?
2. which was the first article published on chowk?
3. whose idea was unplugged (and more importantly who designed its crappy interface)?

OK, ok so you can ignore the last one... :)

#8 by burpinder

Amma Yaar Burpinder Bhai,

At this time, we must not forget two icons of Chowk ideology. Saima Shah who wrote ``Say Something, Let`s Talk`` and laid down the direction of all interaction, and much much later, Farzana Versey, who not only implemented the ground rules but raised the quality of interaction to new heights.

Let`s say Hooray for both.

The best things in life are free - air, water....and now chowk. and google and the rest of the internet. :-)

Good job chowk staff. You can pat yourselves on the back and accept my thanks for many hours of relaxation over the past several years. In the company of some fine posters from whom I have learnt a few things. And all the best to all posters on chowk.

Jai Hind. Pakistan Zindabad.

Re #8 zeemax

Saima`s contributions are of course valuable. Hurray!

Farzana`s as well, though ironically enough, not quite in the way she`d have expected I guess! At least in my case, the initial knee-jerk reaction of `` why is this stupid woman siding with the Pakis all the time`` morphed over time to the point today where a lot of what I believed (and what I thought was believed) seems strange and unreal to me. It`s happened through a lot of interaction with (real and imaginary) Pakistanis and fellow-Indians on this website, some of these vitriolic and jingoistic, but for the most part civil. I guess the remarkable thing is that when the communication lines are open, a lot of things happen to change your outlook, and slow as this may be, it`s vastly preferable to living in isolation from each other, the hatred and differences stewing in their own juices, till (like the Arabs and Israelis) you`re not even really sure what you`re fighting for and the enmity itself is enough reason to go on hating each other.

That in itself is worth three and a half cheers. Keep going chowk!

Best wishes as we enter double figures in our innings at chowk.

Been very interactive and lately again a lurker, at chowk, due to a variety of reasons.

Best, again/Veeresh

#11 by burpinder

Burpinder,

So that`s why there must be no editorial policy on Chowk. Farzana is an idealist, much like most of us, and has an opinion. If you guys don`t want an opinion, that`s fine. I already wrote that any editor will be accused of being partisan.

But, Farzana must be complemented profusely for bringing discipline to Chowk.

Her other contributions, like her iLogs and her articles, are esoteric .. and not for the street crowd. Those were a bonus. But I guess you can do without that.

Chowk is a very good idea but how does it ptomote the ideals it has set for itself is a question that must be asked by its founders themselves.

Excluding Bangladesh for Chowk is a mindset. The superscription of Chowk should read ``The identities of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh`` not just India and Pakistan. If Pakistan is meant Bangladesh included, then India is also meant all the three included.

It`s India which became independent and it was partitioned into two Dominions - Union of India, Pakistan. Considering 14th August 1947 as independence day is big fraud because Indian Independence Act came into being on 15th August not on 14th August.

I hope we live live Canada and the US not like North and South Korea. That`s what Jinnah has dreamnt about our countries. Since Jinnah`s ideals of pakistan are buried, we only hope that we`d not suck into this 1000 years war (ZAB dream).

Mmmnnn.. Anyway.. My wishes to Pakistanis on this occassion... (as per the five decades of this tradition on 14th August).

happy birthday and wish you best for times ahead................

amid this revelry please take some time to restrain zeemax.

Best of luck and good wishes on your HAPPY BITHDAY. May Chowk scale new hights in the coming years.