The Daily Grind

My favorite part of your article was the description of the signal at the gora qabristan as torture. This is a bit of Karachi motorcar history that will likely be forgotten with the new ``highway`` from the Jaam Sadiq Ali chorangi to Shaheed-e-Millat road. Oh how the youngsters of today are spoiled! (just kidding) As a person who lived in Karachi from 1985 to 1988 that specific route just about drove me bananas when I lived there. Thanks for an article that helped me reminisce about a time that seems so long ago now. One point -- you never mentioned ``martial law`` which was what Karachi was supposed to be under at the time (lifted in Dec. 1985). Do you think it affected you at all at the time?

s_owais:

I have taken your comments in good spirit. You are entitled to your impressions, of course, even though I may not agree with them.

But what about the email, yaar ? Can you please send me mail at saad@chowk.com as I am not having any luck at the address you have given ? Thanks, and look forward to hearing from you.

My best,
Saad

This is in rsponse to reply # 48

Yet another panga, Mr. Shafqat, courtesy arrogance.

Arrogance is abhored by Allah and He does not

like people with arrogant attitude. Although Wasiq

my friend (of evolution 101 fame) would try to counter

my argument by rigors of scientific processes.

Anyway I will first discuss the better aspect of the

article. The article was written in typical Saad

tradition: nice and easy. The expression flew, choice

of words was immaculate. The opening and concluding

statements were riveting.

Now the not appreciated aspect of the article. Your

communication arrogance has somewhat become less from

what I observed in evolution 101. However, the arrogance

is still there; I would say is largely there. Although

I enjoyed a lot your description of Zaheer putting Andy

Roberts to sword during his prime days ; yet

reaching out for his father was very bad and was in

fact in poor taste. This is arrogance. Andy Roberts

was no Jeff Thompson or Lillie. He was much less

than the two. Zaheer had survived and played both of

them with ease. Frequent subtle innundos to female &

hormones and then sweat was again unlike of an educated

person like you. Although Wasiq would apply his

scientific logic to my comment and tear it apart.

I do understand that during prime youth, pituitary

glands hyper-function sometimes, yet true people

know how to normalize the fucntion without hinting it.

Then description of babaji and her daughter was again

done with arrogance. I know that people living

in those areas are very innocent people. Consider

a man asking his unmarried daughter with such intimate

questions was perhaps for him to bear with.

Well we all know that you used to drive to AKUH during

your studies; why mention it? There are many students

who own Mercedez Benz and drive it; yet when they come

to DMC or SMC they prefer points or public buses. There

is a charm of travelling in such transport. It makes

a person thankful to Allah for bestowing one with such

endowments.

I hpoe that you will take my comments in good spirit

and would not instigate another petty war.

Owais

S_Owais:

I have been trying to send you email at s_owais@ppl.com.pk but it keeps bouncing back. Can you please send me mail at saad@chowk.com ? Thanks.

Saad

Pat Shah:

You write, ``You think you know who I am from a few posts here?``

I could be asking you the same question :). Take it easy.

Saad

Re: Shafqat

``I had thought that the article would indeed be irksome to a certain kind of person, so in a sense your whole reaction has been rather reassuring``

I wonder what kind of person you think I am Dr. Shafqat? You think you know who I am from a few posts here? The fact that you THINK you know only confirms your level of arrogance.

I think our future exchanges should best be done via email since I think my own replies are defying the irritating ``Guidelines`` set forth here. (pat_shah@hotmail.com) Your replies are making me respond to your electronic personality and not the article itself anymore.

Yes: your article has entertained and sustained prolonged discussion off the front page. Clearly, people enjoyed it and didn`t like it. I still don`t have to like that it was published there though.

Nouman:

Thank you for the appreciation.

I really enjoyed your fiesty comments. At the expense of sounding a little contentious, though, I will take the liberty of differing with you regarding your overall impressions.

Firstly, everyone desires all the umreeka-related affluence that you mention, and who are we to begrudge them something that can legally make them happy ? If one resents being considered a `J-1`, my suggestion is to acquire a little more self-esteem.

On the question of what was cool and uncool at AKU, this is universal and we have no control over it. AKU has nothing to do with. In general in all human societies affluence is cool and lack of affluence is uncool. The coolness of the Cliffence phone nos. pales in front of the prestige associated with the Manhattan area code 212. Same goes for fashion and style. Money has always cut it. Point is, who are we trying to kid and why blame AKU for falling prey to the social stratification that has been and will forever be the lot of all humanity ?

Now about the question of AKU preparing us to be Americans-in-waiting. I think this is a complex issue. Our teachers insisted that we stay locally for graduate training but we came overseas in the hopes of greater benefit. The majority have and will continue to succumb to the matreial comforts of Umreeka and play out the fate so well captured in your last paragraph. But a good number have gone back despite the opportunity to stay abroad, and more will continue to do so. For those who can manage to shield their idealism from the consumer economy in Umreeka - and there are many like that - clearly the AKU idea has been worth it.

Saad

OUCH!!! Thanks for bringing up the other side of the coin.
Aliya.

P.S: What year?

re:nouman ... the last line said it all ... resonated ... dL

Re: Saad Shafqat

Thanks for the clarification ;) Anyway I

wonder if counseling had been done prior to

the interview, would it have helped?

Come on Mr. Shafqat; Ms Welch was not the

only one that would have resulted in hyper

functioning of pituitary glands. Why single

out her only ;)?

I am glad that you mentioned your father.

He not only cared about you, he cared about

all his patients.

Thanks Saad,once again a lovely article dripping with nostalgia .What can one say except ``yad-e-maazi azzab hai ya rab``.

I have still to reach a conclusive decision as to what is it really that we gained and lost in those swiss designed classrooms and lush green scenic lake drive.

What is really worth to have those 4 hour trips to hell labelled as field trips.I can understand that coming from other side of the kala pul it may have been a life time opportunity for you.However being a pukka nazimabadi(even though I too succumbed to the pressure and ended up becoming a much despised defensia )those trips left me only with one expression ``so what?``

But certainly something which I blame that pink fort for is for...incultating in me a sense of utter contempt and despondency in making yourself confined to our country.I never thought of myself as a complete social misfit a genius being wasted ...before entering that pink fort.

Don`t you think that as soon as people get admitted in our school they start considering themselves as ``Americans in waiting``.The whole place has turned into a freakin glorified Kaplan institute preparing doctors for umreeca.

It was not before those five years that I realized that a pair of nikes was far soul enriching than service chettah.A dockers does not stand a chance to best tailored trouser and how uncool it it was to have a phone number starting with 663 or 661.

But now what ....after proving myself a man just like all of my precedessors I too have ended up becoming an internist/primary care provider ....a euphimism for local G.P....but now what.After achieving whatever there was to achieve ...I feel we have been robbed.I went to one of my friends and he has a a year old son.Well the biggest thing on the proud dad`s mind was that the son has learnt to dance on music courtesy of teachers at the day center.I can really extrapolate his behavior in years to come.

But we all wanted it this way ...so why feel bad about it...why feel bad when next time you observe a nurse having a different contemptous tone to you when she calls you on phone.This is the moment we had lived for.And the next time you meet a proud intern from our alma mata proudly displaying his car ,think about it,this being the single most important reward of his life.Little do these poor souls realize that they will be sucked dry for the rest of the residency pay checks.

I wonder while the university did prepare us to feel unattached to our land it did not prepared us not to feel insulted on being referred to as J1.

So next time when you see an add saying ``J1 need not apply``, do not take that statement akin to ``dogs, blacks and irish need not apply``......instead feel privileged in the cosolling fact that ``umreeca ki kia baat hai ji...yahan to har kaam phone par ho jata hai``...for this reason alone was greater than the sense of attachment we ever had for kala pul or golimar ka pul .

``Dhobbhi ka kutta ghar ka nar ghat ka`` ...so friends enjoy your stay in heaven .Keep on driving your toyota camry and honda accord,stick to 12000 worth of stocks ,stay happy with the fact that your son is a born citizen and has the natural accent.......and keep on dreaming ``jab karachi kay haalat sahaee ho jaiain gain to hum wapus chalay jaingay``

Futema:

You`re on! Look forward to it very much.

Wasiq:

Excellent suggestion. I share your concern regarding the replies. Perhaps you could take an active moderating role in the debate that is sure to follow.

Saad

Re: Futema (39)

I am sorry for responding to this message, intended for Saad:

It will be good to write an article in response, but please make it more original and sound than the replies to ``Evolution 101``.

As they say, ``Hum jantay hain woh kiya likhain gay jawab mein!`` ...

cheers

Pat Shah (reply 35):

I had thought that the article would indeed be irksome to a certain kind of person, so in a sense your whole reaction has been rather reassuring. I was a bit dismayed, however, to see you take issue with the article coming on the Chowk front page. Several people appear to have enjoyed the piece. You wouldn`t want to deny them harmless entertainment, would you ? :)

smalik:

Indeed, the best pangas are public pangas. The Chowk chief editor has actually suggested we pursue this in Chowk Forum. I will get in touch with Futema.

S_Owais:

I will email you again. To answer your question, I thought babaji took exception to the fact that I would dare to ask an unmarried girl from his household about her reproductive plans. The setting was quite conservative otherwise. I was accompanied by a female colleague. We were both wearing white lab coats and carried official-looking clipboards. We were a respectful distance from the respondent who, in any case, was no Racquel Welch. If there were any sexual hormones flowing, they were not coming from me.

Saad

Wasiq,

I shall try my best in terms of originality. But you realize that I can only base my arguments from an Islamic standpoint on Qur`an and Hadith.

However, we aim to please. Please do read it once it`s published.

Good use of Ghalib`s misra :-)

Futema

Saad,

How about if I write an article in response to ``Evolution 101``? That should appease all the curious minds as to what our exchange will be.

Agreed?

Futema