The Village of Kheruddin

the story is ok...no matter how well written....ambiguity always stinks!

Nice piece.Though i had to read it twice to understand it.

I agree with you.

Syed Ali:

[Sometimes we learn more and sometimes we end up preaching. Yes our Outlook differs but thats important, extremely important and infact one of the most important experiances of our lives.]

True. And, that`s why the last remark in my post # 23 was geared towards your article. You have really thought through the stuff you were writing. I tried to break a few links but I realized that they were connected to each other in a very strong and intricate bond.

[I found Myself in Kheruddin, You challenged my perception and told me that yes their might be another reality, another end.]

I challenged your perception, but I did not say that you were wrong and I was right or vice versa. My apologies, if I came across preaching that mantra. Being in management consulting, I cannot lean towards the right and wrong themes. Over the course of my career in different industries & mindsets & geographical locations, a lot of my insights are the results of my own values, surroundings, approach, what worked well and what did not. I have never moved ahead without ``lessons learned. `` I repeatedly questioned you on the analogy and when I did not find an appealing link that`s when it struck me that it`s a different approach. I do not have to be convinced, but I needed to question to find out more.

[I hope with all the hope in my heart and looking at the world today, that you are right and I am wrong. ]

I do not believe in changing anyone`s outlook, but I do believe in influencing and being influenced (for the better)!

:)

Ijaz:
[It`s a differnt ball game to view things philosophically. My views do not come out of a background in philosophy or experiences in sociology. ]

I think the way we see the world has a lot to do with who we are, how and where we derive our bread and butter from, what are the influencing factors in our life, what are our basic core values, what mindset did we grow up in, and where do we want to land.

To give an example, some people just work for the satisfaction of work. Some work to get a regular pay check. Some work to support their family. Some work to do something vs. sitting at home. Some work to be in an industry of their choice, learn from the best of breed, contribute to an environment that values them, be rewarded monetarily, and last but not least have the fulfillment in what they do. Each person has a philosophy whether they know that or not is another thing. The moment you realize your philosophy, you have the power to drive your life as you wish to!

#23 Zahra

Have no particular idea why ended up with so many, But i assure its not a matter to ponder about.:) Aparts from that, I think its important that we do not see eye to eye, as it makes us grow as human beings whilst we learn how to become more humane from each other. Sometimes we learn more and sometimes we end up preaching. Yes our Outlook differs but thats important, extremely important and infact one of the most important experiances of our lives. I found Myself in Kheruddin, You challenged my perception and told me that yes their might be another reality, another end. I hope with all the hope in my heart and looking at the world today, that you are right and I am wrong.

#25

Ijaz, your point about Isloo is right however. One question I have for you is that Cities are constited by its people. Its ignorance, It violence, the life that streams through and the energy it has are all the result of its people. Every City reflects the people and nothing more. What would be your viewpoint?

Its a differnt ball game to view things philosophically. My views do not come out of a background in philosophy or experiences in sociology. These are what i have seen felt and experienced. Some of the worst at close quarter.
To be apt, Islamabad is a cursed city. It best depicts the villahe that Wajahat tried to describe.
I request you also read my post at
http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00002663&channel=civic%20center

Its a differnt ball game to view things philosophically. My views do not come out of a background in philosophy or experiences in sociology. These are what i have seen felt and experienced. Some of the worst at close quarter.
To be apt, Islamabad is a cursed city. It best depicts the villahe that Wajahat tried to describe.
I request you also read my post at
http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00002663&channel=civic%20center

Ijaz: Numbness can also be perceived as ``insensitivity`` or ``I care less`` or ``ignorance`` or ``dumbness.`` I read numbness = insensitivity vs. everything is hunky-dory as you suggested.

It`s quite demanding but educational to delve into the nth layer and come back up with more to think about; and finally come to a point of acknowledgement on both your awareness and ignorance. To a certain extent, getting a validation on the former massages one`s ego, whereas paying attention to the latter can be difficult. Any journey of exploration requires alert and enthusiastic learners. It`s quite fun actually. At each phase, there is a strange sense of relief. And, it`s not about winning or losing. It`s about the cognizance.

This is indeed a very insightful and tightly wrapped effort.

zahraJ and syed Ali
numbness in my view relates to the ``Sab Acha Syndrome``. It means inertia.

zahraJ and syed Ali
numbness in my view relates to the ``Sab Acha Syndrome``. It means inertia.

Syed Ali:

Why do you have so many names/aliases? That`s a point to ponder :)

Secondly, your analogy may have certain context in your mind based on your outlook towards life and that`s certainly fine. Somehow, I could not relate to it. Your follow-up argument on numbness leads me to believe that you wanted this village to reflect some kind of ghostly and hypnotized picture of life. I came in humming an old time favorite, ``Life is life by Opus(I guess)....So, obviously we do not see each other eye to eye in this case. I think that`s fine as well. Isn`t it ?

Note: In my previous post, I meant discomfort vs dislike. It`s not my dislike that I was keen on making a fuss about. It was the sequence of events that caused discomfort and disconnect in my mind.

Thank you for your time and effort to dig a little deeper for me. Probably, you can eliminate the last part of your footnote :)

Zahra

Thank your for your comments, You provide the answer in your post ``First of all, sarcasm, satire, humor and wit are relative terms depending on who, how, when `` I couldnt agree more with you on that. As far as the dislike for the ending analogy is concerned, It is to be disliked. But in this dislike is hidden the meaning of our collective ignorance and numbness towards issues that we can strive to change. The dislike you mention is the key. Thank you for probing it so deeply.


#17

Ijaz

Isnt it amazing how many of those teachers who were institutions who taught us in the days of yore are vanishing, they challenged us to view the world, out of the box, to defy the norm. We owe more to them for who we are then anyone else.

Warmest Regards

Syed

Syed Ali: Thank you for spelling out a few things. First of all, sarcasm, satire, humor and wit are relative terms depending on who, how, when and where they are exchanged. For me, there is no sarcasm in this piece. Satire, yes; but no sarcasm!

I am 95% with you on your drift; still, I disagree with your analogy on the last day of the last week of the last month of a given year. I sense some melodrama there. On the surface it`s fine, but when I go deeper, it does not do anything for me. Somehow, the more I think about the analogy, the more I dislike it. This is regardless of how I read it, literally or figuratively.

Regards,
Zahra

Syed Ali’s appreciation reminds me of my English Literature teacher in St Anthony`s High School. His name was Mr. Evans (May his Soul Rest in Peace). We called him Yahoo. I wonder if I would ever come across an individual so gifted as him. He was an institution and a Keruddin in himself. Those who knew him will not disagree. He taught Tariq Ali the non conformist. He also taught Nawaz Sharif and Ishaq Dar. Being concrete men, they had a Kheruddin of their own.

If ever, there was an inquest in us, the seed of Yahoo would be there. He instilled in us the logic of reason and empiricism. It was the Animal Farm and Macbeth that he enjoyed teaching most. If it was not for him, I would never have bothered to read the article by Syed.

Alas! Evans` throat was slit open by the land mafia of Lahore Cantt.

I was into boxing in my youth days and used to run at dawn along the Sarfraz Rafique Road in Lahore Cantt. Invariably I used to see Yahoo, over sixty years in age wearing khaki shorts taking his two mile run a day.

For a long time, we Pakistanis are in a limbo. Imagine a country that is shoring FOREX, shows more growth, but yet its poverty widens. We are living on artificial indicators, and that’s where everything is upside down. We are in the world’s best and the worst.

ZahraJ

Thank you for your views, and you will have to read two posts in regards to the answer you are looking for #12 and #10. From my perspective I cannot postulate, which kheruddin you discover, when you find yourself there. Your absolution of the story is correct, yet the kheruddin you might have found could be starkly different to the one that enveloped me. The point that we eventually become kheruddin and kheruddin become us. This story Zahra is about the human condition, and the Circle of Life. About the nature of peace and fear, and about man`s containment of his passions. Its also about the drowsy walk to the end and a collective ignorance of any given place, race, city, country or region. The last day signifies the end, and how each of us is a catalyst towards it, I think rozaiba #10 described it articulately , a lop sided manifestation of the world. But it is our world, it is kheruddin all around us, and we are so badly entwined with it. This story covers a lot of different things that might be wrong with us, or atleast percieved wrong by the author, and sarcasm is used to narrate a place , a utopia with a terrible end. The last day signifies that end. Like Dante`s Inferno

Through me the way into the suffering city,
Through me the way to the eternal pain,
Through me the way that runs among the lost.
Justice urged on my high artificer;
My maker was divine authority,
The highest wisdom, and the primal love.
Before me nothing but eternal things were made,
And I endure eternally.
Abandon every hope, ye who enter

As inferred Kheruddin is an inferno of its own kind. The people resigned to its fate and numbed by the fact of the coming day, and thus the abandonement of hope. Think about our condition Zahra and how everyday multitude of young men and women are abandoning hope for one reason or other. Moving towards kheruddin, resigning their fate to the hands of time. A man who blows himself to death has finally reached the last day of his kheruddin. A person joining in the diatribe of the fundamentalists, Muslim or Christian, joins the eternity of ignorance. Think also how the bourgeosie remain forcingly ignorant about whats happening right in our backyard, and how we stop trying to engage what we ought to engage. In short Kheruddin is place without hope and as Dante says

Abandon every hope, ye who enter.

Reality rather than what we want our world to be.

I hope I havent further complicated things.

Syed Ali

Syed Ali,

This is a neat story with well put together pieces from here and there.
Beautiful imagination! A sweet blend of of idealism with reality!

Somehow, I am not clear on the significance of the last day of the last week of the last month of the year :(

Are you implying that the village and its villagers epitomize peace and harmony all year around, but only on one day they get into the devilish mode and create havoc in the very fabric of peace and harmony ? In a way, are you stating that is how you would like the world to be run ? And are you desiring to know ahead of time what`s coming when ? In other words, having the foresight ????

I may be way off in my understanding of your drift and may not deserve to have this piece dedicated to me, therefore I will request you to please clarify.

Please....