The Corrupted Daughter

#14 urstruly

O yes, I agree with the dichotomy and duality part. Let`s look at history. The concept of `emancipation of women` arose from the West. In the early days, women hardly had any rights. The industrial revolution was an answer to the silent prayers of these women. The industry needed cheap labor and men were expensive, so women finally earned the attention they needed so badly. The turbulence in the transition from a repressed woman to a liberated one speaks volumes of this fact.

But one cannot erase the old scars of history. Today, it is evident in the over-exploitation of the woman (by the women themselves) in media and society. Despite the competence she has attained, deep within she remains a home-bound modest female and trying very hard to fight both ideas. The idea of emancipation seeped through the East making our women believe that we are not free either and hence began the crisis of identity. Yes, conditions were bad for our women too but certainly not as bad as the West`s.

Emancipation is good but too much of it is harmful for both men and women. Modesty is good too but again, too much can be contagious. We need to know `where` these ideas are coming from so that we know what we are getting ourselves into before taking the plunge.

If a woman feels really free, she wouldn`t hate the mullah. Why hate someone when you didn`t like him/her anyway? So, yes, we do suffer from a contradiction.

But it is never human not to be hypocritical no matter how much you want to avoid it. The power of indoctrination is hard to overcome.


#13 garam_chai (love tea!)

Thanks for the light analysis.

#12 malyck

Ah, good analysis of creativity. Yes, intuition plays a powerful role here. Let me re-phrase my previous statement, `creativity to me is an uninvited yet welcome guest`.

#11 humairshah

How about a little leap of faith my friend? If you want to know the logic behind the creation of man, first learn how a `man` works. The answers will eventually `lead` you to logic. This question can only be answered by a person`s own experience. Try it.

HisExcellency, garam_chai, temporal

It is truly amazing to see different perceptions of my story. Words have such power over human imagination!

neo

So globalization is making our women sad and confused - I thought so too. But lately I have been thinking that it is actually dualty and dichotomy in the character of our womenfolk, that has been embeded and dormant in us/them for the past two hundered years, which is making them sad and confused. Think about our grandmothers and our great grandmothers, during the two great wars in the last century. These women whose husbands, sons, brothers, and lovers were fighting for their masters whom they despised from the bottom of their hearts. On one hand they wanted their masters defeated, humiliated, and gone and on the other hand they wanted their loved ones to be safe and wanted them to return home. Two wishes that were anthema to each other.

And now when they see how imperialism forces this dichotomy and dualty in weak and helpless - by putting sacks on their heads, by dragging them with a dog`s leash in their necks, by urinating in their faces, by stripping their dignity, and by piling up human dignity of wrethched and helpless in pyramids, this dormant dualty does not stay dormant no more.

I used to wonder why these women with pale skins who drink coffee for lunch and discuss anything from urban decay in US cities to the glamour of dancers in heera mundi hated Mullah so much. I knew it was the `in` thing then, but there got to be reason more than that. Now it turns out that it was Mullah who kept them reminding about their dormant dualty. As it turns out it is none but Mullah who is the knight in shining armour - our savior when time of test and tribulation is upon us. Why wouldn`t we be so confused; who would have thought that Mullah would be that sexy.

noetherf (Fakhra)
I read the story in lighter sense, and enjoyed it. Mom gets hurt because she thinks that her daughter will have harder times in society because of her views. Also, she is worried that her daughter is loosing the faith. Daughter is feeling guilt that her views have hurt her mom.
This is a difference of perception among two loving souls, and how does it affect their relation? The beauty of the storey is that how much both care about each other. I felt that love of mother was taking over her inquisitive observations. This is simply one observation.
That is the beauty of art that each time you look at it, it look different.

#11 humairshah
No one knows, and dont worry about it. One might give you the logic behind your creation, but i wonder if we have a tool to validate it. How will it affect your life even you know the answer.
Breathe fresh air, eat good dessie food, play cricket, and thanks God for good health and the moment in your hand.

#12 malyck
Thanks for commenting about the creativity-pain relationship. Somehow, many of writers/ thinkers were very depressed people. That does not establish that creativity alone brings pain. But it does play some role. It perhaps is mysery of human conditions that bring pain to a writer or to anyone who see it.

Regards and take care.

Neither does creativity give rise to pain nor pain brings creativity.

Creativity to pain relationship starts when the creative person goes on Socratic way i.e., Gnothi Seauton. As soon as the creative person get in acquintance with the real aspects of life and trys to see them in the actual manner and not the way they look, than he gets to know the real meaning of things happening around him. So its not creativity that brings pain. Its the creativity that help him explore the pain side of the universe and which is actually the real side. Pain is already there ... creativity just gives him lamp to shed light on it and see it. Some non-creative people can experience the painfully unpainfully life.

Pain to creativity relationship is similarly seen by me. The creativity is sometimes there and pain brings it out. Sometimes even happiness brings it out. Sometimes the intution brings it out. So creativity is not function of one particular thing. Creativity can be achieved by any manner by just going above one`sself. It may be any feeling or trance but it should be above him.

None of them brings out none of them but they surely supplement each other either way they are explored.

PS The word creativity is used not the dictionary sense but in explanatory sense.

I agree with you malyck.
Mother does not Isalm, and girl is not good with science...
yes it is right that Wind blows bythe order of Allah, but Allah has made process of everything, for human to understand, Allah can always change,
Allah has define path for moon and sun, they follow what they have been ordered to do... they dont need to be ordered to rise everyday, but He can change it...
Islam is all logic.. or i would say It teaches u logic....
OR we might dont even know what is logic....
but there are something we believe in because we have been told by Allah that way...
we have believe them without logical reasoning but we know nothing...

can any one of u logical people answer me that whats the logic behind creating human.

#6 by malyck

But you have to think of social conventions, worldly gains in a broader perspective. Rituals are necessary for a religion to survive. True. But how one performs these rituals becomes a matter of personal conviction. In the end, it comes down to intentions. The goodness and badness of deeds/rituals depend on the personal conviction.

I am not saying you are wrong but I am not wrong either!

Fakhra:

(noetherf is harder)...in some way this is continuation of the previous?

...there is lots here...coming of age, identity crisis...both of which are issues we all face at some time...but these are interesting times...for muslims...whether they live in regressive or progressive socities...

...your deftness is visible

lve

t

Urstruly #1

``think somehow men are responsible for this depression in their characters. What do you think? Why can`t you find characters who are passionate about something rather than being melancholic.``

You could be right, you could be wrong. But you are right about the women of today. I see them as active/intelligent voices in peace/feminist movements, in ngos but a closer look gives a feeling of emptiness, loneliness. I think they are suffering from a serious identity crisis. They don`t know who they are anymore and I don`t know who to blame for this. It could be the education, it could be the effects of globalization.

PS: My characters are certainly depressing. I find it challenging to write about the deeper, darker aspects of the human condition. I think I am quoting someone here ;)


garam chai,

That`s a difficult question. I don`t think I can explain the creativity-pain relationship. If one thinks of it in terms of cause and effect, then it becomes a relative thing. Pain can bring out the creativity inside or vice versa. In my case, creativity has always been an uninvited guest :)

Thanks for your comments.

His Excellency,

Great analysis! Thanks.

*** Faith is a matter of personal conviction, and does not depend on worldly motives

Wrong! Faith is totally dependent on wordly motives. Every spirtual action is to be justified by some physical fucntion or action that relates to world ... atleast in your religion...Islam.

Why are five prayers for ... purify human mind & praise God
Why are abutlions necessary ... to purify human thought
Why fasts are required? Why Haj is performed? Does roaming around the brick house in Makkah give God something ? No it wont ... the actions that will influence your thing process will hopefully server the purpose in true sense. Why alms are asked for in Islam? Why symbols are created? Why do rituals are performed? These are all wordly motives and wordly actions that serve the religious purpose. So religion is not totally personal conviction.

***Worship should depend on pure and sincere faith, but often does not: for motives of worldly gains, ancestral custom, social conventions ....

Again wrong ... worship is related to ancestral customs and conventions. If not so than why do Koran is in Arabic. Why it is not in urdu or some other language. The reason was the prevelant custom of language at that particular area. Why Jewish scriptures are in Hebrew? Why Hindu scriptures are in Sansikrat? The religion does take into account the convetions.

If religion not use conventions than why 2 billion muslims open their fasts with dates and salt to keep alive the custom of Muhammed? Why muslims run over Safa and Marwa mountains if the religion is not about conventions and ancestral customs? Why Ab-e-zamzam is considered the purest form of water and so on?

Religion strengthen its basis on its own customs. It removes the bad ones (according to Islam) from the society like Islam did. Islam abolished drinking, fornication and girl murdering customs and replaced it with its own customs to keep its spirit alive. Religion is nothing without customs and conventions. One cant break away with them.

*** Religion is creation of man. So the creation is bound to be human like and every element of human nature will dipict in it. No religion is perfect for this reason. This is just a concept to adher to and pass lives. It saves men from frustration and depressions. MAN MAKE RELIGION ... RELIGION DOESNT MAKE MAN.

The cognitive process among women is more complicated than men. Although it seems that the mother and daughter are arguing over the Koranic verses and faith, in my opinion... they are actually arguing about something else. The Koran and faith are just metaphors for some other unresolved conflicts between them.

This could have been something that happened in the past. Why did the mother say: “No, I fear people will take advantage of you. You are so naïve.”

But as we know, the daughter is not naive. She is inquisitive, but not naive. She is aware of the concepts of free will and rationalism. It seems that the mother had some bitter experiences in her life, because of her inquisitiveness. She is now projecting her own experiences and (wrong) lessons derived from those experiences... upon the girl`s life.

Most probably, the mother has a repressed personality and she is not prepared to accept the winds of change sweeping across Pakistan (I assume these characters are Pakistani and live in an urban area, since they just came from a park).

My prediction: the mother will try her best to marry off her daughter before the daughter goes to college or university, and gets more independent/educated. The daughter will defy her mother`s agenda. She will ace her SATs, get into LUMS or a nice US/UK university, write a couple of books, marry in her 30s, and then get a tenure at some prestigious university.

#2 by malyck on May 7, 2004 12:50pm PT

``The lack of knowledge about that particular religion gives them some stupid questions which most of people cant answer. So they think about themselves as some disciples of Kant, Marx, Russel et al. But why am I tellign this to you .... ???``

This story is about a girl who wants to break free from `traditional` thinking ways. And yes, she uses religion as an excuse to begin her objections. She tries this `idea of wind` with her mother and malyck gee, let me assure you, the girl is expressing her fascination with creative imagination along with her naive objection on tradition. She is a character which is swinging between two extremes. Try to understand that.

``In this story mom is traditional religious fanatic who gives fatwas every second``

Hmm, `fatwas every second?`. Not so implied in the passage. Certainly not accurate. The mother in the story is yes obsessed with religion but she is definitely not a fanatic. She is just being a mother ;) Try to understand that.

``The girl quotes the wrong verses of Koran.`` Malyck gee, she was never quoting verses of the Quran, only `interpretations`. It seems you are well aware of logic, there is a big difference between `verse` and `tafseer`. Wouldn`t you agree?

Will keep your suggestion in mind malyck gee. Thank you very much.

Fakhra
Sweet surrender was my favorite song for some time. But i never pay attention to its meaning deeply. After reading your article, it brings totally different mood inside me.
Do you think that creativity brings a pain inside a writer or the vice versa?

Regards.

There is a general feeling among so called atheists and agnostics that religions and logic dont go together. People take one verse of the holy scripture and try to question & test it without taking in account the whole philosophy of religion. The lack of knowledge about that particular religion gives them some stupid questions which most of people cant answer. So they think about themselves as some disciples of Kant, Marx, Russel et al. But why am I tellign this to you .... ??? You people need to know things the traditional CHOWK style....

In this story mom is traditional religious fanatic who gives fatwas every second. She should join al-qaeda and do some work there with OBL. The girl is quite stupid with lack of basic physics knowledge about the way wind works. The girl quotes the wrong verses of Koran. She is little hyperactive who cries after moon cycle due to her personal problems and blame it to mom. So here are main points ...

* Mom lacks knowledge about science cuz God doesnt blow wind.
* Mom also lacks knowledge about Islam cuz none has authroity to declare someone Kafir.
* Girl lacks sever knowledge about basic science cuz wind is function of temperature not trees.
* Girl also lacks knowledge about Islam cuz Islam doesnt stop u from question and reasoning. I think after Buddhism its the most rational religion I ever read about.

CONCLUSION
So both of them first need to attend Grade 5 geography and physics lectures again. Later they can take free tutions of theology and logic from me.

Now I am thoroughly convinced that our lady writers are acutely depressed for some reason. I know it is an `in` thing nowadays but as I was arguing with another lady writer (below in steel gates) I think somehow men are responsible for this depression in their characters. What do you think? Why can`t you find characters who are passionate about something rather than being melancholic.