On Countries of Dwelling

Dear Aisha,

I join the chorus of compliments for you. Your
articles have lost the
blinding flash it used to be, and IMHO, this
possibly is the begining of
a career in writing that will emit more of a
sustained glow, which lasts
longers, outlives you, and tend to influence those
who have similarly
crossed triumphantly beyond catfights and
arguements which only need be
won. It is one anxiety, the need to win today,
which must have had Shaw
saying that very perceptive thing: ``Youth is such a
wonderful thing. What
a crime to waste it on children.``

You have written a very heartfelt piece. I felt you
were coming to terms
with your vulnerability, and taking stock of years
spend overcoming,
blunting, or jettisioning them. Your professors,
your experiences, and
the way your own emotional moorings to certain
values you cherished have
all chipped away at your ability to perceive
things...and what America
has taught you perhaps...should be that...there are
only ways of
perception...there is absolutely no single right
perspective. And,
whenever you do feel threatened by ``one right
perspective``...remember
Ibsen ``The majority is always wrong.``

I felt you might want to read a bit on Martin
Buber...he is a jewish
man...and i do not mean to pkoe you...:)...his
theory of I-Thou...and I-
It...and how it explains why some
communications...interpersonal and
Inter-people... tend to be more rewarding might
actually interest you.

The challenging, bludgeoniing tone in writing...is
like a skill...like
typing...and usually most people can throw
challenges in writing...but
the communicating...``the reaching out to the
other...again a buber
term...is more challenging for the writer. And, I
do believe, a lot of
your earlier writing tended towards passionate
pamphleteering. This, on
the other hand, yoked your real voice.

I know you`ll notice I am Indian...but would rather
you not.

All the best

Zahraj #42

Theek hai, I will assume the most un-charitable position and still be happy with it :)
After all, being compared to a Hall of Famer doesn`t happen too often.

About the attire related question, I was just pointing out something I had noticed
here on chowk. Now, I assure you that us docile Indians bad-mouth and stereotype Pakistanis in every which way possible, but I haven`t heard any comments regarding
their outer-wear.

Inner-wear on the other hand is a different proposition altogether :)

Plats8 40:

Ghalti Bhee Ho Saktee Hae :) But since it was not a ghaltee, I suggest you go with your gut feeling.

Plats8 41:
I did not misunderstand your post, it`s just that I found the question very amusing but to the point.

Regards.

ZahraJ #39,

Terribly sorry. I did not imply that you were judging people by their attire. That was
not directed to you at all.

It was a serious question though, and I wanted to get a Pakistani response to it.
I wouldn`t really call these comments condescending - in fact I am not really sure
how to classify them. I had heard them often enough on chowk, and was just
wondering aloud.

ZahraJ #39,

You called me Plato - not sure whether I should feel amused/honored/condescended.
Please advise....

Dear Plats8: Are you really serious ? I mean is your question a real question? With due respect, I have much better things to do in my life than to concentrate on any Indian`s or for that matter any Pakistani`s attire, in general. (~?~)

Between you and me: Nice and sweet people stand out in any garb or color. If they are well dressed and well groomed - excellento! On the flip side, munhoos people cannot hide behind any pashmina shawl or dress suit - great!

Hopefully, I was helpful, Plato.

sigalph,

Atleast Jinnah is alive and well in Dhaka :)

-YLH

re Manto 30

Good one. You`re right, as they say, `A rose by any other name...`` Now, if you as Premier decided to discriminate against the mullahs for keeping unweildy beards, you won`t hear me complain...at least for a few decades.

On an aside, this just in: One of the odd dozen Jamaat members in the Bangladesh parliament has been disqualified by the High Court on grounds of ``corruption, bribery, and excessive expenditure violative of the People`s Representation Order``. Here`s one to the judiciary! That the guy, Maulana Sayidee, is an unabashed woman-hater and Hindu-baiter makes his disqualification all the more sweet. And, to top it off, the petitioner who moved the court is a veteran Hindu lawyer.

Ditto!! on post at #18 by yantric on September 12, 2003 12:57pm PT
``If the hate machinery that allude to existed why the hell would we(Indians!!) be welcoming sick Pakis kids and healing them.``

The response in India media was very pleasant and encouraging. So were the people associated with these sick kids. The Indian media and the medical fraternity did not view this with binkered eyes.
I again refer to my post at #6

Chowk-staff, By publishing such tirades, you deprecate i-logs.

ZahraJ #28,

I tend to agree with you that Fuzair has been a little too harsh on this piece.
We all have our learning curves, and this was supposed to track Aisha`s
personal evolution anyway. Autobiographies often have an element of self-
indulgence in them.

I have a somewhat unrelated question. I have often seen a small subset of
Pakistanis on chowk making disparaging remarks about the fashion sense
of Indians, or rather the lack of it. Aisha`s depiction of a typical Indian man
and woman in San Jose confirms this. Is this the dominant way that Indians
are depicted and calibrated ? Just curious to hear the Pakistani response. The
Indian response to this will be one of self-righteousness, mostly.

Dear Aisha,
What a wonderfully mature (in the best sense) reflection of your inner experiences! I could have written this piece, but not this eloquently, and with not this warmth.
Yes, life, if it is to be truly lived, ``doesn’t let us be in an extreme or at a static point on the spectrum of political or other activity.`` And although ``this constant flux in our brains is tiresome``, ``surrendering to the dynamic balance leaves us better off.`` Well said!!
There was testimony to your discovery of this truth (in your own life) well before you wrote this article.
I may not share with you a past of always favouring the underdog. Indeed, I was often among those by whom ``it was hated``. Well, sometimes. Most times it was tolerated.
Your thoughts on the American experience mirror my own, minus the college scene. This passage is brilliant I think, even though it`s terribly subjective: `` You can be a cog in the machine, be it a productive one, a comma in a legal brief, a brick on the side of a road that will not be reconstructed for a long time. A bureaucracy of a “social construct of reality” that you’ve had no input in.``
hmmm.. Chomsky there? Incidentally, do you ascribe non-input just to us (foreigners) or equally to everyone living in the Land of the Free? Academic, but I`d like to her your views all the same.
Well... I guess all that`s left to say is ``welcome back``. But I`ll wait to say that in person. :)
rgds,
PM

Missed a thought. When I wrote ``I may not share with you a past of always favouring the underdog. Indeed, I was often among those by whom ``it was hated``.`` I meant to follow with: The irony is that going away from it, calling somewhere else home (or trying to anyway) is what made me more, well, more sympathetic with the underdog. But it`s more than that.. it`s deeper understanding, not just chartiable sympathy. And that is more durable than sympathy.

re. echoboom, who quoted:
``Hence Jinnah`s pluralist doctrine for Pakistan is, by no means, in conflict with his declaration of Pakistan being an ``Islamic democracy``. And his pluralist doctrine continues to be extremely relevant in the context of the divisive forces and voices that have for long plagued Pakistan``
This is welcome news to someone who sees the impracticability of Western-style secularism in a society with such strong and deep religious underpinnings.
However, given the ground realities, i suspect it would be the folks on the right, not the left, that would have more problems with the practical application of this principle/vision. What say ye?

sigalph

lol :)

Waisay I am ready to run with the idea ... cuz echo writes: ``Any system which has any good aspects to it has to be the Islamic one``

So I suppose Secular Democracy is the most Islamic system in the world. Problem solved... what say you Echo?

-YLH

re echoboom to manto

``Calm down. An Islamic system is the best system in the world-- or as a corrollary(sp?) Any system which has any good aspects to it has to be the Islamic one.``

Wonder who has the blinkers.