Fathers and Daughters Hey, no that wasn't removed, I didn't add that to this one. Yeah it feels great to see this here. I wanted it as the sequel to "Cry of Karachi," My city has a lot more than its rain, its got the sea :- )

Thanks Chowk, for letting Karachi roll on the waves.

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The Only Good Muslim is the Anti-Muslim Politiks is not my favourite genre, Junaid, but I like how Chowk articles sometimes convince me to look at its relevancy.
Tradition -- and what should be the 'liberal' or 'moderate' respect we can afford to it? Popularity stunts like this one, can leave a distaste, much like excess of support can. Indifference is maintained as the 'cool' way to be, and as yet, our writers are not convinced of having any authentic background, of which we can feel a sense of strength by.

The "Modern Age" of the decent Pakistani writer, seems to be the theme of nausea, political indifference, alienation.

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The Health and Medicinal Benefits of We still believe in politikal parties? Anyway, I liked this piece, better than the last one. The "nausea" is a suitable theme, but I wish we'd talk more on how the alternative exists. More like, something that answers what the 'other way of living' is.

But you convince me about the relevancy of Talk-Shows. lol

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Boot Point Party chief Altaf Hussain and
the MQM Rabita Committee cancelled Liaquat's membership after accusing him of "spreading religious hatred through his TV shows" and going against party policies.

MQM, mqm...where have I heard that name before, weren't these the terrorists, killers, maniacs and s**of****** that ruined my city, not too long ago?
I hate them. Religious Fanaticism, what is that anyway...poof the magic dragon, write on some other topic now. We're bored.

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Don\'t Shoot the Messenger "So, having peacefully lodged our well justified protests, and while debates about sovereignty, ground realities, the rules of engagement or lack thereof are in the capable hands and mouths of those who really excel at them i.e. analysts, politicians, academics, army officers and my mother,"
--Lol

I like what you say about, "Lets calm people down first, and stop attracting negative attention" -- perhaps show that there are other areas at which we excel? ; ) bravo.

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The Cry of Karachi 14 - Quin -- maybe because the discussion here is different from the one that you are referring to. Its difficult to maintain 'company' when you are dealing with mere words in an online spectrum [which, by the way, adds to the reason why i like it]
Eklavkya and I seem to agree that going on and on about "God exists and please convert" is a futile and un-interesting way to lead one's life. --After we have gotten rid of that, it seems there are 'other' things one may do with one's life -- that is, write poetry, travel, read up on philosophy, Science, actually you 'get' a life, to do very many things with it.
And what we had established between ourselves, was that there were separations.

----
Poetry, like any other discipline, requires destruction of anything that falls short of a scientific cohesion that is maintained within it.
Its a fight against corruption. [like in any other area of life]



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The Cry of Karachi -- and you have made a distinction that is clarifying some pretty knotted concepts...the clearer it gets...the better.


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The Cry of Karachi No of course it does not 'offend' me Eklavya -- I am a student of philosophy for years now, we just argue and learn how to argue relevantly. Is God there? Whats all the fuss about -- these are questions you confront, and you can't come to a philosophy discussion with fixed beliefs. As they say, "if you fix it, you destroy it."

Growing up in Pakistan, for many of us, not just me, is where the 'hatred' begins towards religious dogma, and believe me, its taken me a few years to get rid of all that, and start to look at things the way I want to see them This is the freedom I wish to be enabled ..you can't tell children (or anyone else for that matter): "THIS IS RIGHT" and shove it down their system, they will reject it, or they will become tamed idiots.

Where is THE SPIRIT, is what I want to know. I met a 'famous musician' last I was in Karachi, and was surprised to hear of his fears on the topic of woman and purdah -- the gentleman could not grasp the idea of 'but isn't that the good woman?"

The Spirit, matters to me Eklavya, and in social, societal and religious settings, it is all but slowly dying out.

As far as "sufis" are concerned, there is no 'generalization' anywhere -- I can take it work by work. I can approach it one piece at a time. What one writer has written in say, "Conference of the Birds" is not everyone's heritage, who happens to say the word 'Sufi.' It is more yours, actually, if you read it the way you read things!

I attended a New Atheists' seminar in Toronto, [and there is much, much I like about Atheists] -- but only when it is equated in a literary way, here's the catch. I praised their work, but I asked them one question as well:
"So what will happen to language, once it is stripped bare of all these 'religious' words, which poets use to their own purposes"
[If language, in ten years, stops using many words, they will become archaic]

But I think something is going to have to suffer drastically, for SPACE to be created for NEW WORDS.

As Khayyam says:
"Were we to change this sorry scheme of things entire,
would we not shatter it to bits, and remold it nearer to heart's desire"

Again, Eklavya, great ideas on poetry. You restore 'sense' and that is quite a work.

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The Cry of Karachi Eklavya, in the time when the common assumption is that poets are not real thinkers, as you say:
"
And of couse, based on nice "poetry" that everyone should "feel" rather thank think about." on the God Delusion post,
Its a difficult battle, from all sorts of angles. Precisely because too many people are using words and labelling themselves 'poets' and getting appreciated as such as well.

The mind reaches strange blocks, when this is the one thing that happens to matter to you, in that very acute clinical and painful way.

About religion, you do have a distanced approach, and with such a mind, one may begin a decent conversation. Affected either way, doesn't leave much room for discussion or analysis.

I'd like to bring to your attention a play by Peter Shaffer:
"Equus" -- and by it explain to you some of my areas of interest in this rather huge episode of man's existence on earth. -- Precisely this:

Psychology and its inter-play with human freedom: doesn't the mind begin to suffer in any kind of entrapment, be it social, religious, or anti-religious?


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The Cry of Karachi Yes Quin, and also 'one less psychiatrist' -- its alarming to me that the 'psyche of Karachiites' in any field whatsoever, can be navigated whilst divorced from the crime and incidents that have shaped and changed allour lives.
The "public" and the "private" don't take too long to start mapping each other out.

Why I say this here? Well, Art offers many therapeutic alternatives, which Pakistani Psychiatrists need to confront and make use of. "Music Therapy" is a Grad. level course at the University of Michigan.

I,myself, have worked *through poetry* (Yes!) to relieve ailments of society, and not just has it worked, it has also made me realize that the *de-mystification" of Science and its 'hard facts' as far as this particular field of medicine is concerned, is as required in our society, as the *de-mystification of religion.

The "psyche" of Karachi has suffered.

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The Cry of Karachi Eklavya, many things can become a 'fashion' as you know, I write (in isolation) so that I may retain my own voice. Sometimes distance from the city -- can be time for reflection, and understanding where we stand -- Its dificult to fight that battle, where you bleed everyday...
Its easy to say "oh i love karachi" and on certain days, even, "my karachi" --
but only when you 'are' karachi, does it not matter where you are at all.

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Dancing With Madonna what a strangely captivating article...

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September Morning #36, very useful reference, Rahul -- I'll definitely look up his writing. I found this quote:

"The world is written first," he says, "and all that happens in it, happens in language first." --Karahasan.

Nice!

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September Morning -- I was in N.Y too at that time, an uncle of mine had a meeting in the building, which he missed by minutes...

"the pathetically slow" pace of the writers' reaction, is interesting to me -- I suppose, we needed time to psychologically grasp the phenomena, as it occurs/occurred...

I haven't written anything on the event, because it was over-done already, and I get nausea from both angles now, still waiting for some silent construction of words -- they too get destroyed, not just the twin-towers.

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Muslim Psyche After September 11, 2001 "Since Sep 11, 2001 all Muslims individually and collectively are under close observation by the international community. "
-- Ouch, that many cameras ought to hurt, psychiatrist, we need new pills :- )

hey you had all pleasant comments, and don't we get used to the intensity of 'angst' once introduced to it? A civic pleasant life...is that what we are here to create?

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My Encounter with Ahmed Faraz I enjoyed this piece, brings to mind the uncertain question, then to wave it away, for more important work to be done..."life"...death that other corridor, some exam from elsewhere.

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