Sunday 29 July 2012

My Diaries- Thursday , 26 July 2012


It is 10:30 pm. Mother came upstairs to check if I were sleeping or reading some rubbish stuff. I hid Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight Children” which I started reading this afternoon. I must say it is one of Rushdie’s best works - also called booker of the bookers. Finished reading Dostoevsky’s famous novel called ‘Idiot’ yesterday- a true tragicomic masterpiece. The story is about a prince, the last poverty-stricken member of a once great family and regarded by many as an idiot, returns to Russia from a sanatorium in Switzerland in order to collect an inheritance. The book offers a rich and complex experience in which a dazzling host of characters, from generals to street urchins, present the picture of an entire society on the verge of dissolution.

Before leaving for a short sleep in order to get up for Sehri , Mother advised that I should recite Quran more often than reading books to invite Allah’s blessing. I nodded- to her it conveys, I will try my best.

Today was the 7th day of Ramadhan.  I must admit- the toughest I ever observed. The temperature exceeded 40 Celsius- unbearable, restricting the mobility of people outside their homes in Ramadhan. I have been to the city a few times and the experience was not very pleasant. Prices of food items have risen surprisingly- when you ask, they say “it is Ramadhan”.

It is upsetting to see what is happening in the world. Syria is in the news. Aljazeera is portraying it as a war within. RT considers the coverage as anti- Assad and pro-western. Whatever the coverage, Assad doesn’t seem to quit that easily, that soon. Power like sex is an addiction; once you taste it you wish to taste it once more and who knows it better than his Highness President Bashar-Al- Assad. At home, things don’t seem to be coming back to normality, either. Got the news about Bajaur bomb blast, planted in a pickup truck, killing 11 people and wounding 23. I am not surprised with the low level of condemnation. Uncle Anwar believes Pashtun blood doesn’t seem to have any colour or any value in the eyes of non-Pashtun.

Spent some time in Facebook chat with Afzal. We talked about London years and few mischievous things we were part of. Value of time becomes meaningless when you are around in his company. He is hilarious and full of stories.

Jehangir came in the evening to say hello. In his physical appearance he has changed so much since last few years- thick beard, fierce wide eyes but calm nature. Does his appearance make him fit for Lombroso’s theory of criminals’ appearance?  Certainly not- as he is a gentleman both inside and outside. I reject Lombroso’s theory of criminals and criminality, anyway. He shared his experience of UN peacekeeping days in Ivory Cost and how they restore peace to the war -torn country. These days he is stationed in Peshawar. He is enjoying his time with Pakistan Army and why not. I couldn’t stop laughing when he said that between Karkhano market and Tehkal there is some 45 acres of land that people have occupied for a while now which belongs to the Army and that Army is planning to force the people to vacate the land within a specific time frame through a military operation. He said that he has been asked to be part of that task too. I said- why not- another Holy Military Operation?  He asked if I was happy to hear the news. He didn’t appear to agree or seemed happy when I said “but the army has occupied the whole country since partition too- who dares to ask them why ?”.

It is 11:40 pm now and I need to see if the generator is working perfectly or not as we may experience power cut in few minutes time. I feel excited with the prospect of getting into Dark Age and coming out in Renaissance on a daily basis. Long live the country and its enlightened rulers who make this rich experience possible for all- though with some level of
selective discrimination.The experience is rich. We owe it to the government for this unique experience. God bless them all!

What to do with “Midnight Children” now? At best- I can put it under the pillow to read it for tomorrow. Anyway- in the country of believers, Salman Rushdie is taboo. Saman Tasir is no exception, either.Jalib comes to mind tonight who said-

Es Shehr-e- Kharabi May Gham-e-Ishq Kay Maray
Zinda Hay Yahi Bath Bari Bath Hay Pyaray !


FGM Diaries - 27th July 2012- Peshawar 

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