SMS

New sms just in: 'A busy life makes prayers harder, but prayers make a hard and busy life easier. So keep praying. Love, Mama'

Vienna and Gustav Klimt

I spent the last weekend in Vienna with my girlfriends. The trip was a wondorous combination of walking tours in the old city, trips to quaint cafes, a traditional Viennese meal, Beethoven and Strauss, grand palaces and a few hours experiencing ' the kiss' in its full splendour amongst others by gustav klimt at the Belvedere.

My friend Fatima introduced us to Klimt and I returned with a fine reproduction which will find its new home just above the toilet :) as soon as I have had it framed. It fits well there and this way I will be able to see it every morning when I brush my teeth.

'The Kiss is a fascinating icon of the loss of self that lovers experience. Only the faces and hands of this couple are visible; all the rest is great swirl of gold, studded with colored rectangles as if to express visually the emotional and physical explosion of erotic love.'

I appreciate and agree.

Amid Pakistan's Mayhem, Fashion Week Comes to Karachi

I pray for the day I see less headlines of the former type and more of the former. Click on the link to see Pakistan through the designers eyes.
Amid Pakistan's Mayhem, Fashion Week Comes to Karachi

...

I come from a country where the majority live in poverty, and spend most of their life seeking employment that will cover all the bills or worse pay the bare necessiteies. I come from a country brimming over with talented people who are not given the opportunity or the environment to realize their potential or a better future. I come from a country where religion is being twisted and mis-used to justify people's frustrations and helplessness.It is with my heart heavy and my eyes full that I see my country go down a road stained with destruction, pain, and disgrace.

I live in a country with one of the best standards of living and where money is a plenty to do as you wish. You work for it ofcourse but the compensation makes it worth your while and you even learn to appreciate paying taxes becuase the system will work for you when you need it.
I live faraway, yet I feel the same sadness, even more for I know what could be.
It breaks my heart, it punctures my soul.
I carry it around, this little hole in my heart, that few understand around me.
I go about my daily life and forget that it is there.

A family diaspora

List of places all us first cousins now call home:
1.Rawalpindi, Pakistan
2.Islamabad, Pakistan
3.Karachi, Pakistan
4.Germantown, Maryland, US
5. San Francisco, US
6. Oswego, NY , US
7. Melbourne, Australia
8. London, UK
9. Nottingham, UK
10. Stuttgart, Germany
11. Oslo Norway

So technically we will be a bunch of Pakistani-American-Australian, British, German-Turkish, Norwegians in the family.

One Nobel Peace Prize to go please.

And the Nobel Peace Prize goes to....President Barack Obama.... for:
not being George W Bush
being the first black president of the US
making a few great speeches
reaching out to the young, unemployed, uninsured, and muslims (in an attempt to win back the hearts and minds)

I think that about sums it up...no?

He certainly did not get it for:
the countless deaths of civilians dying everyday in the ongoing war in Afganistan and Iraq,the people suffering everyday in Gaza the casualties inside the border in Pakistan caused by American drone attacks and if thats not enough..the fanstastic concrete, achieveable plans the President has come up with to stop the death and destruction, caused by the above mentioned offensives,
I commend the Nobel Peace prize committee for degrading the Peace Prize and for being so naive as to bestow such a prestigious and regarded award in the hope that peace will come as a result of a few diplomatic efforts and good intentions (I must sayI am not even sure what the intentions constitute really)

Bravo Thorbjørn Jagland.

The icons of our day

I admit to watching the simpsons and even though I am not a fan I watch it quite often as it is usually on TV when I turn it on in the evenings, coupled with the fact that all else going on at the same time on other channels is even less senseless (yes, its possible)... reality shows, nonsensical comdedies and what not.

The Simpsons, currently in its 20ths season is a cartoon show about a dysfunctional American family, and although does not conciously target children runs at a time in the day when many children are sitting infront of a TV. It is sad that young children's minds are exposed to such content on a regular basis, its not even healthy for the older more discerning viewers over a long period of time, in my opinion. And that will de a bit impossible to change since the series is to become the longest-running prime-time series in US TV history after makers Fox ordered another two seasons.

This month, Marge Simpson will be featured on the cover of Playboy in an attempt to attract and expand readership amongst younger 20 somethings, according to the magazine editors. This after the day Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace prize! Stay tuned for more silly, brainless, fear inducing non thought provoking nonsense, that dominates our world today through the idiot box!

Satellite waste

Saturday night was spent with a bunch of wonderful mostly norwegians, partying, chatting, eating and drinking. Of the many other interesting encounters, two stood out. One about the different types of drugs one can take and the after-affects of each described quite vividly, followed by a round of who had tried what and not.

The second, was a rather interesting monologue delivered by a guy working with satellite technology. Monologue, because once we got him started he just went on and on, but we hung on each word, the wannabe-space-junkies that we were that night. Did you know there are currently approximately over 19000 + man made satellites orbiting earth?? and that many are just debri, with no fuel, pushed further away and just hanging about in space. A satellite wasteland.

So my selective memory from Saturday night retained some information when I awakened the morning after, and I did some research:

Artificial orbital debris, consists of the leftovers from humanity’s activities in Earth orbit. Every time we put a satellite into space, we end up leaving something behind in Earth orbit. At the very least this is the satellite itself and often times also includes one or more rocket stages and bits of miscellaneous stuff, like explosive bolts, lens caps, and solid rocket exhaust particles. Sometimes these leftover bits themselves shed more pieces through what are called fragmentation events. These events can be minor (a few dozen pieces) to extreme (explosions creating more than a thousand pieces). Within this category of artificial objects we define three basic populations: the trackable, the potentially trackable, and the untrackable.

Trackable: Greater than 10 cm in diameter, Estimated Population: 19,000+
Potentially Trackable: Greater than 1 cm in diameter, Estimated population: Several hundred thousand
Untrackable: Less than 1 cm in diameter, Estimated Population: Many millions to billions

Eat that.

So not only are we polluting the earth we live on we are also doing the same some thousand miles above us. Amazing.

Weekends

What is it about a Friday and the absolute joy that overwhelms us as the clock ticks away the work hours? The journey home is spent usually planning a relaxing evening. It never ceases to amaze me how a quiet day at home with two full holidays infront of it, can bring such solace and peace of mind. Saturday mornings are the best too. Evenings even better.
Soon enough, Sunday arrives and as the evening draws close, work thoughts begin to creep into our minds. We are quick to brush them aside and enjoy the last few hours before falling into a dreamless sleep only waking up to a shrill alarm announcing another week. Monday.

Butterfly and Spiders

I never liked spiders. I was mortified if I ever saw even one spidery leg. And then I met Tommy. He's an insect lover :-) He does not believe in swatting a fly, stamping on a spider or crushing ants dead.
He found a butterfly once in the middle of a cold, snowy January in Oslo. It was a miracle that it survived in our office building in the dead of winter. The butterfly was struggling to live, a bit weak and not so quick to fly. Tommy placed it in an empty matchbox on my desk at work with a yellow post it note. I opened the box and yelped in fear. I spied a few insect legs peeping out and closed the box tightly shut. I contacted him on msn and asked him why he had left a bug on my desk.
Why he had left a bug on my desk!
He came around to me, smiled and picked up the box gently and asked me to accompany him outside. He opened it and the captive butterfly, suddenly realizing the importance of freedom, found the strength to fly.
A butterfly, colourful and lively flying around with all that snow in the backgound shielded by many glass windows.
It is one of the things I will always remember.
I don't mind spiders that much anymore.
That does not mean that I would sleep at all though, if I saw one crawling around nearby. Still.

Eid.Pray.Love.

This is the first year I actually attempted to enjoy eid away from home in Islamabad. It's not that hard if you really try. I feel good at the end of it. Home in Oslo. Eid Prayers, followed by a late brunch with colleagues, relaxing at home and then dinner at a friend's. Next year, we resolved to start sooner. With Chaand raat :)

UN condemns war crimes in Gaza

This says it all I think:

The report "concludes that the Israeli military operation was directed at the people of Gaza as a whole, in furtherance of an overall and continuing policy aimed at punishing the Gaza population, and in a deliberate policy of disproportionate force aimed at the civilian population," said the UN statement.

Facts:
Israeli offensive in Gaza Dec 08 to Jan 09
More than 1,400 Gazans killed
3 Israeli civilians and 10 Israeli soldiers killed

There are many articles that have started to appear online that discredit the report and Richard Goldstone who has authored the report. Not surprising, since the report findings clearly points the finger at Israel. I am unable to find the 575 page report, we owe it to all the people who died in the conflict to atleast read the report and think for ourselves. I will keep searching for it on the web.

Numbers talk

'The Age of Terror. War on the West.'
This was the title of a documentary on BBC News that I started to watch but could not finish. First, I do not believe the words, they are skewed terribly in the favour of a single point of view and second they are written and spoken to induce and instill fear into people. That we live in an age of Terror, false. That there is a War on the West. False again. If we do a headcount, there are more people in the 'East' who are dead due to the 'War on Terror' then in the West.

What happened on Sep 11, 2001 was horrific, but what has transpired since - the War in Afghanistan (2001-till present) and then in Iraq (2003-til present) is equally deplorable, and much worse, a wicked way to seek retribution.

Total Sep 11 attack deaths - 2,752 persons dead
Total Afgan civilian deaths, no one seems to be keeping count but Wikipedia is the only source giving a total count - 8,773 - 11,570 persons dead
Total Iraqi civilian deaths 93,096 – 101,596

A day by myself

There are days I spend by myself. I do this usually when I work from home. Since I live in the country side, it really is a day all by myself. No one comes knocking on my door. There is hardly any traffic which I am able to see or hear. I can go the whole day and not see a single soul. I can work in relative peace and quiet with the exception of the few phone calls and scheduled virtual meetings. I have my favourite music playing in the background, can get my cup of tea the way I like it, take a break when I want to, which I usually spend listening to the wind in the trees outside or walking in the next door abandoned plot of land and checking if the apples are ready to be harvested. They are winter apples, a friend told me. So it will have to wait for September. I spot a squirrel or a strange looking insect, eat an over ripe cherry and go back to work.

Top 10 things I miss about Pakistan

1.Warmth and Generosity
2.Hospitality
3.Friendliness
4.Spontaneity!
5.Monsoon rains
6.All the festivals and corresponding activities
7.The food!
8. Sunny days everyday in Winter and Spring
9. Opportunity to help and make things better
10.Shalwar Kamiz
11.The sound of the Azaan
12.A hot naan right out of the tandoor...oh sorry did i mention food before?

P.S. This is technically a top 12 list of things I like most about Pakistan and miss much.

Top 10 Norwegian things I like

1.Honesty
2.Discipline
3.Equality - Janteloven, well a large part of it anyway
4.Gender equality
5.The four distinct seasons in the year
6.Security
7.Bolle
8.Space
9.Peace and Quiet
10.Norwegians, with a few drinks in them.

Living in another's country

I think some people who choose to live in a different country with a significantly different culture are not feeling quite completely at home with their own. Not that they dislike their country, culture and value set but because they don't fit into it, like the majority does. Or because they would like to improve things and want these positive changes brought about faster then they can actually happen.

Take me for instance. I am a Pakistani but don't always agree with how we do things in Pakistan. I live in Norway now and find some of the things I always wanted to change in my own country, practised in Norway everyday. Not that I like or agree with how things are done in Norway quite completely, but a larger part of my value set corresponds very well to the one practised in Norway. As opposed to my belief system which is in sharp contrast. But that I will leave to ponder upon another day.

Gainda

If I had to pick a flower that reminded me of Pakistan, it would have to be the big, bright, orange 'gainde ka phool' or the marigold. It is used extensively at pre-wedding festivities in Pakistan, but that is not the only reason I remember it fondly. It's a cheerful flower. I think my father agreed because they always got a prominent place in our garden.

62 years today

Most of what Mohammad Ali Jinnah said when he was alive is almost everything we did not pay any heed to as a nation since. On the ocassion of Pakistan's independence day, I would like to share some of my favourite quotes from the man who founded Pakistan in the vision of a separate, glorious, respected nation for the muslims of the sub-continent, or the India everyone knew before 14 Aug, 1947.

'My message to you all is of hope, courage and confidence. Let us mobilize all our resources in a systematic and organized way and tackle the grave issues that confront us with grim determination and discipline worthy of a great nation.'
- Eid-ul-Azha Message to the Nation October 24, 1947.

'The constitution of Pakistan has yet to be framed by the Pakistan Constituent Assembly. I do not know what the ultimate shape of this constitution is going to be, but I am sure that it will be of a democratic type, embodying the essential principle of Islam. Today, they are as applicable in actual life as they were 1,300 years ago. Islam and its idealism have taught us democracy. It has taught equality of man, justice and fairplay to everybody. We are the inheritors of these glorious traditions and are fully alive to our responsibilities and obligations as framers of the future constitution of Pakistan. In any case Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic State to be ruled by priests with a divine mission. We have many non-Muslims --Hindus, Christians, and Parsis --but they are all Pakistanis. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizens and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan.'
- Broadcast talk to the people of the United States of America on Pakistan recorded February, 1948.

'I have always maintained that no nation can ever be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along with the men. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women.'
- Speech at Islamia College for women March 25, 1940.

'We are now all Pakistanis--not Baluchis, Pathans, Sindhis, Bengalis, Punjabis and so on--and as Pakistanis we must feet behave and act, and we should be proud to be known as Pakistanis and nothing else.'
- Reply to the Civic Address presented by the Quetta Municipality on 15th June, 1948.

'You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed --that has nothing to do with the business of the State.'
- Presidential Address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11th August, 1947.

My Top 10 travelling drags

1. Packing
2. Packing light!
3. Taking the early morning flight
4. Carrying a laptop, handbag & trolley bag when its a 1 or 2 night stay
5. The absolutely non-appetizing airplane food.
6. The middle seat after a long day's work
7. The smell of a hotel room
8. The train journey home
9. Arriving home at 20.00 hrs or after, knowing I have an early morning start the next day
10. Travelling every week

Peace lilies

For me plants out in the nature are beautiful. Indoor they are invisible to me, until that is, I rented an apartment for 6 months and the couple that lived there wanted me to water the plants and keep them alive if possible. What I blurted out was the honest rather abrupt reply 'But I kill plants, always have' At which they just smiled and asked me to try.

I did try. Well, there were times they were plain invisible to me, part of the furniture and watering them never entered my mind. One of the first things my husband did when he came over for the weekends to visit me was to water the plants. And then we happened to be away for two weeks and the two peace lillies sitting happy in the living room window just died. My husband was extremely sad. He tried to coax them to live again. I felt the situation was rather strange yet touching. I have to mention that the lillies do make a tearful picture when they are dead. So, anyway he went out a few days later and bought two new peace lillies, because he felt it was the right thing to do. I ofcourse, had been saying all along that there was not any need. We tried, and two out of the five plants died. It was still a respectable remaining number for one like myself who kills plants.

In the last week of July, I vacated the apartment and moved into the hotel across the road from the apartment block according to my new arrangement with my employer. The apartment was to remain empty till the couple who lived there returned 3 weeks later. I started to adjust to the hotel life again. In the evenings, I would stare accross the road from my hotel room window and spot the peace lillies in the living room window of the apartment. I started to watch them a little everyday. By the third day I started to worry about the plants in the apartment thirsty for water. Strangely enough, I had grown attached to the lillies and the other plants in the house. It was a new feeling for me. I was quite disturbed about the plants starving for water, an occurence that never once bothered me before. Eventually, by the second week when I was at the hotel again I decided to ask my employer for the keys so I could save the plants. I went by one evening hopeful they were hanging on. The three other plants were quite sturdy and could do without water for longer, I knew. Peace lillies however are much more sensitive, and need water every 2-3 days, and I knew that too. It had been two weeks! As I unlocked the apartment I felt sad I had not come earlier. I raced down to the living room. The peace lillies were dead.

Jalebi

It's orange and very sweet, like a sweet pretzel, this 'wiry, toxic' thing my one of my cousins calls the Jalebi. I like to eat it hot. It always made my fingers sticky. I felt like eating one today. Had the urge to pop into a cafe and say 'One cafe latte and a jalebi to go please' That obviously remained a thought.

My yellow cushion

I love my mother.
She is my yellow cushion.
When she smiles, everything is brighter
and I know I will be ok
She laughs with me till we are silly
She is a funny cushion
With her daily dose of love
I know I will be ok
Soon she will go away
My faraway cushion
But with her sms's, calls and skypes
I know I will be ok :-)

People

I wonder what makes people different. Is it the color of our skin, what we wear, what we eat or how we react to different situations?
At a more primal level we are all the same, I guess. But we dress it up, color it with where we grew up, how our parents kissed us goodnight or didn't, what we are taught to believe in and not, what we watch on TV, how much space we are used to,
If we all focused more on how we are so much the same rather then what makes us different, this world would be happier, lighter, and even more lovely.

Crazy Cow

There are many crazy cows where I come from. They are everywhere. On the roads. In the fields. Close to where I went to school. They are free to go wherever they want and they are happy.
There are no cows where I live now. And even people are bound by rules telling them where they can and cannot go. No happy cows, just a lot of stressed unhappy people.
I miss the cows.

The Taliban flu

There is a madness plauging my country. It is weakening the human spirit and forcing people to lose hope that we can overcome yet another menace that slowly breeds amongst us. Can we overcome this? Only time and many human lives being taken too early, too soon... will tell unfortunately. I wish I could stop it. I wish.
I think death by swine flu is better then dying at the hands of these extremists, who would probably declare me an infidel and take out a bounty on my head for saying so.
Man corrupts religion.