WE MAKE OUR FORTUNES & WE CALL THEM FATE

BY MAHTAB BASHIR
ISLAMABAD
mahtabbashir@gmail.com

How many apples were eaten at the Garden of Eden? ‘Eleven’ came the reply with this breakdown: Eve ATE and Adam TOO, and Satan WON.

Adam ate the fruit of the forbidden tree and was taken to task by Allah, the Almighty. He excused himself by shifting the blame from his own shoulder to that of Eve. When Eve in return was rebuked and said, “Satan beguiled me and I did eat.” But the serpent never cared to shift the blame to anyone else. Nothing is more characteristic of man than this answer.

It is a nature of man to saddle others with his own responsibility. When all excuses fail, he has recourse to this doubtful sort of justification. It proceeds from a kind of delusion that what is guilt when committed by one is not so when done by many. But nothing can be further from truth.

Gham ki barish nay bhi teray naqsh ko dhoya nahi
Tu nay mujh ko kho diya, mein nay tujhay khoya nahi

Jurm Adam nay kia aor nasl-e-Adam ko saza
Kat-ta hoon zindagi bhar, mein nay jo boya nahi

Janta hoon aik aisay shakhs ko mein bhi Munir
Gham say pathar ho gia hay laikin kabhi roya nahi.

This habit of blaming others for our own folly is frequently seen in man. Down the memory lane, I remember my school days when I failed to get handsome marks in examinations, and I put all the blames over ‘the incapacity of teachers’ and ‘the whimsicalities of examiners’. Similarly, when we get late, the clock and the weather are held responsible. When we can not dance, our failure is attributed to the uneven floor. “A bad workman quarrels with his tools” is a proverb very true of human nature.

However, the moral faculty in man is a stern judge. It tells him frankly when he is wrong. But the innate self-love of man does not want to confess that he is wrong neither can it deny that he has not done any wrong. So he has recourse to a shift. He confesses the guilt but tries to weaken its enormity by citing extenuating circumstances. And he holds others responsible for his own misdeeds. Not content with blaming fellowmen, he sometimes goes to lay it on the shoulders of inanimate things, as the word scapegoat suggests. Why did you steal your friend’s watch? “I am sorry, but my cousin tempted me to do it, he is the arch-tempter,” is my answer. Why did you feel? “I saw an empty pitcher just the time of my entrance in examination room, also a black cat crossed over when I was going there and that accounted for my failure.” I feel myself thus relieved as I bind my time to chastise.

But when no man or inanimate object is near enough to bear the burden of our follies and failures, we relieve ourselves by holding responsible not any tangible or visible person, but an unseen, invisible power which we choose to call fate. Fate is supposed to be an unseen, inscrutable power that imposes its capricious out iron-will on man. None of us has control over it. Pious hopes are belied, honest intentions are frustrated, earnest efforts are baffled, and good actions are made to bear evil fruit. Why? Because that inexorable, mysterious force called Fate, Destiny, Evil Star, Black Angel and you name it. The existence of such a power is fond hypothesis among all nations, developed or under-developed. The Greeks called it Nemesis, the Hindus termed it Adrista, and the English speak of it as Fate or Destiny. It appears in two forms. When it is propitious, we call it Luck or Fortune and when it is adverse, we label it the name of Fate. The two are but the same power seen from different perspective. Fortunate men are supposed to bask in its favour, while unfortunate people are regarded as warring or struggling with it. In fact, whenever the ordinary logic of understanding fails to account for a happening, we fall back on an invisible agent and ascribe it to the impenetrable, incontrovertible will of an unknown but awful power­­- Fate.

Taqdeer kay paband nabataat-o-jamadaat
Momin faqat ahqaam-e-Elahi ka hay paband

History is replete with instances in which the best of men have failed inscrutably in spite of their ability, piety and courage. Man, in fact is the architect of his own fortune. He is sent here with freedom of will to choose his way. The broad and the narrow ways are ahead of him. If he chooses the wrong path and suffers consequently, he alone is to be blamed. He has no right to hold others responsible. A brave man would never do it, it is only the timid and the weakling that that refuses to face facts and take shelter under Fate. If there is anything like Fate, it is man who has made it, and by his own actions. He has raised this terrible specter and he has no right to complain of its tyranny so late in the day. We should clearly know that man alone is responsible for his actions and these are the causes of his sorrow and sufferings. The conception of an irresponsible, unknown, tragic force unreasonably punishing man seems inconsistent with the conception of an all-merciful benign God and with man’s freedom of will.

It is neither God nor Fate that brings us suffering; we alone are responsible of it. In fact if there anything which a man may call his own creation, it is his misery. The all-merciful Being does not want to inflict misery on him, he brings it himself. We make our own fortunes and we call them Fate. If he prospers he gets the credit, if he suffers he is to be blamed. A strong man will acknowledge his responsibility in all his works; it is only the feeble that shift the burden.

Luck is what you have left over, after putting in your 100%.

The writer is a budding intellectual, or so he thinks

WHAT MAKES WOMAN ATTRACTIVE

Sex, science and the art of seduction:
What really makes woman attractive to the opposite sex

Humans have long been baffled by just what shapes sexual attraction. Why do we find some people beautiful and others not? And is there anything we can do to make ourselves more attractive?

In her fascinating new book, Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?, American science journalist Jena Pincott collates scores of academic studies to reveal what really makes woman attractive to the opposite sex.

What makes a face beautiful? What magic do the beautiful have that most of us lack? Neuroscientists, psychologists and anthropologists have all taken a stab at deconstructing facial beauty. Overall, they’ve focused on three measures: averageness (how closely the size and shape of facial features match the average), symmetry (how closely the two sides of the face match) and sexual dimorphism (how feminine or masculine the face appears).

We’re talking about only facial shape and features here, not age, expression or complexion.
You might think the first one, averageness, seems odd. By definition, isn’t average just average? But most of us don’t have average features. When compared to the average, your eyes may be too wide or close-set, your eyebrows uneven or your nose too sharp.

When a computer-generated composite is created by merging a whole series of faces together, it’s possible to see a single face which could be described as the average of all the other faces (with the average-sized nose and the average-sized jaw and so on).

In academic tests, judges rate that average face as more attractive than any one of the faces that constitute it. The more faces that are blended in the composite, the more attractive the result.

So what draws us all to the middle? Researchers have several theories. For one, familiarity breeds attraction: we learn to identify patterns in the faces we see around us, and that means that medium - or average - proportions would be more familiar to us than distinctive features such as potato noses, wide-set eyes, underbites and chipmunk cheeks. That, in turn, makes them more attractive.

Conversely, distinctive and unattractive features may subconsciously warn us of the presence of undesirable, recessive genes.

Looking at portraits of the inbred Habsburgs, you can see how members of one of the ruling houses of Europe shared the same DNA to the extent that their looks and health suffered - it shows up in their protruding lower lips and misshapen noses.

Aside from these inbuilt adult reactions to beauty, studies with babies also suggest that ‘beauty detectors’ are hard-wired in our brains from birth.

Infants as young as one day old, when exposed simultaneously to beautiful and unattractive faces, consistently gaze longer at the attractive faces.

The neural mechanism that enables babies to distinguish beautiful from plain is unknown, but it is widely agreed that it exists. People from different cultures also generally agree on what faces are attractive or not.

Symmetry, the second measure of beauty, can make or break the beauty equation. Look at actress Gwyneth Paltrow for an example of a beautiful but slightly atypical face. Her mouth is wider than average, and so is the space between her eyes. On another person these distinctive features might not be so stunning, but Gwyneth’s face happens to be perfectly symmetrical.
This is also true of supermodels Kate Moss, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford (minus the mole). Not all beautiful faces are symmetrical, and not all symmetrical faces are beautiful, but symmetry often plays a role in attraction.

Like averageness, symmetry suggests a certain physical robustness. If you grow up with symmetrical features - despite risk of disease, genetic mutations, starvation, pollution and parasites - there’s a better chance you’re fit and healthy and your body can ward off infection.
Researchers at the University of New Mexico measured the chin length, jaws, lip width, eye width and height of more than 400 men and women to determine their facial symmetry.

Comparing the results against each participant’s health records, they found that people with the most symmetrical features were healthier (i.e. had shorter and fewer respiratory infections and took fewer antibiotics).

Masculinity or femininity (sexual dimorphism) is the third measure of attractiveness. In men, the hormone testosterone is behind prominent jawlines and cheekbones, thicker brow ridges, larger noses, smaller eyes, thinner lips, facial hair and a relatively long lower half of the face.
Women are attracted to rugged, masculine faces because they signal strong immune systems and, potentially, high fertility.

Oestrogen is behind the ‘beauty’ that men perceive in female faces. It plumps out women’s lips and skin and produces smaller and pointier chins, smaller noses, rounder cheekbones, eyebrows high above the eyes and a bottom of the face that is narrower than the top half.

Why big breasts ARE best: Nobody has a definitive answer as to why women’s breasts are so sexy and get so big, but all theories have something to do with fertility.

Evolutionary psychologists suggest that cleavage serves as a sort of proxy for the swollen rumps that other female primates get in heat.

Freudian psychologists offer theories about men’s Oedipus complex: they’re always looking for a mother figure (literally). Anthropologists believe that women developed larger, permanent breasts as our species adapted to a harsher environment and became bigger-brained and bipedal.

By storing fat reserves in their chests (and thighs and bottoms) year-round, even when not nursing, our foremothers survived the elements and the rigours of pregnancy, birth and child-rearing.

Large breasts may be a sign of increased fertility, which could help explain why so many men think bigger busts are better: the fat that accumulates in your chest (as well as your bottom, thighs and hips) does so under the influence of the hormone oestrogen, which also affects your ability to conceive.

A study by Harvard epidemiologist Grazyna Jasienska found that full-figured women are roughly three times as likely to get pregnant as women with other body types. (To qualify in the study, the circumference of your torso around your breasts would have to be at least 20 per cent larger than it is under your breasts.)

Breasts are an advertisement of age, health and good genes, which is why anthropologists think they’re crucial to sexual selection even in cultures that don’t eroticise the chest any more than the face.

Wrinkles? Don't despair: Think those fine lines and wrinkles make you less attractive to the opposite sex? Not necessarily.

In scientific tests, men gave low attractiveness ratings to older-looking faces when asked who they saw as a potential partner for a short-term relationship.

No surprise here - men are biased towards youthful-looking women with childbearing years ahead, and they generally marry women who are younger. However, intriguingly, if a man’s mother was over 30 when he was born, he was likely to be more tolerant of ageing in women’s faces in the context of a long-term relationship.

Only the mother’s age at his birth, not the father’s, influenced a man’s acceptance of older looking women’s faces. This may have to do with sexual inprinting, the tendency for a person to seek a mate who resembles his or her opposite-sex parent. (This means if you’re trying to gauge a man’s tolerance to ageing faces, it doesn’t hurt to ask him how old Mum was when he was born.)

Further research will reveal whether men with older mums more often marry older women. There’s evidence that women with older dads more often marry older men.

Sorry girls, but gentlemen DO prefer blondes: It's a cliche - but research shows that yes, in most of Europe and America, there does seem to be a male preference for blonde women. According to Canadian anthropologist Peter Frost, this was true during the Ice Age when, because of the extreme dangers associated with hunting for food, there were far fewer men than women.

Although there was a surfeit of females, the men who were around were unable to take on more than one ‘wife’ because of the daily challenges of supporting a family, and they often chose a blonde.

Fair hair then was very rare and stood out in a sea of brunettes. And as we know from walking into any shop, visual merchandising is the key to success. For ancestral Europeans, blonde hair was the equivalent of brilliant, shiny packaging. Modern men are attracted to blonde hair for the same reason: it’s eye-catching.

The human eye is attracted to light, bright colours, so blondes stand out more than brunettes and even redheads. Blonde hair is also associated with youth and fertility, as hair colour naturally darkens with age.

According to a study by Polish psychologists, men clearly prefer blondes when judging the appearance of women older than 25. Hair colours are more desirable when they’re uncommon, too. In most countries, blonde is usually the unique and the most eye-catching - but not everywhere. In Scandinavia, where blondes are commonplace, men often say they prefer brunettes.

Likewise, when researchers at the University of Washington asked male subjects to choose which woman they’d desire as a partner among selections of brunettes and blondes, the preference for a brunette increased in proportion to the rarity of brunettes in the selection. (However, if a shade is so rare that it’s virtually nonexistent, such as blonde in Africa and Asia, men may not necessarily prefer it.)

Another factor that can play a part in a man’s hair colour preference is sexual imprinting - which means that a man has a bias towards a mate who resembles his parents.
A man with a dark-haired mother might be more likely to choose a brunette for a long-term relationship.

Secrets of the perfect body: From a hundred feet away, a man can’t see your beautiful eyes or your luscious lips. He can’t hear your witty jokes or touch your dewy skin.

However, by merely glancing at your figure he’ll glean a lot about your age, health and reproductive potential. That’s because he can instantly assess your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR).

A woman’s waist-to-hip ratio is one of the most important cues in sexual attraction. The smaller your waist is in proportion to your hips, the curvier you appear.

The ‘golden ratio’ is said to be around 0.7 - that is, a waist that is seven-tenths the width of the hips, regardless of weight.

Muhammad Mahtab Bashir

Islamabad-

mahtabbashir@yahoo.com

Remembering DEAR one's on EID DAY Celebrations

A PAGE OF MY DIARY
(dedicated to Moazzam Bhai)

Those we love, never go away
They walk beside us everyday,
Unseen, unheard, still near,

still loved, still missed & still very dear.

Today is Eid-ul-Fitr, an annual religious festival, a day all about gratitude, happiness, sharing and celebration. A festival when God wants His people to celebrate as a show of gratefulness to their Lord right after the month of fasting.

Celebrating Eid is following the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) by offering the Eid prayers, dressing up nicely, eating something sweet and greeting all around.

Embracing each other on Eid day and uttering the simple two words of ‘Eid Mubarik’ rejuvenates a special bond between two persons, celebrating the same festival for the same reason. That reason is their religion. Here they forget their socio-economic status, ethnicity, family backgrounds, putting behind all differences for a cause – to celebrate, under one roof, the roof of Allah.

But it is a time of confusion when smiles turn into frowns and laughs convert into tears, when one does not know whether to celebrate or mourn this occasion. It is an Eid without your beloved.

The real essence of Eid does not lie in holding lavish parties and exchanging luxurious gifts. It is about the presence of all the important people in your life, who are there with you in your moments of happiness, sharing gifts wrapped up with affection saying, “I love you and I need you like a flower needs rain, and I want to spend my life’s each and every moment with you.”

Such gestures overpower the need of words to express how you feel towards each other. Your effort says it all. To take out time and think about what to get for your loved one keeping in mind their likes and dislikes and putting them in your love and thought, Eid becomes an occasion to celebrate and rejoice.

But what is Eid without a beloved? Like a dark night with cool breeze, like mesmeric music without rhythm, like love without passion. Where does the glow of the face disappear when you are alone on this festive occasion, wanting to be with someone who is distant from you by the will of Allah? May be you will spend the whole Eid thinking of how great it would be when you will be reunite on Eid, or may be you would recollect your memories when you were together. Now you just feel like mourning because those moments would never be back again because your loved one has departed forever. He would be spending this Eid with angels up in the sky, more happily than anyone on this planet earth.

Safe in the heavens in the refuge of the Almighty, away from the tensions and fears of the mortal world, you do not want to know how he parted from this world leaving behind such great sorrow and emptiness in your life.

Who would have left the house thinking that he might never return, might never see his loved one, might never talk to him, and might never be with him? If this truth was ever known, his beloveds would have never left his hand, he would have never let him go, he would have caged him close to him for eternity. He would have seized every minute.

But destiny is cruel and companionship of two is not meant to be more than these few moments. Some had many Eids to recall and cry over joys they once shared. Some only had dreams of experiencing those joys once they would be together again.

Fate can be ruthless. Testing times can come to anyone at anytime no matter how powerful a person deems to be; in front of death he is powerless.

Today I celebrate Eid with my beloveds. There are few new members making their ways in my life who were not with me yesteryear. This is my first Eid with them, so I feel special and want this occasion to be special. In contrast, this Eid I do not have someone who was with me last year. Someone who bid goodbye to this mortal world, my dear brother. I would remember him on this Eid, miss his presence and last but SURELY not least would miss the joy he brought right through in my life.

A record number of relatives filled our house at Islamabad on this occasion of Eid ul Fitr (19 in all). But there’s no one like Moazzam Bhai who could ever replace what my dear brother gave to me… And I want to thank you.

You’re the air that I breathe
My bro, you’re all that I need
And I wanna thank you, brother.
You’re the words that I read
You’re the light that I see
And your love is all that I need.

I do not know what nature has in store for me. I am illiterate knowing that next moment I would breathe or not. I do not know whether the building I am currently sitting in is safe or not. And I am not aware whether I would see my loved ones again or otherwise. My dictum in this irresolute life is simple and that is to live up to it the most.

This Eid resolve not to waste your time in fighting and quarreling with others but to enjoy the height of delight with near and dear ones. Say whatever is in your heart. Spend as much as you like and do not be a miser in spending your love.

Teri Majboorio' ko Tu hi Behtar Jaanta ho ga
Muhabbat mein Judaa hona Zaroori ho gia ho ga

You never know whether you would be lucky enough to have this blessed moment in life again or not. Enjoy it and reach out to everyone you know. Spread the spirit of Eid in these hard times and bring smile to all the faces around you.

EID GREETINGS to all!

MUHAMMAD MAHTAB BASHIR
House # 2026, Street # 32,
I-10/2, ISLAMABAD.
mahtabbashir@yahoo.com
Voice: 0300 52 56 875

INTELLECTUAL LUNACY

Muhammad Mahtab Bashir
mahtabbashir@gmail.com
Islamabad
People call me insane. They may be right because a person who tries to cling to the virtues of good and detests evil is not welcome in any society especially in ours. People call me moron may be because I cannot speak anything but the truth. I don’t feel twinge. I don’t feel isolated as long as I keep my ‘insanity’ intact.

When you follow the path laid out ahead of you by your conscience you can never stop. The path may be unpaved and ruthless but you have to go through. Thorns and bushes threaten to go along with you to the extreme, but slowly and surely the journey gets easier, exciting and colorful. You feel satisfied no matter what the world thinks of you. And there comes an ultimate moment when you start thinking ‘majority means all fools on the same side’ instead of ‘majority is authority’. It needs a strong willpower, as to me, the only discipline that really works in one’s life is ‘self-discipline’.

I know what to expect and what is going to happen next, I am neither an expert in making prophecies nor a fortune-teller but because I have learnt the rules of nature that make me strong. 

Many moons ago, an old sage advised me saying, “Listen my Kid! You can not be broken by nature, if you are a part of it”. And being a quick learner, I start exploring the basics of life. Thereafter, I've learnt that if I plant flowers I will get flowers in return but if I sow thorns and anticipate aroma of flower out of it, it is a plain stupidity. Is it the reason people call me insane? No it is not. I have something more to say.

Is it sanity to kill people? Is it sanity to destroy this beautiful world with weapons of mass destruction? Can you call a person sane who dropped the nuclear bomb to Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Can you adjudge person a sensible who creates havoc with explosives from 9/11 to 20/11? Is it sanity to kill innocent people? Is it a coherent society where rich is getting rich and poor is on the verge of extinction? Is it all fair to exploit poor masses?

Stop it all! Now tell me frankly but truly, do we have the courage to make this all odium? I don’t know about others’. But yes I have that valor to raise my voice against all such evil forces. I will go ahead on the path of virtue. People like me may be called brainless but I am happy to be called insane as it inserts my name in those privileged members list of Aristotle, Mansoor Hallaj, Confucius or Carl Marx to name few.

People have their reasons and I have my own. The world goes on like this. Lets see whose’ gonna win.

Bus YADEIN'... YADEIN' reh jati hain, kuch chotti chotti batein reh jati hain...

By Muhammad Mahtab Bashir
Islamabad
mahtabbashir@gmail.com

Today is the most lamentable day of my living as I lost one of the bequests of my dear late brother- his motor bike(Honda CD-70), bearing registration No. IDD-8284, was brought to our home at F.6/4, Islamabad by Moazzam Bhai (my eldest bro) in 1984, when I was a minor and given away by smallest brother (myself) after a span of two and half decades.

I have had very blessed memories with that two-wheeler started of from my early schooling. Those were supposedly the chilliest mornings of my life when I used to stood up early hours with a rucksack (school bag) over my feeble shoulders and whispered timidly besides the bed of Moazzam Bhai to please get up, I’m getting late (from school). And Since than I have grown with that black coloured magic machine with a lot of activities.

From my early schooling to my relatively maturity till its deliverance, my happy belonging to this bike never get reduced. I went riding over it to places.

It (bike) remained intact with Moazzam Bhai after few years of his marriage (in 1992) and later on when he was posted to Karachi back in early 90’s, he transformed his life on four-wheeler (Or may be he was in Islamabad as an Assistant Commissioner Income Tax, I am not sure here) Anyways, Moazzam Bhai became the owner of Charade-turbo that sprinted on petrol. I remember its colour was shocking scarlet and now that little appliance (bike) was shared by Moody (my another brother) in late 90’s. Soon after, Moazzam Bhai sold out Charade and got Suzuki-Margalla that is still a part of his family. Meanwhile, Suzuki Potohar & few other official green plated vehicles were also used by Bhai.

It is pertinent to mention here both Moazzam Bahi and Moody survived for quite a number of times while riding this. Both of them met severe accidents and narrowly escaped. In early 2000, Moody bought Suzuki Mehran and hence I became the proprietor of that black bike. Later, Masood Bhai gifted me brand new Motor bike HN-106 ICT model 2006.

Now I hardly used that old bike of Moazzam Bhai and it was parked in the porch of house. In the meantime, Moazzam Bhai transferred to Gujranwala as Deputy Commissioner Gujranwala Region from Ministry of Commerce, where he worked as Deputy Secretary. After sometime, I tried to get his signature on a ‘Transfer Latter- power of attorny’ as an approval to give that bike away but suddenly he got ill and my mind never turned back again on that matter of reassign his bike to my name.

Time passed away briskly as it refused to allow both of us to communicate on such matter because of Moazzam Bhai’s awful health. I visited him quite a number of times after his first surgery, and he seemed quite energetic. However, his health drastically started deteriorating and after battling valiantly against deadly disease, he left us for heavenly abode in early 2008.

Teri Qurbat Kay Lamhay Phool Jaisay
Magar Phoolo’ Ki Umrain’ Mukhtasar Hain

Shortly, I started embracing number of offers from friends, relatives and acquaintances to sell this bike to them and I always refused them with minor excuses, knowing that they don’t evaluate the value of my emotional attachment to this bike.

Now .... although that bike refused to role on, Mobil-oil leaked out on the floor of porch and engine seemed ceased, and Ammi Abbu also started showing annoyed attitude over such situation. Ultimately, a moment came when I succumbed against my strength of will and I planned to sold out that ‘precious gift’ to one of my old friend.

Suraj Kay Sath Doob Gaya Mera Dil Bhi Aaj
Itna Udaas Shaam Ka Manzar Kabhi Na Tha

I sold out that because of the fact that it was not the ONLY ‘souvenir’ of my dear late brother to me. I have spend my whole life accumulating things from him as he was the most generous and big hearted person on this planet, I've ever identified. He presented me a number of colognes, branded shirts, t-shirts, trousers, sweaters, neck-ties, watches, cufflinks, shoes, and the list never ends. He made me aware of all the electronic revolutionary devices ranging from mobile to digital diary, Handi-Cam to VCD, or I-pod to digital camera when none of these articles were widely known as they are now. The system (computer- CPU) through I am conversing you guys- is my beloved brother’s memento, introduced to me in mid 90’s.

My brother was a gem of a person. I miss him a lot and I continue to do so until I join him.
I am sorry my brother! I know heaven becomes a sunny spot with your arrival there. I want to share with you my feelings bro... and u know - When I think of you I dream a dream & I hope I never wake up, but ...

Dear readers! Allow me to quote here some excerpts from one of my favorite book authored by Mukhtar Masood titled ‘Awaz-e-Dost’. It seems very much attacking to my 'sanctity' over the very issue :(

He said, “kisi khandan may aik guldaan ko buzurgon’ ki nishani samajh kar dil-o-jaan say hifazat ki jati thi. Phir halaat nay pansa palta, ‘farsooda daor’ ‘taraqqi yafta daor may taghiyyur-pazeer hua to aik din betay nay guldaan tor dia. Boorha baap bistar par leta sab kuch deikh raha tha. Guldaan kay toot-tay hi baitay ko apnay paas bulaya aur kaha, Beta! Hifazat ka daor khatam hua aur ab nadamat ka daor shuru ho ga, jo shaied kabhi khatam na ho.”

Let me affirm you here, I am not at all against the facilities, conveniences or amenities of this science & technology era but quite bravely speaking one must not prioritize these windfalls over the laborious lives and experiences of seniors.

Log Bazaar Mein Baich Aay Hain Shamsheer-o-Kalam
Ghar May Rakhtay Bhi Buzurgo’ Ki Nishani Kab Tak.

p.s: With the time drsatically changed (for me), after the untimely death of Moazzam Bhai, Rehana Bhabhi decided to sold out his Suzuki (Mragalla) and got Suzuki (Cultus), lasy year. Moody got Toyota (VITZ) in 2009 saling Suzuki (Mehran). Mukarram Bhai (CMH, Rawalpindi) is enjoying his life with Toyota (Corolla) & Suzuki (Mehran), Masood bhai (posted in Myanmar) has Toyota Coraolla (model unknown), and Aftab has a bike (Honda- red coloured) while I'm happy with my own Sawari- (Honda CD 70- again black).

MAHTAB BASHIR
ISLAMABAD
mahtabbashir@yahoo.com
Cell: 0300 52 56 875

PRICE SPIRAL DURING RAMADAN

By Muhammad Mahtab Bashir
Islamabad
mahtabbashir@gmail.com

Price hike and the sacred month of Ramadan are synonymous on this land of pure. Irrational rise in edible prices have become a recurrent phenomenon on the eve of this month. Shopkeepers and market mafias are involved in black-marketing in total disregard for the religion that urges for maintaining its sanctity and austerity.

Half way through to this month of fasting, the measures so far taken to check the price spiral by government does not seem to be adequate. The commerce ministry that is responsible for maintenance of price, virtually does not have any control over the market. Practically the commerce ministry is always found unenthusiastic to impose any strong and effective steps to control market. The ministry usually holds formal meetings with the trader groups urging them to keep prices of essentials constant during the holy month of fasting and the ground reality is that traders always turn a deaf ear to such advices.

Extra charging almost on each food and other essential items tells you that the moon of Ramadan has been sighted. Each trader in the market raced ahead of the other in ignoring the price list issued by concerned government authorities and fleecing the skin of consumers without fear of any check on him. They say it "Haaza Min Fazli Rabbi."

At the start of this holy month, the federal government had announced a relief package of Rs 1.75 billion for retail consumers, ensuring the availability of kitchen items across the country at unified subsidised rates. According to this package the essential items would be provided to the masses by a network of 5500 utility stores for which the government will bear the subsidy up to Rs. 2000 million. Question arises here why the government has restricted this facility at utility stores only and why does it not extend to open market for easy reach of the common man? There are many ares in different cities of the country or so many cities where no utility store exists. Instances has also revealed the quantity and quality of items sold at utility stores are usually found unsatisfactory and below standard due to careless supervision and misconduct.

Government has formed some price checking committees to protect the common men from the profiteering of the shop keepers, but that is proving useless. First because, rarely any government is seen at the marketplace, and if somebody comes he is thoroughly ignored by the shopkeepers, because they know that they have already taken care of that officials and his bosses.

The holy month of Ramazan has been welcomed with traditional zeal and zest and the prices of all the things have been raised from 50% to 80%. The prices of fruits and vegetable remained all time high and shortage of flour prevailed and the prices of oil, pulses, milk, and other edibles have gone through the roof.

The reason the government could not act on time is because it does not have mechanism to monitor the market and to get up-dated information about demand and supply of various items, day-to-day retail, whole sale market prices, market prices in the country from where good are being imported, transportation costs, approximate time period for transport and other related issues, so that it can work out on a reasonable price policy and then bargain with business enterprenuer.

On a broader scale, when we closely inspect the ways retail or wholesale business works it is clear that they simply do not have much control of the market. It is only the importers who have the means and scope to manipulate the market, because they set the price of any item at the first place. Sometime before they finished a particular challan the prices go up from where the goods were imported. They immediately raise the prices though they are actually selling from the same challan. Sometime they intentionally play delaying tactics in placing orders or keep stocks for longer periods to create an artificial crisis. Sometimes they exploit their own engineered crisis to force the government to withdraw taxes on imported goods to multiply their profit.

Flour, edible oil, gram pulse, gram flour, tea, dates and sugar are the main items that are consumed in larger amount during Ramazan. Can we cut out on these items as much as possible during this Ramadan?

The market mafia has started hoarding various products commonly required during ramadan that indicate their wayward intentions of black-marketing but our governmental machinery at federal, provincial and district levels is a silent spectator. Half of the month of ramadan is over and government has not yet announced any policy or strategy to control price-hike.

Keeping in view the past experiences of traditional black-marketing during ramadan, government should fix selling prices, binding on wholesale and retail merchants and depute officials to ensure the sale of these items at controlled price in open market to facilitate all citizens durinf this holy month and not allow anyone to indulge in black-marketing and hoarding and to punish violators publicly without discrimination. It can only be possible if concerned authorities shun rhetoric and act tangibly.

Muhammad Mahtab Bashir is a freelance contributor from Islamabad

MUHAMMAD MAHTAB BASHIR
House # 2026, Street # 32,
I-10/2, ISLAMABAD.
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LETS RISE with 'THE RISE' www.RiseTheMag.com

'Don't just SPECTATE, PARTICIPATE'

BACKGROUND:
After the debacle of 9/11, the wind of change blows across seas challenging the Muslim youth with enlarge manifolds. These challenges pose the responsibility with diversity on various views that world has come up with, including the widespread belief of ‘Islamophobia’ and Clash of Civilization. Unfortunately, the global media is an important agent in accentuating the negative notion against the Muslims using their soft power. With internal weaknesses, divisions on multiple lines Muslims has became easy prey to this newly waged war. This approach deepens the division between the Muslims and the Western world and invariably leads to a clash of civilization. To counter these damaging effects, there is a need to impress upon the world that the cause of peace in the world is achievable through interfaith harmony. Pakistani youth in particular and Muslim youth of the world in general, face the task to revert much enchanted glory lost by Muslim Ummah. Intellectual lethargy and slamming the doors shut to logical inquiry has become the order of the Muslim world of today with indulgence of the youth in fruitless activities. Muslim youth may easily get on with violence and agitation without realizing its repercussion and hence their naivety has lead to further obscurity.

Regaining lost glory would depend on overcoming the impediments faced by us all from the shore of River Nile to Sands of Kashgher. Muslims would not be able to counter the growing challenges with use of force, suicidal attacks, violence, and agitation but with inculcation and sharing of new ideas and scholarship. It must be kept in mind that knowledge is true spirit of Islam—a religion that supports critical thinking and we can revert back the splendor by implanting critical analytical skills and reasoning rather than aping various norms of the west. The image of Muslims projected by the media is often distorted, fragmented and clouded by fast changing global events. A selective and unfamiliar aspect of a particular Muslim Country's social behavior often being projected negatively. To defy the propaganda, we have to focus our energies in proving that Muslims are primarily peace loving and tolerant souls. Along with this we have to increase our specialization of societal institutions like political system, law and order, economic management, and education.

To encounter with modernity, the Muslim Ummah has shun its doors but with torch bearers of our glorious past, we as Pakistani and Muslim youth are standing hand in hand with the rest of the world. With these objectives and using the technological means launching of THE RISE would provide us a platform where we can all express our inside out not only with each other but with the world at large.

Vision:
Using cutting-edge Internet technology for the world to obtain information about Pakistan and to dissuade what they think about us

Mission Statement:
To empower the youth of Pakistan with a capacity to comprehend the significance of their role to project Pakistan as a modern and progressive nation all over the world

Objectives:
· To reflect the true soft image of a progressive, enlightened and affluent Pakistan by its inhabitants across the world as envisaged by its founder, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah
· To promote country's art and culture and to educate the world about the rich and diversified Muslim history and culture
· To underline a pragmatic approach and to create a democratic culture in Pakistan that will undo all the accusations of being labeled as a Rogue State or The Most Dangerous Place on Earth claimed by international media
· To explain and project Pakistan in all its dimensions of thought and action, dream and materialization of the dream without raising controversy or complex issues
· To project our standpoint on contemporary subjects such as Socio-cultural issues on which country is facing severe censure
· To inculcate a sense of responsibility among the youth of Pakistan to make Pakistan more thriving State
· To address and explain all misrepresentation regarding Pakistani society and to explain our point of view in a positive way
· To elucidate in world eyes the major development and economic targets and achievements Pakistan met within recent years
· To endorse nationalism among the masses that can evolve into Muslim unity