This one is a slightly different post as it's being written from Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. In the last few days I had been trying to understand connecting flights, transit visa and the related requirements. I have found Harrow Travels (Regent Plaza, Sharae Faisal) to be pretty efficient folks.
Also, for going to most of the European countries you either need to go through Frankfurt (Germany) or Amsterdam (Netherlands). In both the cases, Pakistanis are required to have Transit Visas stamped on their passport (even if they are not going to leave the airport). The only exception is people who hold a Schengen Visa. The transit visa takes 4 days to get stamped and the fee for Netherlands is Rs. 2700/- (you also need to give 3 photographs with your passport). KLM helps you in the process for Netherlands; I'm not sure about Germany but I think Lufthansa should help.
Before leaving Karachi, I got in touch with Adnan Ejaz, a guy from FAST Lahore who later joined Microsoft, who is also going to the same university. Quite interestingly we had the same flight from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam and more interestingly though we had never met each other and would not have recognized each other - we had adjacent seats in the KLM flight. More importantly, this is not just an accident. The form and substance are getting more and more clear to me with time. Yes, the journey has already begun!
Meanwhile, I have been reading Mumtaz Mufti's "Labbaik". It's a very good book - in fact a travelogue of Mumtaz Sahab's Hajj. It's a must read if you have a slight idea of Shahab Nama.
Amsterdam Schiphol is a very big airport - much bigger than Dubai, I would say. I shall reach Gothenburg by 3:30 pm, Insha Allah. Let's see how the future unfolds!
Mukhtar Masood wants your authograph on the pages of history. Remember: Ali = Bulund.
(Adil Shah: Karachi Airport, 21st Aug)
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Saturday, August 14, 2004
A Nation of Heroes
Today we have been blessed with the 58th Independence Day of Pakistan. In 1930, Allama Iqbal could exactly name the areas that 17 years later came to be collectively known as Pakistan. The great poet and visionary not only identified these areas well ahead of time, he knew that only a man as strong of his will as Muhammad Ali Jinnah could help to materialize this dream. Thus, Allama Iqbal was the person who convinced Jinnah to come back when the latter was disappointed with the pathetic condition of Muslims and had gone to England for good. In one of his letters to the Quaid, Iqbal stated:
Our first prime minister was assassinated and the incident has always been a mystery. The demise of the founder is also controversial. We aren't even sure whether the founder wanted it to be a secular or an Islamic state. Over the years we have fought amongst ourselves over hundreds of issues, most notably in relation with politics. However, our people have made extra-ordinary contributions to many disciplines of life, despite our political instability. We have made world records in fields as diverse as sports (cricket, hockey, snooker, squash, etc), human surgery and the art of war.
In the category of lesser known records, let me tell you that in 1965, Sq Ldr M. M. Alam shot down 5 enemy Hunter aircrafts in less than a minute which is a record even today. In the field of computer software, pick any book on computer viruses and it will mention that "Brain Virus" was the first wide-spread/ known PC virus written by two Pakistani brothers in 1986 - the duo put self-replicating code to practical (albeit destructive) use. It was also the first stealth virus.
There have been unsung heroes like Allama Mashriqi; there have been people so strong of their characters that the mind baffles; read, for example, Shahab Nama by Qudrut ullah Shahab. Amongst many others, we didn't give due respect to another national hero: Dr. Abdus Salam. He, being an Ahmedi, wasn't received well when he won the Nobel Prize. I am not very sure what exactly would have been my opinion of the person if I were in his era, but I am sure that I wouldn't have gone to this extent in pre-judice - in fact, nobody should. No good book on Theoretical Physics fails to mention Dr Abdus Salam's contribution.
But the reason behind this post is not only to discuss our heroes, but also lack of another very significant pillar - the institutions. The word institution shouldn't be restricted to educational context - everything from an NGO or a government office to something as simple as a coffee shop should be considered. Have we even wondered who has been teaching/ training these extra-ordinary people? In contrast with our heroes, there are only a few places like Pak Tea House and Govt. College Lahore that can nurture learning.
A classical example of this imbalance in institutions and individuals is the sport of Squash. With heroes like Roshan, Jahangir and Jansher, there is no place that guarantees or at least favors that the trend would continue. It's just those individuals whose efforts brought fame to the country. As soon as these heroes are gone, we stand where we were before them.
Though debatable and I don't have strong arguments in favor of this claim, I am inclined towards suggesting that Islam strives to improve the "median" rather than "extreme points." The real test of heroism is to make yourself redundant. I would close by urging the heroes of today to put in mechanisms that ensure successful operations even when they will no more be with us!
You're a shooting star amongst ordinary stars... A shooting star passes quickly, but, while it's here, it's the most beautiful thing you'll ever want to see
(from the movie, Jack)
I know you are a busy man but I do hope you won't mind my writing to you often, as you are the only Muslim in India today to whom the community has right to look up for safe guidance through the storm which is coming to North-West India, and perhaps to the whole of India.
Our first prime minister was assassinated and the incident has always been a mystery. The demise of the founder is also controversial. We aren't even sure whether the founder wanted it to be a secular or an Islamic state. Over the years we have fought amongst ourselves over hundreds of issues, most notably in relation with politics. However, our people have made extra-ordinary contributions to many disciplines of life, despite our political instability. We have made world records in fields as diverse as sports (cricket, hockey, snooker, squash, etc), human surgery and the art of war.
In the category of lesser known records, let me tell you that in 1965, Sq Ldr M. M. Alam shot down 5 enemy Hunter aircrafts in less than a minute which is a record even today. In the field of computer software, pick any book on computer viruses and it will mention that "Brain Virus" was the first wide-spread/ known PC virus written by two Pakistani brothers in 1986 - the duo put self-replicating code to practical (albeit destructive) use. It was also the first stealth virus.
There have been unsung heroes like Allama Mashriqi; there have been people so strong of their characters that the mind baffles; read, for example, Shahab Nama by Qudrut ullah Shahab. Amongst many others, we didn't give due respect to another national hero: Dr. Abdus Salam. He, being an Ahmedi, wasn't received well when he won the Nobel Prize. I am not very sure what exactly would have been my opinion of the person if I were in his era, but I am sure that I wouldn't have gone to this extent in pre-judice - in fact, nobody should. No good book on Theoretical Physics fails to mention Dr Abdus Salam's contribution.
But the reason behind this post is not only to discuss our heroes, but also lack of another very significant pillar - the institutions. The word institution shouldn't be restricted to educational context - everything from an NGO or a government office to something as simple as a coffee shop should be considered. Have we even wondered who has been teaching/ training these extra-ordinary people? In contrast with our heroes, there are only a few places like Pak Tea House and Govt. College Lahore that can nurture learning.
A classical example of this imbalance in institutions and individuals is the sport of Squash. With heroes like Roshan, Jahangir and Jansher, there is no place that guarantees or at least favors that the trend would continue. It's just those individuals whose efforts brought fame to the country. As soon as these heroes are gone, we stand where we were before them.
Though debatable and I don't have strong arguments in favor of this claim, I am inclined towards suggesting that Islam strives to improve the "median" rather than "extreme points." The real test of heroism is to make yourself redundant. I would close by urging the heroes of today to put in mechanisms that ensure successful operations even when they will no more be with us!
You're a shooting star amongst ordinary stars... A shooting star passes quickly, but, while it's here, it's the most beautiful thing you'll ever want to see
(from the movie, Jack)
Friday, August 06, 2004
Across the Nation in 7 Days
The last week was very hectic. I had to visit Islamabad to get visa stamped on my passport (hint: . Meanwhile, Salman Kasbati (FASTian 2000 - now in Connect2Web) took leave for the first week of August from his office. This meant that our three years old plan for going on a Pakistan tour might get materialized. With little effort, two more friends Humair Mudassir (FASTian 99 - now in DreamzNet) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (FASTian 2000 - now in ITIM) also got ready.
We bought a map of NWFP and listed down all the constraints. The major ones were being in Islamabad on 2nd of August and in Lahore on a working day. All of us had very important tasks to be done on 9th of August. The plan was made while sitting on a roadside lawn outside a house near National Stadium. We had the map stretched on the footpath with papers and pencils in our hands - busy in calculating expenses. No wonder every passerby gave us weird looks.
We selected Kaghan-Naran valley for our trip while passing by Lahore and staying in Islamabad for a day or two. The rest of the adventure would be interesting only for people who intend to go on a similar trip - and would like to save costs. I'd write that only if I get time, which I never seem to have enough. Why can't I have more than 24 hours in a day?
The Waiter (in a restaurant in Naran): Sir, aap ka naam kya hai?
Humair: Bashir
The Waiter (turning towards Kasbati): Aur sir, aap ka?
Kasbati: Bashir
The Waiter (slightly distrubed): Dono kaa aik hi naam hai?
ShahG: Yeh dono asal main aik hi admi hain!
Kasbti: Naheen, mera naam Bashir hai, us ka naam "Bashir underscore A" hai.
The Waiter: Underscore?
(One of the several weird conversations we had on this trip)
We bought a map of NWFP and listed down all the constraints. The major ones were being in Islamabad on 2nd of August and in Lahore on a working day. All of us had very important tasks to be done on 9th of August. The plan was made while sitting on a roadside lawn outside a house near National Stadium. We had the map stretched on the footpath with papers and pencils in our hands - busy in calculating expenses. No wonder every passerby gave us weird looks.
We selected Kaghan-Naran valley for our trip while passing by Lahore and staying in Islamabad for a day or two. The rest of the adventure would be interesting only for people who intend to go on a similar trip - and would like to save costs. I'd write that only if I get time, which I never seem to have enough. Why can't I have more than 24 hours in a day?
The Waiter (in a restaurant in Naran): Sir, aap ka naam kya hai?
Humair: Bashir
The Waiter (turning towards Kasbati): Aur sir, aap ka?
Kasbati: Bashir
The Waiter (slightly distrubed): Dono kaa aik hi naam hai?
ShahG: Yeh dono asal main aik hi admi hain!
Kasbti: Naheen, mera naam Bashir hai, us ka naam "Bashir underscore A" hai.
The Waiter: Underscore?
(One of the several weird conversations we had on this trip)
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