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Sunday, June 19, 2005
Classification of Human Beings
I would classify human beings into four categories. The first kind is of the people who see, hear and speak. People that fall under second category see and hear but they don’t speak, though they are not dumb. The people of third kind see and speak but they don’t hear, though they are not deaf. The people of fourth kind hear and speak but they don’t see, though they are not blind.
The people belonging to the first category are not many in number. One finds that they are logical and rational in their dealings. People of this kind deserve to be valued. The people belonging to second category are also few in number. They don’t speak because they are not heard. Often, if they do speak, their view is given least importance, considering it worthless. Approach of these people is rational most of the time. But since they are labelled as irrational, so they remain silent observer.
Majority of people around us belong to the third and fourth category. What is significant about them is that they are often biased or illogical in their dealings. However, they are still valued by most. People that fall under the third category believe that they are always right. They don’t agree with the person who contradicts them, even when at fault. Therefore, they don’t hear what others have to say. Mostly these are people with some kind of authority.
The people of fourth category are, I would say, ‘trouble creators’ in the real sense of the term. They don’t analyse things and simply jump to conclusions. They can be easily led away, so they must be extremely cautious in their public dealings. They should always follow the maxim, “Think before you speak.”
There even may be a fifth category; the people who share the traits of all the four major categories as mentioned above. Now, since I think I can be placed in the second category, perhaps you will not agree with my classification of human beings.
Composed May 10, 2004
Valediction
Wishing you success in all your life,
In the crucible
You’ll find me by your side.
But if my voice fades away,
Never stop;
Nor let your hopes suffer decay.
Dig five feet down,
Put in some straw, and fill the ditch.
The swelling ground
Will tell you where I am.
Composed May 9, 2004
The Travelling Experience
Someone in the past said, “Travelling leads to success”. This proverb is not applicable in our country; it can only be true if one reaches one’s destination quite safe and sound.
The transportation system of the world is making progress but so is not the case with our country and the reason why it is so is the government’s indifference. Here a traveller is considered to be one of the most pitiable fellows who travels at the risk of his own life. The bus drivers drive at a very high speed. You might have found a passenger travelling by a very speedy bus saying, “Travelling leads to the hospital”. Such drivers are always in a hurry. The scenes of a passenger getting into and then coming out of the bus are quite funny. Sometimes it happens that a passenger is about to enter the bus, half of his body is inside it and the rest is outside, but the driver has driven the bus with a jerk and you know where the passenger is? He is down on the floor of the bus and has also heard a few people laugh but as he looks up, every one gets serious because the same thing has happened to almost all of them.
A good thing about Pakistanis is that they get used to everything, so most of us have got used to travelling by a speedy bus, but the doctors of our country advise the heart patients not to travel by a bus about which they are sure that it will go fast, but there are patients who do not listen to the doctors and if such a man unfortunately travels by a speedy bus, one may hear him say:
It’s my life; it’s now or never,
I ain’t gonna live for ever,
I just wanna live while I’m alive,
It’s my life; my heart is like a broken highway
Would that for me everyone pray,
That I should live while I’m alive,
It’s my life.
Wise people say we should go step by step with time. A driver read this line somewhere but could not understand anything because he was a train driver.
I do not like Japanese for inventing rickshaw but not travelling by it. They exported it to our country, where people are bound to travel by it. ‘Qingqi’ is the latest and the most dangerous form of rickshaw. I, one day, saw a man sitting on the back seat and I am still not sure whether he was laughing or weeping as the chingchi passed over the speed breaker and maintained its original speed. I, one day, in a chance meeting with a Japanese asked him why they had they thought of making such a dangerous vehicle; he replied, “We Japanese are fond of doing experiments”.
Once, I thought to take the views of different people about travelling by bus. First, I went to a man who had recently bought a second-hand car. I asked him why he had bought a car that consumed a lot of petrol. He only replied, “Man learns by his mistakes”. Later, I came to know that he had faced several accidents and every time he was sitting on the front seat. Then I met another man who had got his own car but preferred to travel by bus. I asked him why did he not fear accidents. He replied, “Practice makes a man perfect”. I came to know, later, that he was a miserly man and always feared the rapid increase in petrol prices. Then I met another man who liked to travel on the roof of the bus. I asked him whether he ‘got kick out of’ travelling on the roof of the bus and maybe this guy took my question for fun and in a pretty ridiculous way replied, “Why! I can jump down if I see that the bus is about to face an accident”. Later I was told that he was a college student and did so in order to escape from purchasing the ticket. However, one day when I met the same guy with a bandage on his head I thought whether it was the consequence of jumping from the bus or escaping from the conductor.
Today people say that the passengers have lost charm in travelling but talking about Pakistani passengers, it would be appropriate to say that they cannot lose what they never had.
A good thing about Pakistan is that here you can find everything, where there is speedy transport; there is also another kind of transport that moves at a snail’s pace. Once I asked a passenger why he preferred to travel by such a slow moving bus. He replied, “Better late than never.”
The outlook of such buses is incredible. These buses appear antiques. Even some of the famous historians have failed to tell anything about the model of these buses, though we can find “MODEL 2003” written in some corner, and the most interesting thing is that the years also keep on changing with the arrival of the new year. Some of these buses have passed their retirement age but have still been seen crawling on the roads, especially in the countryside where no better transport is available. Since these buses are old, people have to start them by pushing. These buses even do not have brakes, but the conductors are very clever who always keep a piece of log with them, which does the job of brakes. I asked a conductor about this technical and ‘new millennium-method’ of brakes, and he replied, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Some children of these villages, sometimes while they are riding bicycles, are found challenging the bus driver over a race competition. One can understand the feelings of the driver at this time and the remarks that he receives from the passengers.
Our transport is well known for its literary taste, i.e. the sentences that are written on its body. Some of these sentences have far-reaching meanings. I, once, saw a badly damaged bus: no windscreen, no windowpanes and the sentence written on the entrance door ran, “Khair ho aap ki’. A wise man will surely never dare ride such a bus.
In our country, people criticise the bad transport and the damaged roads. They are unaware of the fact how valuable these things are! In foreign countries people ride in a van-like thing, which keeps on shaking at one place and inside only the picture on the screen moves so the rider feels as though the van were going on a very bad road at a very high speed. They call it enjoyment, but here we call the same thing a trouble for the passengers. We lack the ability to praise such valuable things that the foreigners enjoy riding. Just a problem with our system, perhaps.
Composed November 2001
Life
Life is the most prominent of the qualities that distinguish a vital being from an inanimate matter. It is an inestimable blessing, its value is much more than we can imagine. Life is beautiful like a rose but to enjoy its fragrance,one needs to be extremely cautious of the thorns that accompany it. Life is benign only to those who enjoy it in all circumstances.
Our life is full of improbabilities. Life is, in fact, what happens to us while we are busy making other plans. It may take a sudden turn and lead us toward an end that we may never have imagined. Life is a mystery; it is a labyrinth, a maze in which we may take a wrong turning before we have learnt to walk. It is like a deep forest__ if lost it may become too difficult for us to trace our way back. Life is something serious, something that requires our attention. It is like a tragi-comedy where we may experience the ups and downs of life__ now happy and at another moment gloomy, this process continues till we reach our end. Its end will be peaceful only if our past is unblemished. What life requires from us is constant struggle, our journey towards the zenith maybe slow but if this journey is steady then we are bound to enjoy its fruit through eternity.
In life, sometimes, it is not the big things but the little things that can be of more value. Often in our pursuit of some great happiness we neglect little happy moments of our life; the moments that can mean enough; the moments that carry the real smack of life.
In short, to enjoy life to its full, it is an essential requirement to have a complete perception of what life actually is. Life is just like a chameleon, changing its colour too often. It demands serious consideration on our part to understand it. It is an art that we should develop; an adventure that we must dare to undertake; a tragedy that requires to be faced courageously; a destiny that we have to accept; a mystery that we need to unravel, a challenge that we must meet; a dream that needs to be realized, and a beauty that deserves our admiration.
Composed November 2003
I am Fat!
Who will hear my story told?
In this story you’ll find me bold.
I run after food ’cause I’m fat,
Like a big cat after a rat.
The behaviour of a host towards me is cold,
But it is a tradition too old,
And since I’ve got used to it,
To eat anything I declare myself fit.
People call me the enemy of the grain,
And that I think with me belly and not my brain.
I consider myself ‘uber alles’
(Though as a joke) When they call me ‘robustus’.
People eat to live,
But I live to eat,
That is my life
As you can see!
So did you find that I was bold,
Who has heard my story told?
Composed February 2002
Composed November 2001
Nature
O God!
You made the world for us so vast,
And decorated every single vale
With fountains and springs that run fast,
And scented with the flowers red and pale.
Yet we do not praise You enough
For the blessings You bestowed upon us,
The fruit upon every bough
Has a message for us_
Pray to God O man!
He has given you so much.
My first poem, composed in 2001
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