Hope Never Dies

 

Written By: Nav KA (United Kingdom)

"Be it Attar, or Rumi or Razi or Ghazali Nothing
is attainable without tears in the twilight of dawn" Allama Iqbal.

I am a British born Pakistani and my love and passion for Pakistan is as intense as anyone’s.  Distances don’t matter if you love something so much.

We hear much about Pakistan in the media, corruption, protests, deaths, raids, terrorism, military action but we seldom so hear about the beauty of Pakistan. A nation state born from a dream, a dream so powerful it forced out colonists and mobilised millions in the largest human migration in history, a dream so dear to Pakistani’s it lives on today. This dream was Allama Iqbal’s legacy. This is Pakistan.

Allama Iqbal, better known as Muffakir-e-Pakistan (The Thinker of Pakistan) was the inspirational leader and ideological founder of Pakistan who helped mobilise the Muslim people behind Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Not for religious segregation or oppression but for a future based on Religious ideals of Peace, Justice and Ethics.

The quote above, one of my favourites, refers to aspiring to many great thinkers but it also talks about the fact you can not attain anything unless you make a habit of rising in the hours of dawn where the creative twilight is enveloping the earth. The dawn is a period of time where the sun shines on a new day for a new beginning, a time of prayer and a time of solitude after sleep.
This is exactly what Pakistan is going through, having experienced the long periods of sleep in its history. The people have arisen against ineptitude and from their sleep of passiveness for a better dawn for Pakistan.  Looking at those on the streets, one see’s the many faces of the youth, the old, the poor and the rich side by side, sweat and tears for an old hope.  Revolutions start with those desiring a better tomorrow, typically through the youth of a nation. Allama Iqbal called the youth: “Shaheen” (Falcon). Like a Falcon, Allama Iqbal compared them to the astute vision, the flight and the character and attitude of a Falcon. Allama’s call emphasised 'deed' rather than 'idea'. He categorically stated:

“"Your world is (only) the one which you create yourself,
Not these stones and bricks, which are in sight"”

For those who criticise the mass protests over the last few weeks in Pakistan should remember that they call for nothing more but the betterment of Pakistan; a return to the dream which unites the nation, the request to act on the ‘idea’ of Pakistan. Regardless of any ones political affiliations, the protests have amassed the youth on to streets with the passion and instinct for the Ideals of Equality, to the Ideas of Humanity and Fairness for all. How can we stand against them when they only wish to build a better brighter nation we all hold dear?

The Shaheens of Pakistan have finally awakened, the wind of change have already started to blow. This is a season of hope- the old hope for Justice and Fair Prosperity.  Over 60 years on from independence, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die. I say, fly Falcon fly and pull the stars down. Hope never dies.

Fly in the Wild

Written By: Bariyah Faisal

Even though I am free

It feels like I am being chained

My mind shows me boundaries

beyond which I can't reach

I wanna know what it feels like

To fly in the wild

With arms wide open

And I want to know

What it feels like to dance in the rain

With raindrops pouring on your lips

Here in my little prison

I promise myself

That I will break these shackles,

these binds

Because I wanna know

What it feels like to live freely.



Younis Khan, victim of Politics in Pakistan Cricket

Article is the property of and was first published on Express Tribune Blogs. Original link is here.

Pakistan has announced its squad for the ODI and T20 series against Australia and it has disappointed a lot of cricket fans. Though there are many questionable selections, the most surprising one is Younus Khan being dropped from the ODI team.

While announcing the decision, chief selector Moin Khan said,

“Our experiment with Younus in the ODI series in Sri Lanka backfired. Now all have unanimously decided to look ahead to our future with youngsters. His services for Pakistan are commendable but now we have to take a step forward and he is also out of contention for the 2015 World Cup.”

It is true that Younus didn’t perform well in the only ODI match he played against Sri Lanka and was out on just three runs. However, it should also be mentioned here that the only ODI match Pakistan did win in this series was the one in which Younus played. He had to leave the tour because of the illness of his nephew and Pakistan lost the other two ODI matches. One can’t help but imagine how the decision of including him in the team backfired when the only match he played in was the only one Pakistan won.

A Tiny Piece of Hope

 Written By: Bariya Faisal

I stand in the midst of tainted buildings and black sky

I have lost the war

 There is nothing left

I failed for the first time,

I failed for the second time

And now I have failed for the sixth time

But even after all those sufferings

This tiny piece of hope never left my heart

It kept me from falling apart

in my worst times

And I learned to stand straight

when everything next to me was dying

Maybe, someday when I will win

This tiny piece of hope will no longer glow faintly

It will glow with such power

that it will illuminate the world.



The Magic of Love

Written By: Noor Haider

You arrowed your love so hard on me that it narrowed my thoughts. I lost the ability to think anything else except about you which left me hallow inside. If only you could see, I bellow deep inside for the impact you had on me; for how you made me feel. You might not be here anymore, at least not the way you said you would,  but the gist of your soul which I felt   shall remain forever in my core. Indeed, it is nothing but crux to my own self..but guess what? This is the perplexity that helps me keep going or rather i should say this is how I deceive myself. But trust me, its all charade that I'm trying to pull off at the end of the day. I'm not sure if works, but yet I'm sure for the fact, that you're too blind to see. And as I speak of the end, I'm just left here as a farrow who you arrowed with your love that made me narrow.

Importance

Friends are family are the most important part of your life.

Written By: Maham Arshad

You never know when you’ll lose a beloved one. When you’ll lose the opportunity to see their face again and again. When you’ll lose the opportunity of hearing their laughter again and again. When you’ll lose the opportunity to feel their love. When you’ll lose the opportunity to see them caring for you. That’s because they will die one day, leaving you behind crying.

The reason behind saying all of the above was that you don’t know that how much time you will get to spend with someone, whether it’s your mother, father, sister, brother, friend or anyone else. So, you should never take anyone for granted. You should love them, respect their presence and care for them. Once a loved one is lost, you won’t ever get them back. No matter how much you cry or whatever. They just won’t come back. It’s better to realize their importance when they’re present.

I’ve seen a lot of people cursing their family or friends for the littlest things ever, the most normal things ever. They don’t know that it’s their love too if they’re stopping them from something. Once they’ll be no more, no one will care for you. For your anything. Even if you had dinner or not. Even if you’re feeling good or not.

Have you ever seen a little poor child who just keeps on roaming in the streets and asks for food from everyone? He rings the bell of every house and asks if they could give him food so he could just fill up his tummy. Do you think he feels good doing this? Certainly not. You need a lot of courage and the worst circumstances to ask for something from a complete stranger. He must be facing those situations which make him ASK. Ask for food. Ask for the basic need of living. And then, at the end of the day, he just goes and sleeps at the footpath because he has got no home. No shelter. That’s only because he has got no parents too. No one to look after him, feed him and provide him shelter. To educate him and to get him clothes. Basically, to make his life beautiful. See the importance of parents? We should value them. It’s okay if they say us anything. That’s for our own good too. As someone said: “Love your parents and treat them with love and care. For you will only know their value when you see their empty chair.”

Now. Have you ever seen a lonely girl who sits in the corner bench during lunch time in school? She has got no one to share her laughter with. No one to share that how her day went. No one to ask if she could copy their homework because she wasn’t able to understand how to do. No one to ask if she could share lunch with them because her mum gave her only biscuits for the lunch. No one to whom she could tell that she doesn’t like her this classmate and why. Only because she has got no friends. No one to share her joy with her. No one to make her feel better when she’s sad. No one to make her laugh when she’s about to cry. No one to defend her in front of the bullies. She’s alone. She has to face the world alone. She has to do everything alone, whether she knows how to do it or not. Only if she even had one single friend. Her life would have been so much easier. There would be someone every time by her side. See that’s why friends are important. They make our world a bit more beautiful.

As Henry Drummond said: “Wherever we are, it is our friends that make our world.”

Last but not the least. Have you ever seen a kid living all a luxurious life, having the latest gadgets and all but having no siblings to enjoy all of them with. He just has to play everything alone and getting bored sooner or later. Having no one to love, tease or fight with. Having no one to cry in front of when his parents scold him. Having no one to take his side when the whole world leaves him alone. Having no one to whom he could get crazy with. Having no one to tell his crimes to. Having no one to help him doing his homework in the absence of parents. He wouldn’t have to face all of this only if he had a sibling or two. Only if he had a brother or a sister. Their presence would’ve made his life perfect. That is how siblings play their roles in our lives.

The point of writing all of the above was just to make you realize the importance of family and friends. I hope it helped.

Lahore, my Dream City

 

Written By: Mahnoor Naveed.

Lahore is my dream city. The city that attracts people from all around the globe with its rich culture and hospitable people. The city that has so much to offer all the year round. The city that is also known as the, 'Heart of Pakistan'. Oh Lahore! You make Pakistan proud.

Lahore is to Pakistan what Paris is to France, though not the capital but the cultural heir of the country. There were times when the Mughal rulers garlanded this great city with gardens and palaces, mosques and shrines which have survived the vicissitudes of destiny. These jewels are now the proud heritage of the brimming modern Lahore and pay tribute to these great rulers.

Walk through the streets of old Lahore and you get to be amazed by the architecture of these antique pieces of art.

Lahore is the city of music, of dance, of learning, of beauty. Lahore is simply the city of Cities. Lahories enjoy a reputation for their liveliness and properly known as 'Zinda Dilan-e-Lahore'. They are progressive, liberal, hospitable and understanding.

Classical music and folk songs have an appeal of their own and are wildly appreciated by the Lahorites. Folk songs and dances reflect a wide range of mood, the rain, sowing, harvesting seasons. Luddi and Bhangra depict the joy of living. The people of Lahore celebrate many festivals enthusiastically.

The spring season is the most colourful and lively season. Basant is a way of welcoming spring. The rooftops are crowded with kite flyers and the sky is full of kites. There is so much joy in the atmosphere. So much enthusiasm and zeal.

The people of Lahore have been traditionally famous as serious-minded, down to earth and hardworking individuals who have been thronging in the educational institutions like KEMC, NCA, Govt. College, Kinnaird College, Aitchison College and CJM, which have served them for more than a hundred years. These highly educated men and women work at home and abroad in all walks of life.


Food is one thing that the Lahories can't live without. Lahories love to eat and have a great taste for food. From the narrow streets of Walled City to the malls of Gulberg, your taste buds get to be tantalized with the great taste of food. Payee, nihari and lassi. Just to name a few.

Lahore has been a great attraction for tourists from all around the world.

They love to walk through the streets of the walled city and get mesmerized by its enchanting beauty.

Shopping is always fun in Lahore. From Liberty Market to Anarkali Bazaar, Lahore has so much to offer. Treat yourself with the traditional jewellery or the colourful khussas. Buy yourselves those attractive embroidered shawls or the dresses.


Lahore is simply the 'City of Gardens'. The famous Lahore Canal adds life to Lahore. In spring Lahore is full of bloom. The famous canal festival is celebrated in spring to depict the colours of Lahore. The canal is dressed like a bride.

The lure and luster that attaches to the name of Lahore is not the work of one man. It is a heritage that has been enriched by innumerable people at different stages of history. Other cities may hold a beauty that Lahore does not possess.....but no mystery. Just imagine. Every crumbling haveli has a story to tell. Every brick has a tale wrapped in its core. Every bird, every insect has seen something we will never know.

Last but not the least, Lahore Lahore hai!!!

I hope that you all enjoyed this journey with me to Lahore as much as I did while writing this article.

The World Will Always Be a Wonder for Amy Venzalo

Written By: Fatima Haroon.

Tucked in bed, little Amy found it hard to shut her eyes and go into the ‘half-dead mode.’  Today, she had heard her cousin, a medical student, say that when a person falls asleep, he or she is believed to be half-dead since the body shuts down to some extent.  She could not understand exactly what this statement meant, but in her head, the word ‘dead’ was enough to make her keep her eyes open.  In an hour or so, she just could not bear lying wide-eyed in bed.  So, she got up and walked to her bedroom window, which acted for her, like a glass-covered theater display of the stars and the moon.  She wondered where all the ‘half-dead’ people would be right now, really.

Looking out the window, she wondered if they were really taken up to the moon until the sun started to come up, which would act as signal for the sleeping wanderers to return back to Earth.  This explanation seemed good enough for her until she wondered how they could get so high up in the sky without any rocket of some sort and without making a sound?  Remembering her science lesson, she realized that there was no oxygen on the moon, so how could they wander about the moon in their pajamas when they could not even breathe up there?

With an innocent yawn, Amy rubbed her eyes and sat down on her favorite pink stool.  Looking at that stool, she remembered her mommy once telling her that Santa made the elves make it for her for Christmas.  When she asked her mommy how they and the elves were different, she said they were just like us, only shorter.  This flash back made her to think that maybe the sleep wanderers were transformed into elves, who had to make toys every night for all the children in the world for Christmas.  She was convinced that the North Pole was really where all of the sleep wanderers were taken because she recalled watching a cartoon in which the elves were making toys in a place full of snow.  Then, Amy mumbled to herself, ‘but how could they make toys in such a cold place without any tools to work with and without any fire to keep themselves warm?'

Confused and utterly sleepy, she decided to give up the war between her fear and sleep and threw herself on her bed.  Rubbing her swollen red eyes once more, little Amy yawned one last time before she whispered, ‘Let’s find out where those sleep wanderers  really are,’ and fell asleep.

The Story of a Ball of Yarn

Written By: Maham Shahbaz

I will tell you about a bird today...no that wont explain it, birds are not very expressive, you see? Let me tell you about a ball of yarn. Yarn is more expressive than a living bird. So i will start now, there was this ball of multicolored yarn neatly placed in the basket with threads needles and other yarn balls. Peaceful, no? No. The problem was this that the old lady who used to knit every day. She made sweaters and mufflers for her children and grandchildren, she used every color with care but the multicolored yarn. That multicolored yarn thought there was something wrong with him and he grew sadder and sadder, he got depressed. The other yarn balls didn't talk to him nicely and when he was pushed into a corner, the old lady did nothing to defend it. So he started to tangle himself, more and more and more. Nothing was ever enough for him. He thought he was nothing and he deserved nothing. And everyday the old lady would untangle it and those few seconds would make his day. Its good to get untangled by someone who cares. As hours passed after his untangling he would think and think and later he saw that how the old woman used every other color but him. He would then tangle himself again, more and more trying to hide behind the knots, trying to mask away the betrayal he felt each and every other day. He could see in the eyes of the old lady how sad they were because she missed her family. She stopped untangling the multicolored yarn ball every day and did it for after a week then a month. There came a time when he got so used to hiding behind knots that he himself created for him that he started hiding behind them. No one can really run away for long from what they feel. He only felt purely happy when he was being untangled by the old lady herself, not her caretakers. No he hated being untangled by anyone else even himself. So he tried to stopped feeling. That did no good because then he felt a lot more and a lot more left out from other colors and from the old lady. He just wanted the old lady to tell him that he was valued like she used to every day while untangling him. There came a day when her grandchildren came to visit her finally. She gave them their sweaters, her eyes gleaming, they pretended to like them. When those teenagers got alone they laughed at the sweaters because they were "not good enough" what could be better than something made with so much care, time and love? She used to put thought into her every stitch. Only one girl liked hers and she even wore it with her favorite uggs. At night when the old lady was on her bed trying to sleep she said "you think i dont know? I know what they think, they are just thick thats all. Dont fret over every little thing. Youre my most precious yarn and i couldnt bring myself to give you up" The very next day that little girl asked her grandma if she could have her multicolored yarn and the old woman just nodded. How could she say no to someone that important? They both found the untangled yarn peacefully in the basket waiting...

Three Steps Down the Hallway

Written By: Fatima Haroon.

The hour hand made a right angle with the minute hand as the clock struck 9:00 a.m, making the morning school bell ring, for the start of school.  Hearing the bell, Mr. Rivera, the school’s math teacher, got up from his chair, went out of the teacher’s staff room, and made his way to class.  As he turned left and took three steps down the hallway, he placed his foot on the tile that always wobbles slightly because it was loose, smiling and wondering whether he should finally report this matter.  By the time he reached the classroom and turned the door knob, he could hear all those chatterboxes inside go quiet, as they could see his shadow and saw the door knob turn.  He entered the classroom, exchanged greetings with the students, and began the lesson.  Forty-five minutes later, the bell rang again, indicating that second period had started.  So, Mr. Rivera left the classroom and made his way to the second class.

After taking three steps down the hallway, he heard someone behind him slip and fall.  He looked back and saw a new student on the floor with his shirt covered with tomato sauce, along with the rest of his lunch.  He gave the boy a hand in getting back up and gave a silly little smile as he turned back and headed to the second class room.  After another forty-five minutes, he was out of the classroom and in the hallway again, and then again, and then again, each time seeing something that reminded him of the “good old days.”

When the time the clock struck 2:00 p.m., school ended and this indicated to him that it was time to head back home.  He got up from his chair, went out of the teacher’s staff room, and made his way to the school’s exit.  As he took three steps down the hallway along his way, he stood at the same spot where he had taken a picture of himself eight years ago, wearing that much-awaited graduation cap and gown and holding that well-deserved diploma in his hands.  All those memories of that floor tile he loosened once because of a dare his friend gave him, those embarrassing moments when he clumsily slipped and spilled his lunch all over his clothes and on the floor, were now delightful memories, dwelling in his heart.  Smiling to himself, he sighed and went out of the door, the very door which had acted and continued to act as a doorway to education, happiness, and success when he was a student and now, a teacher there.

The Death Mode

 Written By: K.A

My heart beats fast,
There is something I cannot grasp
As it approaches me
I realise that its a blast.

I am in severe pain
My heart finds no love to gain

I am nothing without love
I am nothing without my past.

My heart aches in fear
My cheek wet with tear
I cannot feel anything
As my death comes near.

I am scared to die so soon
I still have to reach the moon
I have got dreams to fulfil
As sparkling as a silver spoon.

As twilight approaches
As the dark falls all over
I'm sad to leave this place
But i know my life is over

I realise it's the end of the road
The end of my beautiful journey
Bt before i go,I leave you a little note
I am not leaving you forever
God has just turned on the death mode.

Zimbabwe make History

 

Written By: Rahat Z Dar

On August 31, 2014 at Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe make history as they beat Australia in One-Dayers after three decades. it was off to a flying start for Zimbabwe as Michael Clarke the Australian skipper won the toss and chose to bat first, but it was the Zimbabwean bowlers; mainly spinners, who dominated the first innings, till the key to scoring runs the Australian skipper pulled a hamstring that ruled him out from the remaining matches of the Tri-series, but somewhat the injured skipper managed to put up 68 runs off 102 balls, not a single Aussie batsmen could settle on the spin-friendly pitch alongside the skipper to build a partnership, only Haddin's 49 and Cutting's cameo at no. 10 helped the Australian team reach the target of over 200 runs, which from Zimbabwe's perspective was a challenge itself to chase down, and it looked even unlikely when the second innings started and within a few overs after a slow yet positive start Zimbabwe were 5 down for 105 at a point, and when Lyon reached his career-best figure 4-44, it was almost unbelievable for the Zimmers to chase it down. But Zimbabwean skipper who watched wickets tumbling down gradually from the other end became the key and scored 52* off 68 which lessened the distance to their target, with the help of Utseya and their 8th wicket partnership scoring 50 runs in 59 balls, helped them bag their second ever win against Australia, it was Utseya who inspite of being 8 wickets down, went for a big hit and scored a 6 over mid-wicket which wrapped up the match in an outstanding and memorable way. Zimbabwe finally tasted the well deserved victory after struggling to bag one in the Tri-series.