I’m sure all of you must have had the chance to drive by the Marghazar Zoo on your way to either having sheesha at “Jungle Spot” or going for a nice meal up on Peer Sohawa. The other day, I along with my camera decided to pay visit to the once coveted Japanese Park and the Zoo. Now If you’ve grown up in Islamabad, you must have fond memories of school trips to the Japanese parks, the new portal of “weird” and “interesting” jhoolas, the canteens, the frost juices and what not. Everything changes, and it has too. In a good way or a bad way, that I’m not sure of.

Landscaped, more flowers, more shades, but that feeling just wasn’t there. I guess it comes with age. But as it stood, it was a very safe haven, for people expressing their wishful thinking and unprecedented love for one another. Hallelujah. Merry making has taken a whole new twist, but then again so has the whole city so it wasn’t a surprise. But a public children park? really? *shakes head*

On to the real intention of this post, I went to the zoo hoping to see animals having “fun” or maybe that’s what I thought happens in a zoo but the animals are trapped and caged but they can be taken care of. Which is one tenet that the administration does NOT follow. The animals looked half dead, there was no one around them, people were throwing stuff inside their cages, throwing water. This one trip from some out-station university even had the guts to throw ALL their garbage inside one of the cages because they thought it was funny. I mean how is that even remotely funny? Maybe the 30 odd girls with amazing “poise” and utmost “beauty” thought it was, but it was rather sad to see them doing it. I bet they wouldn’t be this happy if they were in the cage.

Look at this elegant work of nature. An elegant bird. It should be free, but then again so should the rest of the animals be but the point is, they’re not being taken care of. It’s sad that they can work on the “outlook” of the place but not feed these poor animals properly? Or perhaps stop stupid people coming and harassing the animals. You thought outstation universities were through with harassing local people, specially women. Well guess what their new mission in life is.

Very sad state of affairs and to top it, when I went to the man apparently in charge inquiring as to why there was “no” water in the pelican place he said “Pani jaisay he aiga dalaingay”. I was baffled, and well, speechless.

*shakes head again*..