Confusion is the prime of sorrow and everything that has been happening in the land of the green and the pure for the better half of the last decade can briefly be summarized as a confused view point following an even more confusing ideology. Everyone has a brief stint of identity crisis where the greener pastures seem blue if focused on properly but even more daunting than this is the global rejection of the green.

“We deserve it; it’s just God’s way of telling us that we aren’t good people”

This is something that I get to hear very often and it just makes me sad thinking how people can so aptly point this out without paying heed to the fact that the law and order lapses and the massive failure of infrastructure is a direct consequence of the short-term thinking of everyone who has been in power for the last six decades. It has all been due to the cat and mouse game that the honchos in big government establishments play when they could have diminished their differences and given more attention to both economic and environmental sustainability.

Why sit back silently and accept this as an order from the heavens and not ask questions? Why do we always give into dogma and refuse to question anything because either it is the ultimate word or it won’t make a difference if we ask questions. We know there was a flood, we know people are dying of hunger and disease, we know it’s the worst disaster of this century; we know it will take years to get everything back to the way it was. But isn’t it about time we start pruning every little detail and make amends so that it doesn’t happen again, isn’t it time we finally stop blaming it on some sect that doesn’t go to the same place to worship as you?

Acts of barbaric undertones have been happening for as long as I can remember. There have been public beheadings, little girls have been raped, people have been tortured and the recent incident in Sialkot is no less. It did not happen because we “deserve it”. It happened because people are afraid to raise a voice against anything that goes against their confused ideologies. It happened because at the end of the day every act of heinous malicious intent is justifiable using means ranging from scriptures to principles to how it’s a religious thing and no one should question it. It’s sad, really sad.

Tell this to a mother who lost her children or a kid who can’t ever have his parents sing lullabies again, tell them that they have been isolated in this world because “we as a nation” don’t deserve anything good. It’s about time we stop fighting over personal lives on national television, it’s about time we stop joining social networking sites to enhance a political image and it’s about time we start thinking about sustainability and a long-term view because you can have the best leader who can get people together but what direction to steer them is of utmost importance.

To think nine out of ten people that I asked about the recent catastrophe and what the solution to it post-rehab could be replied:-

“It’s happening because we aren’t good Muslims and we should hit the government with “a-shoe”.
Bless you I say, bless you.

(Picture taken by me)

There seems to be a park type area in the making on the Attaturk Avenue. Lots of nice footpaths are being made in the green belt in front of the PTCL building. I took a few pictures of that area with my lousy camera for you guys when I was walking back home yesterday. Maybe they thought that this area should have walkways because there are so many working class people who need to cross this area to go their offices on the other side, and its always a pain in the nether region to risk your life walking through a dense jungle full of hissing snakes and blood thirsty boars (kind of like the ones in the movie Hannibal (I hope I didn’t put you off your appetite!))

A nice little shed under construction. It would be nice to have short park style lamp posts at various locations. That would help create a nice ambience. But I doubt that would be on the list of things to do for the CDA. I wonder why they have to keep Islamabad so dark at nights! I remember the night when I went cross-country through a very dark area. If it wasn’t for the noise of the rushing waters below, I would have been drowning in Islamabad’s storm water drain that night! Maybe the CDA could try giving the people little torches with a little ‘Government of Pakistan’ sticker on them. I think they would be cheaper than erecting a lamp post!

Since this area is so close to PTCL, it would be great to make this whole place a Wi-Fi hotspot where users can just sit around and blog, tweet, facebook, etc. Here’s a picture of the new metallic benches and trash cans that are going to be placed all over this place I believe. That white light at the back are the parliamentary houses thingy, too bad my camera was unable to capture the buildings properly.

Here’s some guys playing cricket in that empty ground opposite the Ufone office just where this green area ends.

Would be great to see serious walkers, joggers, and exercisers in this new place.

A sequel to the post made earlier.

This is the “largest bird cage in the country” under construction at the Lake View Point Park. When it was opened, it was a neat and clean place for people to go and enjoy the serenity and the calm of the water currents. Now going there on a Sunday is like paying a visit to Murree on a national holiday = HORRENDOUS.

Absolute chaos. Someone like me can’t help but wonder, if this IS supposed to be an attraction, what will become of the birds in this cage? The same fate that the Zoo animals meet or will the CDA maintain something for once?

Today many among us witnessed the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century in Pakistan along with other countries of the world. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department the eclipse was supposed to start at 5:58 a.m. and end at 11:12 am. Earlier the MET department had also declared that a total solar eclipse would be visible from India, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Japanese Islands and South Pacific Ocean [Source: The News http://thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=83400].

We did miss the “total” eclipse by ‘a country’ but whatever we got was worth having. The sun shadowed by the moon looked absolutely magnificent. It resembled a large cookie out of which somebody had neatly taken a large bite. For those of you who missed out on this event, here is a snap so that they may share in the experience as well. :-)

Solar Eclipse/Sooraj Grehan

I hope all among us who witnessed this cosmic phenomenon protected their eyes as well and saw the eclipse through thick protective screens. I am not sure if it was protection enough but i used an x-ray to view the glorious sun. It was a sight worth seeing. :-)

Here’s a couple of pictures I took early morn:

As you can see in the first picture, there’s a little mosquito sitting on the white flower. I asked him how his night had been, and he told me that it was wonderful. He was resting after a good night bloodsucking and had nearly digested all that he had consumed, and that’s quite obvious since he doesn’t appear to be distended. He told me that he particularly enjoyed the Grade 20, 21, and 22 blood. I’m not quite sure what he meant by that… maybe someone can elaborate?

I wish I could have recorded the sounds of the birds early morning. It was certainly a pleasure to walk around the block under the large shady trees listening to the sounds of the morning birds and watching the flowers blooming at the sides of the roads. Nothing like getting up in the morning for a nice healthy walk, especially when you’re in Islamabad!

CDA has launched a tree plantation campaign in the capital. To advertise this and to motivate others to do the same, banners have been placed on various locations throughout the city. These locations include street light poles on green belts, trees and Faizabad overhead bridge (I may have missed mentioning a couple of spots) too. I think it is a nice initiative which should be taken off and on. Since many trees have already been ‘murdered’ in the city, in the name of progress and development, we are in dire need of replacements. I hope CDA succeeds in its efforts and also hope that many people join in this ‘crusade’.

PS: Let’s plant more trees but also let’s treat the existing ones nicely.

While it may still be winter, but spring is in the air. Look at these pretty flowers and tell me if you don’t start thinking the same in an instance. :-)

Pretty Flowers

I hope the winter season stays a bit longer but can’t wait to see spring time either.