Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy has made us fall in love with her. Again. A Girl in the River, Chinoy's next masterpiece, has secured yet another Oscar for Pakistan! When I first came across the news, chatting with my university friends in our cafeteria, the importance of the revelation was lost on me. It wasn't until I saw with my own eyes online, our amazing...
Everything seems...perfect. Which is exceptionally weird. Why haven't I burst into a fit of tears yet? Where is my paranoia? My adversity? Where are you? I see opportunity after opportunity; lining up. Or rather, possibility after possibility. Where are my tormentors? They're here alright. But it's like they're not... Is it me? Yes. I've stopped acknowledging them. No more backward glances, no more...
FIRE AND ICE Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate to say that for destruction ice is also great and would suffice. *** Robert Frost ...
Everything seemed like a fairy tale on that night. Now... I am trapped again in the maze that kept me from setting myself free. Thanks to our career counselor, I've been entertaining the option of abandoning my major a whole damn lot. What part of career-counseling and motivation doesn't he get? It's always him and his pessimism in his lectures. His banter about...
I won a competition. Happiness is not what I felt. I don't know what I felt. Is embarrassment the word? It's close to it. As I made my way to the stage, my chin became heavy and all I saw while walking was the carpet that I placed my feet on, one after the other. I climbed the flight of stairs to the stage, congratulating...
An amazing thought popped into my head last night. I have a physical diary and the one on my phone. Why should I not have a voice-diary? I've already started practicing on WhatsApp, sending voice-messages to my college-friend. He's annoyed, I know. I can't help myself! It's so fun!!! It's one creative thing after the previous with me. ...
I was tense. Pacing in almost all of the corridors, my spelling bee book in my hands, I was on a constant lookout for a friend of mine whom I believe I get along with well. I never saw him. But he arrived at the main campus all the same. Combat was great! PAF-KIET is one of this city's amazing universities. It's a...
People. All they do is talk. A cousin of mine wants to be an artist. But her parents won't let her. There's a person that I know who wants to major in Archaeology, but wasn't given the "thumbs-up" that was needed and is now studying for a different degree. Why were they not supported? Because of hearsay! The parents of both of the...
Guys, I'm really sorry. Assuming that you've all read my post prior to this one, I've come to realize that I wasn't being fair there. I shouldn't have written it. I just shouldn't have. I know I'm the weirdo of the class, and also know that you guys do nothing that will make me feel bad about myself or that I might abhor....
Realization does come. We must always be ready when it does. I now have an entirely different perspective. With Open Eyes, I see everything clearly. And I don't like what I see. I wish the cloud that was obscuring my eyes, before this overwhelming clarity, to return. To cloud my eyes again, make me live in the illusory state I was in before....
Pakistanis shone, at the 14th International Istanbul Gastronomy Festival in Turkey. Bagging 15 gold medals, 13 silver medals, 1 bronze medal, 4 trophies, and 30 certificates, Pakistan's national team stood out and was appraised by culinary paragons of international standing. At the end of the competition, they posed for photos and selfies. In their hands, our national flag; spread wide tight with patriotic...
Since the recent discovery of gravitational waves, it has been proved that Black Holes do exist. Now in real life, too, and not only in science-fiction and Hollywood. Japan has released a satellite that will, once it has acquired its position in space, spy over black holes specifically. Data can then be recorded and received in this way. More discoveries are expected to...
Ahsan Khan and the Jafira Disaster Cell have joined forces, giving birth to yet another charity initiative in Karachi. The Wall of Kindess, the name translated in English from Urdu, is basically an emporium for the needy; where people leave there unwanted clothing to be taken by others visiting the wall. The proprietors claim that the first day of their project was a...
An important realization has struck our president, and he has has approved RS 11.7 million for a limited number of deserving artists and writers. He believes that creative writers and artists should be given the platform that they need to exhibit their work, for their work is what promotes cultural values and brings pride to a nation. Any artist or writer can avail...
I can't, I just can't. We are forced to stick with the choices that we make, even if they are wrong. Sometimes, we think that we're doing what's best for us, we think that we know that what we're doing is best for us. But we're wrong. So was I. I made a choice, without meditating over it. It turned out to not be...
The conscience of the government is not dead; it is distributing wheat in the famine-struck areas of Balochistan, doing its best to eliminate this issue. The death toll, however is rising all the same, a child or two dying each day. This region of the country has been left untouched and uninterrupted for far too long. The ramifications of such negligence are disastrous,...
She bursts her way to the surface. She inhales. She's been under too long. These waters are dark. The demons below, even darker. They are of her own making. She let them out, out of the depths of her mind. And now... They seek her destruction. Her absolute destruction. Something wraps itself around her submerged frame, tightening its hold around her. She is...
Whenever a person from Pakistan happens to collide with fame and fortune abroad, the chaotic jubilation seen by Pakistanis is almost too much to bear. The same can be said about about the fifteen minutes of Nargis Mavalvala, a US-based quantum astrophysicist and member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, who contributed to the recent scientific breakthrough of the detection of Einstein's foretold gravitational...
She is not laughing at you. SHE IS! Both of them are! They think you're stupid. I am stupid. Yes! Yes you are! The worst battles are the ones you fight with yourself. Whether my classmates were laughing at me, or not, in the library, I now don't care. I just won't stop being nice; no matter what happens. I've tried too hard to...
All it takes is a song... Music is, at times, a salve. When the sound fills my ears, I feel like I have not a single care in the world. It's just beautiful music in my head and myself. The power of music is amazing. In class, when we're given the ten-minute breather, I instinctively retrieve my phone and plug my hands-free in...
There is nothing but darkness. I remember being pushed. I remember falling. Screaming. I remember landing on the ground. Hard. Everything turned dark. I now open my eyes. I can see a distant glint of light. It's calling me. I make my way to it. It's a lantern. I pick it up, and search for a way out. There is none. There is...
It's the 14th of February tomorrow and we all know what day this date signifies. The 14th day of February. What else? Oh, right. Valentine's Day. That, too. That, too. You're either the type of person who sends chocolates to your valentine or an attractive bouquet, with a card attached to it. Or, you might be one of those creative who think outside...
I am glad I didn't let history repeat itself. Who knew having a friend could be so beneficial? I kept on asking him question after question; and he answered all of them, without exhibiting the irritation that he must be feeling. Being stuck up doesn't help me. I know that now. Having people you can rely on without being expected to repay them...
Once I had seen how lengthy the assignment was, a horrible realization struck me. I can't do it. Some of the ten questions I have to write programs about seem easy, but once I'll start writing, I'll find out that they're not. I have been reminded again of how much control a single choice can have over our lives. I still won't admit...
Who hasn't gone through paranoia? The society that we live in today doesn't treat introverts that well. It doesn't treat anyone well. If you're walking down to the mart or are running an errand, there might be—might not be—someone who'll notice the shoes that you're wearing or your clothes. That person will form an opinion inside their head. Another might even blurt it...
Culminating the Karachi Literature Festival, the highly esteemed personality who had the ears of all, submitted to the crowd a beautiful thought. Those who dream, change the world. Are you a dreamer? When it comes down to who really cares about this damn planet, it is the dreamers. If Einstein, Helen Keller and many more weren't dreamers, then what were they? There are...
One, two, three... A little push, and they all fall. Every individual of our society has faced—or will— the domino effect. The dominoes being compartments of life; and the push, a wrong decision, choice, or someone else's interference. As soon as the blow has been struck, chaos follows. The advances in technology have contributed to this effect, too. In fact, they have made...
Since the Paris attack, Muslims all over the globe have been seen as responsible. They're being mistreated and are being forced to abandon their homes and flee. The Islamophobia that has been allowed to breathe, to feed and grow has become a nuisance for them. And for us. The human mind knows nothing better than the art of exaggeration. All it needs is...
The people in Kashmir are yet to achieve their freedom. It was first in 1990, when Nawaz Sharif appealed for a strike to honor the Kashmiris' struggle against the unjust oppression of India. As time progressed, the 5th of February became a public holiday. Kashmir Day is observed even today, after all those years spent in futile rebellion. Which prevails even today. Both...
In class today, an acquaintance of mine saw me, seated alone and separated from the rest. He came to sit beside me, at the expense of his friends calling out to him, unhappy. They gave up, soon, and this classmate sat next to me for what was an hour. Before the lecture began, there was small talk. He asked me why I haven't...
The World Health Organization has declared Zika a global threat. This virus is quite identical to the mosquito-borne ones we've already dealt with. Spread about by the diurnal Aedes mosquitoes, this virus can be fatal if its symptoms are ignored and no precautionary measures are set in place against it. The recent outbreak in the United States has set an alarmingly terrifying...
I have been wanting to post about my reading list. Here I go: The Glass Sword. The sequel to Victoria Aveyard's best-selling Red Queen is almost out. Red Queen was an amazing read, the ending containing a surprise plot-twist that made us Red Queen fans gasp with disbelief. The Glass Sword, critics say, will be equally exciting. The book is to be released...
Miss Palijo seems relentless. Yet another promotional event has taken place. The efforts being put into the standardization of Sindhi can spark up a revolution! The recent three-day ruckus that was organized at Karachi had ample of "enjoyment" for the visitors; dancing, music and attractive stalls being the major crowd-gainers. The revivalists responsible for giving life to the event claim that thousands came...
