Sonya Syed

There is a little girl I know who recently came to Karachi from her village in Punjab. A wonderful girl with a lovely personality but yesterday she said something in her innocence that just resonated deep within.  She said, “ in Karachi there is so much luxury but no peace and in our village there is no luxury but only peace ”.  The moment I heard these words spoken by her I was awe-struck, I couldn’t believe what I just heard. To hear an eight year old speak so articulately and have such insights on life is a phenomenon in itself.   So I asked her to elaborate her statement and with all her simplicity she replied, “ in our village groceries would end suddenly and then we have to travel many miles before we can find a store but in Karachi everything is easily available.   In our village we get fresh vegetables right from our garden and play fearlessly outside our home. While in Karachi its all about money, everyone is running after money trying to make ends meet. We

There are debates these days on the increasing popularity of English language or in other words its increasing applicability around the world. Hungary is one of those countries which is nowadays preparing its ministers to speak and understand English fluently. Some people there apprehend that this domination of English might suppress their own language. This apprehension is not limited to Hungary only but many in Pakistan and globally share the same fears. Then there is other side of the debate and that is we cannot ignore the fact English is the most accepted medium of communication and its also considered as the path for a successful career. I accept both sides of the debate and each of them has a point. I don’t mind if English is the new linga franca, the new means of global communication. I am not at all unsecured about the future of Urdu because every language is so great in itself that nothing can diminish its worth. Of course in order to make any language popular i

I opened up today’s newspaper and the front page of its entertainment pages featured a cover story about the Indian superstar Rajesh Khanna who left us recently. The next story was the review of the latest Bollywood movie, then inside on the third page there was an article on our veteran film actor Nadeem. It is so unfortunate that our legends who are still with us, who gave the best of their life to Pakistan’s film industry get such secondary treatment. There is no doubt about the fame and the phenomena that Rajesh Khanna was. His films and his songs shall be remembered till the time there is love for music; so giving him that front page space is understandable. However, there was no need to mention an irrelevant movie at the cost of secondary treatment to our own stars. If we don’t respect and own what is our then there is nobody in the world who would give us that status. I am neither a fundamentalist nor a nationalist but I speak for fairness. If media with all the po

Awareness, especially of one’s rights is an alien concept in our society. It seems as if we live a blindfolded life. We are content if our work is done, we are content if we acquire what we want. I have seen at a vocational training institute that only few of their machines are in working condition, the students wait for their turn to use the functioning equipment. Nobody had ever complained to the management that those machines need to be repaired and that more new equipments are required. Finally, one out of 100 students requested the management about the requisite equipments and the administration looked surprised at such request. The elder administrative officer argued, that what do you need more machines for when you can learn the techniques here and revise at home. However, the next day mechanic was called in and budget has been allocated to buy new equipments. Moral of the story is that we need to ask for our rights because no one is going to give them to us on silve

As we begin to do new things, they always present us with challenges. Much like a horse who hasn’t been ridden by anyone, the horse will do everything in its power to stop the rider from controlling it but once the rider gets the control the horse becomes his slave. Its only 10.30 pm and there is so much silence on the roads with very few vehicles passing and that too probably due to some necessity. However, this silence is peaceful unlike the usual times when such quietness feels uncomfortable. There is something different about this month of Ramazan, but one has to be centered within to fully absorb these subtle moments. Most of the time there is so much chaos and noise in the mind that ones become oblivious to the outside.         Television these days is filled with religious and spiritual programmes and the good thing about all this is that one does get to hear some wonderful new information about religion.        Talking of TV, Olympic Games have begun with full

How quickly time passes by in Ramazan, I woke up at 3.30 in the morning had sehri then had some sleep time followed by the working hours. Entire day goes by managing chores and when it is the time for Iftaar everything falls right into place. Only yesterday I did a balanced Iftaari so by night I was in good working condition because if there is too much intake of deep fried food then sluggishness is your only fate. Come to think of it Ramazan schedules are actually the best routines; there is definite and fixed time to do everything, and your sleep-wake patterns get perfected. Recently I have taken up the task of teaching law at university level. I cannot say what a truly satisfying experience it has become for me, to share what I have learned is amazing. It is surprising that I, who through out my student life has been proclaimed as one of the shyest person when it came to public speaking is now actually teaching adults. Speaking/ arguing cases in courts was a d

Wishing all my dearest readers and their loved ones a blessed, peaceful & prosperous Ramadan. May all your dreams come true, may you enjoy the love of your loved ones, may you have all the health… We waited and waited but the moon wasn’t in the mood of showing up so easily, although we knew that clouds were not willing to leave the skies but something inside quite strongly said that tomorrow is definitely going to be the beginning of the Holy month of Ramadan. Once the final decision was announced, then began a series of text messages from near and dear ones. It is such a delightful feeling to experience the connectedness with so many people some of them are not even close relatives. It is definitely a blissful feeling. I have to give my deepest gratitude to all of you for all the best wishes and love you have showered me and my family with. I pray that all of you be blessed with the same love and prosperity. I shall be brief and quick today because its w