Socrates Cafe

Every Monday at 8 pm, a dozen or so people, mostly students, some teachers, thinkers and people from other walks of life gather together in the spacious art painting decorated hall of Lahore Chitrkar to share thoughts and ideas. A topic is chosen a week in advance and usually a deep insightful discussion ensues.

Last week, the subject of discussion was 'democracy', what it means, why it is regarded as the ultimate form of governance system, what possible conditions are required for it to succeed, what problems are inherent in it, and importantly what alternatives exist to the system. This week the topic was even more interesting, 'Where do ideas come from?'.

More than the specific answers to these questions what was more thrilling is knowing that a forum exists where one can go, listen to and take part in healthy discussion with individuals from different spheres of life willing to share their thoughts and ideas with others. Next week, we talk about 'Death', and though the topic may seem morbid and rather vague, the concept of listening to the viewpoints of others is very exciting for me.

For that we can thank, Shahid Mirza, for hosting the premises and Afdash, for making the requisite arrangement including some tasty snacks.

Lahore Bachao Tehrik

The Lahore Bachao Tehrik (LBT) is up in arms again with hues and cries bemoaning the canal road widening project undertaken by the government which will result in the cutting of several hundred trees. The premise for the road widening being the exacerbating amount of traffic that flows through that critical area. Approx 220,000 cars pass through the canals daily, that is at least 10,000 cars an hour or 170 odd a minute!! So perhaps a widening of the canal will help, at least to some extent in ensuring a faster flow of traffic, and fewer traffic jams. It is unclear whether accidents will go up or down.

I am very much in favor of widening the canal, not just because of the better flow of traffic, which will result by doing so but rather because of the type of trees that are being cut. Not many people discuss this but the trees planted along the canal are Eucalyptus trees. A grown Eucalyptus tree takes about 100 liters of subsoil water and puts it into the atmosphere every day!* Since the 70's we have been planting these trees like crazy. Corruption, lack of knowledge and the lack of care for the future are the major reasons why that's been happening. But that fact is, in a world where water scarcity is fast becoming an issue which could result in wars, we need to get rid of the eucalyptus not preserve it. Sure, the Eucalyptus may help in ensuring the water that leaks underground from the canal is absorbed by the tree and does not have an impact on the neighboring houses, but surely there is a better way out of that.

So my suggestion would be to get rid of these trees, and widen the canal, while the (LBT) can think of smart solutions by planting indigenous trees which are more useful to us rather than expensive foreign trees which really have no use in this country.

Trees not to be planted: Eucalyptus, Alstonia, Palm etc

Trees to be planted: Sheesham, Peepal, Neem, Ambaltas, and fruit trees like mango, orange, grapefruit, citrus etc

I planted 7 such trees with my own hands today which takes the tally of trees in my house to 45 and trust me its an awesome feeling knowing you're doing something, something insignificant and small, but something for the environment.

* 'Saving what trees, Shehr, The News July 28, 2009'

University of Gujrat

Image by lokha via Flickr

I made a little road trip yesterday with some family and friends to the town of Gujrat, about 150 kilometers on the Grand Trunk (GT) road from Lahore to Rawalpindi. My actual destination was the University of Gujrat (UOG) which itself is located about 15 kms from the city near Jallalpur Jatta.

UoG was set up a few years back as an HEC funded public university using the model of public state universities elsewhere in the world. It was indeed shocking to see the level of development and infrastructure the university has acquired. Being run by Dr Nizamuddin who has plenty of experience teaching abroad as well as over 15 years spent with the UN. The university is offering various degrees in 8 different department including medicine, law, design, social and basic science for both the Bachelors and Masters programs. The first batch is ready to graduate this summer.

The university has really good faculty, many imported from abroad as well as extremely good facilities including a printing press of thier own, computer labs equipped with macs and 22 inch flat screens, the fanciest dorms ive seen in a while, and a whole lot more. Seriously, good stuff and worth visiting. Keep an eye out about the university. Pretty soon, you'll be hearing a whole lot more about it.

Bad Governance and Public Misery

I was hoping to re-invigorate the viewership of my blog with some enthusiatically optimistic and encouraging information at the start of the fiscal year 2009-2010 but the current situation in Pakistan is so perplexing and dangerous and that too on so many fronts that i have to start off with some sad news.

There comes a time in a nations history when people begin to realize via dedicated efforts in data gathering and reasearch to unearth the root causes of the problems that they face. In Pakistan today, due to the free media (and it is unarguably quite free with 43 privately owned news channels, atleast much more free than the US media which runs under the whims of a handful of men) as well as the shameless and bizarre legitimacy given to corruption, bribery and kickbacks that it is very easy for us to know what is making life so difficult in this country.

Case in point, the headlines in todays newspaper:
As we all know the country has a massive fiscal deficit (government expenditures > government revenue) to the tune of something like PKR 600 Billion...thats about $7 Billion!! as well as huge amount of foreign and domestic debt (totalling around $117 Billion!!! :-O) so our dear president has been going from tour to tour with his ever expanding entourage and pleading and begging the leaders of the world to support us. Apart from the much deserved, $1.5 BN/year for 5 years from the US, and a million bucks from angelina jolie, what we really have achieved is to get loans from the IMF, World Bank etc to pay off the interest on the loans that we already have. Loans to pay off loans...makes complete sense doesn't it! Conclusion: We're in a whole lot of trouble if we are able to survive the current economic downturn. Does anyone remember how to get loans written off by virtue of fighting someone else's war?

So, in accordance with the IMF loan stipulations, the government has hiked up petrol prices by about 10% which means prices of pretty much all commodities goes up (interestingly 43% of the petrol price is government tax) as well as increases in the price of Diesel, Gas, Kerosene and what not. That's understandable only because we have virtually accepted the fact that lavish and ostentatiously opulent government expenditures by those in power are a very legitimate right and not something that needs to be cut down. This debauchery is clearly indicated by our (dis)honorable Prime Minister who has just doubled the parliamentarians development fund (aka thier own money) from PKR 10 Million to 20 Million.

I mean...what the ....!

Missed chances and upcoming opportunities

Had a chance to meet with Badar Khushnood from Google after his speech on online entrepreneurship opportunities such as writing a blog, a website such as Danka (www.danka.com.pk) and from that meeting i have come to the conclusion that it is imperative that i make this blog specific to some kind of information. Make it a sort of hub of information and updates for whatever topic i choose.

Although i have been lazy with entries on my blog, a lot of that owing to the strenuous time constraints put up by the MBA program at LUMS, i do intend to choose a topic and stick to it once i can be more regular with my blog entries. Hence, the next few months may not see much activity on this blog but come May, 2009 and i will be back with a bang and with a hunger to make this blog more popular and more successful.

The stats show i have been getting a regular stream of visitors who mostly browse through the main page, thank you guys for persisting and visiting the webpage, soon you'll have more to see on the site.

Malnutrition and the world's lack of interest

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7675103.stm

10,000 PEOPLE DIE EVERY DAY DUE TO MALNUTRITION!

.....so how bad was your day!

IMF Loan

Pakistan seems to be headed into deep financial turmoil. Thanks mainly to inept and spendthrift leadership and a faulty taxation system. The forex reserves have fallen abysmally low (only covering about 2 months of imports). To safeguard the country from default urgent cash is required.

Since the so-called 'friends of Pakistan' have not stepped in to help and we have saturated all demand to give loan to Pakistan by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and DFID, the IMF is the last resort.

But under the agreement under discussion Pakistan will have to bend over backwards to say the least. The $9.6 billion loan comes at a markup of 16.7% and has many other conditions attached, such as disclosing all loan information, cutting the defense budget by 30%, decreasing pensioners, agriculture tax imposition, PKR 50 billion increase in taxation, strong role of IMF in making the financial budget and lots of other controls. This is tantamount to selling the ownership of the country. What is going to happen to this country if agreements like this go through is anybody's guess.

Life is beautiful but it surely does not seem like it at the moment atleast not if you're in Pakistan.

quotes of my own

There is a term applied to certain times in your day to day life when everything becomes clear and all the whole world seems to make sense. These are referred to as 'moments of clarity'. For some this happens when you've smoked up a bit or after a heavy discussion after a couple of drinks, or after not having had sleep for some time, or having gone without food for more than a few hours, or after somebody or someone has made you feel extremely happy! Usually such moments of clarity go to waste since no effort is made to put them down on paper or their value not truly understood by those lucky enough to witness such moments. I have personally had such moments and though most have been forgotten some were luckily preserved by some coincidence or the other. Here are a few of those thoughts that came during certain 'moments of clarity'

Capitalism vs Social Business: In a world of diminishing resources and a burgeoning population, it is vital to help society meet its needs rather than work on creating 'wants' that the world does not need.

The seed of selfishness and greed planted in our hearts by capitalism inhibit our desire to help the poor.

Money: No one on death bed wishes they'd made more money

Wants and Needs: The inability to differentiate between wants and needs is the cause of all our headaches

....more shall be added as they become clearer! ;-)

Imran Khan - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf - Sasta Tandoor

One of Pakistans true heroes and a genuine products of the limited democracy Pakistan has had, is Imran Khan. His rise to fame was via guiding Pakistan to success in the 1992 World Cup of cricket. He was instantly a mega hero, a position he used to launch a large scale cancer hospital which charges customer only what they can afford and which in many cases is nothing.

Since then he has moved on to form a political party whose primary objective is justice and service to the underprivileged, something which is badly needed in the country. Considering the recent price hike and incredulous inflation rates hitting the country his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI), http://www.insaaf.pk/ came up with a bold new strategy to serve people of low incomes basic food items such a roti (commonly eaten, kinda bread) at a very reduced rate of PKR 2, thats about 3 cents.

This is a really good offer and provides wondrous relief to the poor. He plans to start this scheme, the Sasta Tandoor, all over the country and seeks support. More information can be had via videos such as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryEvVaSM4G8 Donations can be made via the following information.

Bank: Muslim Commercial Bank
Account # 1000701
Routing #: 027470763
SWIFT code: MUCBPKKA

Suicide Bombings

It has been argued for a while why religious scholars do not openly condemn the suicide bombings and somehow 'justify' to an extent these actions by giving the argument that there is no other option left for those oppressed.

A couple of days ago, however, the Muttehadda Ulema Council, which is a major group of religious scholars, declared via a unanimous decree (fatwa) that suicide bombings are unlawful (haram) which is in my mind one of the first times that a significant religious body has come out so blatantly against it. I hope there is more to come in this regard and rather than keeping hush about it signifying it as an unwritten rule, it should be properly and emphatically criticized by those in control.

Muhammad Yunus - Social Business

I recently read a great book by Nobel Award winner Muhammad Yunus from Grameen Bank fame - 'Creating a world without poverty'. I wrote a short summary of some of the main parts. This is after having read about 2/3rd's of the book.

A fabulous book about ‘Social Business’ – the business with a goal to help the poor.

He explains the problems inherent in the corporate for-profit companies that are all around us. He terms them as Profit-Making Businesses (PMB) and the problem with them is that their only concern is profit making, where every action is considered actionable only on the basis of how it affects the bottom line. History has shown that such businesses are good only for the rich and not the poor. Income and wealth inequalities are only increasing due to the way these businesses are and hence that is why poverty has increased so much. The fact that 94% of the worlds income goes to 40% of the people is testament to the fact. So how do we go about fixing the poverty issue which affects such a large portion of the world’s population?

Well, there are a few systems/mechanisms in place but they are mostly inadequate to meet those requirements. There is the government, but it us usually too slow, corrupt and inefficient in most underdeveloped countries (where most poverty afflicted people live) and hence the government is unable to deliver. We have non-profit organizations which do a lot to help the poor but the biggest problem with them is that they rely on constant donor support and when that support falls down due to donor fatigue or any other factor, the work of these organizations comes to a halt. Then there are the ‘multilateral institutions’ the World bank, the IMF etc but they only look at GDP as the way to growth, whether or not that helps the poor is not their concern, so their support and work has not helped the poor people at all. (Read John Perkins – Confessions of an economic hit man for more facts about these institutions). Then there are the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) teams of the PMB but they are designed to do things only if it helps them so they will squeeze out as much as they can from the people and then give back a small percentage of that to give back. It all goes back to differing focus on profit rather than social benefit. Social Business takes the positives from these systems but changes the goal so that it helps those that need the help.

Then Yunus talks about his Grameen Bank initiative which came about when he realized that poor people are neglected by the financial services of regular banks because they are deemed to be too risky an investment and they have no collateral and the world considers helping the poor by creating jobs when the fact is that the poor are far better off when they are given reasonable opening to grow via financial opportunities to start their own businesses. Hence, he starts of by giving loans to the poor via a banking system customized to the needs of the poor. The loans are given at much lower rates than what the money lenders in the localities give the loans (20-30% vs 100-250%). The loans are given to the women mostly since research and observations have shown they are more likely to spend the funds on family and business rather than on themselves. The results of his ‘microcredit‘ system are unbelievable as he gets 98% returns on loans which the banks think is not likely to be sustained but it has been for over 20 years. Of those borrowers who have part of the microcredit system over 60% have now risen out of poverty. Now over 100 million families worldwide have been assisted with this method and the target for 2012 is 175 million families. It has not been without hiccups but the system has been transformed to fit the needs and requirements. The system has been copied all around the world with similar results where poverty has been heavily reduced.

Essentially the way a social business runs is that investors/donors contribute funds to a business whose primary objective is to help in social uplift of poverty stricken people. Such a business has to be constructed in such a way that it is not charity or aid given to the people rather good and services are brought to the people at lower rates than market rates. So there is a return on the capital investment. Hence such a business will return the invested capital back to the donors and from then on will bring returns further on and become sustainable. The organization will hopefully keep generating profits which can be used to expand the business or in a slight variation of the above social business type act as PMB and give returns to the target market which will also be the owners of the business. Obviously the design of such a business is not easy and many ideas are bound to fail (just like in the free market) but there will be successes which will help a lot of people come out of poverty. He also differentiates social business from social entrepreneurship which is a very broad concept which encompasses social business as well as for profit, non profit and other variations which help the poor.

Currently the Grameen Family of businesses consists of 26 diverse social initiatives all directed towards assisting the poor in getting out of poverty. These are Grameen Bank, the Grameen Trust, Grameen Krishi (Agriculture) Foundation, Grameen Uddog (Enterprize), Grameen Fund, Grameen Fisheries and Livestock Foundation, Grameen Telecom, Grameen Shamogree (products), Grameen Cybernet, Grameen Energy, Grameen Phone, Grameen Welfare, Grameen Education, Grameen Communication, Grameen Knitwear, Grameen Capital Management, Grameen Solutions, Grameen IT Park, Grameen Business Promotion, Grameen Information Highway, Grameen Star Education, Grameen Bitek, Grameen Healthcare Trust, Grameen Health and Grameen Danone. Some have been successful some have been not but they continue tweaking the businesses to get them to work.

The success of the Grameen Family of businesses can be estimated from the following facts about Bangladesh.

─ The poverty rate has fallen from 74% in 1973 to 57% in 1992 and 40% in 2005
─ Gini Index measuring inequality has remained virtually unchanged despite high growth
─ Population growth curtailed to 1.5% in 2000 from 3% in 1970
─ Life expectancy increased from 56 to 65

Another impressive and interesting fact is how poverty is defined. Although there are over 33 definitions of poverty worldwide, the way it is described here is very unique where rather than focusing on $1 income/day etc it is defined by 10 points that need to be met to be a poverty free family. These give a much more identifiable and clearer picture of their living standards.

The family lives in a tin-roofed house worth >= $370. Sleep on cots not the floor
Drink pure water from tube wells or boiled water, or purified arsenic free water
Able bodied children of age 6 should have attended or be attending primary school
Monthly loan repayment installment is >= $3
Use hygienic and sanitary latrine
Sufficient clothing including clothes, blankets and mosquito nets.
Additional source of income for emergencies
Savings account >= $75
Ability to feed three meals a day throughout the year
Conscious about health, can take action and pay for medical expenses.

He identifies that the best way to start supporting a poor community is with credit, all other systems such as education, health etc as important as they are need to follow afterwards. He once again clarifies that charity is not the answer. The way to go is the formation of a ‘sustainable’, ‘no loss’, ‘no dividend’ social business. He goes into details of how, if south Asian countries formed alliance and did trade could be able to overcome poverty to a large extent and be able to develop economies as well.

The whole heart warming process of creation of the Grameen Danone business is explained in intricate detail including the results it achieved and the benefits it caused not just to the poor target population but to the large $16 billion corporation in terms of a feeling of helping others which Yunus feels resides in every human.

the world and my views

things are just happening so quickly..its hard to keep up. the US senate and house of reps has approved the bailout plan which i feel is not right without putting regulations on these financial orgs first. this is like giving them a ticket to do whatever u want...and knowing that if things go wrong the govt will save u again because the economy cant survive without u. its a signed check to the financial institutes to party on.

the US elections are getting nearer and i really enjoyed the palin-biden debate. surprised by her actually. she seemed very disappointing in earlier interviews. but she came out pretty strong in the debate..lets see how the presedential debate goes. its all exciting stuff but the truth is, either way it doesnt matter. the presidency is really just a showpiece to the public the real decisions are made by think tanks and advisors and elsewere...but it is nice to follow.

as for pakistan, the corrupt offiicials in power, all elected as part of the democratic process, are robbing the nation of all that is left. it is pretty sad. many friends and family are leaving for more promising jobs abroad. its realy very sad. its times like these i prefer to have a fatalistic attitude and try not to think or worry too much about whats going on.

im nearing the end of my mba program and wondering what path to take as far as much job is concerned. i hope i wont have to bow down and go the way of the multinationals (mnc's) that would be the truly sad. i'd prefer working for a social sector organization and work towards fixing something in this nation where everything seems to be broken.

Abdul Sattar Edhi

The lums student body had the privilege of having renowned philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi come to LUMS and talk about his extensive work experience and give advice on how we can contribute to the betterment of those around us.

Edhi is now approaching 80 years of age, he has done so much for the community despite very modest beginnings. That is why he has become a renowned and trusted name all across the country and to whom people give in complete trust. Under his leadership the worlds largest volunteer run ambulance service of over 160 ambulances provides services all across Pakistan.

His speech on the day was quite strong and direct. He made no qualms on describing the business world being full of hypocrites and greedy people who did not care about the right if the fellow beings rather focused only on their own selfish desires. The bad part about the audience was that we were all MBA students and sadly perhaps none of us will be joining the social sector and such endearing personalities will be forced to work with workers who have minimal education and have found no other place to work.

Edhi is one of the biggest heroes for me. I hope more people follow in his footsteps and as per his suggestions/insight set up community centers which help support their localities. wait..isn't that what mosques are supposed to do?

Pakistan's Paralymics Medalist, 2008

Pakistan had a horrible showing at the Beijing Olympics 2008. We failed to come close to, let along win a medal during the games. Something, our highly paid sports bodies need to have a close look at and be shameful of the next time they go scandulously extravagant vacations and trips all paid for by the tax payer.

But we did have something to be happy about at the Paralympics also held in Beijing soon after the Olympics were over and the reason for that happiness was Haider Ali, an athletic who suffers from Cerebral Palsy made his country proud when he won a Silver Medal for his feat at the long jump competition on 9 Sept at the Beijing Paralymics.


His endeavour though, equal to that of the Gold Medal winner, a Tunisian, who ran the same distance that of 6.44 meters, Haider was chosen as the runner up as he was rejected for one of his five jumps during the preliminary rounds. But nonetheless, he managed to do what many his able-bodied counterparts couldn’t achieve just a few weeks prior to his competion – win a Olympics Medal at Beijing.

However, the saddest part is that unlike the other sports persons, there is no annoucement till date from either the Pakistani Olympic sporting bodies or the Government regarding any prize money for our hero. If he had been a cricker or from any other sport, or even a able-bodied olympic athlete, he would by now had been showered with enough accolades and money to last him a life-time. But being an optimist, I can only assume that the great news hasn’t yet reached among those at the higher echelons of power.


Picture and text courtesy of http://www.doodhpattiblog.com/

Ignorance is bliss!

I'm tired and fatigued from watching, hearing, talking and discussing the updates on the deadly bombing by (only god knows who) yesterday. so instead of talking about the obvious, ill post about something totally off topic. A few day ago i was hanging out with some friends in the LUMS boys dorm. It was a nice chill out since some of these guys have gone for a study abroad program. So here are the pics...enjoy!

Talha, Muneeb, Fazal & Numair
Fazal, Abid & Fahad
Omer, Khawaja and Shoaib
Me and Zeeshan

12 year old invents efficient solar cell

As full this planet has become with problems...it does not take long before you hear positive news coming in from some end ot ther other. Humans have survived by adapting to all kinds of changes that have come about in the world and its stories like these that makes one think...that the possibilities of sustainable living is very doable if we put our minds to it.

12 Year Old Boy Invents New Type of Solar Cell

http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/17/12-year-old-boy-invents-new-type-of-solar-cell/

William Yuan’s 3D cell can absorb both visible and UV light. According to his calculations, solar panels equipped with his 3D cells could provide 500 times more light absorption than current commercial solar cells and nine times more light than existing 3D solar cells.

Yuan received a well-deserved $25,000 scholarship for his research. The next step? Getting his invention to market. Of course, the viability of his solar cells will ultimately depend on their cost efficiency—but Yuan has his whole life ahead of him to work on that.

In his project, “A Highly-Efficient 3-Dimensional Nanotube Solar Cell for Visible and UV Light,” William invented a novel solar panel that enables light absorption from visible to ultraviolet light. He designed carbon nanotubes to overcome the barriers of electron movement, doubling the light-electricity conversion efficiency. William also developed a model for solar towers and a computer program to simulate and optimize the tower parameters. His optimized design provides 500 times more light absorption than commercially-available solar cells and nine times more than the cutting-edge, threedimensional solar cell.

Crisis, Crisis Crisis!

The world around us seems to be going through a lot right now. Pakistan is at the center of many of these stories but some of even bigger significance are also there. Here is a snapshot of some of the biggest stories hitting the headlines. I know there is a lot more than just this...Thailand PM, US election campaigns but these are some of the really shocking ones.

US on the border - Pakistan for once holds firm

http://digg.com/world_news/No_to_US_transgressions_Pakistan_army_ready_to_open_fire

The US has been intruding into Pakistan territory on an almost daily basis for the past few days and finally the Army took a strong stance and instead of just saying we regret and condemn these incursions has issued an open threat that the armed forces will open fire on any US intrusions into Pakistan Territory.

India stop water flows
http://www.dawn.com/2008/09/16/top1.htm
India has once again stopped water flows into Pakistan and the government has lodged the 6th protest in the past 2 months against the act which is against the Indus Water Treaty of 1960. Pakistan will suffer immensely due to the timing of the stoppage as it is time for wheat cultivation.

Lehman Brothers collapses
Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and AIG saved by US Government takeovers
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7620127.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7620195.stm
George Soros thinks this is just the start of a financial crisis which he even related to the big depression of the 30's. This could well be the start of a nightmare for global economies. The ramifications of which could last for years if not longer.

Milk powder for babies in China tainted with chemicals

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7620253.stm

Several thousand babies are sick with atleast three deaths due to the addition of a toxic chemical melamine to make the milk appear higher in protien content. All for a little more money, endangering lives is okay. Don't you just love capitalism!!

Carla Bruni (Mrs. Sarkozy) is singing with Metallica
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7619923.stm
What a charming woman! She has impressed world leaders not as much by her looks but moreso due to her understanding of political realities that France faces. A model, singer, musician, and the first lady. She is the 'complete package'!!!

Humor

Nothing to cheer one up other than a bit of humor...that too with pics!!!

second hand smoke...ruthless!!

talk about a useless pic

the concept prevails in the animal kingdom too.

we keep it simple

lol!

Noah's Ark: The woodpecker has gotta go
hehe!uh oh...striking resemblance there!

It's so obvious!
err..excuse me!

the universal treaty

Fatigued rant!

Its monday and it seems its been a long week already. That has a lot to do with the fact that at LUMS we had a Written Analysis of a Case (WAC) last weekend for which i was up all of saturday night studying. It was for our project management course and a case on A&D Hight Tech going into the online retail business.

A few hours of sleep later i was getting ready for the Mensa exam which i am hopeful to pass and become a member of MENSA. :) Fingers crossed, lets see. Soon after the exam, it was time for an iftaar dinner and some chilling with friends before getting back to more studying. :(

Another full day of classes today and more studying through the rest of the week including 5 '90-minute' classes in a row starting at 8 am on Thursday and to top it all of there are classes on Saturday as well. So its going to be a hectic routine this week as well. No chance of catching up on my 'To-do' list anytime soon.

Plus, ramadan is half way through and the body begins to weaken just a little especially due to the extra strain of limited sleep. I sound like i'm living in prison but really the way they want us to work for an MBA degree..its almost like forced or slave labor. ;) Okay enough for now...gotta get back to my readings again!

Sahiwal visit

There is a lot to see in Punjab and i have been fortunate enough to travel to quite a few places in the province, though i do wish to see some more places. Recently, i visited Sahiwal, a town 100 km south of Lahore which was a small village called Montgomery after some Britisher before being named Sahiwal in 1966.

My ancestral village from my paternal side is located about 15 km from Sahiwal near a small village, Nurpur. It actually lies in Pakpattan district but is actually closer to Sahiwal city. We have some farmland there and since we have leased it out to local farmers we do not make it down there more often than a few times a year. It is indeed a very relaxing retreat away from the crowded city and a chance to breathe in some fresh air and enjoy some nature.

It is also where my ancestors are buried..in picture are my grandmother and my great grandfather...just behind their graves is the grave of my great great great grand father. The local village is named after him and is called 'Chak Jaffer Shah'. As i stood there laying petals on my forefathers graves, and praying for thier souls and asking them to guide us, when we need it the word of our professor Imran Ali hit me, am i still stuck in the old custom of glorifying the dead, am i part of the whole shrine culture that he taught us to frown upon. The thought became increasingly worrisome when i visited the shrine of Pir Shakar Ganj who is regarded a very devout person in his time. The question still remain unanswered.

The barren field where Tobacco had been planted is empty for a short while before potato cultivation begins. In the picture below the truckloads of tobacco that had been farmed lies waiting for the right time before it is sold in the market. A hookah, an instrument used by locals to smoke can also be seen.

A nearby field where the rice crop has been cultivated adds a vibrant green color to the landscape. A few more weeks left before this crop is ready.

Right next to our house, is this small farm where we grow different fruits such as oranges, pomegranates etc. It was just a short one day trip but a nice change from the hecticity of living in a big city. I look forward to the next time i can make a getaway and relax in a more serence environment.