Chuss (UET Taxila Special)

'Aik thi larki. Who thi Roots sai…'

Man, are we sick of listening to this prologue every day since last week!

It so happened that one of our friends aka Dhoabi and ZombieHunter carved out an elaborate story last week in the cafeteria: and fell into the trap himself!

Some people are born with the gift of philosophising, some with talking all professional. But some like my friend Bilal Shafiq are endowed with the special gift of letting off a 'chuss' every now and then and turning all red in the face afterward!

He is also endowed with the ability to sometimes say the most embarrassing things in front of just the wrong people and has a soft spot for all things (and people) French. Sometimes he gets so involved in this chain that a thread of totally random sentences (chusses) is strewn and we can't help but laugh our heads off.

We love to stand guard at the department entrance and talk manically. And often get caught by just the wrong teachers (and sometimes fall off chairs in a classroom, case in point). Sometimes we go to take classes that aren't actually happening when we make another friend Danish the teacher at the podium. And sit to listen to the fake-lecture (need I repeat what about? ;)  ) all giggle-y and jolly.

So to commemorate his heroic endeavors (and chusses), we have officially anointed him as our 'Universal Chussar' today.

We heartily hope that every new day brings a dawn of the brand-new-est chusses to your mind!

And may you actually find the 'Roots ki bandi' for yourself one day! (She can be an K/S, both are equally well!)

Chuss: Urdu-speak for a totally random and usually silly remark made

Roots: a British syllabus chain of schools in Pakistan

Information Attitude

'We live in the digital age, the age of information'. Such a cliché; not a day goes by when we don't read this sentence in a blog post, a newspaper article, or a simple Tweet.

But really, attitudes toward information sharing differ from a place to another. While all of us may want access to information, or in it's more raw form, data, we are not always prepared to be the ones to share it. Institutions in some countries are willing to reach out to a global audience and communicate the knowledge they have gathered over their lifespan: the most famous perhaps being the edX initiative launched by the joint effort of MIT and Harvard University. The Khan Academy is another such online initiative wherein you can, as their website says, 'learn anything for free'.

This is 'real' information sharing: sharing lectures, having discussions and even getting your queries clarified all in real-time is a mind boggling concept. And to me, nothing short of a science fiction projection-turned-reality.

But in countries like mine, the situation is totally complementary.

Simple things like discussing a university assignment is apt to get you raised eyebrows and a pretend-I-didn't-hear-you look. Ask for a little help in completing the lecture since you missed part of it for some reason (usually outdoor-sy) and people change attitudes like they never knew you.

But come the exams and things are totally different: open your textbook and a whole swarm of people come to check up on what you are reading, what if it's something they missed? Just a hint that you've got some extra points jotted down for memory's sake and they come like bees on a flower with puppy-dog faces, 'can I please please please see what you have written too? You KNOW my preparation is nil!'

Just be seen talking to a teacher and hey, watch out! All eyes and ears are on you!

It all makes me think: if you are so loathed to talking about studies in everyday life and just so busy pretending you were sleeping in class/don't open you books at all/haven't understood a single topic and what-not, why such poking during the exams then?

It is perhaps the fact that we have a third-world status that we are so possessive about the things we know. Always the fear that what we have is not really 'ours' and we don't really 'own' it, and that someday someone can easily take it all away from us. And make it their own.

What I want to say is that we seriously need to change this kind of negative attitude toward 'sharing'.

MIT and Harvard are just two examples from the large swath of international universities and institutions involved in creating a 'web of knowledge' . They have been none-the-worse for creating such a network of shared resources and in fact have prospered even more so.

There will be no harm if you help out someone with work. Everything in life is really not about getting 'returns' or 'benefits'. Sometimes you have to keep the base instincts aside and just be free to work with anyone in anyway you can. You never know how much your little time may have meant to the other person. Everything is not necessarily about securing good grades.

There is something we all know about but have to be kept being reminded of: the simple good.

edX: https://www.edx.org/

Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall!

'Mirror, mirror on the wall, whose the fairest of all?'

I'm sure all of your remember this from Snow White. Maybe even ask yourself the same question every morning. And answer it with 'I'.

But have you ever felt like you didn't know the person you were looking at in the mirror even when it was just you in front of it? That uncanny feeling of looking at a shadow version of yourself, an alter ego? Like as if you were staring right into the eyes of someone else you didn't remotely know?

And it's always the eyes.

Zoom in and you begin to read thoughts in the head of the 'person' looking into the mirror, not quite you. Ideas, thoughts, feelings, anger, sorrow and all those things you had locked away in that secret box in your mind meant to store things to be untouched come up. All of a sudden they pounce on you all together and leave you breathless. Is this me, really? What have I become? This is surely the unME, isn't it? How can this mean selfish self be ME?

Then you begin to notice the contour of the eyes, the color of your irises. You lean closer and stare into the retina. And begin to think subjectively like an external observer. Forgetting it's 'you' you're looking at. The 'me'.

Then comes the mouth. You begin to notice the laugh lines around it. How the creases form when you smile. How your teeth show just a little as if playing hide-and-seek. How your mouth dulls in unison with your eyes when you feel sad. And yes, you are feeling sad, you realize all of a sudden. And you know the reason for that pretty well.

You look into the mirror again and the force of the reason hits you hard, real hard. You are thrown off balance. No, brain, how can you do this to me? Just when I was stowing away the reason into that secret box, how can you open its very lid? Reflection, why are you doing this to me?

But the mirror-you just stares back and you hear it laughing in your mind.

Then you collapse onto your knees. The genie is out of the box. There is no hiding now.
And then you weep some.

Changes: Internship

My 6th semester is almost mid-way done and the issue of internship selection is upon us. Is this place better or that one? Should we go in for multiple organizations or stick to unitary? Private or government? Defense? I'm Electronics, you're Power: can we work in the same company? These and many more such questions are the common lines of conversation in university nowadays.

I was recently applying for an ESI in a company and filling up their form. Almost toward the end I realized there were no fields to fill in related to parents. I mean, back at school we're so used to being asked parent's names, phone number, working place etc. But that has changed with coming to university. In my 2.5yrs of university life I've filled countless forms, serious and non-serious and none of them asked for parental info. But it was only today that I 'realized' this missing part!

All of a sudden it began to feel strange. So grown up. The dawn of new responsibilities. The feeling that we are moving away from what our parents have made us to this day toward an 'individual identity'. Like I'm in control of my own life, my interests. My career. My life.

It was a mixed feeling. There was the fact that it began to feel like I was finally stepping into the 'real' world but right there in parallel was a certain fear: cut-off from the always-sheltering arms of mama; mama asking you to eat and sleep on time, dress up for school proper, brush your hair neatly, don’t worry everything will be okey, had your vitamin tablets? Have a good time with friends, keep your prayers in check, don't forget Allah he's always there for you, sleep on time, want a new dress?; baba ruffling your hair and smiling proudly, talking to his friends about your achievements, telling you about his university experiences and taking everyone out to a midnight dinner in the rain.

The things will remain but the essence changes somewhere deep down, everything becomes different. All of a sudden parents talk you as an 'equal' instead of as a child in constant need of reminders on eating habits, sleeping times etc.

I had a sinking feeling, it was too soon to grow up!

The brooding continued for 5mins. Then the skies of my mind cleared.

I'm the same person, and always will be. The same girl who laughs totally carelessly with friends and siblings. So what if the forms no longer ask for parental info?  I will always be mama's and baba's girl. Always the kid to my parents, Aani and Chachoo.

I finished filling up the form. And started doing what afterward? Watching 'Courage the Cowardly Dog' on Cartoon Network with my li'll cousins and laughing ourselves crazy. Who cares about growing up? That can wait till another day deep into the future!

Nescafe: Joy or Joy?

I was talking to a friend from middle school yesterday. It was after a long time and the conversation turned to our Facebook updates nowadays; that's when we found our common passion for coffee! I was quite glad to have found a fellow coffee addict.

Somewhere in between she suggested why don't I blog on Nescafe and the coffee experience? I immediately took up the idea. Anything for Nescafe!

So today I'm going to write about the richness of a steaming cup of these ethereal beans.

There are people who love the experience of coffee, and others who dismiss it. Some have it just to get an edge during the exams by getting enhanced sharpness of the mind, while others have it purely for it's own sake. The first class of people treat as a kind of 'medicine' and prepare a cuppa in a totally mechanical procedure, following the instructions on the How To label. But for those like me and my friend, the experience is so much more 'personal'.

While the major steps to preparation remain the same, we are free to experiment. Trying out different high-grade chocolates to prepare a mocha, investing in a milk frother to get a cappuccino look-alike, especially buying skimmed milk since that gives the best milk foam is so us. Closely monitoring the temperature of the water as it heats up so it's just the right value for the ideal diffusion of flavor; setting the timer value to microwave the milk so it's neither steaming nor too cool; frothing it to get the desired foam consistency; adding in a heaping spoonful of coffee powder (if the instant variety) to the water and preparing an 'espresso'.

Then there is the whole business of choosing the cup to pour the coffee into; that depends totally upon the drinker's mood and strength of coffee prepared on any day.

Then pouring in the espresso and the milk simultaneously so they mix au naturel.

After the preparation comes, of course, the actual savoring.

You sit down comfy and bring the cup to your mouth. Inhale the flavour-induced steam and smile at the feeling. Take the first sip. Oh, it's just so hot yet, ouch!

The next sip feels like heaven. You let it roll around your tongue and extract the coffee-ness. It always brings the image of a Patchi store and a Starbucks seating arrangement to my mind somehow (does it to yours too Aliza?). And chocolate and coffee are quite inseparable in my mind.

After that you just give yourself over to the moments till you've reached the last sip. After which you groan and think 'Over so soon!? :/'

And begin the countdown to your next cuppa!

Now, I think adding sugar just spoils the taste. I personally prefer adding in some drinking chocolate powder if at all sweetening IS needed.

Some people pour in tablespoons and it just bugs me so much I want to ask them 'Do you want to drink coffee, really? Because it seems to me you just want the un-carbonated version of a coffee-flavoured soft drink -_- ! '

Do you share the same passion for this dark liquid?

Do leave your comments below!

Meantime, I'll just go get myself another cuppa!

Like We're Made of Starlight

Do you ever feel like doing crazy things without caring who is looking?

Do you ever feel like going out in the middle of the night and just spinning and spinning and spinnnnnnning around under the moon, like you're made of starlight?

Do you ever feel like laughing your freest without caring who may be looking?

Do you ever feel like smiling broadly and waving at strangers as you go past them?

Do you ever feel like jumping with joy at the smallest things and just going wild?

Do you ever feel like sitting on a tabletop with your feet dangling above the ground and just swinging your legs?

Do you ever feel like running along the shoreline of the sea splashing water at your friends?

Do you ever feel like standing near the sea with a foot in, running it along the loose sand and tossing around the embedded pebbles?

Do you ever feel like collecting the prettiest shells from the beach, dusting them carefully and then just releasing them into the sea with your arms wide open with a big-big laugh?

Do you ever feel like putting on music real loud and just dancing crazy steps? Pretending you're the best rock star around when you're actually the family's bathroom singer?

Do you ever feel like riding on the wind like Aladdin's carpet and letting it take you wherever it goes?

Do you ever feel like taking your mama's hand and just giving her a whirl and a swoosh! all by surprise?

Do you ever feel like giving neighborhood kids big hi5's! totally randomly when coming back from university and laughing with them as you make your way home?

Do you ever feel like opening up OneNote on your laptop and just writing out your silly thoughts in the middle of serious study?

Do you ever feel like taking colorful markers and doodling on a paper with your li'll cousins? Drawing silly pictures and making balloons with 'Hey! This is you!' written inside? Showing them to each other and just collapsing into fits of laughter?

Do you ever feel like pinching your cousins on the ear and then having them chase you round and round the house, jumping over beds and sofas for a return pinch?

Do you ever feel like making big soap bubbles with your cousins when you wash hands together in the washbasin and blowing them at each others' face?

Do you ever feel like shaking your head and smiling while brushing your teeth, toothbrush suspended between your mouth and hand? Looking at your cousins in the bathroom mirror doing the same and laughing amid the foam like eeeeeeee?

Sometimes it feels great just to stop thinking about serious things and do the crazy stuff.

For, it's great to be young and free like we're made of starlight!

 

'And we were dancing, dancing,

Like we're made of starlight, starlight.

Don’t you see the starlight, starlight?

Don't you dream impossible dreams?'

#Starlight, @TaylorSwift

Ant Power

I'd just got back from watching TV, catching up on national news. My ECD textbook was open at Chapter#11 just where I'd left off.

I crouched on the flattened pillows I sit on nowadays to study. Picked up my pencil, bent low and started reading.

I'd reached the last line of the page  when I spotted a moving brown scrap along the outer perimeter of the book, the side closest to my face. It seemed quite strange to see the small piece of peeling from the roasted chickpeas I'd had earlier on moving on its own. Curious, I bent almost to the 90o angle to see the source of it's motion: that's when I spotted the brown ant.

It had somehow travelled up to my book and found the small piece lying along it's open spine, picked it up in it's 'jaws' and begun to traverse down. The downward journey was the more difficult part since mobility was being compromised by the occupied jaws. But, the ant didn't give up.

Moving her tiny butt up and down, she somehow didn't lose hold on the page boundaries and neither of the small piece she held. At one point it looked like she was going to fall off but she regained control almost immediately. Down, down,  down she moved until she finally reached the book cover, turned a 120o and began to crawl away. I  followed it's movement till it finally disappeared beneath the sofa.

Just before I'd got back to study I'd been watching the motivational clip on TV of a guy who started as a waiter in a dingy hotel. And now? The owner of a large company providing start-up funds to small businesses. It was part of the educational campaign launched by Jung Group of Publishers and boosted by their TV channel, GeoNews: 'پڑھنے لکھنے کے سوا ہ ،پاکستان کا مطلب کیا؟?' (What is the meaning of Pakistan, if not to seek education?)

Watching the ant-episode while my ears were still ringing from the background tune of the campaign seemed more than a coincidence, somehow. It seemed to endorse the fact that with proper education under your belt like the guy's, and with extreme determination like the ant's, nothing can stop you from fulfilling your dreams. And that with a little extra attention to surrounding, success stories like the guy's, and that of millionaires like Sunil Mittal, are created.

Small events sometime start the domino effect towards a bigger chain.

The ant didn't know it, it's mind was probably too small even to process the significance of the effects it's innate search for food had on others.

But, it's given many hope around the globe. Like it's given me. Like it's given to countless primary school kids who read it's story in the Urdu textbooks every year.

Maybe the guy had read it too.