Town Talk
- Play: Ajoka's performance "Hotel Mohenjodaro" today at Alhamra, The Mall at 8pm. Entry Free.
- Critical Mass event - 'Weekend cycling ride' today at Zakir Tikka intersection on Sarwar Road, Cantt at 5:45pm.

The politics of guruhood
A monument at the village of Aheer, a few kilometres from DHA Phase V, has a history of struggle for power within the guru's family
By Haroon Khalid
Travelling on the Lahore-Bedian Road, near the village of Aheer, known in the local dialect as Hair, one would notice an isolated building, standing on the left hand side of the road, if one is travelling towards the village from Lahore. From afar, the building might appear as just another building. However, if one goes a few centuries back, this building was part of a huge complex which included a huge pool and a gurdwara meant to rival the Golden Temple at Amritsar. Relics of the pool and the gurdwara are still found in the vicinity. The building which is the only thing that remains, is the samadh of Prithvichan, the one responsible for the construction of this complex. Next to the Samadh is the local government school for boys.

Open courts have started working again in the Punjab on the orders of the known hard-task master of the Punjab – Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who always keen to leave a 'visual impact' of his policies and directives.

The CM, taking notice of apathy and mal-governance at different levels in government offices, including police stations, has directed that henceforth, starting with chief secretary, all heads of different government institutions must be available from 8am to 10am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, outside their offices to meet the public. "There will be no other official business scheduled during this time. All resources should be employed for meaningful outcome of this important and essential activity. All officers will be closely monitored and judged, using all monitoring aids for their performance and relief they provide or fail to provide in this regard," reads the May 4 notification issued by the CM office.

Though senior officials of the Punjab government, including the chief secretary, have already been staging open courts but the notification compelled the department secretaries and district administration officials to hold such forums as well. Also, since the issuance of the notification, thousands are rushing towards them to register their complaints and grievances. Most of the complaints are against police department, followed by the revenue, health and education departments.

"This is the final door which I have come to knock," says sixty-five-year-old Allah Ditt, clad in a worn out white shalwar kameez, carrying a pile land record papers. Hailing from Chichawatni in South Punjab, he is appearing before the CS' 'Petition Cell' in the provincial metropolis for the first time. He wants his five-acre land back from Qabza mafia, and is so desperate that he wishes Taliban to come and hang every one in authority -- "because there is no justice in this country," he says.

"I want justice," Okara-based Muhammad Ahmed, along with his mother, says while talking to TNS. His grievance: "Police is not investigating the murder case of my brother fairly".

"As many as 80 percent of the complaints are about police and revenue," says Muhammad Tauqeer Ahmed, an officer sitting in the chief secretary's petition cell. "The cell is now connected with all open courts in Punjab. Therefore, we discourage people to directly come here. They should go directly to the concerned departments."

Following the CM's directives, all departmental heads and secretaries including police, sit in the verandahs outside their office thrice a week -- which is a rather unusual scene. However, most officials are uncomfortable with the idea.

"This is just the start, even though the compliance ratio is not that satisfactory. We are trying to systemize this complaint cell," says Mansoor Butt, the network administrator of the CS petition cell and open courts. "This is the first step towards change. We are tracking all complaints and keeping their record," he says, adding, "Every complaint is forwarded within 15 days to the departments concerned, for response. The ratio of compliance was 54 percent before February 25 when Shahbaz Sharif was dismissed. In his absence it declined to 26 percent, however, when he took over again in April it showed slight improvement at 38 percent." "This system demands consistency. The CS also calls department heads and secretaries in his open court and asks about the pending cases. Every time the CS holds court, he calls one departmental head or secretary there where he is asked about the compliance of the complaints for which the whole record is maintained," adds Mansoor Butt.

Table showing a summary of complaints registered with CS Petition Cell, which now is also connected with all open courts, and complaint cells in the Punjab, from August 18, 2008 to May 8, 2009, according to the record available from CS office:

This is an effort to make every officer accountable and answerable to people," Chief Secretary Javed Mehmood said while holding open court at the gate of the civil secretariat.

"According to rules, all government officials are bound to listen to public for at least two hours thrice a week and the government is just asking them to follow the rule and listen to people instead of making them wait. This is not only an open court but also a step toward compliance of the government rules, which is not new." He said every department would also appoint a person to attend and listen to the complainants throughout the week. "This system will be regularly followed and all possible efforts will be made to ensure justice," he states.

A lot of complainants, however, have a point whether this will improve the governance and their issues would be addressed or it would be just a political showcase. Many civil servants like Khurrum Sultan (name changed) have a different view. "To improve governance and for compliance of justice we need to make a proper chain of command; strengthen accountability; and most importantly, bring civil service reforms, an area where direction is seriously required," says Sultan, a young civil servant who has been recently posted in a district far from Lahore.

"One man cannot resolve the problems of the whole province," he expressed. "Civil service reforms are direly needed to hold every officer accountable," he expressed. "If you don't reform civil service you may lose Pakistan," he opines and further says that without this process all sincere efforts may prove fruitless at the end of the day

Most bureaucrats are unhappy with this system, believing that only 'institutional reforms' can resolve the issues. "This is just timely relief," says an administrative secretary requesting anonymity.

AZK Sher Dil, former Punjab CS, however, does not deny the public benefit of this arrangement. "The access to relevant people is essential given the ill reputation of the bureaucracy," he says, adding, "It's not a time wasted even if 50 percent complaints are fake. Let the civil servants be available to people. This might bring t the bureaucracy out of aloofness."

However, he believes, the implementation of the supervisory and inspecting role of key posts like DIG (Deputy Inspector General), member Board of Revenue can be of greater help in evolving institutionalised mechanism. "The flaws are there but if these can be removed by holding supervisory and inspecting posts accountable then the system might work better. According to rules, there is a roster of the inspections but it is rarely followed.

IA Rehman, veteran journalist and secretary general Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), says that such forums could be helpful in resolving people's problems to some extent. "This is not a parallel system but an effort to end redtapism. The complaints are addressed according to the same system. In fact, these forums become a source to vent their anger," he opines. He suggests having strict monitoring and vigilance to ensure that people are listened to and their problems are addressed. However, these short term measures would not improve governance, he says. "There is long way ahead if we want to improve governance. We need restructuring of the system to bring seriousness, transparency and procedural changes, which will take time," he says.

The government seems serious in improving governance but will Allah Ditta get justice or will he keep on moving from door to door still remains a question. "I want justice and nothing else and I will not be satisfied with any system until and unless I get it," Allah Ditta said.

email: vaqargillani@gmailcom

Table showing a summary of complaints registered with CS Petition Cell, which now is also connected with all open courts, and complaint cells in the Punjab, from August 18, 2008 to May 8, 2009, according to the record available from CS office:

Offices Pending In process Completed Total

Govt

departments 1,973 (20%) 4,243 (42%) 3,775 (38%) 10,015

Districts 1,627 (16%) 5,021 (49%) 3,576 (35%) 10,261

Autonomous

bodies 189 (47%) 172 (43%) 40 (10%) 401

Police 1,250 (30%) 846 (20%) 2,079 (50%) 4,186

Commissioners 49 (7%) 493 (66%) 200 (27%) 742

Referred to PM 2 (100%) 0 0 2

Referred to

President 1 (100%) 0 0 1

- Play: Ajoka's performance "Hotel Mohenjodaro" today at Alhamra, The Mall at 8pm. Entry Free.

- Critical Mass event - 'Weekend cycling ride' today at Zakir Tikka intersection on Sarwar Road, Cantt at 5:45pm.

- Urdu Baithak/Sing along session every Sunday at Faiz Ghar from 5-6pm. 'Story hour' for children 5 years and above. No registration or fees.

- Puppet Show every Sunday at Alhamra, The Mall at 11am.

- Ghazal Night every Friday at Peeru's Cafe at 9pm.

- Exhibition of paintings titled 'More Interpolation' by Atif Khan at Rohtas Gallery till May 20. The gallery remains open from 11am to 7pm.

- Exhibition titled 'Lorem Ipsum' at Zahoor-ul-Ikhlaq Gallery, NCA till May 20. Timings: 10am to 7pm. Artists: Hurmat and Rija.

- Lecture on 'Modern Success Scientists versus Iqbal' by Abid Iqbal Khari on Tuesday, May 19 at 50 Babar Block, Haroon Street, New Garden Town. from 6:45-7:15pm. Second lecture on 'Positive Workplace & Challenges faced by Today's Manager' by M. Fahd Khanon from 7:20 to 7:50pm at the same place. Discussion & Chapter's Future Strategy: 8:15 to 9pm. For registration, contact letmecomment@thewisenutrition.com.

concert

Music is a quintessential part of every person's life. It is especially in the teens that people tend to listen to different genres. Hence a thriving music scene is essential for any educational institution in order to foster creative expression. The LUMS Music Society is a typical paragon of an ongoing effort that has transcended the past couple of years since its formation in 1999 by Ali Hamza from Noori.

Last weekend, the Music Society celebrated its ten years of existence with a two-day series of events. The first was a panel discussion among some notable artists from Pakistan's music industry. And the second was supposed to be a concert held on the following Sunday showcasing alumni and current students as well as prominent bands such as Noori, EP, Laal and an upcoming act simply known as Aunty Disco Project (ADP). Both these initiatives were equally commendable and had a lot of potential to put certain aspects of Pakistani music in perspective whilst lending one a chance to experience them live on stage.

The 9th March discussion event comprised of the Lahore based duo of Zeb & Haniya, along with Farhad Humayun of Overload fame, Shahzad Hameed, Omer Khalid of ADP, alumini of the 2004 batch, and Atif Aslam. Apparently there was some mention of Miss Reema being part of the whole shebang. Many assumed that it would be the film star but some stated that it was the RJ. Neither showed up eventually. Nonetheless, a set of questions pertaining to the state of affairs of music being produced in Pakistan was addressed to the panel over the course of the seminar.

Rather than leading towards clear-cut answers, the conference of sorts served more of an outlet for the music artists. Mostly all the questions focused on assessing where Pakistani music stands, its cultural significance and otherwise to the current state of affairs as well as its future in the context of a formal industry. All the responses elicited had their context defined by the background of the respective artistes. Farhad Humayun, having studied from NCA and officially representing Pakistan with Puppo Saeen abroad, was quick to touch upon a wide spectrum of views from political and socio economic factors in musical expression. He highlighted the influence that media reports have on the musical direction.

Shahzad Hameed, the rebel and the oldest member of the group clearly recalled the furor that was made over the emerging pop music in the late 80s. The youth that had been musically starved for a long time were trying to spread their wings, albeit with the maulvis pitched against them. Culture significance however is such a complex issue that an "entire Ph.D. thesis" could be constructed upon it. Hameed related his own confusion while growing up as a "middle class boy in a rich kids' school" and being compelled to communicate in English whilst settling for the state-owned channel as a source of infotainment." He further stated that even though culture was hard to find and define, it was under attack by negative elements "that I shall not name" but were fully active.

Though Zeb and Haniya came together as a musical entity whilst together in college in the US, they delineated their musical evolution based upon a mix of both worlds. They cited their Pashtun heritage and training in eastern classical music along with Jazz and blues music as their primary influences. Wetting their toes in the Pakistani music scene just a year or so back, they claimed the record labels' disregard for the rights of the artistes as a major dilemma. In fact, when Zeb & Haniya addressed their record company on the issue of the copyright act governing their work, they simply dismissed the matter by saying "what shall you do with the copyright laws"? Shahzad Hameed further added that this was the very reason why he bypassed the record companies altogether and is handling the distribution of his album Songs from the Nowhere Land himself.

Atif Aslam turned out to be the firebrand out of the lot by impressing upon the company present to take a stand against the television channels and the record companies. He was right in pointing out that it was upon their toil and sweat that such entities were making huge profits and it as time for the artistes to demand their fair share or boycott. He was especially vocal about the Indian channels dominating the Pakistani airwaves with Bollywood music, considering that their own music had now been banned across the border following the Mumbai attacks. He also cited the ongoing recession for compromising the popularity of recent bands. Farhad Humayun however chose to take a different stance and objected to Atif's statement that Indian music should be banned in Pakistani as we needed all the music we could in this country. Sponsorships and concerts, the sole income generators for musicians were also hard to come by. After the discussion, the guests were escorted to the music room that is equipped with its own mini recording studio, where they took part in an impromptu jam session with the student musicians.

The much awaited concert on the 10th however proved to be more of a sparkler rather than the fireworks that it was being expected to be. For one, it started more than three hours late. Though being staged with the support of a professionally mounted rig and equipment, the first two hours of the show was completely dominated by amateur musicians comprising of the LUMS bred talent. Amongst the younger lot were Shahshams, Ammar Rasheed who delivered a fair rendition of Pink Floyd's Shine on You Crazy Diamond, and Shibli. The Alumni from a couple of years back featured Ali Shahid crooning Punjabi Sufi poetry of Baba Buleh Shah, with Saadi Mansuri on drums. The pros that did get a chance to perform were Shahzad Hameed blasting away a cover version of Led Zeppelin's Rock and Roll. Later Aunty Disco Project full enthralled the crowd with their recent tracks, especially the very catchy song Sultanat whose lyrics, "Kisi ka parcham lehra kay, apni ghulami sama kay mein na janon rey" rang true in the present national scenario.

Tragically, the concert was brought to a grinding halt even before the major acts such as Noori and EP along with Laal got a chance to come on stage. The reason simply given was some of the faculty members had raised a serious objection to this "whimsical and disruptive exercise" and threatened to immediately have the power cut to the venue. After overcoming the fact that this was not a bad joke, the eager crowd had no choice but to swallow their resentment against the unnamed faculty and head make their way out.

The Music Society had to bear a loss in excess of over a million rupees to cover up the losses as well as having their credibility ruined in the scope of garnering future sponsorships, which in this case was a cellular service provider. It's indeed highly deplorable that student run organisation responsible for creating a platform for many established and nascent musicians in our country has its hard efforts sabotaged by the whims of a few mercurial elements in the university administration. It aptly represents the predicament that the professional music recording artistes have with the powers in this country. And yet it is in this very environment of adversity that Pakistani music has persisted and has evolved into a force to be reckoned with.

On May 14, 2009 the Lahore Arts Forum (LEAF) reached a major landmark when it held its 1500th programme at the Model Town Library Auditorium. Discussing the history and development of Punjabi Drama, Nighat Khurshid says that Punjabi dramas have always been based on societal themes rather than finding religious roots as English literature where the drama or play was started as "miracle or morality plays" and then came the famous Elizabethan or Shakespearean age.

Punjabi language has always been a popular one. Punjabi "nataks" are mostly based on romantic stories like "Heer Ranjha". In Pakistan Punjabi plays or dramas were aired on radio and later, simultaneously on television. Talking of the current situation of Punjabi dramas or plays, Nighat said groups like "Ajoka" have done good in bringing forward Punjabi cultural theater.

LEAF started with art appreciation classes at the Shakir Ali Museum and was later, registered as an NGO in 1992. The list of programmes is varied from Sudh Sangeet (classical music), literature, history, philosophy, psychology, science, culture, to the arts.

It has to its credit the maximum quality programmes in Lahore than any other other, government, non-government and foreign organisations. All the events are free and open. Since its inception, the total attendance exceeds 12500.

Every year LEAF holds programmes on all Punjabi Sufi poets in which talks, translations, kalaam and original sangeet is presented. Many major novelists, poets, short story writers, scientists, economists, historians and other literatis in Lahore have given lectures and held dialogues under the aegis of LEAF.

-- Naila Inayat

Travelling on the Lahore-Bedian Road, near the village of Aheer, known in the local dialect as Hair, one would notice an isolated building, standing on the left hand side of the road, if one is travelling towards the village from Lahore. From afar, the building might appear as just another building. However, if one goes a few centuries back, this building was part of a huge complex which included a huge pool and a gurdwara meant to rival the Golden Temple at Amritsar. Relics of the pool and the gurdwara are still found in the vicinity. The building which is the only thing that remains, is the samadh of Prithvichan, the one responsible for the construction of this complex. Next to the Samadh is the local government school for boys.

Prithvichan was the eldest son of the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das. He was born in the year 1548 CE, and was married to a lady called Karmoon in 1556 CE. According to the Encyclopaedia of Sikh Literature, his progeny is known as Mean-e-Sodhi. His younger brother was Maha-Dev, who was mentally challenged. The youngest son of Guru Ram Das was Guru Arjun, who was to become the fifth Sikh Guru. Whereas Prithvichan was more inclined towards worldly affairs, Guru Arjun turned out to be the obedient son, looking after his parents. Guru Ram Das was aware of the dispositions of his children; therefore he always used to keep Guru Arjun, who wasn't a Guru as yet in his company, never his eldest son. It is recorded that one day Guru Ram Das asked his eldest son, Prithvichan to travel to Lahore from Anandpur (where Guru Ram Das used to live) to attend the marriage ceremony of his nephew, however he blatantly refused. Guru Ram Das then asked his son Arjun to go to his place and not to turn back until he called him back.

Tradition has it that Guru Arjun left for Lahore, and stayed here, waiting for his father to call him back. He also kept on writing letters to his father urging him to call him back, however, never disobeying him. It turned that all this time, when Arjun was writing letters to his father, his eldest brother, Prithvichan was hiding them from his father. Once when by luck, a letter reached Ram Das, he found out what his eldest son had been doing all this time. Even on being exposed of his stratagems, Prithvichan refused to present the letters of Guru Arjun to his father. In the arguments that followed, he also said to his father that he was entitled to become the next Guru. Guru Ram Das could not bear all this insolence and banished him from his sight, disowning him from all his ancestral property. Prithvichan left, verbally attacking his father.

Following the development, Ram Das immediately sent Baba Budha's (an important person in Sikh tradition) brother and five other followers to bring back Guru Arjun. In 1581, Baba Budha placed vermilion on the forehead of Guru Arjun, officially making him the next Guru. Prithvichan could not tolerate all of this and returned to argue once more with his father. It is known that Prithvichan from the start resented his brother and now would steal all the gifts and wealth that people from all over the land presented to Guru Arjun. As a result of which the langar of Guru Arjun suffered greatly.

After some time Prithvichan realized that it was futile trying to steal the Guruship from the Guru, however after the death of Arjun, Prithvichan's son could become a Guru. He was able to imagine this because so far Arjun had no son. Soon however, Arjun was bestowed with a son, whom he called Hargobind (the sixth Sikh Guru). It is recorded in the Encyclopaedia of Sikh Literature that many a times, Prithvichan tried to assassinate Hargobind. However, soon the Guru's followers found out what the no good brother had been upto, because of which Prithvichan had to leave the village. He came and settled here at Aheer, which was the village of his wife.

Somehow he was able to convince the rulers at Lahore to grant him a lot of land in this village, which they did. Here on this land, a little outside of the village, he got made a huge pond and a temple, one which was meant to rival Guru Arjun's Golden Temple at Amritsar. This sanctuary, he called Dukh Newaran, which means a place that relieves pain. He sent his followers all over the country who propagated his message that Dukh Newaran was the right place to worship according to Baba Nanak and not the Golden Temple. When Guru Arjun found out about these activities, he prayed that the pond at Dukh Newaran would never be bestowed with water, and so it happened.

In 1599, Prithvichan gave an application to the Governor of Lahore, Mirza Tahir Beg that the ancestral land of his forefathers should be distributed equally amongst him and his brothers. Tahir Beg forwarded the petitions to the Sikh jurists to judge the case according to their own customs. A bench of three judges including, Bhai Jhagta, Behalmal and Dasmal was formed, who summoned Prithvichan before the bench but when he didn't show up, they dismissed the case. Prithvichan moved many more petitions but all in vain. Finally in 1605, Prithivichan collapsed from severe stomach ache and his samadh was built next to his Dukh Newaran. Today it is the only building that remains there.

As time passed by, this parallel movement dissipated. Today only the dilapidated samadh of Prithvichan stands. The huge pond that was meant to rival the pool at Golden Temple, is buried under the ground. The temple is now found in bits and pieces all over the vicinity.