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loadshedding MOOD STREET Town Talk philanthropy Responsible
citizens No
stopping Rahat
Where
are the jugnus? loadshedding A stitch in no time Tailors face race against time close to Eid and it becomes tougher with loadshedding By Anam Javed The first thing one becomes aware of is the continuous noise of the generators. A whole street in H Block, Defence, is dedicated to the selling, stitching and designing of cloth. Numerous shops are cramped next to each other on both sides of the road. Dyers stand outside with their cauldrons, while young boys quickly flip colourful dupattas to dry them. Posh cars are parked in front of the shops from which women with sunglasses perched on top of their heads emerge. Everywhere, there are boards identifying the shops – some by names and some by the items sold. Others attract customers by pasting papers on which the words ‘Sale Sale Sale’ are boldly printed. Through the glass windows of the shops, piles upon
piles of colourful lace are visible. There is a barricade of motorcycles,
belonging perhaps to those who work here. Looking down, one sees gutters
disgorging dyed water. Inside a tailor shop, “You don’t need to ask about the problems here; they are open for all to see,” exclaims Muhammad Hanif, a tailor. His face is shiny as he talks about “less work, high rents, and no electricity”. The monthly rent of the small shop is Rs 40,000 which is paid by Hanif and the other craftsmen he shares the shop with. “Then there are the gas, water, and electricity bills!” The shop is so small his table takes about a quarter of the space. Opposite to it is a sewing machine. It stands quiet. He works with a needle and a thread, sowing a man’s blue shirt. “It’s a friend’s,” he says, upon inquiry. Otherwise, he does women’s clothes, charging Rs 400 to 500 per suit, depending on what a customer can afford. Hanif has been working as a tailor for the past 10 years now. His family lives in Narowal, his children — two sons and two daughters — are interested in studying but he explains “…it’s about what you can afford.” The loadshedding is more or less scheduled in this
part of the world, for a total of five hours. Despite the loud noise
outside, Hanif’s shop doesn’t have a generator, so when there is no
electricity, his work comes to a standstill. However, as we talk, he stresses more on the lack of customers than loadshedding as a major issue. It’s summers and, as many of his customers are away for vacations, he’s feeling the brunt. The shop opposite to his is rented by Qamar who has a similar tale to tell, about the loadshedding schedules and the slow work in holiday season. In all the shops, a mezzanine has been created just below the roof to house the machines, where young boys are intently bent over their work. Qamar is hopeful of receiving more work in the last 10 days of Ramzan. His shop has a generator, but it is only used for emergency work. The tailors in Main Market, Gulberg, have a rather different story to tell. After climbing the metal steps and crossing a dusty corridor, one notices a board that says ‘La Monde Tailors – owned by Idrees’. Idrees charges about Rs 1,800 for a suit. The air-conditioned shop is larger than the others, with two tables and three comfortable chairs placed along the wall, as well as a changing room. Idrees tells TNS that the shop has a UPS but cannot run it all the time. The battery lasts for only an hour, while power cuts are often for longer. Daily, there is about six hours of unscheduled loadshedding. “Today, we saw continuous loadshedding for more than two hours. We only managed three or four suits in a day. This new generation doesn’t want to use hand machines,” he says, referring to the four young boys working on daily wages. “We pay the taxes and the rent but… if only the
loadshedding was scheduled, one could manage time with the boys
accordingly.” In the next shop, when the lights go off, Mannan is “at God’s mercy”. His work amount and income drop by more than 5o per cent, but “customers wouldn’t pay more. I still have to charge them our usual Rs 500-a-suit,” he tells TNS. And, when he can’t deliver work on time, “Obviously, customers shout at me and say electricity is not their headache.” Talib Hussain is a tailor who works from his home. He lives in Javed Colony where the power is off every alternate hour except at late night during Iftar time. His is a one-man show: he hasn’t hired a helper. His wife, Bilquis, sometimes helps him, though. When there is no electricity, he either does the market work or delivers clothes to the customers — because “you can’t even do the cutting at that time; lawn needs to be ironed.” Talib has had to reduce the number of clients, from 15 to about 8, but to compensate for the loss in income, he has increased his stitching rate from Rs 300 to Rs 400. He plans to take orders for Eid till the middle of Ramzan, then he will begin work on them. Loadshedding is a huge problem for everyone today but is especially burdensome for tailors. Their problems are further aggravated by unscheduled power cuts. At the very least, a fixed schedule should be enforced to bring the much-needed relief to them in the face of the upcoming Eid.
MOOD STREET It was the month when channel logos on TV would turn green. They ran countdowns to the big day, and intermittently between the advertisements, some celebrity would say ‘Salaam Pakistan.’ Ads for the musical programmes to be hosted on Aug 14th started airing days earlier. Hordes of green and white flags gently fluttered in the makeshift markets that suddenly cropped up. Some of the flags would have cartoon characters on them to attract the younger customers, along with badges to pin to your clothes. Rather than a beggar knocking on your car window, you would see a small child trying to sell a flag. And the day itself – buildings decorated with the delicate curtain of lights and people out on drives to admire them… Somehow, though, the past few years haven’t seen the same level of enthusiasm. The flags on rooftops have toppled like dominos. It’s ironic, for we aren’t going green now that it is in vogue globally. The milli songs Jeewe jeewe Pakistan and Jawad Ahmed’s Dosti have been replaced by Bomb phata, lage reh and Mein tou dekhoonga. (The latter is a personal favourite, as it is hopeful for the future not a celebration of the present). A celebration of the present, that’s what this day is all about. Celebrate the fact that we currently have a homeland after Quaid-e-Azam’s strenuous efforts. That’s the problem. The present has an unbreakable bond with the past and the future… and the future poses that question: Will this country last much longer? As for the past: sitting with your grandparents and listening to their recollections of the partition… Our grandparents lived during the struggle, and now we can’t even hold our heads high for a single lifetime. We’re Pakistanis. It’s all in the connotations. No wonder then that everything in the first paragraph is in the past tense. But, for today, let’s forget what the world thinks
of us. Let’s forget the visa hassles, let’s forget the suspicion and
let’s turn a blind eye to the pointing figures. Let’s look at ourselves. One simple example: don’t we always complain that there are so many talented people in our country who are unfortunately given no opportunities to shine? The world just overlooks our talent and art in favour of the more pressing issues. It’s interesting, for simultaneously, I recall a joke. It goes as follows: a man got a chance to see hell it was full of boiling cauldrons containing sinners. Angels stood guard, as the sinners used each other’s shoulders to climb out. One cauldron stood unguarded. He was told: those are Pakistanis. One climbs up, and the others pull him down. Well, let’s try. If we can’t make opportunities, at the very least, let’s not snatch them from others. Let’s promise ourselves that we’ll work hard to win – and not to beat others. Whether we’re a student, a doctor, an artist, or a businessman, competition healthy fair competition will rehabilitate this land. Let’s excel in what we love, for Pakistan. Let’s try to try. Try for this country, in whatever way we can. Being honest is perhaps the most important thing today. Speak out; let’s not crush what we’re thinking under the defense mechanism that constantly whispers “It’ll never change.” Just try, even if it seems to amount to nothing. And along with speaking, we need to listen too. Read Iqbal, and be inspired by how beautifully, magically even, his words fit today’s world. Let the past motivate us in planning our future. I think I’ve beaten around the bush enough. What about the present? We need that spirit to make a comeback the feeling of being proud. Remember the Pak-India semifinal? Yeah, of course you do. We need the spirit which made people forward this SMS after we lost: ‘Today I saw no Balochis, Sindhis, Punjabis or Pathans. Today I saw only Pakistanis. What loss? This was our victory!” Just like these messages, we need to appreciate what we have achieved rather than what we have lost. And what have we achieved? A 796,095 square kilometer piece of land. It’s called Pakistan, and it is enough. I know appreciating it today is hard, seemingly impossible. But let’s try. Laugh when you hear the slogan ‘Na bijli hai, na pani hai, ussi pher wi Pakistani hain’ (There’s no electricity, there’s no water, but we’re still Pakistani). Do revel in the extra sleep you get today, and then go out and buy the green and white flag. It will not be as easily found as 5 years ago, but it still will be around. So go, buy a flag and put it on your rooftop. Then look at the other houses that hopefully have one fluttering too. And, next time, try to speak out, for the sake of this flag. We’ve got to keep it around, no matter what the world says. — Anam Javed
*Photo Festival 2011 at Race Course Park till Aug 16. *First Young Entrepreneurs Exhibition on Aug 19-20 at
Maisonette Luxury Apartments Lahore. *Join Dr. Shahzad Qaiser every Thursday as he speaks on thoughts of Iqbal, Khwaja Ghulam Farid and Baba Husayn Shah on Religion & Metaphysics at Hast-o-Neest Centre for Traditional Art & Culture. *Learn Classical Arabic Calligraphy with Irfan Ahmed Qureshi covering basic introduction, history, pen making & mashq of one script. Classes on Friday, Saturday & Sunday from 2:00 to 3:00 pm at Hast-o-Neest. *Exhibition titled ‘Sayyidul Kawnayni wa Thaqalayn’ in honour of the Prophet (SAW) at Hast-o-Neest Centre for Traditional Art & Culture till Aug 31. Calligrapher Irfan Ahmed Qureshi also presents his work on Imam Busir.
philanthropy Next Generation Pakistan (NGP) is a project of five students who decided to do something for the country’s people in the wake of last year’s floods which ravaged Pakistan affecting one-fifth of the country and leaving countless people without shelter and becoming a motivation for the privileged youth. NGP focuses primarily on young students in schools and
colleges that work towards the development of the social sector. In this
respect, the organisation has always targeted the elite-class youth —
that is, the students from the upper strata of society — since they
believe that reform and change can only come from the top. The student body has the capacity and the resources to contribute in a meaningful way towards social development. They believe that if, through work, they can inculcate the upper-class group of youngsters with the ideals of nationalism and patriotism at an impressionable age, they can expect them to inject their resources back into Pakistani society at a later point in their lives. Their first step was the provision of free text books for one academic year to 50 students at School of Technical Sciences, Gohawa. They went on to set up a stall at the Liberty roundabout and collected Rs 1.4 million for flood victims in a matter of five days only. Funds were raised through spot collection in which volunteers used chart papers and banners to compel passers-by on the roads to donate. Humza Asim, Haider Zafar, Shameel Mazhar, Laraib Zahra and a number of other volunteers spent hours under the sun holding banners. On the fourth day of the campaign, the organisation received a major boost when Faqir Syed Aijazudddin, Principal, Aitchison College, announced that he would match the money which was collected by NGP. He collected money from the students of his college and was able to donate Rs 7,00,000 to the fund. Eventually, a total of Rs 3 million was collected for the relief phase. In its efforts, the NGP had also been encouraged by the late governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer. Furthermore, in the rehabilitation part of the campaign, the group collected another Rs 1m for the construction of houses in Kot Addu, District Muzaffargarh. “Next Generation Pakistan is quick to realise that one of the biggest problems faced by the country’s poor is the ever increasing food prices,” says Yousafullah Tahir, a founding member of the organisation. “For the past two years, Pakistani society has seen a staggering rise in the prices of food which takes it beyond the purchasing power of the poor and the needy,” he adds. Keeping that in mind, the NGP launched its next project in the field. In the village of Masar, near Sargodha, it planted wheat on many acres of land. The seeds planted on November 25 took five months to grow before they were harvested. The land yielded scores of mounds. Once the crop was harvested, the NGP moved into the second phase of the project which was the distribution of wheat amongst the poor in Southern Punjab, done with the help of Alizeh Ali, Shehryar Sheikh, Hamza Qaiser, Mehru Zafar, Qanveel Piracha, Fatima Khalid, Ahad Nangiana, Noor Zehra and other students. Bakhtawar Soofi, a founder member of NGP, tells TNS: “The organisation has finalised a proposal to start the construction of houses for the flood victims. The project is being carried out in collaboration with Asifa Irfan Foundation which has already done credible work in this field.” A similar project is in the pipeline that follows the
‘do-it-yourself’ principle. NGP plans to renovate a school by painting
it themselves, upgrading the furniture and the libraries and providing
water coolers for students where necessary. Likewise, the student-run organisation is working with Little World Community Organisation (LWCO) being run by Greg Zaller that works for women empowerment in rural areas. Women in the villages learn to read, write and sew at an LWCO school. They produce quilts, pillows and embroidery cards which until last year were only being sold in the United States. But now, the NGP plans to provide these women with a market in Pakistan as well by selling their products in other countries. The money raised from selling the products serves as the income of these women who, in turn, use it to set up more schools. Later this month, Hammad Mustafa, another co-founder, will be going to Oxford Law School which according to him will help him collect even more funds. He says, “Next Generation Pakistan is now looking towards Pakistani students in foreign universities to provide a major chunk of donations needed in order to complete the project. Students willing to collect and donate money from their respective universities are encouraged.” The organisation is working hard but it has limited resources because of which its work remains limited. New options and their viabilities are being weighed to collect more funds. New events and their timings are posted on NGP’s Facebook page, their blog and website, encouraging new ideas and help from new members while it is said that social work mars the productivity of students in school most of the people running the show in the organisation have made it to their dream universities. The writer is a
Lahore-based student and can be reached at rana.haider@hotmail.com
Responsible
citizens In a wonderful display of synergy, two institutions of Lahore, the Waste Busters and the City School, got together and celebrated this Independence Day in a unique manner. They demonstrated what being responsible citizen is all about by organising an anti-litter campaign — ‘Let’s Bin it!’ The focal point of the campaign was a float which visited different public places of Lahore for four days, and round which other activities took place: citizens signed a resolution to reinforce a pollution-free, green environment and an awareness campaign to promote a pollution-free, greener environment by distributing bumper stickers, reusable car bin bags and badges to the general public. A team of students motivated and engaged with the
general public to act as responsible citizens and clean-up towns and roads
with appropriate equipment and procedures. The anti-littering campaign was supported by a number of celebrities, government officials, and media personnel, Abrar ul Haq, philanthropist and Javad Rafiq Malik, Commissioner Lahore among them. The collaboration between a waste management company which also runs community clean-up programmes and a school is a good example of how institutions can work together for the benefit of a community. Waste Busters also run a schools recycling programme as another social enterprise project across Lahore, which means they work closely with youth and mentor the Lahore Environmental Youth Council in taking practical, environmental action in their schools by helping manage and lead recycling initiatives. The school’s vision is “to make their students more responsible global citizens who are empathetic and caring towards all human and other forms of life and have a spirit to give back to the society and the environment”. In order to achieve this vision the school has started a ‘City-zenship’ Programme which was launched with the anti-littering campaign ‘Let’s Bin It!’ held from 11th to 14th August 2011. This campaign helped promote awareness regarding littering among the public, it educated and motivated the students and most important of all, it forged the crucial link between academic institutions and the real world. It allowed students to look at their city not as casual observers but as active and concerned citizens, finding practical solutions to problems. This sets a wonderful example of how to celebrate our independence day by owning our country and doing something practical to help improve it. No
stopping Rahat If there’s a singer in recent times whose every single track has become a chartbuster, it has to be Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. No wonder, at a Rahat concert — which itself is quite a rarity these days, because of his immensely busy schedule — the audience doesn’t have to go through the ‘lesser’ numbers most concert singers offer as a warm-up, before they belt out their best tracks. With Rahat, there’s no such drag. The general response to his ghazal or hymn is as strong as it is to a qawwali or a film number. So, you just can’t afford to be late to an evening with Rahat, one of which Lahore saw recently at PC hotel’s classically adorned Crystal Hall, courtesy of J&S. And when you have Rahat do a J&S charity event, there’s got to be greater fireworks, an ambience and food which are far more exclusive than what you would get at most fundraisers, aside, of course, from an entourage of great-looking socialites and party regulars — for the Red Carpet pull, you know. Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khosa also stormed into the hall, mid-show, surrounded by his minders and bouncers. From the US Consulate, Carmela Conroy and Tristram Perry made their usual starry appearance, the latter in an olive-green designer kurta pyjama, and became the toast of the night, attracting camera flashlights and all. It may be mentioned here that the charity was meant
for Karachi’s Garage School, with its Principal Ms Shabina Mustafa
coming to the dais and speaking of the school’s insistence on the four
“T’s” — “Tor, Tareeka, Taleem, Taraqqi”. Finally, model
Natasha, after a long-winded introductory speech, announced Rahat’s
arrival, amidst thunderous claps. A bunch of live musicians had already
taken their positions on the specially decorated stage. It was evident
that Rahat was going to sing LIVE, unlike most concert artists in Pakistan
today (including even Shafqat Amanat Ali) who do not trust the orchestra
— and, perhaps, their own vocal cords — to deliver. Rahat came and
simply started off — with ‘Tu na jaane aas paas hai khuda’, a
beautiful melody, from last year’s Bollywood movie Anjaana Anjaani and,
while the sound of the claps didn’t die, followed it up with a Nusrat
Fateh Ali qawwali, ‘Maula Ali’. Like a true singer, in complete charge of himself, Rahat played around with his qawwalis, such as ‘Tumhein dillagi bhool jaani paray gi’, breaking into sargams in between, much to the listening pleasure of the audience. To his help, the musicians comprised an interesting mix of qawwali essentials (harmonium, tabla and chorus) along with acoustic guitars, trumpet, keyboard et al. His ‘Sajda’, from last year’s astronomical success, My Name Is Khan, was a tad too experimental, though, as Rahat dragged the melody at places, dwelling on a single note while pacing it up at another place. But ‘Ajj din charhya’, another Bollywood favourite, was a huge hit with the crowds that had now started to feel absolutely at home. A sense of complete comfort had set in. The track got designer Ammar Belal and his gorgeous model wife Aaminah Haq to cozy up a bit more, while the jetsetters seated around them were already swaying to the beat and the melody, some even thumping the tables. A sign of an entertainer’s success is that the crowd begins to feel absolutely at home and they start shifting their seats, grouping together. As Rahat moved on to ‘Sureeli akhyon walay’, it was obvious that there was no stopping the effect he had on everybody present inside the hotel hall. An Iman Ali, looking ethereal in a white dress, edged closer to the stage and her close friend now dedicated his next song ‘Mein jahan bhi rahoon’ (from the Bollywood superhit Namaste London) to the beautiful model turned actress, quickly switched on to ‘More piya’, another crowd favourite. Where
are the jugnus? Yesterday I saw a ‘jugnu’ (firefly) for the first time in my life. It was one of those regular loadshedding hours and I was walking outside with my mother when she excitedly pointed one out to me. Apparently they used to be a common sight some years ago, lighting up the evenings in a wonderfully magical way. Now, however, they seem to have disappeared. Allama Iqbal comes to mind, who used the jugnu as a symbol of hope and light; something that helps one find your way when you are lost in the dark… Lost. Isn’t that what we are, as we approach our 64th Independence day? A bit off track? So where have the jugnus gone? Have we lost them to environmental degradation? But this disappearance is also symbolic of a lot of other things. This August 14, therefore, it might not be a bad idea if instead of lighting up buildings, running wild in the streets on silencer-less motorbikes or mindlessly waving flags, we vow to bring back our ‘jugnus’ – both the real ones and the metaphorical/symbolic ones. We can do this in simple ways. By becoming pro-active responsible citizens who care for their country, we can become agents of change. Let’s leave the big issues to the leaders and politicians, let them grapple with the economy and the war on terror, the issues of loadshedding and poverty. We, the ordinary citizens, can do our part by dealing with the smaller issues. The simple process of taking ownership of our environment can empower and motivate us in ways that will benefit us in a much broader sense, because the environment defines the space we live in. Right now our cities are crying out for help because nature is being pushed out by pollution. Our air is polluted with smoke emitting vehicles, our waters are polluted, our streets are filthy and the trees and birds are being suffocated by the concrete jungles that we are creating around us. This affects us directly because it has an impact on our physical as well as emotional and psychological health. People are irritable and angry because everything beautiful, soothing and relaxing in our lives has been replaced by a cacophony of noise and a pall of dust. And while poverty, loadshedding and unemployment are issues that are beyond our control, surely we, in our individual capacities, can do something for the environment. We can do practical things every day to improve the quality of our lives. Let us celebrate this Independence Day in a meaningful way, by doing something to help bring about a change in the unhealthy dynamic that has become our environment. On this day, let us decide to stop using plastic bags, to care enough to think twice before throwing an empty packet of chips out of our car window, to put aside our egotistic and status-conscious mindsets and car-pool, ride a bicycle or walk, use water judiciously, buy local, environmentally-friendly products and most importantly, plant lots of trees to make ours a greener, cleaner and better home. Why wait for someone else to come and make our country better? It is our home. Each of us can play a small part and if on this Independence Day, we make that promise to ourselves, and we do it with unity, faith and discipline, then may be next year, the jugnus will come back, lighting up our gardens and showing us the way – the way to progress and prosperity and a Pakistan we can truly celebrate.
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