میں مرنے کیلئے تیار ہوں

میں مرنے کیلئے تیار ہوں

بابوسر  پاس میں روکے جانے والی بس پر اگر میرا بھائی بیٹھا ہوتا تو شاید ۔شاید نہیں بلکہ یقیناً طالبان کی گولیوں کا نشانہ بنتا۔ میں یا میرے خاندان کا کوئی فردشیعہ نہیں لیکن میری والدہ کی خواہش پر ہم تمام بھائیوں کے ناموں کا دوسرا حصہ علی ہے۔ میرے بڑے بھائی کا پورا نام حیدر علی ہے۔یہ سوچ کر کہ وہ بھی شناختی کارڈ میں درج نام کی وجہ سے بس سے اتارا جاتا اور طالبانکی گولیوں کا نشانہ بنتا میرے رونگٹے کھڑے ہو جاتے ہیں۔ میں خوش ہوں کہ میرا  بڑا بھائی مملکتِ خدادادِ پاکستان کو کچھ سال پہلے ہی چھوڑ کر چلا گیا ہے۔ وہ اب جہاں ہے وہاں کم از کم اسے کوئی شناختی کارڈ پڑھ کر شیعہ ہونے کہ شبے میں گولیوں سے بھونے گا نہیں۔

University Dreams...

My second article appeared in The Friday Times a couple of weeks back. I have forgotten the title that they gave it but I call it University Dreams...

“Sir, will I be able to get into the MBA programme if I do my B.A?”, he asks me while cleaning the table. I have just come out of a class and it’s lunch time. He is looking blankly at the table and his hand moves mechanically in circles. The table top doesn’t absorb any water, instead thousand of tiny droplets follow the movements of his hand and make circular patterns on the table giving off a pungent smell. I sit down to eat my lunch. “No, I think you will have to do your M.A as well. I think they don’t take people straight after B.A. anymore. But you should check with the admission office”, I lazily answered. His hand stopped and thousands of water droplets chasing it came to a halt. The pungent smell also seemed to have decided to hover over the top of the table. “But, I will do it, I will do my B.A. and M.A. privately. I will clear my B.A. this year, both parts, and next year I will do my M.A. Can I take both parts of B.A. in the same year?” He asks. “I’m not sure. I think the education department has changed the rules now. You can only take one part in a year.” He looks at me as though I have slapped him. He counts “1, 2, 3, 4…”

Two Nation Theory

This article appeared in The Friday Times in their April 27-May 3, 2007 issue under the above title.

Each morning I take a bus from Sadr Kecherri to Royal Artillery Bazaar, or RA Bazaar as it is commonly called. The scene at RA Bazaar is a busy one. Buses honking at full blast announce their arrival on one side and line up neatly inside the bazaar. This is a major stop on their route; they wait here for a few minutes and then leave for their various destinations. I take the 5 number daewoo to Lalak Jan Chowk in Defence .
It rained last night and the road inside the bazaar is covered with mud. People pull up their trousers and shalwars as they cross the lane towards the stop. As usual the stop smells of urine. Men and dogs have been at it again.