Solitude – A Haiku

Soft, the wind on skin

I dream of the nights away

Spiralling. Nothing.

Dark, the night fleeting,

Swiftly as the sunset goes

Shadowing the glass.

Listen, the rain falls

Shall it undo the rift now?

Day comes back to knock.

Psych Speak 2011

Tid bits from my take on life in 2011. For the latest, click on the tab above.

06/08/2011 Ramazan Rage and the Money Game

Its the 5th day of Ramazan and already I can sense a strange disquiet on the roads. Nothing new in that, except that the rush, the inching in to get in or out of line, the looks and stares have started earlier than usual this year.

Political observers attribute this as ever to the conditions of the economy and the country in general. Psychologically, only extreme examples of food deprivation come to mind, none of which seem to fit here. Hunger for a limited time, when one knows that there will be an end to it, causes mild irritation for sure if prolonged and with the additional factor of burning heat added, but the reactions we have on the roads are in excess of what is expected. Perhaps another dimension is that over some period of time we have been losing our levels of tolerance. It can be sensed in the way the direct-pick-up-the-mobile instead of calling on landline translates into an incessant honking of the horn outside the gate and the idea that the person wanted inside the house will fly out in a matter of seconds. Another horn happy instance can be seen in a traffic jam where many feel it to be their duty to herd the commuters along. A very young version of me once revelled in the idea of owning Chitty chitty bang bang or Knight rider, only to discover that it was a shared dream with others. Now I shudder. If we Pakistanlings are unable to follow properly demarcated roads then how on earth will we follow aerospace rules?

Ramazan rage and swindling is on the rise this Ramazan.

Another money making scheme was just witnessed on Main Khayaban e Jami, Karachi where a tiny little school van came packed with goodies today. As I write this, this farcical scheme is still going on where a company by the nonexistent name of Aryan Enterprises has supposedly launched a dubious custard packaging with a prize scheme – get a ‘free’ blender, tv, sheraton dinner or Nokia N73 cellphone if the coupon yields that name – all for a paltry 1400 rupees. The catch: the France made blender is actually a ‘Mounelux’ instead of Mouleneux (meet the Bata – Beta version), the cell phone with a sheepish admission when confronted, turns to a made in China cheap revision, the TV suddenly goes from a made in Korea to dubious Malay origins and the men incharge earlier smiling and pleasing, turn into the sheepish, sidelong glances types when charged with fraud.

Full marks for the initiative though. The Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani version of Pakistani money makers. ‘Kabhi nayey packet mein baichain tum ko cheez purani’.

And this is just the beginning of Ramazan. Stay tuned for more from the roads of Karachi. Au revoir.

22/05/2011 Neighbourly batting

Just got a phone call from an irate neighbour questioning my take on child psychology when I don’t return her son’s cricket balls. Now should I really explain the consequences of negative punishment? Well, positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement both having failed, time for the big ‘P’. Thats my take on it for now.

In addition I have been told that the cricket balls WILL continue to fall in my house and I should deal with my negative emotions; and that ofcourse there is a 1 in 100 chance of getting hit by one (it narrowly missed me a few days back), and ofcourse cricket balls are not strong enough to break windows of a car or a house. Im totally re-educated! The icing on the cake: I also learnt that this is how children learn to bat sixers otherwise how else will they learn?! I suddenly have visions of young Afridi in knickers having half the neighbourhood running after him with sticks.

So wherein lies the soloution? It truly is a sad fact that we barely have enough playgrounds for children in the city. Yet, there is one very near my house and there happens to be just that someone who can take this kid out to play there. So, till I find another solution, long live negative punishment. Though in this case after hearing a lot of irrational beliefs, I’d say the mother needs it more than the child.

13/05/2011 Revelation – Personal Eureka on Islamic Practices and Self Healing Practices in the World.

Yesterday night I was hit by a revelation. Today it hit harder as I actually said it in front of a friend.

I was printing out a manual for Reiki level 2 when looking at the hand positions and the conceptual framework I was struck by how close the entire concept is to Islamic Practices of Namaz and Roza, Saum o Salat. The conceptual framework including meditation – relaxation – focussing on the words – placement of the hands … it all falls into place. Reiki linked with places we touch, Yoga linked with how we move and bend, Meditation linked with how we focus on removing external worries while we focus on His names. The list goes on and on. While we are praying it is not for Allah only; it is He who has created this system for us so that we are purified by the process. Reiki may well call it the flow of the eternal life force.

Bottom line – If one can take out time for Reiki, one can take out time to pray. The most natural and best God given gift to Man – provided one focusses, lets go of external stressors while praying and most important of all: ‘believes’! Pure Taqwa.

30/04/2011 Water, water everywhere…

Water. It is not just Man’s basic need but essential to all life on Earth. Imagine if this necessity were to become a luxury…And this is exactly what may happen and soon enough if we are not careful in water conservation – and here by conservation the reference is not just to its use but also its abuse ranging from overuse to the addition of various pollutants.

A case in point is that of Manchhar in our very own country where high levels of pollutants caused avoidable casualties. The current devastation caused by the recent floods (2011) is also a case in point after which the pollution level has increased further. It is said that the Government has undertaken to provide compensation to the families of the victims… Yet the question remains: who are we to blame? The Government, as a convenient target; the industries, for emptying their pollution into the pure Pakistani waters: or ourselves, for sitting and watching…and watching…

28/4/2011 Psychology of Terror

I have just come within inches of a bomb blast today. On my way to work I saw ambulances, sirens blaring rushing past and several police vans. This is the third blast in a bus in 2 days. I don’t know how long this madness will last where innocent people are killed daily and yet fingers point all around. The blame game doesn’t end does it?

Terror comes in various garbs and the one that is most potent is the one that injects fear in the masses. Overdose of fear can at times lead to apathy like the proverbial switch that has become faulty due to overuse. Right now, perhaps apathy is our double edged sword – the defense that keeps us going and the withdrawal in our own shells and little worlds that leads to social ignorance and carelessness.

If this is a war, which side are we on?

 

Dementia-ville – Shades of the Past ?

As a child it was fascinating yet quite a bit disturbing to be with certain old people at times. They would ask you your name over and over again or their hands would tremble so much that it was scary to be near them. Yet the way they smiled and their love and care cannot be denied. For the young child who has yet to see and know much of disease and despair, the revelation can be disturbing, yet growing up with it can teach a lot in the name of patience and humility.

Years later after a sojourn into the sketchy roads psychology can take us along; I have a name for the various issues caused by this condition. Dementia – or the cognitive decline in daily life functioning is a term that has both the aforementioned scenarios attached to it and more.

When I was younger, I grew up in a family where it was obvious that older parents and grandparents would be taken care of by their relatives. Not doing so was unthinkable and inexplicable. Tempers flared, grievances were common on both sides of the generational divide and one learned that this is how things moved on. Age brought on various issues and life had to move on accordingly. In my clinic now, I notice a change that has hit our conservative collectivistic culture several years after it was already an established ‘western’ tradition. The younger generation has a greater tendency to have both genders working long hours. Taking care of the elderly is no longer considered a first priority in many cases as it used to be earlier. Consequently the concept of old people’s homes is talked about in hushed tones but nevertheless – talked about.

Each story can have several angles and so does this one. One may argue that better nursing care is available at old people’s homes or centres such as this – an extremely derogatory name of a proposed dementia-ville of sorts that has health care professionals divided in opinion http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/switzerlands-dementiaville-designed-to-mirror-the-past-6293712.html . On the other hand there is much to be said for old fashioned home care. While round the clock health care facilities are provided at such spaces they are no replacement for the ease of living if provided in one’s own home in familiar surroundings. I have seen several instances where those with a moderate degree of dementia do very well when under the supervision of health care practitioners who may also train the caregivers to create cues for the patient. While the facility such as the one mentioned here may be an open door facility that would help in a rather advanced stage of Alzheimer’s, there are people doing extremely well in the home with nursing attendants or family members. Surely it is difficult, but not impossible. At the same time, even those suffering from dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease need a change and day long facilities may be just the right amount of change. Family members need to take care of their own health as well and providing round the clock nursing to an often irritable person can be a heavy task unless one is blessed with a rather large family with someone there to cater to various needs round the clock. Some respite may be provided by day care facilities which would go a long way towards keeping things harmonious at home. Younger children can learn from the patience and sacrifice invested in the process of home care and the family system can develop beautifully. There is after all, a lot to be said for the value system of taking care of elders in the circle of life just as they once did when we were young.

Updike and the Witching Hour

Ever since the entire drama surrounding Harry Potter and the Twilight series has somewhat faded, there seems to be an uncanny gap before readers or movie buffs experience any more witching antics. A bit of  googling online brought me to dwell somehow on the almost bookshelved Witches of Eastwick (1984), its filming and its never filmed sequel Widows of Eastwick (1998) written by John Updike.

Updike, whose 3rd death anniversary will fall at the end of this very month of January, was born on 18^th March 1932 and succumbed to lung cancer on 27^th January 2009. The only child of a mathematician father and a literary minded mother, he had the right atmosphere to bloom into a ‘distinguished Christian person of letters’ according to Jesuit magazine America which gave him its Campion Award in 1997. His initial sickly disposition troubled with psoriasis and stammering led to an interest in writing encouraged by his mother. His father provided the impetus for the ‘sympathetic father figure’ of his early work.

His childhood memories of the towns of Reading and Shillington were the later setting for the fictional Brewer and Olinger of his novels. Egged on by a passion to write, he worked in a local newspaper, graduated in English from Harvard and as an undergraduate at the same, had honed his story writing and drawing skills while working for the oldest humour magazine – The Harvard Lampoon; which had attracted him to Harvard in the first place.

A true son of the earth, Updike drew inspiration from the cluttered life on the margins using the American idiom as his canvas. Perhaps the most illustrative example can be found in his two times Pulitzer Prize winning portions of the “Rabbit” saga comprising of four novels, wherein the circumstances surrounding the life of its main protagonist Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom are shown against the backdrop of the social and sexual upheavals of the 1960s and onwards till the final AIDS ridden reflux of the 1980’s in ‘Rabbit’s Rest’.

A frank style of writing which held no room for obliqueness brought both fame and criticism for the content of his works. Redoubtable as he was, “Writers may be disreputable, incorrigible… but they dare to go it alone,” was the only answer he would give to this onslaught. Alone however, he did not remain. The Times, paid him the tribute of a feature story soon after his writing the novel ‘Couples’ in 1968 portraying the complicated liaisons of married suburban couples. On the other hand, all his writing is subtly steeped in theoretical and existentialist yearnings. He was an avid church goer and wherever possible used metaphors and symbols to bring forth philosophical questions.

Updike worked with most genres of prose as well as poetry including sonnets. His poems were light and amusing, characterised by attention to sounds and usage of colloquial language utilizing even brand names and imitating advertising jargon.

Perseverance, hard work and dedication became his personal axioms ever since he left The New Yorker, preferring a secluded existence in Massachusetts and raising his family on the returns of his writing alone. However, during his two year stint at the magazine, whence he had started his career, he had attained a fondness enough for it, to regularly contribute short stories, poems and reviews to it, throughout his life. Early on in his writing career, he initiated and maintained a rigid routine – writing diligently in a rented room for several hours six days a week.

Small wonder then that Updike received so many awards in his lifetime including the rare honour of being the third American to win the Pulitzer for Fiction twice and both the National Medal for Art (1989) and the National Medal for Humanities (2003).

Several of Updike’s works have been adapted for films. The most noteworthy amongst these are the 1960 novel Rabbit, Run as a full length film in 1970, the short story A&P (1961) produced as a 17 minute short in 1996, and Pigeon Feathers (1962) made for TV in 1987. The Witches of Eastwick (1984) produced in 1987 with a stellar cast comprising among others Jack Nicholson and Susan Sarandon, was well received and it remains to be seen if the recently written Widows of Eastwick (2008) has a similar fate in store.  Perhaps it is the lull before the witching hour strikes thirteen.

Photo courtesy: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/aug/12/television.usa

2011 in review: Kiran Bashir Ahmad Blog review.

Dear readers, thanks for your repeated presence here on my blog in 2011. You all contributed to the interaction and made writing a joyful process. The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys (they call themselves that), prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog and you can click on the link below to see what they have prepared. A note to self: more people seem to be interested in fruits … not the ones of hard labour – not everything I say has a metaphor linked with it – but those that grow on trees, rather than world affairs. For once I don’t know whether to shake my head or grow fruits while the sun shines. Happy New Year! Keep reading and God bless us all in the coming year.

much love,

Kiran Bashir Ahmad

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,300 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.