Megalomaniac

Silence – the way to inner peace. A human being’s mind needs to be free of fatigue in order to function properly; therefore, silence is imminent for the peace and tranquillity of a mind. People have their own set of problems and worries in their lives, and this plagues the minds. Deep thinking and meditation is a prerequisite for finding proper solutions to a problem, and one needs silence for such circumstances. Silence is also essential for studies, relaxation, sleep and various other situations. Sound breaks the silence … but it is not a menace unless it violates certain limits and metamorphoses into something disturbing, called Noise. Noise is a menace for society and is one of the numerous forms of pollution. There are many sources of noise, and one of them is a horn. A horn is defined as an alarm device that makes a loud warning sound. These days, one can find various kinds of musical horns in the market. Such horns are used by cars, buses, trucks, lorries, coaches, motorcycles, ...

And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart: “Your seeds shall live in my body, And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart, And your fragrance shall be my breath, And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.” - Kahlil Gibran Food – something without which a human being cannot survive. It can be defined as ‘any solid substance (as opposed to liquid) that is used as a source of nourishment’. There is no denying its importance in our lives but to go overboard about food makes it a different issue. Lahore has always been known for its cuisine and is rightly called the ‘food centre’ of Pakistan. A variety of cuisines can be found in any part of Lahore. The people of Lahore are referred to as ‘zinda-dilaan-e-Lahore’ since they are known for their liveliness and openheartedness. Their love for food is a well-known fact, and they certainly do justice to the words of George Bernard Shaw who said, "There is no sincerer love than the love of f...

Marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman. The relationship of these two human beings is elevated from one form to another, and the metamorphosis is of an immensely important nature. Nowadays we see that this sacred institution is being commercialised due to the changing trends in weddings. Wedding seasons are in boom during the months of December/January. Everywhere you go, one can witness special wedding tents all over the city. Wedding halls are booked several months before the actual wedding takes place. The price of flowers (which are used for decorations and garlands etc), chicken and other assortment of food that is used for wedding ceremonies, reaches its peak. These business-minded people are exploiting the institution of marriage. Lavish weddings are the ‘in’ thing these days, spending millions of rupees on wedding functions is not much of an issue anymore. Nonetheless, a wedding these days has become a major hassle for everyone involved. There is a social pressure ...

Rape is one of the worst instances of violence against women. We cannot even imagine the immense pain the woman has to go through; here I am not only talking about the physical pain but also the pain that comes later – the agony. How badly bruised a victim’s mind will be when she has faced such a bestial act. Can we even fathom the plight of these women who have gone through such an intense physical trauma which later on leads to emotional upheaval? Can there be a more savage and barbarous act that a woman has to go through? Rape victims are haunted by this monstrous experience forever. A survey said that 82 percent of the rape victims said that the experience has permanently changed them. Rape is an issue that has not been dealt with frankness in countries like Pakistan, where the society refuses to discuss it on the pretext of it being a social stigma. A rape victim in our society would be afraid of the infamy and disgrace that she would be causing to herself and her family if she w...

Since the beginning of this world, women have had to face numerous problems and have undergone immense struggle. It is the general upbringing of a female in comparison to a male, which hampers her progress and development. Their faculties are directed from their birth to be something that they were never given a right to choose by themselves. The general consensus of our society is that a woman’s metier is to marry and procreate. Breaking these chains of society lie within the domain of feminism. Feminism is the basic ideology behind ‘women’s rights’ but the ignorant people generally perceive it to be something shallow. According to a renowned feminist, "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." There are restrictions on women, of a general nature, which are never faced by the male species. A female’s morality would be questioned if she does the same things that men take for granted. In a society like ours if a man smokes in public, that’s acceptable but if a wom...

Pakistan is gripped by cell phone mania these days. The mobile connections are excessively easy to get. Pre-paid connections are free, and you only have to buy a pre-paid card to activate. The post-paid packages are also pretty cheap; thus almost everyone ends up with a cell-phone. Now, the need to get a mobile set comes and that leads to the mania! Initially these mobile sets were a necessity; today these are also used as a showoff accessory. This craze for cell-phones has increased so much that people are spending thousands of rupees on new sets. If you visit Hafeez Centre, you will see an innumerable number of cell-phone shops. These shops display various models of cell phones from all renowned companies such as Nokia, Sony -Ericsson, Samsung, and Motorolla. The price ranges from 3000 rupees to 60,000 rupees, depending on the features and model of the set. Cell-phone manufacturers were giving out new models each year, with modified features as a marketing gimmick, but not much impor...

14th August – Pakistan’s Independence Day! What a momentous day it must’ve been for the Muslims of the subcontinent, back in 1947. Today, it has just become a day to go crazy. If you’ve had the misfortune to venture out on 14th August, at any time (especially in the evening or night), you would know what I am talking about. Boys ranging from the age of 12 to mature men who must be in their forty’s, are to be found roaming around in cars or motorcycles (without the silencers), creating chaos all over the city. Traffic jams are prevalent all around. We got stuck near the traffic signal of the Defence gates, because the traffic lights were switched off so that the Traffic Police could manoeuvre it. What one witnessed were three traffic police constables chatting, maybe enjoying the rowdy crowd. They were not doing anything about traffic control; instead the cars were just passing at the will of the driver, creating a jam. One could see people sitting on the window ledges of their cars, or...

14th August 1947 – a new day in the history of the world, as a country named Pakistan was put on the world map. This is also the day that the hatred between Pakistan and India became official. Muslims, who moved from India to Pakistan, were the same people who had lived all their lives with the Hindus and Sikhs before the partition of the subcontinent. They lived together peacefully; with a lot of love and respect towards each other as neighbours, as a community. What happened in the course of a few years that these same Muslims, Hindus/Sikhs were after each other's blood? The answer to this complex query is – Politics! Politics changed the whole scenario; it tore apart the harmony and created disillusionment. Leadership of both countries did not do much to bridge the gap; instead they somehow helped this seed of mistrust between the two nations grow. I have always had this certain image of an Indian (Hindu) – a cunning, shrewd, Muslim-hater (even though the Muslim population of In...

Many of us wear masks to hide our real face from others; some do it unintentionally while others are motivated by selfish designs. A mask may not necessarily be used to hide our nature but to show a different face that is deemed socially more agreeable, amicable and acceptable. These masks may well merge with the outward image along with the internal self to make our personalities more dynamic. Our true nature is not just made up of a singular component but is divided multifariously. Masks vary in their range of sophistication - it could just be an angry person’s mask, an excited person’s mask, a worried person’s mask or a happy person’s mask. Various aspects in a person’s personality might be revealed as circumstances tend to instigate people to behave in a different manner. In each mode, a person’s behaviour would be altered accordingly. If someone sees them in one mode, he would only have witnessed one side of that person and until he sees that person in some other mode he would nev...