On Names

"Hello! My name is Andy" said Andy

"Yeah! But I am  going to call you John" Said Amy

"Well! that's not my name"

"I don't care, I will call you that, and all people who share  language with me will call you that" Amy insisted.

If the conversation above does not seem a little strange then the writer has failed in his efforts altogether. What it should serve is a reminder of the fact that, countries and languages are called differently depending on who is saying the name. So for example, despite the fact that the Germans don't call themselves Germans, and intead call themselves "Deutsch" and their county is not called Germany, but "Deutschland" , speakers from English speaking countries call them Germans and Germany respectively.  I really don't understand the difficulty in calling them what they call themselves. I mean that should be the right of an entity to be at least called what it desires to be called.


A little background check tells me what the terms exonym and endonym are, and no surprise that I am in utter disagreement with them. I think exonyms should only be employed when the identity of a particular group of people can not be ascertained with any reasonable authenticity and it is important to refer to them in some way. But when the identity and "name" of a group can be easily established and merely so by asking the simple question as to what their name is, its endonymistic name should always be used.
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Christmas and New Years'

So recently I have been asking this question from myself as to why do most of my blog entries start with the word "so" but "so" far I don't have an answer. Maybe its because the word "so" "so" uniquely intertwines real life events to the written word. Anyway

The holiday season is upon us. In a few days time, its going to be Christmas. There is a general sense of joy and mirth in the air. Every important place is lit up, and it hasn't snowed. A lot of my friends have been coerced by their parents into visiting them for Christmas. This appears to be a time when people in Berlin give in to tradition and visit their families. I feel Christmas has the same air of festivity in Berlin as Eids do in Lahore. There are fewer cars on the roads, fewer people on train stations, there are lots of Christmas markets throughout Berlin and people are visiting them by the hundreds. Interestingly enough, many people I know who are going away for the Christmas are still going go be back by the new years. Clearly they think New Years would be best celebrated in Berlin.

In a few days, a new year is going to start. I dont know for the world, and 2013 has been quite a ride. With this I must take leave and wish my readers an extremely eventful next year.  

A conversation with myself

Cosmos( to itself) : Ah! It seem like we are ready. Besides I want to talk to someone. I am bored of talking to myself all the time. Oh Yes.

no answer.

no answer

utter silence

Cosmos. Lights please (and the cosmic dark ages are over and the first stars shine). Ah! Much better. I like it when things are bright. "cough cough". oh my. there is wayyyyyyyyyy too much hydrogen. Give us some variety oh stars!

The really massive stars shine bright and luminous, running out of fuel soon and explode in colosal supernovae explosions creating heavier elements and spreading them out into the cosmos.

Cosmos: hmm. New elements. Interesting. But do they just float around in space or they actually do something? Show me some sizzleeeeeee....I like recyling. Recycle yourselfs stars.

The stars form second generation of stars and then the third generation of stars.

Cosmos: Okay Cool! I like this Supercluster. What is it called? oh yeah the Virgo Supercluster. and whats that group of galaxies over there called? Ah yes the local group. Okay cool. Whats that barred spiral over there? The Milky way? Cheesy name but will stick to that. Ah Spiral arms. Is there a sun nearby? What? Several billion? Well lets just take one.  and well lets call it the Sun. anything special about it? The only thing special is that its an average sized average looking star with average luminoisity and surgace temperate. okay. great. what are these tiny specks around it? ah what the heck. the "pale blue" dot looks cool. okay lets visit it. whats going on in here?yuckkkkkkkkkk! a puddle of mud? I hate mud. dammm.

""Thunder and lighting"""

Cosmos: Much better. dammn its gonna take a while. But oh well.

4.5 Billion earth revolutions around the sun later

Human: ooobbooboooboo gagagagag lalalalalall hu ha hy ha.

Cosmos: yeahhhhhhh! (rolls eyes)

Further down in time. I mean waaay further down.

Aristotel: hmm. you know what guys? I am a great philosopher and I cant be wrong. also the earth is flat. and centre of the UNIVERSE.

Cosmos: pesky insects.

Humanity: earth? flat? makes sense great. centre of everything? okay floats our boat. cool.

Galilio: You know what? I would like some moons named after me. Earths moons taken. I call dibs on Jupiters. oh shit

Humanity: What?

Galileo. Jupiters moons revolve around Jupiter. So atleast there is someting that doesnt revolve around the earth.

Church: You crazy nigga? that is so not cool. FINISH HIM!

Galileo ::: NOOOOOOOo actually. I think I need glasses. sorry my bad

Church: Shut this guy up please......

Beginning of the 20th century

Hubble: Aha. Lets have a look at this fuzzy patch of light in Andromeda. I wonder if its a nebula, maybe its just dust. oh . aha. So its a galaxy larger than the milky way itself. pretty smooth. and there are billions of galaxies

Einstein: You know what? Space and time are actually one thing. and on the highway of the universe, the speed limit is c. and gravity is the dent of that spacetime.

the world: crazy old guy.

several successful experiments later

World: Gulp Gulp



and years and years of gazing into the skies wondering where did all this come from. Where did we come from.

Stuff made from the cosmos: I wanna know more about me. More and more, and boy there is so much more to know.

Pen, Gravity and Grandma

"Look students! Now that you are here, there is something I need you to understand. This will help you go a long way in what you will become as you grow up to be professionals in different fields that you will choose in life. But in order for me to show you that, we will conduct a thought experiment, nothing fancy though just the usual" said the professor, and he continued with "Alex! If I ask you to take this pen that is laying on the desk in front of you, pick it up and let it fall to the ground, do you think you would be able to do that?"

Some girls giggle, some boys chuckle, some just ignore the professor and the nerds look on. After a 5 minutes pause Alex replies

"Unless its a trick question sir, I don't see why I can not. Its the most easiest of tasks"

"It not a trick question or a riddle of any sort at all" there is a sparkle in the professors eyes, and wonder in his voice. "You use force to pick the pen up and when you let it fall, gravity pulls it towards itself. You can repeat this, anyone can repeat this and they will all reach the same conclusion"

The students do not know what to make of it. They look at each other, hoping someone else would have an answer.

"But what does it have to do with anything else?" asked Alex

"If I were to tell you that you my grandma told me that it couldn't be done. How would you react?"

It was getting crazier by the minute. First pens. then falling to the ground and now his grandma? But no one dared say anything

"Come on guys. You can be absolutely honest with me here. How will you react if my grandma told you that you couldn't do that?

"I think the best way would be to just show it to her" Said another student

"What if even after seeing she didn't believe you" asked the professor

"Well then, I will just let her be. I guess I cant force her into something, and I don't need to frankly. She can think whatever she wants to. Whatever floats her boat"

"thats very good. I am really happy you said it. Now, just promise me that you will always remember the answer you gave me today. and that you will always live by this answer. No matter how strong or powerful the opposition be and with this, your lesson is over. There is however, one little thing I want to add. Just remember that this pen can be half its size and you can still do what you said you can. It can be a hundred times smaller or a hundred times bigger and if you can use the necessary force to lift it, it will always fall to the ground. or it can be a million trillion times bigger. The same rule still applies right? good. now off you go. Your lesson is complete for the day and hey by the way, my grandma is dead"

A character Sketch

The first time I met him, he was giving a presentation to a crowd of avid onlookers on how to construct an amateur telescope. He had and still has a beard which I think even he doesnt remember when he last trimmed. He is one of those people about whom you later find out how wrong you were in your initial perception and unlike most bearded people in Pakistan, he always dons a trouser and a shirt.

Months later and I find myself mesmerized with his simple persona and open heartedness. He tells me that he has kept a beard from the time his relative passed away. because he couldn't look at the corpse of the deceased (the person died of face burns) and he decided to never shave the beard off his face again.

Having studied in unarguably the best school in Lahore, he now has a humble home, a steady job, is a divorcee, and has no children. He does not try to hide or lie about the fact that much of his time is spent watching TV in his room and that he considers TV to be his close friend. His only love is his motorbike whom he takes great care of. He tells me his motorbike is a model from the year 1986 and I tell him that also happens to be my birth year. Lastly he has a hobby due to which we met and I subsequently write this here, the sheer love of astronomy.

There is something very honest and humble about him. He is awed by the universe with a childlike curiosity. His facebook statuses are about the most usual and ordinary of things that we all experience but never bring ourselves about to expressing them.  He has an air of serenity and peace around him, and when he cracks a joke, his eyes sparkle so bright, that a type 1A supernovae would appear dim in comparison.

I haven't met him for 8 months now, and I wonder why only now I thought I should write about him. Maybe because I recently read he is grinding glass to make a bigger and more efficient telescope to gaze into the heavens. I hope he is successful in doing that. 

Dedicated to Carl Sagan

9th November. Carl Sagans Day. 

The Cosmos Song ( inspired by and dedicated to the late Carl Sagan )

In the song of the stars there is a lesson

A lesson we are one day sure to learn

The cosmos is calling us, inviting us

to an unimaginable trip

It wants to remind us of our origins,

Our imaginations will it grip

We can either, dance to the song, learn the secrets untold 

The grand sculptures at unparalleled levels behold 

Or we can squander our lives in meaningless pursuits

Lost in greed, gluttony and desires hold

In the song of the stars there is a lesson

A lesson we are one day sure to learn

The music of the cosmos, everywhere the same, yet always in veil

The same note played in the same key, the same scale

The 4 forces interact in always the same way

Be it GRBs, the rings of Saturn or Betelgeuse, hundreds of lights years away

Compared to the intrigue of the universe

Science fictions seems dwarfed and old school

A realm where time dilation, gravity waves

Black holes and supernovae rule.

In the song of the stars there is a lesson

A lesson we are one day sure to learn

Excerpts from the life of a cynic

“Hello! I am pleased to make your acquaintance” he said politely
“You are not. You say that to everyone don’t you. Is that the only lie you tell people you meet for the first time or are there others?” uttered my friend S

“Its called being polite”

“Uncharacteristically unrealistically polite may I say” said S

He looked at me for some sort of support to handle this strange situation.  He was right because I had not told him that my friend S wasn't only a bad mouthed ill tampered, ill mannered uncouth ill-behaved brat but he was also a low lying filthy scum bag of a douche. Without further ado the guy excused himself

“Why do you introduce me to these people sherry?” said S after he was gone

“and here he was asking me the same question” I told him

“Well! You should have told him I am a collector of artefacts from ancient civilizations and a master at composing contemporary music and that I am studying software development at Harvard”

“But why would I lie about all these things.”  I was candid with him

“I don’t know! These polite people like these sort of things” He retorted

“They like these things when they are true, S”

“ Ah yes! The truth. That overrated statement devoid of all imagination” he blabbered

“Your florid speech does not impress me. Okay a little bit. But not much”

“Didn't you hear what he said? He ONLY wanted to make an acquaintance out of me. That should serve him right to try to turn me into someone he knows”

Its the environment inside

So I walk out of my room only to find out that the weather is great. It makes me happy. It’s the season of autumn and nearly all the leaves have fallen to the ground covering it with a thick sheet of lemon yellow colour. The trees are all of different shades and its beautiful. As a walk on, I see children playing on the ground nearby, chirping like birds, lost in their own world, giggling, unaware of the stranger who looks and smiles at them because their happiness makes him really happy. I move on towards the train station and on my way I see a young couple immersed in the sweet symphony of love. That fills my heart with mirth. 

I am sitting in the train now looking outside trying to read the language that at present I do not quite understand. A man with his pet dog sits down next to me. The pet is quite small, I think to myself maybe it’s a poodle. It must be because that’s the only small breed of dog that I know of. Admiring my own sense of humour I smile to myself and a part of me thinks that the dog smiles at me as well. A case of inter specie communication? Perhaps. I make a mental note of people sitting around me, then take out a book and start reading it.

I have reached my destination now but oh god. I was having so much fun reading, its almost sad it came, I wouldn't know what happens next until the next time I am on the train. But its going to be more interesting at the destination. I look around and wonder to myself. Why does every person look so happy today? And why is the weather so good? And why the station so clean? Why does everyone who catches my eye smile at me? And then I know

Its because I heard the good news I was waiting for, for months. Its just that I am happy today

My friend S

So without knocking the door, as per ritual, I enter the the room and he lies in front of me, my friend S, unshaven unclean unkempt on a pile of dirty clothes. I haven't met him in a few days and I am sure he has been up to no good. Rudely interrupting my thoughts he exclaims

"Do you know how she looks like"?

"No! Which is generally the case when I havent seen people but I can see why you would nt know that" I tell him

"You know when a painter draws a painting. Say a face, no say a woman's face, and then he realises there are some mistakes in the painting? and then he erases the parts he doesn't like and then fixes them again and then again and then again un till the picture is just right ? just perfect? just flawless? "" he explains

"yeah?"

"Thats her face. Right then and then. thats her face. Perfect in all ways"

"okaaaaaaaaaaaaay! thats one way of saying you think she is beautiful"

"and there is another. Have you looked at the sun? have you noticed how wonderfully it shines"?

"Yeah ! I mean I live in Berlin so I did it once last year"

"Can you imagine how brightly it shines? and all the other stars? all put together? the entire galaxy? it shines so magnificently. BUT that just fades into comparison to when she smiles. the galaxy appears to be so dull and pointless and bland and blank and boring and uninteresting. When she smiles, its brighter than a thousand suns"

"Her love has made you quite a romantic I would say" I say

" and you know special relativity right? I can swear that when you sit with her for 5 minutes its already 3 hours. Seriously I swear this happens "

"I am sure it does! So what are you going to do about it? just lying here?"

"Why do you think I am lying here in the first place? I told her .and she well , she has "other interests" in mind. How can she? Do you think anyone else can describe her the way I can ?

"She might be looking for something other than description you know"

"She is Aphrodite , Venus, she is the real goddess of love and beauty. She is the epitome of awesomenesses amazingness but the only thing she is not, is that she is not mine" He says almost crying ignoring what I had said.

"Oh God!"

A common predictable story

Shy by nature , it had been extremely difficult for Alex to adapt to the new city, the new environment and most importantly the new people. This year on his 16th birthday he would be all alone. The thought made him shudder. and then there was something that made him confused. He didn't know but as of late , he had been feeling really strange. He had lied to himself and everyone around all his life. But he couldn't lie any more. It seemed pointless to continue like this.
"Alex!" it was his dads voice "take more than 5 minutes to come down and you are going to have to sleep without having anything to eat, tonight" he threatened. Alex knew nothing of the sort was going to happen, because it had never happened before. After all there were some benefits of being the only child. But he did come to have dinner with his dad. He wanted to tell him something. and tell something he did

"Dad!" He looked into his eyes. "There is something you should know. and I don't know if there is an easy way to say that , but........." he mustered the strength to say it " I have to tell you, I am straight"

Everything stood still, on Alexs watch , time froze for nearly an eternity. He had said it. and no he didn't feel any better after having said that. It felt the same, a bit worse maybe but certainly not better. He simultaneously hoped for and against that someone would somehow interrupt them. Maybe a call, a door bell, or something. He knew his dad would be devastated to hear that. He was right. And then the eternity ended

"but how can that be ...............I mean ..................."

"I have been like that all of my life. First I thought I never could tell you but I cant continue like this forever. I do really like women"

He knew it would not be able for his dad to take it easily. He gave his dad some time for the news to sink in. But he wondered how would he be able to answers questions like

"but it doesnt make any sense. It cant be. I mean I really think I should take you to a doctor. You should have told me earlier. " His had risen from his seat and was glaring at him, His voice had adopted that charactetistic low scale it did whenever he was mad at something..

"Its not a disease dad. I am fine. I do need help but not of this type. I just needed to tell you. I hope you can understand me. But I just cant live my life like this. I cant help it. I just cant". He said that and ran to his room.

Day 2

He found himself sitting with his dad again. His dad told him he had thought about it and concluded something for him.

"Look son! I don't know what you were thinking telling me that. and even if you are thinking that, its not going to happen. I suggest you stay mum about this. You are going to marry the son of Mr Whatever, and nothing can change that. Its the way things have always been, and will always be.

"But........."

"There is nothing left to say"



Day 3

Alex went on to live the life his dad had chosen for him. Sometimes getting lucky and cheating on Mr Whatevers son whenever he could. He just had to. and he continued to live like this forever. and he thought how different his life would have been had he lived it the way he wanted to. He assumed a pseudonym and promised to tell the world what had transpired. He wanted to ask people who would they feel , it the roles were reversed. If being straight was a norm and being gay an abomination. Some people got his message and some didnt.

A course of Comparative Religion, WHAAAAT?

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201309192126-0023058



So today in the headlines is this news report(link attached) that the Lahore Grammar School, Lahore, Pakistan has introduced a new course for students called "Comparative religion studies"

Head office: Thousands rallied and protested against the decision of Lahore Grammar School in Lahore, Pakistan to introduce a new subject into the curriculum called "Comparative Religion Studies". Our correspondent Mr C is there to report.

Lahore, Pakistan ; MR C: As you can in the background, thousands have gathered to oppose the decision by the administration of the LGS on grounds for what they see is an elaborate plan by the worlds Jewish Lobby to get the young Muslims to start thinking objectively and reasonably. Let us ask this angry young protester, who is busy burning his neighbours property, and see if he can spare a few moments to talk to us

Young Angry Protester: By God! we will make sure they fail in their evil diabolical plans, I really don't understand what is the purpose of adding a subject like that. Obviously Islam is the right religion. I don't understand why there is any need for children to learn about any other religion. or why it matters at all. They are trying to make Pakistan secular. We will not let that happen. We will foil their attempts at trying to destabilise the country's inner mechanics which in turn will lead to chaos and the ultimate destruction of Pakistan. You ask me how I know all that ? Because I heard my brothers friends uncles wife's sister say that once.

Mr C: Yes I see that , and I agree. But do you think only reading about other religions is going to make the kids go away from religion. I mean how bad can it be to just learn about what people around the world believe? I think the kids will appreciate more that how beautiful the message of Islam is when they know what other religions say. Dont you think ?

Young Angry Protester: No. You see. Its news channels like yours that are funded by the Jewish Lobby of the world to corrupt the minds of our kids( runs away)

Mr C: As you can see. The scenes witnessed here are not only historic, they are also extremely reminiscent of some scenes of low budgeted Bollywood movies. The parents of the kids that are going to that school are not present here. and can not be contacted. and quite frankly the identity of these people protesting can not be established with any certainty. Mr C out.

I greet thee with love

When you meet people from other cultures, there are some very important decisions to be made. One such is the way, literally the way, how to greet them. I think its one of those things that seem to be so trivial that we never stop and think about it. I mean how bad can it be anyway. You go see them, say hey, shake hands,NO

In Pakistan men who are close friends, greet each other generally with a hug followed by a handshake. You meet like this irrespective of how often you meet, once every month twice a month , every week, every day, sometimes several times a day. That s just how you meet

So its about a certain friend of mine whom I have come to admire and respect over the time period that I have known him and well it it turns out I have been shaking hands with him every single time that I have met him because well because thats how you meet. He is lucky I am not hugging him and planting kisses on his cheeks though(but we dont do that in Pakistan)  :P ..

But unbeknownst to me for him it was something unusual that I shake hands even though we meet every day. and as per him since we know each other well now. there is no need to shake hands if we are meeting everyday. hmmp.

I just absolutely love these utterly unimportant little things in life :) 

Question of Life and Death

So the year is 1945 and the backdrop is Europe, the allied forces are marching in from the West and the Red army assaults the German ranks form the east. The war seems to be all but over for the germans. The red army penetrates further into the enemy lines and before the conclusive Battle of Berlin, finds what appears to be a prisoner camp. They soon realise it is nothing like any other camp that has ever existed , or hopefully ever will. The Nazis have massacred millions of people in the territories they have occupied. People from the nearby village are made to see the camp and the ensuing horror and asked why could they let that happen. Their reply is that they didn't know anything of the sort had been happening. As per statistic, 11 million people perished in the camps.

There is a furore of emotion and reprimand, the world can not believe what has just transpired. There is news that Britain knew about the atrocities they were being committed, but chose not to bring them to the worlds attention and didn't react the way it should have or could have. It is a grim time for humans as a specie. International treaties are signed, and promises made to protect human life and to uphold its sanctity. There is only opinion about this, why didn't anyone do anything to stop it?

The year is 2013, and in one particularly politically unstable part of the world a civil war is raging. In two years the death toll reaches a 100,000 people. Internationally there is little or no response because no country wants to interfere in the workings of another.

According to international sanctions, chemical weapons can not be used even by countries who are at war. But in late August the world finds out that chemical weapons have indeed been used in that region though it is unclear by whom. There are bodies of children with no signs of wounds. The world sees as the death toll rises. But since international sanctions have now been breached , the allied forces take upon themselves to not allow this to happen

The most recent recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize President Obama makes  it absolutely clear that he wants to take a military action against the governing regime of the said country. As I write this, the US congress is deciding weather or not to approve the military action.

People around the world are reacting to it differently, elements loyal to and in support of the US are of the opinion that outside intervention is mandatory. Other states, organisations and people think differently. Surely the US has learnt its lessons from the war in Iraq ,Afghanistan and Vietnam. Good or bad it must decide what it needs to do.

In my writing this blog I  have compared two events. The intention was not to pull the Texas Sharpshooter or glide down the slippery slope, it was only to highlight that these are big decisions which will have repercussions throughout the world and are difficult to take. Just when should one state decide to intervene in the workings of another is a tricky question to answer. Generally when faced with such important questions my usual response is to turn to the only thing that helps in time of need. Star Trek.

However there is a problem here as well because in the words of Spock "the needs and suffering of the many outweigh the suffering of the few" but we also know that Juan Luc Picard maintains "I refuse to let arithmetic answer questions pertaining to human life and suffering". We know when star Trek cant give you a direct answer to a moral social intellectual and cultural problem , then all is doomed.

People !

Not that anyone cares about the statistic but I hail from the extremely Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in the course of my life I have lived in two cities, been to some 3 or 4 different educational institutes, met a variety of people and the only thing I can say about people is this...

People come in all sizes shapes kinds types combinations arrangements permutations( no I did not use the thesaurus here to come with these words) and there is absolutely no way that I can put all of the people that I have met in Pakistan in one single mould. I have met people who have been extremely happy sad altruistic selfish motivated unmotivated people who achieve people who fail people who like the colour blue people who don't like the colour red . People who like to dance people who criticize those who dance, people who play love hate laugh cry sing for joy cry of fear. People who are envious people who are proud. People who don't speak the language you do , people who speak better than you. People who stab you from the back , people who lift you up when you down.  I wonder what I would say if someone were to ask me "How are the people in Pakistan like?"

This is interesting for me because ever since I have come to Berlin , I have been asked a similar question  "hey ! How are the people like in Germany?" to which I blabber loudly and wildly whatever comes to my mind. When I am asked this question, I cant help but think that the person asking must think there is a mould to which people can be fitted, and essentially what he is asking me is which type of mould should he use to put these people in. I simply don't have the answer to that. More so because I don't think that the answer to that question exists at all.

So the next time I am asked this I am just going to say" well ! you know . there are all kinds of people here. Just like in Pakistan and (I delve into the realm of conjecture) the rest of the world"

On Trains and on Life

There is a strange kind vibe that people who travel or have travelled have. There is this exuberance in their eyes, this charm in their ways this warmth and light that bounces off them. The exact same is the case with stations, train stations, airports, even bus stations. These are interesting places.

I think stations are still the place where you can glimpse life at its best and worst. People only just stop at a station so that they can move on. Its that point where you change things about your life and I think it is also magnificently analogous to what all our lives are about. There is an end of the road; we call it "death" but though fatal in the literal sense it is really not the point. The point is  the way you take, how you take it, and people you meet along the way how you interact and how they shape you and you shape them

The thing about people is that because for a while, they are on the same train as you are. It feels as if it will last forever. That its going to be like this forever.  We share stories with them, laugh chuckle and grin together and  seem to forget , that we are on a train and after a certain time either we or the other person is going to get off, and its never going to be same again.

And then you will get off at a  station where there will be lots of other travellers like you who will again take the same train you are taking for a station or two. and then again someone will get off. and it keeps going on until you reach the last station of the stop ; Death.

What I feel about learning a language

I have always hated grammar and I think its cramming it, is the worst way to teach and learn a language. I think so primarily because I feel language , any language, is like a giant pool of words grammar syntax expressed and formed cohesively to spit out the desired meaning. Therefore the only way to learn it is to dive into that pool. There just isnt any other way to do it. If you want to learn a language you must surround yourself with it. Read books, listen to the radio and watch TV shows movies, talk to people, listen to people, and do whatever you can do to "dive" into the pool and let it "become one"with you.

The reason behind that is simple. Suppose you have to make a point. First there is the thought you want to express, then you have the words for that thought are in your native language. and then you translate the words (taking into account the change in syntax) into the other language. If the learnt language always requires you to translate from your native language, then you may have learnt the words of the language or its syntax , but you are yet to dive into the pool.

Therefore one has completely learnt the language when one can fully express himself/herself in the language without first resorting to the native language. The thoughts convert to the words in the language you want them to be expressed into. and that s when you have mastered the language.

Word of caution! That doesnt come easy

You ask me why ? Here is why

So you come to me and ask me why and I don t seem to be able to give you a reply. Its because I cant say it to you just like that. I know if I do you would like that, but I cant. That is not to say you wont get to hear it ever. So here is to you..

"Its because there is an enchanting entrancing aura around you. I can actually see it. Too alien to recognise yet too familiar to go unnoticed. It pulls me to itself. and I cant help but be drawn to it. and its so comforting to be around you. To see you.
But seeing is not important. Eyes are overrated and have after all so little to tell. Its the field, the zone that when I find myself in, there is no feeling like it. A lot of things, a lot of times have happened before but never this. This is different. this is more real. Its more powerful. and this doesn't seem to go away. Not that I want it to. I want it to stay. I want you to stay.

But I know it is not to be, it cant be. I realise that. But that wouldn't stop me from wanting it any less. In fact it makes it all the more better. What a lovely feeling this is. "

Brute Strength versus Mental Acumen

So I am watching this medieval fantasy show on television these days. In it it is shown how badly women are treated because they are weak physically and how stronger men are kings and weaker ones their servants. Arguments quickly heat up to become duels and end up in bloody wars.

Which is in stark contrast with how things are these days. It does not matter how strong you are physically , if you cant top score in your SATs(I arbitrarily chose this as a measure of intelligence, the test is irrelevant, the point I is important) , they won't take you into college. and when that doesnt happen you wont find a good job, girls will not look your way and your life will not be that amazing.

Why do we call ourselves more civilized now? Why should mental acumen be given more priority than physical strength? Well some people are physically stronger "naturally" and while others are smart "naturally". When was the time exactly when humanity decided that "oh well lets start valuing smart more than physical strength now". The pro brains people argue that "well you see my boy! because strength is just there its inborn either you have it or you don't but you can try and become better at SATs of course"

But nothing could be farther from the truth, brains like strength and MANY other things are simply inherited. Even ones ability to put on hard work is genetically wired. There is no point in giving one more importance than the other. and the part where you can become better with hard work applies to both the things. You can eat well, exercise, run ,do crunches, train combat to become stronger physically just as you can take SAT classes, cram vocabulary, become a maths guru.

And then it makes me wonder, what if in another 200 years, humanity will come up with something new that it values really much more. Not brains , not strength but something else. and then those humans will look upon us as medieval emotionally stunted dwarfed backward barbarian people who valued smartness more than that other thing. It will be fun to watch. 

A tale of two cities

So I have had the good fortune of exploring at some length two of the finest cities of the world. Berlin and Lahore. I say the names in the same breadth because I feel these two cities have alot more in common than what meets the eye the first time.

In both the cities , the more you live , the more you begin to like them. Both are big burstling metropolises. Both cities are rich in history architecture, and culture. In both the cities there are parts of towns that just dont seem like they belong to the city. Both have big beautiful gardens. Both of them have expanded outwards to envelope another smaller town "Shahada" is to Lahore as "Potsdam" is to Berlin. Both have a forest nearby "Changa Manga" in Lahore and "Grunewald" in Berlin.

In fact if we look at these pictures( first Shalimar Garden Lahore, Second SanSoucci Potsdam), we see both have terraced grounds. and Infact the first time I saw San Soucci I immedialtey remembered where I had seen this before.

and then there are the food streets in Lahore

  and in Beriln.

and then there is this overall feel of both the places. You have a love hate relationship with them and they grow on you. But truth be told I would have to live in other cities as well to be able to find out things about them but so far. I like the cities I have lived in. :)

On Nationalism

In the long ever expanding list of things I don't like in people, there is something I want to solidify by giving it a blog entry.

I dont know how dictionaries define it and I hate paragraphs that begin with "Dictionary defines this term term bla bla" , so I will just give you own definition. Nationalism is the pride one has or feels for being born /raised in or related to a specific geographical region which is mostly a country.

Part of the problem I have with it is hidden in my definition of the term itself. Being proud, of the country where one was born in is nothing different than being proud of being born in a certain other way. Its like saying I am proud of the fact that my bone structure is in a certain way or that my eyes are black or blue or proud of the fact that I am likely to acquire a genetically inherited disease.

and what has nationalism really given us as a people anyway. Some war raging national heroes who have won us wars and done good in combat. The sheer pointlessness of this whole concept is intriguing. I wonder who ever came up with the idea. and why stop at nations. Since we are dividing people based on where they "hail" from. Why not choose states or provinces then why not choose cities and then why not different localities between cities. I must concede here that in the course of writing the last 3 or 4 lines I am beginning to realise that we do have a sort of "pride" for our states/provinces cities and neighbourhoods as well. I wonder where it comes from and why

National pride and patriotism has no place in the world. We are all one people and its high time we start acting like one.

On Humour

Two things tell you lot about people.

1. How people tell you a joke
2. How people take a joke that you have told them

I think humour has to be the most underrated of traits we have as a specie. Because come to think of it. In intra human relationships all we ever mean when we say "I get along quite well with him/her" is , I like his/her humour and he/she likes mine. that's all there is to it. No "oh we have things in common to talk about", "we like the same things". NO. All there is to relationships is that you understand each others humour. Simple

Accordingly there is a lot that can be determined about a person from the way he/she smiles and laughs. Take for example this picture

Well the woman looks reasonably happy about something. and yes the laughter appears to be contagious. Now take the following picture of our cousin.

Whats great about laughing is that it transcends our specie. That means that its intertwined in our systems as animals. and we naturally react well to it. Its as simple as rocket science you see. 

Touring the DDR Musuem

World history is "bubbling"(a word that has special significance in my life these days) with all sorts of events. Prosperity followed by a period of war hunger famine and divide. and there is so much of it and so omnipresent(please excuse me God for using this word other than to describe you) that we find it everywhere and IN every persons mind.

So I visited this museum yesterday that depicts life in the former DDR(East Germany). My visit became even better because I went there with someone who had been born and grew up in east Germany.

This is what the entrance looks like( as can be learnt from the quality of the picture, I didn't take this one). My travel companion was quick to remark on the authenticity of everything that we read and came across which made the trip more entertaining. There was talk about how the media the news the newspapers were all censored. How people could only read and hear and even express their opinion if it conformed with the tenants of socialism. 

Interestingly my travel companion, for reasons I can only conjecture, was somewhat aggrieved to see what they had made out of the life of the DDR. The person remembered things differently than what had been portrayed. We both agreed that this museum was from the side of the victor and didnt therefore depict reality in any way. 

This however was a picture I took inside. It depicts the role of the Army in the DDR. Important point to note here is the army there did what the army does everywhere.and lest I create a political furore I will not write what that is here(The DDR has effected me maybe)

I have always thought that history is to people as stamps are to a stamp collector. A memorabilia, priceless for the collector but useless for everyone else. I don't think the unfolding of events can be any different even if we learn from history. 

Albert Einstein; Things he said & did

Einstein made little distinction between astrophysics, philosophy, relationship advice or other disciplines and was prolific in his advice to young lovers. His quotations are cited by virtually everyone on facebook. The guy who works at the local grocery store, to the guy who is always madly in love and to the guy who well, strangely enough, is training to become a physicist. These are some of the things that can be seen associated to Einstein and I particularly difficult to grasp that its by him.

"Dont make someone your priority who makes you only an option"-Albert Einstein
 This one is my favourite. I never thought he was such a romantic. Its quite touching. 

"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile"- Albert Einstein
Same guy who had a big role to play in the creation of the atomic bomb. He did make a few lives well ahh worth while/less

"The school kid who is asked by the teacher to explain god but cant but then finally does manage to do that grows up be who?" well- Einstein
This is a classic, being quite religiously disinclined myself , I have heard this claim so many times. This story is hard evidence for the existence of God now.

Try not to become a man of success, rather a man of value- Einstein
He may have said it I dont know, but this doesn't seem like the words of someone who simultaneously develops and propagates successfully the idea that space and time are essentially intertwined and that gravity is a dent in that web of spacetime. 

and finally this

If Einstein was alive, I would ask him what he meant by that? On the picture on the left, a bunch of young people are busy with their cell phones while they sit near each other( the implication is that they should be interacting, talking, playing instead). Why would I ask him that? well because from what I hear about him, Einstein wasn't the coolest kids on the block. its not like he was always chilling hanging out and having fun and socialising with every(if I can be excused the phrase) Tom Dick and Harry.

I think if Einstein had a cell phone with high speed internet , he would be pretty pleased with that. and would probably be seen using it all the time to watch YouTube videos of Hawking(excuse the chronological inappropriateness).

and lastly there is this E=MC^2 equation which is almost synonymous with his name. You ask people do you know about Einstein? and the answer is always a very self confident "yeah sure. E=Mc^2 dude. I know that shit"

----Sudden Drop Dead Ending to Blog---

On a Saturday Afternoon

"Sherry my boy! The only thing worse than people who drink on weekdays" My friend R tells me with a beer bottle in his hand on a Saturday afternoon" are people who do not drink on weekends" and sips the beer.
I nod. The nod that means that partly I agree and the other part I don't care.
"Well some people just don't drink for religious reasons while others drink religiously for secular reasons. and I happen to disagree to both" He continues with his monologue
"hmm". I concur

R is a half Hungarian half Polish German friend of mine. He has lived in Berlin all his life. and though he does not remember the time before the wall came down. He is happy it did. He says its important for a country to have many public holidays, even if you have to break down concrete walls for it. We walk on towards the center of Berlin. Enroute I hear things that I do not understand but see gestures that I do.

"You really should start drinking sherry. If only out of respect for peer pressure. Let go of the shakles of tradition, break free from the clutches of culture, free yourself................" But I cut his never ending sentence short

"Don't you ever think of anything other than that?. I am sure there must be other pressing issues in your life which I agree is devoid of any hope and comfort?"

"There isnt. That's why I am stuck here studying on a Saturday afternoon with YOU. Lets go, the study group is there waiting for us. We got a lot of work to do tonight"

On things that are the same.

So I have come a long way since being the guy who just moved into a new place a new country and the culture. I cant say I feel at home right now but things are gradually been getting better. Berlin is still being explored. In my defence, its a large city, it takes a while to visit stuff.

There are many things which are culturally different but I dont want to talk about differences . What I do want to talk about are similarities. Not the big ones, the obvious ones but the little ones, the subtle ones. The ones that rarely matter.

I feel three things are very similar everywhere. Because all three are in the most raw forms that they can be, Unfettered by training indoctrination and teaching. They exist in the rawest of forms imaginable. and those three things are dogs , trees and babies. Dogs and babies are pretty cool creatures. The don t care how you look or talk or what you wear or whether you have a nice haircut or have an extra linb dangling by your side. because they have not learnt to not like it. No one has told them anything "yet". Well babies will grow up to be fully conscious of these differences I suppose. But dogs will always be dogs. They love you no matter what. What a pure form of form they show.

The thing about trees is that they are the same. the look the same, feel the same, have the same colour and texture. The feel about them and around them is the same. Its difficult to tell where you are when you are around trees. and dogs and babies ofcourse

The Language of the World

I feel a tinge in my spine when I talk to people from non English speaking countries with absolute ease and comfort because it is not the language I speak and not the language they speak and yet we can have meaningful conversations about everything. But that's just a natural reaction to the growing globalisation that we find ourselves a part of. Its fascinating that I can talk to someone from a place where my country might never have been mentioned but still there is something that links us.

I think it is inevitable that humanity will one day have only one language, that all the others will fade away, die out and just become redundant. Frankly speaking, we are too smart to have a language which is flawad with imperfections, logical inconsistencies(silent letters?) and too primitive. A feat that every language has managed to perform so far. It may not be the most popular of views ever expressed but I think one day it will happen.

Honestly I mean can you imagine how emabarrasing it would be if an alien from another star system visits us and we have to tell him( I wonder how) that we dont understand another earthmen because he lives in another country a few thousand miles away? Would impression would it leave?

So I think in a another 500 years or so, we will need a language for the world and no its cant be English because it is native to some people. and therefore would be unfair to others. I think we will have to, this time consciously come up with a language for ourselves. Top linguists from all the languages will sit down(The Language conference of 2454?) brain storm and come up with a language. Following are the features I think should be a part of such a language.

1. There should be no silent letters whatsoever. What you see is what you read and pronounce.
2. The number of vowel sounds should be fixed arbitrarily. I propose that a varied number of vowel sounds should be taken from different languages to make sure a variety of words can be made.
3. There should be no exception to rules. Subject verb agreements, sentences, verb conjugations, conjunctions spellings should follow a pattern and never break it.
4. An attempt should be made to have around at least 5 synonyms for each word differing in severity of meaning from low to high.
5. Verbs should be separable and new words can be made without the need for them to be in the dictionary(Strict rules to be followed here). This should encourage creativity
6. Words should have a limited, but a great many number of, fixed endings(so as to encourage rhyming)
7. All basic words should have hand gestures fixed to them, performed every time, so as to be able to communicate to special people without having to learn sign language.
8. Once developed, an earth wide initiative should be taken to get literature written in the new language.

I realise some important literature from all the languages would have to be done away with and I am not too happy about it either but this is a price we have to pay. On the plus side it will give rise to a new kind of hobbyists; called the archaic language learners. How cool would that be.

What we are exposed to is what we end up becoming

There are only a very specific type of people who will understand the following joke

" zara zuruck bleiben hojao"

I think that every person that I have ever met in my life has affected me in some way or the other. I have learnt things from people who weren't teaching me anything . I picked their words their language, their emotions, how they betray their emotions, how they react to words to situations and others reactions. I picked everything. Then I got a lot from watching television, movies, following social media, and from places I visited or sights I saw.

Point is that I am in essence the "result" and the "output" of whatever was put into me by all these different means that I have mentioned. I dont know what part of me is actually me or whether there is any part of me that is me. and this brings me to the following thought

If what I have said above is true, and I most certainly think it is, then wouldn't it be nice to expose young people(children adolescents young adults) to only the right sort of information and people ? Couldn't we cherry-pick and actually choose very wisely and acutely what they see hear touch and consequently feel and react ? Would that be wise? would that be ethical?

And then I think don't we already do it? We want our children to go the best schools, read the best books, and we censor their viewer ship of certain types of electronic entertainment and encourage certain others? If we do it , is THAT ethical to do ?

I will end it by just stating that I wish I had never met those people,watched those TV sitcoms, been to those places ,or read those books that taught me, to be afraid of change, to feel envious, to fear and let my decisions be affected by it. I wish I had never but I have. and I have to live with that.

This ones on what makes us

"Life is the best thing that ever happened to the atoms that make me"-Shaharyar Ahsan Sheikh

I realise this quote may never make it big but I would like it nonetheless. The beauty lies in the fact that it can take any direction I want it to take. 

I could start talking about how the atoms that make me were created, talk about stars or their evolutionary cycles or how when "OH Be A Fine Girl Kiss Me" just appears out of nowhere in an otherwise astronomy lesson cracks me up every time. 

OR 

I could just think how wonderfully incredible all this is. Birth growth experiences knowledge love affection middle age old age and death(alright I agree death isn't that cool). If you just take a moment and imagine how unique our place is, how our minds are tuned, how the cycle of life endlessly recklessly ruthlessly goes on, you cant help but be enthralled. 

Phrases that humanity can live without.

Following is a list of phrases that I have something( mostly negative) to say about.

1. It isn't even funny
Okay. I may pay more attention to what words people use, and how they use it, but this one really gets to me. This particular phrase makes some underlying assumptions which I don't support or approve of or respect. Firstly it somehow assumes that everything has to be funny. Literally everything in the world which sadly(or funnily?) isn't. Saying "its not even funny" is like saying "since we have already established that everything has to be funny and since this particular thing isn't ,therefore this isn't good enough". Sometimes "its not even funny" makes you think that well up until a certain point it was funny and then almost as if by accident it ceased to be funny. Like on a number line it was funny from 1 to 6 but as soon as we reached 7 it ceased to be funny. I hope I have conveyed my feelings in somewhat intelligible words

 2. Think of the devil and the devil is here.
I feel the devil has a very unique place in our pop culture and language. The role of the devil is the central theme in most films TV shows and "religions". Almost always when the devil comes(antagonist in movies) the plot develops, thickens and becomes more interesting. The same can be said about the phrase. Because superficially we are expected and trained to dislike the devil yet we end up thinking about him/her/it and then he/she/it appears. and we are happy. This phrase accurately depicts our true relationship with the devil.


and last and MOST CERTAINLY the least.


3. Last but not the least.
I mean really whats up with this phrase anyway. Is it like an obligation now that every time a list is being talked about one has to say it? I don't get that. To say that this is clichéd is the most monumentally colossal understatement since the big bang itself. I am sure the Neanderthals used to blog about how old this phrase is and how meaningless. and well lets just be honest. Sometimes the last IS the least. We really dont have to be so deceptively euphemistic about everything.

Blogging Activity

Knowledge may be power for some but ignorance is bliss for everyone. 

Its about this blog that I stared writing. This very blog that you are reading. Whose name I keep on changing for some reason. When I first decided I needed to start something up like this. I had one and only one thing in mind. A grilled chicken sandwich. no really I just wanted to chronicle my thoughts and opinions to that later on I will remember them and I will have good literature to readx. thats it. I didnt care if people read it or not. I wasn't interested in advertising it. and I most definitely didn't Google how to make a blog more popular. 

HOWEVER(upper case however to be inserted between paragraphs instead of sentences)

Recently I have noted I have succumbed to the desire of having more viewer-ship. Which does not go well with me at all. Firstly because, before the first entry I didn't know I could be worried about such a thing as viewer-ship on the blog because of a very simple reason that I didn't have one. 

So essentially what I did was to create an individualistic custom based virtual Frankenstein for myself whom I have to feed now. 

Therefore I have told myself that I will kill this Frankenstein before it raises its "pretty decent looking" head again meaning thereby If you are reading this because I "asked" you implicitly explicitly electronically or  in any other way. You should not read it any more. The point of this blog is to chronicle thoughts for myself. thats it. Its not a commercial venture. Well atleast not for now

Thanks

Sports that should be banned

I believe that there are certain things in the world that should be banned. for now I will only be talking about sports that qualify for that titleI have nothing against sports. I really dont. But I do have something against ideas that clearly the world will be better without. I blog this article today knowing fully well that most people with whom I have had this discussion have not shared my thoughts.

1. All forms of motorsport

I say this because all motor sports use carbon fuel to run their vehicles. I mean if feels like there are  two types of people in the world. One side is literally going crazy asking people to reduce carbon emissions, save energy and switch to alternative fuels and mitigate their dependence on fossil fuel and the other side? well they are busy running cars to see which one wins. and the way they go about is pointless as well. I mean if racing to see who wins wasnt bad enough, they first have a "qualifying session" in which drivers drive alone against their own lap times....meanwhile ofcourse using fossil fuel.

2. Golf
Golf is a boring game. But thats not the problem I have with it. I see golf as an extremely elitist sport and the courses for which, takes up LOADs of land for no particular reason whatsoever. Land that could be used to make shelters for homeless people, I meant somewhat "spacious" shelters for homeless people. It could be used to make recreational zones or parks where ALL the people can come with their families, and where kids can play(different sports than the one I have mentioned here) OR instead of wasting land on golf courses(with their bunkers and other obstacles) the entire area could be forested. Quarter of the cost and benefits the entire community.

3.Cricket
Cricket has apparently already listened to my advice without my having to voice it. The 5 day test match format and the 1 day format is an immense waste of time. So they have started the shorter version of the game. But I do understand why the 5 day format is called the "test" because its quite testing on ones patience when after 5 days of play the match results in a draw.

I cant think of other sports right now but I am sure there are. Humanity is not so evolved as it thinks it is after all.

Underground Trains and Weather Apps.

So sometimes things just happen differently than you imagine them to be. Case in point a underground train that just pops out of the ground and goes some 20 feet above ground. and then stays there for two or more stations only to dive sub earth level again later.. Pictured above is a view from 'an underground' train that does such a thing. 

Most people I now know dress up in the morning AFTER taking a quick peek at the weather app in their smartphones. and then they ask me how I do it. So I tell show them a picture of my weather app(pictured above).

I have found it to be most accurate. Its easily accessible(right next to my rooms window), shows the temperature and also "shows" if its raining or not or whether its a sunny day or not. I have noticed that every time it shows its raining , I have found( on my leaving the house) that its always raining. As can be seen in the picture. Its about 9 degree Centigrade and raining(the ground is wet)

Sports; and why it matters.

When I caption this post "why it matters" Its not a rhetorical phrase because I really want to know why it matters. I really dont understand why people AROUND the world follow some sport or another. Its quite natural to enjoy something when one is actively involved but when he/she isnt. then well.

What prompts me to write this, is the upcoming Champions Leaque Final between the two German teams. I can see the same excitement in the air here as I did back in Pakistan during an India-Pakistan cricket encounter. Here its football, there its cricket. but people are putting up statuses, sharing links, talking about it all the time.

I will leave it till here because this isnt the only thing I dont understand or approve of... 

Reviews by the Critics

So its about a certain TV series that I have been watching( which I will not mention(unless they start paying me for it(which they wont because they don’t know I exist(lets face it they wouldn’t even if they knew it( think I closed  all the parenthesis that I opened or else Excel will pop out a syntax error))))) ANYWAY.

So in it and like in most other TV series there are two sisters. One is shown to be pretty and the other is “shown” to be not pretty(and yes she has those nerdy glasses so essential to look not pretty these days). The story progresses and often the pretty one( who is also very social) tries to “help” the not pretty one with social interactions the “not pretty” one is about to have.

Now do I need to watch the TV series if I know that sooner or later the NP one is going to realize that she is indeed P and that bla bla and bla. ? and then her self esteem gets a boost and then she will start dating and all? And then blab bla and bla?

Did I wake up today in the right century? Because I remember being told that the Neanderthals read this story to their kids when they wouldn’t sleep at nights. (don’t ask me who told me).

But I guess I know why it is the way it is. Its easier to look good than it is to become smart. So lets sensationalise that. seems easy enough but the problem with looks is that well by definition its superficial. But that doesn’t matter. Humanity might not be as evolved as we think it is. 

And Now I must leave because the new episode is ready to be streamed.

On our language and the language of our dear beloved neighbours

So when I came in contact with people from Germany I was surprised to find out they didn't know that spoken Urdu and spoken Hindi were very similar languages so much so that we can understand each other completely. I dont blame them. I mean after all everybody knows we dont have the best of relations. But its quite fascinating to be cursed and hurled abuses at in your own national language. It adds quite a flavour to it. I kid here, because on the people to people level. We couldn't be a more similar bunch of people

There IS one difference that I have noted and will like to jot down here. Some Indian people I have met have remarked on my Urdu that its quite "respectful" or "it has some unique words" and that the "pronunciation is beautiful". But I think that's the result of years of reputation held by Urdu as that stately, very civil and "cultured?" language because I think I speak quite normal and not at all well or beautifully

BUT it has led me to something I never thought I would. Now when I meet Indians I actually try to speak those heavy duty, hard sounding, clean throated "pure" and extremely Urdu sounding words and I make the structure of the language as the one in Mughal times. :(.  Hey I am not proud of it but I do it. The last time I did that I even told myself that its crazy and that it doesn't matter. and in any case I am making myself harder to understand. but hey. Put me and an Indian in the same room. and just see how nicely I speak Urdu.

I found myself using words like "tamaddun" "tahzeeb" "khalis" "muttafiq, Taluq and ittefaq" and heck even "yalabari. Quite some words I wouldn't use otherwise. But hey, a mans gotta boast sometimes on some things. This happens to be weird but thats my "that sometime".

p.s If you are an Indian and reading this. I am so sorry :( "mein yeh amal dobara hargiz nahin duhraonga"

Bitte Aufsteigen "please leave the bus"

So I decide that I want curtains for my room. and off I go to find them. There is a shopping centre nearby so that happens to be my first choice. But when I reach there, an interesting thing happens. A bus stops just besides where I am standing(nothing personal its just a bus stop). Its interesting because no that I have to take the bus, but the bus(which is going to Lichtenberg) looks at me with those eyes that I just cant resist in buses. What can I do she has me with that look.  I hop on the bus with one and only one thing in my mind " well! lets check out where it goes". 

It takes me to places I have never been before. To bus stops I never thought I would stop at in my life. I reach Lichtengberg in sometime. I make it a point to not look at my watch on such excursions. I think its an immense waste of "time", a pointless distraction and quite frankly I dont really have a watch.  

Once I am there. I know I think about the curtains I had to buy. and what better place to buy curtains than Alexanderplatz, and well I am already at Lichtenberg. All I need is just to take my trusted old S7 "Line". With this thought "in mind" I hop on.  

In another few minutes(time being of no importance to me once again) I find myself standing in front of the TV tower(pictured above) at Alexanderplatz. Thanks to my photography I seem to have completely missed it. 

But there are people there. and I am happy to see that. The sun has no plan to set any time soon So I think to myself "well sherry boy. You have got time. Lets shop for curtains". BUT while I am thinking that, a thought strikes me( and I say "ouch"). This bus I have heard of (line 100) starts from here and legend has it, that it takes the commuter to all the good places in Berlin. Well. Allah de aur banda le(God gives and the man takes happily) I, with no regard to worldly things,  find the bus and am inside. 

Truth be told its a good line for new comers to Berlin and sadly I do not consider myself as one any more. All the things it shows I have seen already. But its still good. I recommend it. I see places here and there. The bus stops an innumerably inhumane number of times. But well I got to stick to my decision. Finally it takes the bus to say" Bitte Aufsteigen! please leave the bus here" to get me to get out of it. and I gracefully do....

I have come a long way from home I find out and it starts giving me the chills. I immediately arm myself with a map of the lines and aha. I am close to Charlotenburg palace( palace made by a king for his wifey or girlfriend or something like that). "Lets just go back" A voice tells me from within. "oh what the heck! you are close lets get it done with" I tell the voice. After the dialogue with myself I decide to go. on my way I see this.  

I would like to inform here that I do give photography lessons for those of you who are photographically inclined. I see this antique car. Beautiful and graceful. A car that has its steering wheel on the right, living in a swarm of cars with steering wheels on the left. "How lonely must it be feeling" the voice tells me. and finally I come across this

The CharlettonBerg Palace

And Then I try to take a better picture. 

And then this man comes along

and finally when I have seen this "sight". which must look better in the morning "light". I plan my return trip. I find a bus which will take me the longest to get back and I take it. I see a major train station and plan to try my luck because "I am feeling lucky"

and lucky I definitely get. because I am just in time for a faster than light train(with speeds reaching upto warp 8) and take it. I have not taken it before and thats the reason I do..Here is a picture.

 The train has a stewardess who comes out every time the door opens for commuters to step in. I think this is extremely sweet of her. With this my adventure ends. The window still needs a curtain. and here I am writing about it. I would curse myself tomorrow in the morning when I wake up early because of the light entering the window. But its okay.

Pakistan General Elections 2013

So the Pakistan general elections took place on the 11th of May 2013. and unsurprisingly for most people , the PMLn came out on top with a clear margin in Punjab. Pti would form government inx KPK and Karachi as usual fell prey to the MQM.

I dont want to focus much on what happened but only what the repercussions as per me could be. PTIs chief and former captain Pakistan cricket team is given one province to show what he can do. Social media, in fact Facebook had been simmering with support for PTI which didn't really translate into IKs victory. Its quite understandable because a vast majority of Pakistan does not have access to clean drinking water let alone internet and Facebook and the views reflected on my Facebook timeline are anything but representative of the general population of Pakistan.

One thing I would like to point out is that it saddens me when people express their support or resentment towards a party by bringing up things that have nothing to do with the partys manifesto at all. Like the hair on Mr Nawaz Sharifs head( or lack thereof) or the "face" of Imran Khan.

But then I see this behaviour exists in a vast array of other things we do as well. It is quite sad and uncalled for. and I hope it ends

Personal Take on How to Educate Students

Unsurprisingly I think there is a better way to do alot of things than how they are being done now. Surprisingly I have decided to write about them now. One such thing is education.

When I imagine myself teaching students something from scratch like an academic subject I feel like taking a different approach. My background of course being that I have been and am still a student. I think I know what things work well and what things dont. and allow me to hit the nail when the iron is still hot, I think this style where this person(teacher,professor,lecturer etc) stands in front of you and begins a presentation of facts is quite an ineffective way to teach students anything.

After 10th grade(or even before that but definitely after) this style of teaching should essentially end. Because by that time , all students have a very reasonable command of the language that the instruction is in. So they should just read the facts from the book. Most do that at the end of semester anyway.

Tell the kids what chapter to read, and by the time they come to the class all must have read it. The professor makes group of 5 to 6 people(on the spot and at random) from a total no more than 40  and asks them to present on spot for 10 mins on one aspect of the chapter. They will suck at first but they will catch up pretty soon. There could be a 5 minute discussion WITH THE PROFESSOR( only time this guy comes in handy). All the kids study because the selection is random. and since 5 or 6 people present at the same time. Its easier and faster than if the people presented individually. and I hope all of them get to present.

and don't dare give me that thing about certain subjects being technical or not. The books nowadays are exhaustive, with details explanations illustrations self assessments short quizzes summaries and what not.

Ofcourse the students are going to hate such a teacher DURING the semester. But towards the end they would be in love with that teacher because for the final exam type thing they wouldn't need to open the book. and because they have learnt it themselves and produced in front of an audience. and will be tested on that at the end of term. The learning stays. AND they learn how to present.
Bingo. There you go world. Dont thank me. its okay