I used the word culture too many times in this one

So in the bar that I frequent multiple times a week, I saw a Muslim man from Yemen wearing his traditional dress. That got my attention and I hit up a conversation with him. He told me that he was doing his masters in Architecture from Humbolt University. When he heard that I was from Pakistan, he greeted me with an “Asalam-Alikum” (he assumed that I must be Muslim). I asked him about the recent situation in Yemen and what he thought about Pakistan’s involvement within it. He told me that he had lived in Berlin for the past 3 years, did not care about politics at home and didn't wish to speak about it with me.

He spoke German (he didn’t speak English at all) with an extremely Arabic accent, had a beard, and on his head he wore the traditional head cover. Coupled with the dress, it was quite stereo-typically Arabic. I thought to myself that maybe during the three years that he has lived here, his old Arabic clothes might have worn out, but here he was, carrying his Arabness and Yemenness proudly in this bar. But what amazed me was this. I wondered why a man who looks like in his late 20s, thinks he should represent a certain culture. I mean no one asked him if we wanted to be born in Yemen. This decision was entrusted upon him by where he was born.  His culture, like his religion is nothing he chose but something he just inherited. I wonder how much reason he thinks he has to claim that it is his.

I see this happening a lot, people from the Middle East would be Arab and Muslim, and dress in a certain way. I say this not from an observer’s point of view, but from the point of view of people who wear their culture in foreign countries. Why do they feel the need to represent their culture? Why do people even think their culture is the culture of the place they were born and raised into? Couldn't they just choose something that they like? Say could this guy start acting all Argentinean or say Russian? And if he does, would he become representative of that other culture? I know people can change religions, but can they also change their cultures? I guess not. But what if they HAVE to change it because maybe they don’t fit into their own culture?

The reason I ask this is because there might be people who are just forced to live a certain way because they are born into it. (Women in Saudi Arabia?) Also imagine transgender people who claim to be in the body of the other gender. Like transgender people claim they don’t belong in the body they have currently posses, people might also argue that they don’t belong in the culture they currently have let alone feel the need to flaunt it.

This guy then asked me about my plans for the coming Ramadan, and that where do I pray in Berlin (he continued to assume that I was Muslim and that too a practicing one). However, while he asked me this, he sipped the beer that he was carrying all the while that we were talking to each other, so I guess he follows religion selectively, but does he also do the same when it comes to culture?

The Left is right.

After having followed YouTube religiously for quite some time, I can safely say that what ails the relationship between the Muslim world and the West is not religion, culture, or heritage but differing opinions on the political spectrum.

Take for example a pastor in the US who posts something online which might be considered sacrilegious to Muslims. The direct aftermath is a series of Fatwas from the Muslim world that would put millions of dollars on the pastor’s head as bounty. US embassies are raided, scandalized, and attacked all over the Muslim world. Effigies of US presidents are burned, US products are boycotted (well except KFC and Coca Cola of course) and the West is tarred with the same brush as being generally insensitive to the sensitivities of Muslims. Muslim clerics make sure that people start to believe how EVERYONE in the US is against Muslims, and how they chant anti Muslim slogans day in and day out. They would also convince people that everyone in the world (which is generally the US, and Israel) is against their religion and their country and therefore they need to be protected.

Meanwhile, when aforementioned events are made public through television or the internet, people in the US begin actually fearing the worst. They start to think that maybe ALL Muslims hate the US, and that maybe ALL of them are crazy nut heads hell bent on destroying effigies, and embassies, and killing their ambassadors. Subsequently, this becomes impetus for another round of hatred from both sides. Essentially each side feeds on the anger, and ignorance of the other. These people are also convinced that they are in danger and in need of protection.

However, I think most of what we hear in the mainstream media is the opinion of the right and the centre right. Basically, we are told what the rightists in the West think about the rightists in the Muslim world and vice versa, which is almost always ugly. Most people, but rightists in particular in Pakistan (my country of origin) don’t even know that there are people in the US who are anti war, anti discrimination, anti immigration prohibition laws, but NOT anti Muslim. These people stand for liberal values, and generally will not shy away from criticizing their own country, religion, or political association. Progressives like Jon Stewart will tell you when they think that Protective Edge is the Möbius strip of issues.

In the same way, I am sure that there are some people in the US, mostly working for Fox News, that don’t know that there is a growing, blooming, and thriving community within the Muslim world which recognizes itself as liberal and progressive. These people do not hate everything that is Western, and in some cases may as well cherish Western principles. Agreed, sometimes it may be difficult for them to speak out openly against their governments for fear of their lives, but they nevertheless stand for liberal values.  Furthermore, these people may just be as Muslim as all others that we stereo typically consider Muslims and yet these liberals are included in the generalized statement or even the consideration of the statement that “All Muslims are terrorists”. This obviously makes no sense whatsoever.

So what the liberals from both sides need to do is to be more vocal about their point of views. We don’t want wars, we want intercultural, interfaith, inter-sex, and inter-race harmony. It might take some time but we will have it. The best way to do it is speak out more and more often and tell everyone tell we exist and this is what we stand for. Like I just did.

on the events of 16th December 2014

I sit here write this post today engulfed in unspeakable unthinkable unimaginable grief over the event when the Taliban stormed into an Army Public School and massacred 142 people from whom 132 were school kids.

A tragedy of this sort has never taken place in the history of the world let alone Pakistan and Pakistan is shuddering with its repercussions. Throughout Pakistan, condemnations have been streaming in. Personally, I dont think any language has a word to describe parents who lose their children, and to think that all those kids perished like the way they did. Deplorable

I could not believe the news when I heard it, for I kept thinking about the kids I have in my family. When I begin to consider what those families might be going through who have lost someone in this senseless barbarity, it brings tears to my eyes.

I picture what might have happened in the school. The kids would be studying, most but not all. Some would be talking to their friends, some might also be drawing something on a piece of paper. Some would have plans to go play cricket, or football or something after school. Some would be in the fear of the exams that they would have to take next month, or maybe excited about getting the winter break.

and then they hear gunfire like they have never heard before and people barge in to their classes carrying weapons. They kill their teacher, I wonder what would the kids have felt when that happened. and to see your friends die right in front of your eyes. and then to know you will be next.

but I wonder, the terrorists would see little children, half their own height perhaps, clad in uniforms. What would have they have seen? I wonder. The look in the kids eyes. What did the terrorists think then, what they think before, They didn't think did they. They aren't humans are they. 

Unfortunate Indeed

So my companion, my friend, my point of contact in needs of time , my lovely laptop, suffered a fate worse than any other when I fell from my bike while it was in my backpack along with 3 soda bottles. What transpired is as follows.

I realized It was going to be one of the last sunny days in Berlin. I decided it deserved to be enjoyed with a flavor (weil ich die Sonne genissen moechte). So I hopped on my bike along with my backpack to a grocery shop which was a bit farther away than the place I usually go to. The sun looked like all those things they say it looks like when writers and poets praise it.

I got there pretty soon, which was good because I was getting tired of riding the bike. At the shop, I purchased all that money could buy, fit it into my backpack with space to spare, and soon was on my way back. This is where the weather and hence this blog takes a turn for the worse. While I was coming back, it started raining, which should have made me ride the bike a bit more carefully but didn't and the unspeakable happened. I fell from my bike. When I got up I realized my laptop was inside and when I finally managed to get it out, it was dripping with water, soda and what not. I rushed back home, disassembled it all I could, let it be for 3 days, tried to switch it on the fourth, and was disappointed that it didn't on the 5th.

The day after? The day after I questioned many things I had held dear all my life. Like how important it really was to enjoy the sun, or to take the bike or to forget it had the laptop inside and that it rained and the events were set in motion.

The day after that, I spent the whole day cursing fate and thinking how unfortunate did I really have to be for it to happen to me. I thought how utterly meaningless and pointless this whole affair was that led me to this state of laptoplessness. I felt so unfortunate, so so unfortunate that it was just a very small mistake, what were the chances of that happening. I am sure that doesn't happen to alot of people. I am sure.

and the subsequent day, Phillip Hughes got hit on his head while playing for a domestic cricket match and died.

Do you speak German?

I am often asked this question "Do you speak German now?".  As of right now I dont really know how I should answer this question and be factually accurate at the same time, for my dilemma is this.
If someone who doesn't speak German at all (which is the majority of the people that I know in my life) listens to me having a conversation with someone in German, he would think I am fluent whereas in  essence I would have to actually learn as much more German as I already do now to be fluent.

So the point I want to make is this. This question is invalid because there is no clear answer that will both satisfy the listener and myself. . All I can hope for is that the listener knows about the "common European Framework of Referance for Languages" and then I can simply say. B2 or whatever I want to say.

But it makes me wonder in how many others things does the same thing apply?  Maybe we are always on a line but instead choose to answer many questions with a "Yes I am fluent" without fully thinking about it. 

First class passengers

“Attention please! Emirates flight EK450 is ready for departure. Passengers travelling on business class and first class please board the plane from gate number 42, all other passengers please remain seated”

A group of select few move towards the gate to board the plane and disappear out of sight.

“Attention please! Emirates flight EK450 is ready for departure. Passengers travelling on Platinum and gold class please board the plane from gate number 42. All other passengers please remain seated until further notice”

Another group of select few move towards the gate and disappear out of sight.

“Attention please! Emirates flight EK450 is ready for departure. Passengers travelling on Silver and Bronze class please board the plane from gate number 42. All other passengers remain seated until further notice”

Another group of people now get up and line up to board the plane.

“Attention please ! Emirates flight EK 450 is ready for departure. All passengers are requested to board the plane from gate number 42.

And a huge throng of people gets up and lines up to get on board.

It is sad that I only had to add one class (the bronze class) to the number of classes above but what I fail to truly understand is why we need classes to sit on a chair in the sky fitted to a metallic bird that travels at 600 km/hour. and its not like the passengers on first class are going to reach sooner than the ones on economy.

The plane I boarded twice in a month was an A380, the world’s largest aircraft at least as of the writing of the following full stop. The aircraft has two decks, the main deck and upper deck. I say this because I got to know the business class and first class passengers get to board the upper deck. What is so special about being 10 feet above other people who are already several thousand feet above the ground eludes me altogether.

And the last parable that I am going to share with you guys is that what classes in air fares remind me of is the Hindu caste system which was much prevalent in ancient India. For purposes of comparison it should be noted that both the systems are called classes.  

However I am sure there are many people who would disagree to my idea of an ideal world where airlines would offer only one class of fare but I am sure everyone can see how unnatural and artificial this particular divide is. Makes me think humanity thrives on creating hierarchies like these. Indeed sad.

But truth be told, the view from the upper deck of this particular A 380 is fantastic.

                          

Euro Trip

I havent written in a while, and the reason is because I have been travelling. Ofcourse its just an excuse the truth is, I am just lazy.

After much deliberation and thought, on the 6^th of September I went touring Europe finally. I saw Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Venice and Vienna and I think from all places I have been to so far, I like Vienna the most.

Then a month ago I went back to Lahore, Pakistan for a month and consequently found something that gives more meaning to the phrase “there is no place like home” and only two days ago I got back to Berlin. Why I am writing all these details. Because I want to make it sound like I was occupied and didn’t have any time to blog. I hope this alibi would work. A brief intro to the places I visited.

Amsterdam is a nice city and I feel it is the epitome of everything western European. Its quiet lenient on things like prostitution and cannabis which makes sense because I feel in the modern world, there is no justification for these things to be banned.  

I went to Brussels because I had to see Kaiser “the Kallu” Sheikh. I had hoped that Kallu would be the only interesting thing in the town but I was pleasantly proven wrong when I discovered that Brussels too has the traditional European square called the Grand place and it really was worth a visit.

In Paris I was hosted by an Isreali Parisian middle aged man who didn’t eat non Kosher food but because of him I had exclusive access to places like the Louvre and other points of interests in Paris. Paris is a big city and that means one has to walk a lot. The Champs Elyse’s is to me just a road (not even a cobblestone street) that has shops for the worlds largest brands and since they are all one road its considered novel. I failed to see utterly what all the fuss was about.

I went to Geneva because it houses the European centre for nuclear research; the CERN. It was exactly how I had expected it to be, a marvel of scientific advancement. I truly had a great time there. I stayed in Geneva with a Chinese person who was pursuing his PhD on global warming. That is when he told me that the city Venice may not be there in another 20 years and it needs to be visited now. And that’s exactly what and why I did.

Next I went to Milan and was hosted by an Italian. I stayed in Seregno which is a bit north of Milan. I was in Milan only for a day that I decided that Venice must be visited for reasons already stated. I had a failed attempt to hitchhike to Venice which had me stranded in the middle of an Autostrate in Italy. How things could have worked out better I don’t know.

When I reached Venice I was completely exhausted from touring all these cities and went straight ahead and found myself a nice place to sleep. The next day I went around the small island and found it be absolutely different from all the other places I had ever seen. For one thing the police in Venice ride water scooters to maintain law and order. That almost never happens anywhere else.

And my last stop was Vienna. What I think about Vienna is that if I was asked to choose one city that I would like to live in that would be Vienna. It is an extremely beautiful city with its old town reeking of medieval charm and beauty. A walk in Vienna is like a walk across time and history. I would like to go back to Vienna someday to discover more. I hope I am able to do that soon.

And then I returned to Berlin. With its bustling city life I consider Berlin to be a must visit place on a tour to Europe.