Doors Unlocked and Opened: Where Did We Get Lost Along The Way?

Friday, August 26, 2011

Where Did We Get Lost Along The Way?

BBM broadcast - "We R burning d Sony factory @ 11pm, u lads in?"

We live in strange times, people.

We live in a world where Barack Obama, who promised to be the messiah that Americans were so eagerly anticipating, turned out to be just another sweet-talking illusion.

We live in a world where an entire government was turned on its head by the power of a mass revolution: Egypt – Cairo – Tahrir Square, to be precise.

In this mental world of ours, IMF chiefs turn out be rapists, IPL masterminds turn out to be criminal masterminds, everyday - countless politicians are proven to be serial liars – why can’t people just be who they claim to be, for once?

Everybody seems to be talking about corruption right now, in my country. Corruption here, corruption there, corruption bloody everywhere! ‘Corruption is a disease that we must cure’ they say. Cancer is a disease, but just by talking about cancer it isn’t going to go away now, is it?

Civil violence is another issue I would like to touch upon. Israel, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Algeria and even England– I daresay? It certainly seemed that way a few days ago. These uprisings may have been spread through Facebook and Twitter, but their effects were far from harmless. Rioting, looting, arson – there really ought to be better ways of showing your frustration towards your government? Britons are known for their tea, right? Drink some of that famed tea and calm down! Punch a pillow, if you’re really that angry! Ridiculous scenes, we witnessed on our TV screens.

The world is getting smaller by the day. People in the Middle-East eat more Burger King than Americans these days and chicken tikka massala is the new fish ‘n chips in the UK.

As we march along, unsteadily, towards the Last Day, this world of ours is just going to get even crazier. Wishful thinkers and space scientists can argue all they like, but we have no other place to go! These wars that are being fought over petrol will soon be fought over H2O! One thing we all agree upon is that it's all going to end one day. But have you ever stopped and asked yourself - where did we get lost along the way?

1 comment:

azra abdullaFebruary 11, 2012 at 9:53 PM
Very well said Shoaib....I think we got lost because when we saw someone struggling we did not stop to help and show him the way...we just let him be and kept going ...minding our own business. We need to believe in the Power of One..even one person can bring change..we are all worthy and capable of bringing down oppressors, giving a helping hand to those who are below us and staying united in times of crisis...the three things that separate us muslims from those of other faiths as per the prophet(pbuh).
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Dear Reader,

I've always loved writing. You can say that I grew up with a pen in one hand and a notebook in the other. Over the years, the innumerable pens and notebooks were replaced by qwerty keypads and electronic screens but the affection for words remained unchanged. Through all my years at school, the English language was my favourite area of study and the days we were allowed to write essays in class were something quite special.

Like most kids growing up, I wanted to be something different every other day. Some days an architect, some days an international sportsman. But most days, I would settle for being a big businessman and an author. It was during one of these author phases that I wrote the first few pages of what was meant to be my debut novel. Eight neatly handwritten pages of The Adventures of Haroon and the Hairy Hypnotiser. Unfortunately, that novel didn't materialize but I'm okay with that, in retrospect, considering I was only eleven years old at the time.

Then one day, five years later, while clearing out an old drawer, I came across the notebook where I had begun my premier novella. It made me realise that for years, I had written in private, nurturing endless ideas. Of what use is an author, if he himself is his only reader, right?

And so, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, pieces I write from here on will be displayed on this blog. You will find fiction, reflection and even some journalistic writing here. Feel free to rate, comment and share my work.

Regards,

Shoaib Sumar.