Adil Najam
I arrived back in Pakistan early on Friday and, as always happens, have been enjoying good food and frantic conversation ever since. The food I continue to enjoy. The conversations are increasingly disturbing. The palpable disenchatment, but even more than that a sense of despondency – the “we can do nothing” feeling – gets under your skin. And very quickly.
So, I did what I have done ever since I first stumbled upon this audio rendition back last August. I replayed and heard these 85 seconds of Zakintosh reciting his father’s wonderful poem.
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For the last many months this little poem has provided me with frequent solace. Turning moments of despondency into a needed dose of introspection. I hope it might do so for our readers too.
If you have not heard it before, you must.
If you have heard it before, its certainly worth another listen.
It takes all of 1 minute and 25 seconds, and as we approach Pakistan Day, March 23, it is well worth hearing again. And again.
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This is for Omer Salam Ansari and others with no audio attachments in their computers.
Aik Latifa main sunaon, sunna chaho tum agar
Sadiq aata hey ye bilkul ahle Pakistan per
Aik din Akbar ne yeh Mula Dopiaza se kaha
Hay wafadaar e haqumat jo bhe hay choota, bara
Booley Mula youn yaqeen harghiz na laana chaheye
Aik din sari reyayah aazamaana chaheye
Dood se ye saamanee ka hauz bharwa deejiye
Laa’en bhar ke ik ghara sab se ye farma deejiye
Doseray din hauz main pani he pani tha bhara
Ik zara se imtehaan main khul gaya khota khara
Har koi samjah ke baqi loog jitne aa’ein gay
Apne hisse ka ghara woh dood se bhar ja’ein gay
Aik pani ka grara is main mil gaya mera too kiya
Itni aamezish se akhir kaun parkha jaaey ga
Tum ho Pakistan ke, ye hay tumhara he watan
Iss ko rakho ya ujaro, hey tumhara he chaman
Dooseray laten hain pani, unn ko be samjhaoo tum
Unn ko samjhane se phelay, doodh khud to laao tum.
Heard it for the first time and am blown away by the lucidity of the fact!!
Frankly, I debated with myself and I lost the debate.
I have to ask.
So, while the advice is good and valid, but if you see an obvious wrong should you not stop the person from the wrong direction?
Or do I not?
Take for example, the headline, “An 85 Seconds Response to Despondency”.
Why the choice of this word? Why not Disconsolateness? Heartsickness? Depression? Blue Devils? Dejection? Sadness? Unhappiness? Despair? Disheartened?
On the other hand, what if the same blog would have used the word Hope?
“85 Seconds to Hope?”
“85 Seconds to Strength!”
“85 Seconds to Solutions!”
“85 Seconds to Fulfillment!”
“85 Seconds to Good Attitudes!”
“85 Seconds Inspiration!”
So, this begs the question, should I not ask or should I look for my own ghara? Should I say, “Adil, why spread Despondency instead of Hope?”
After all, I do believe in audacity of hope.
Beautiful. Very very beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful
Every TV channel should run this every day, many times.
Every Pakistani needs to listen to this.
Very powerful. It is so much easier to criticsise others than do something ourselves. This is clear and simple and very very inspiring.
Simple rule in life: always be very very careful and worried about anyone who keeps telling yo about who your enemy is or who is against you and who is causing the problem. They are usually the ones trying to divert your attention from what you yourself can do by trying to create stories about how all your problems are about someone else. Such people are always the most dangeruous people.