Rickshaw Wisdom, Again: Better Than Hillary

Posted on July 19, 2010
Filed Under >Adil Najam, Economy & Development, Foreign Relations, Society
14 Comments
Total Views: 34410

Adil Najam

I was going to write about the recent media interview of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by the stalwarts of the Pakistani electronic media. But I left that midway because she had nothing new or important to say. Nor did our media have anything new or important to ask. On the other hand, this rickshaw driver does have something important to say, even if it is not new.

Sad that Pakistan has become a place where living is too expensive, and death too cheap. Unfortunately, neither Hillary Clinton or our media pundits seem to understand that simple truth. This rickshaw driver does.

Yes, in case you are wondering, this is the same rickshaw (or rickshaw painter), whose wisdom we have featured on this blog before: here and here. But the refrain about the cost of living from rickshaw drivers as well as others (here, here, here, here) is not new.

Maybe, just maybe, thinking a little more about the ever rising cost of living is a useful way to begin grappling with the ever falling price of death.

14 responses to “Rickshaw Wisdom, Again: Better Than Hillary”

  1. Kanwal says:

    Yaar, who cares about the poor rickshaw walla. Not Zardari, Not Hillary. Not the media wallas.

  2. Zubair says:

    Every time America and Pakistan try to show they are ‘friends’ they only prove that they are not. That is all that Hillary’s visit proves.

  3. Yahya says:

    Good one.
    You are right, what this says is not new (unfortunately) but it is so much more important than what Hillary Clinton and those anchors were babbling about.

  4. Junaid says:

    For those seeking English translation, this is in Urdu with a ‘Punjabi touch’ and it is the rickshaw bemoaning how the cost of living gas gone up. Specially that a roti (piece of bread) is now Rs. 2 and the price of gas is Rs. 100. (the ‘gas’ in Pakistan means natural gas or LNG and NOT petroleum). I think it is LNG which is used widely by cars and taxis and maybe rickshaws. He is directing his plea to the Chief Minister of Punjab.

  5. Sophie says:

    Yes please for the English translation – I’m dying to know what the 100 and 2 are involved in!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*