Raza Rumi

The other day when my spouse complained for the umpteenth time about the peculiar attitudes of men towards their female counterparts in Pakistani workplaces, I had no option but to be blunt.

“You need to get real,” I yelled. “You must shed all notions of human complexity when dealing with the Pakistani male. He’s a simple and two-dimensional being; stop attributing more depth than the poor guy is endowed with.”

It is a shame that my wife, who has now worked for a labyrinthine, Kafkaesque organisation for a decade, has still not learnt the art of dealing with middle class men.

Owais Mughal

I consider this photo a fantastic one because it catches the plight, hopelessness and face expressions of ‘be-zubaan’ (animals). Note the twig in master’s hand. Sad. I am however unsure if there are 4 monkeys or the photo is retouched to capture four instances of the same monkey. The road island in the background seems a bit disjointed.

‘mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru’ in Japanese means ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’. The source of this famous saying is a pictorial maxim on a door of the famous Tosho-gu shrine. The shrine is located in Nikko, Japan and door dates back to 17th century. The above photo reminded me of those ‘three wise monkeys’ (except here we have four). I named the 4th one awazaru because he looks pretty ‘awazar’ (bored).
Photo Credits: Abro.

Owais Mughal

Following news appeared as a two liner in Dawn yesterday. Today Daily Times posted it as a whole paragraph. It caught my attention because it is a very positive development to use remotely monitor city’s sewrage system. The details are very sketchy in the news but apparently some sensors are being used at different spots in the city to remotely monitor sewage flow and the data is being transmitted to the monitoring agency, which in this case is Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This agency also did a study on Lahore Rapid Mass Transit Rail Project in 1991. The e-monitoring of sewage is a part of a larger project which is titled as ‘Project for the Retrieval of Sewage and Drainage System in Lahore City’. JICA who is the stake holders in this project, want to remotely get data on progress of the project.

In addition to remotely monitoring sewage flow, implementing a patrol tour system can enhance the effectiveness of managing urban infrastructure. This system involves regular inspections conducted by trained personnel who can promptly address any issues detected by the sensors. By combining real-time data from the sensors with on-ground observations through the patrol tour system, authorities can ensure proactive maintenance and swift response to potential sewage system failures.

This integrated approach not only improves operational efficiency but also minimizes the impact of sewage-related incidents on public health and the environment. As cities like Lahore continue to upgrade their infrastructure, such technological advancements supported by international agencies like JICA play a crucial role in sustainable urban development.