Mard-e-Musalmaan

by

Allama Iqbal

Madam Noor Jehan has sung some parts of this  poem very beautifully. To listen to the song on YouTube, click here.

The Tell-Tale Heart

Short Tastes - Your personal guide to the world of short stories

Writer: Edgar Allan Poe

Year of Publication: 1843

Genre: Gothic thriller

Plot Summary:

A young man plots to murder his employer in the dead of the night. After having committed the deed, he suffers from guilt and is haunted by the ominous sound of the old man’s beating heart.

Comments:

A perfectly gruesome look into the mind of a mentally-deranged man. The Tell-Tale Heart is one of the absolute gems of classic literature and is the perfect embodiment of Poe’s style of horror. A must-read for all fiction fans!

Excerpt:

“It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees --very gradually --I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.”

Click here to read the complete story!

 Source of Image: http://www.vam.ac.uk/apps/uploads/uploads/largeImages/1183164275.jpg

Elite Class aur Industrial Class ke Modern Zaviay

by

Hammad Nasir

Who else was disappointed by The Lost Symbol?

Title: The Lost Symbol
Author: Dan Brown
Year of Publication: 2009
Genre: Thriller


The first half was an absolute drag. 

This from the man who brought us brilliant page-turners in the past! As a much-awaited sequel to the blockbusters Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol has failed to live up to the hype. 

Firstly, the entire concept of the Ancient Mysteries is beyond me - a power that can turn humans into gods, that power residing within one’s mind, can only be unlocked through some mysterious symbol, that symbol being only a word, and that word being a book hidden beneath an underground pyramid…. or was it an underground portal? Dan Brown is all over the place. The reader fails to understand what exactly is being looked for. Characters crowd the book without having any reason of being there. And I could not grasp the urgency of solving the mystery. There is no end-of-the-world-bringing subatomic bomb ticking (A&D) nor is there a solve-the-puzzle-and-clear your-name-before-the-police-catches-you sword hanging over the characters’ heads (DVC). The whole objective here is to rescue a Yale professor, someone the reader never feels sympathetic enough towards.

So one just can’t understand the significance of either the plot or the characters. I even found myself rooting for he bad guy at one point!

The only good thing in the story (other than a small plot twist towards the end) is Robert Langdon. The character is one of the few totally original personalities of fiction out there today, even though his claustrophobia is a little overdone now. Sadly, one doesn’t see enough of Langdon’s problem-solving skills this time (probably because there is not much of a problem here to begin with!).

Dan Brown, in the past, has specialized in bringing conspiracy theories to light and giving them a completely believable and realistic form. Here, however, he tries to find a connection between science and the supernatural, and, in my point-of-view, fails miserably. Like, in one experiment, a character is shown succeeding in measuring the mass of a human soul through a ridiculously childish experiment….?? Don’t get me started!

What can one say but that Dan Brown has completely botched it for once (or rather the second time; Digital Fortress was no plume in the hat either). Here’s hoping that something better is to come. And here’s wishing that this particular symbol had stayed lost!

Azma Humayun 

Source of Image: http://images.smh.com.au/ftsmh/ffximage/2009/09/17/lost_symbol_narrowweb__300x462,0.jpg

If I could change something, what would it be?

by 

Syeda Areeba Najeeb

(This essay was entered in the IBA Literary Society essay writing competition 'The Think Tank' held in April 2010)

Why do we follow each other all the time?

Whey don’t their views differ from mine?

Why don’t we follow rules and try standing in a line?

Why don’t we take an initiative, why all we do is just whine?

If I could change something it would definitely be the orthodox mindset and cliché pattern of thinking of the average Pakistani people. I believe if I could do this I would be able to bring a magnanimous transformation for the whole of Pakistan. We Pakistanis, in my opinion, have all the potential in ourselves to make Pakistan a heaven to live, where there would be peace and prosperity everywhere in this Pak land. But the only problem is that we lack the confidence in our ability and are unable to think out of the box to which we have been confined by the rest of the world.

Educated Parrots

Aren’t we all individuals with distinct brains that function differently? So why not use them for a change instead of following others’ lead, especially when we know that we are being taken down the wrong lane. It is high time that we start having our own views and voice our personal opinions rather than being spoon fed.

If some one dresses differently or speaks a foreign language all Pakistanis give them importance and respect (and stare as if they are from another planet). This is because it has been drilled into our minds that we are in some way inferior to the West; this hole needs to be filled with pride in our nationality, culture and language.

In Pakistan It is normal to see people breaking traffic signals, cars parked right below the ‘no parking sign’ and betel-spit marks all over walls saying “Keep your country clean”. This is what needs to be changed. We think if one person is breaking the law it is only natural that we do so too. Do we ever stop and think that instead of following, why don’t we become an exception and hence a role model for all? Do we ever feel guilty? NO!

The easy way out for us is to blame other people for it like the government, the police, the others who are breaking rules and even the signal itself.

It is also common among people to show their anger and frustration by hurting other people, destroying public property and burning cars.

Why don’t they give it a second thought and realize that it doesn’t extinguish their pain and instead fuels the fire that burns down everyone and everything. If only they would resort to peaceful demonstrations….

Pakistanis have a stereotype that USA and India are our enemies. We protest against any treaties with them and deny any aid from them, but I am sure we ourselves are the biggest market for Hollywood and Bollywood movies Are we so naïve as to not realize this? No we aren’t. We just do not want to follow logic and make sense of things because if we do we will be thrust into harsh, unbearable reality only to realize what great fools we have been while living in our home-made fool’s paradise.

So, in my opinion, if given a chance I would change the stereotypes that Pakistanis have and their thought pattern. The only way to save our beloved Pakistan from going down is to think differently, wisely and independently. Because it’s only when you come up with a good thought that you can mould the world the way you want and when you want.

Source of Image:
http://pakedu.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Respecting-individuality.jpg

Desiderata (Desired Things)

by

Max Ehrmann (1927)

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

This poem was recommended as 'Poem of the Week' by Faraz Karim. 

It is a prose-poem, read without any rhythm. An interesting fact about it is that it was widely believed to have been written in 1692 by some anonymous writer, until proved otherwise in the '70s. Desiderata is more of a piece of advice than a poem and can be compared to such works as Polonius' speech in Shakespeare's Hamlet and Rudyard Kipling's If.

Premchand ke Sau Afsanay