The Word of mAn[S]o0r

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The weekend past was an interesting one. It gave me something i’ve craved for quite sometime now, infact craved since i’ve moved to Islamabad. An intellectual discourse on absolutely nothing! Its amazing how just talking about nothing can relieve a lot of stresses. Also, i got to take in a play by Ajoka called Hotel Mohenjodaro.

Written in 1968, set in the early twentieth century, the story revolves around Pakistan being one of the first nations to land a person on the moon. This is followed by celebrations and jubilation, till a mullah in a remote tribal village decries the whole episode as unislamic, and starts a movement to overthrow government and setup an Islamic state. This eventually leads to civil war, and all hell breaks loose, until we are invaded by another country.

In other words, what happened in Afghanistan. What was chilling about the whole story was just how real it was to what is happening today in FATA and Afghanistan, where Islamic states run by clerics who cant see eye to eye and end up mistrusting first foreigners and then each other eventually ruin the lives of their people. Quite eye opening.

The end of the play was a tourist on a camel travelling along the desert where the guide excitedly
tells them that this is the site where the hotel mohenjodaro stood in its heyday, before moving on to other things. The director then came up on stage and what he said really resonated well with me. He told us that if we didn’t like the ending, then we still have a chance to change it and make sure it doesn’t happen.

The next event i went to was a reading, organized by the Desi Writers Lounge. This is where i got to talk about nothings. The event had four items, (one by yours truly), which were read by the respective authors and then critiqued by the group. Among the questions were why did we write it, what did we mean by it and why did we choose the words we did. It was quite intense and the feedback we got (or atleast i got) made me realize there are quite a few other ways of looking at pieces and that effective writing, specially story writing, must be successful in creating the same image in the readers mind, as in the writers mind. Specific imagery was discussed, such as the use of a particular brand of cigarette and what it says about the character and the likeness of wisps of clouds to the strands of hair dangling over the forehead. I must say, i learned a lot more about writing from this one session than any class or book i’ve ever read.

Islamabad is slowly waking up, and slowly i am finding the world being represented within it.

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on popular demand, i present to you… a 70’s style shair!

…

okay, fine… so poetry really isn’t my forte. sue me

however, the start is exactly what i love about blogging and having that select group of people to interact with on here. its different, its exciting and its quite mind boggling at times. the creativity that blogging offers a person, whether you write about your personal life, your work, or even something you’re passionate about is something which just cannot be replaced.

creativity, i believe, is seriously what makes the world go round. its what makes life worth living, its what makes waking up each day and not knowing what lies ahead so much fun! creativity is essentially what life is. its change, its ruffling up the feathers, its a kaleidoscope…

and if nothing else, it provides for many of the interesting experiences that truly shape up what kind of a person you are. so go ahead, be creative! and whatever you do… dont ever let anyone judge you!

to put my money where my mouth is… here’s my stab at (creative) poetry… ala 70s style~

chahtay hain tumko, kyonkay chahna hee aata hai humko
per jaanay kyon, na chahtay bhee khona perta hai tumko
chahat hai mere, kay tum mein sama jaaon poorey tarah
phir kyon ye chahat mere le gaye tum say door itna?

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I’ve realized, over the course of the last two years, that i am a social guy.

(yes, UD, i agree with you now)

So, in the spirit of letting me be me, i’ve finally decided to get a bit more social around here. Islamabad has, much to my astonishment, quite a vibrant arts and cultural scene going on. With everyday news of a gallery exhibition, a theater play or a get together reaching me via the news papers or online resources.

This weekend, i’ve jam packed myself with activities, from seeing a play, to going to a meeting, and to attending a reading… its all there! Yayy! plus, i might also be going hiking! that’s definitely something to look forward to!

Watch out Islamabad! Mansoor is back on the scene!

Also, i realized that this new *social* me came exactly one year after my last resolve to be more social. When i disclosed this fact to my mother, the one thing she had to say (God bless her!) was “well, atleast the last time was fun and exciting! It will be this time around as well!” how’s that for maternal support!!

Now i just have to go and write something to read at the reading….

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Every time i open up this page to write something, i get side tracked…

call it writers block or lack of enthusiasm, but its been quite sometime since i wrote anything anywhere and its getting to me now. the thing is, i want to write, and i’ve got these huge ideas in my head and want to put them down on paper, but every time i try, i get side tracked!

so this post is essentially a try to get out of that slump!

thank you all of you for your comments on my previous post… there are, however, some clarifications i’d like to present.

1) it wasn’t the first breakup i’ve had.
2) it wasn’t the worst breakup i’ve had either
3) it wasn’t the fact that we split which is getting to me

what really was getting to me was the fact that in breaking up the engagement, i had put my parents through an emotional roller coaster, especially my father, who uptil the point of receiving the call, wasn’t even aware anything was happening. till that moment, all he probably thought that he was lucky to get such a good daughter-in-law… the look on his face when i went home that evening… THAT is what bugged me.

sid said that make sure you have no unresolved feelings and no unanswered questions… sid, everything is unresolved at this point, because communication was broken up entirely and i didn’t get anything said to me by anyone from their side. that, in itself, is something which is getting to me.

i’ve had a variety of breakups in the past, and even though each new one isn’t any less painful, it is actually easier to deal with them now. the only thing which gets to me is the point i mentioned above, making my parents go through it.

what else…..

oh yea, we had another bomb blast this morning. the windows of my office shook and i was a little shocked, upon investigation, i saw a cloud of smoke rising up from a distance… funny thing is, the moment the brain registered it was a blast, life went back to being normal. i looked around, some people looked at the smoke pillar, then went about their own business, some shopped, some parked, while others smoked and laughed. even i returned to mundane tasks and barely gave any thought to it till my father called to inquire about my whereabouts.

such is life… it really does not stop for anyone.

p.s. iiiiimmmm bbbbaaaaaaacccccckkkkkk!!! (well, almost!)

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