This was published in Daily Times a few days ago.

National flag fluttering atop a government office in Gulberg. Can you spot what’s wrong with it? What does that say about our committement to work diligently for this country?

A french friend just said on MSN that ‘everybody has a right to pee whenever he wants’ and my mind switched to we Lahoris think ‘we have a right to pee wherever we want!’ If you don’t agree with me, roam around in old areas of Lahore or read Bapsi Sidhwa at least.

The latest news on TV is that cable operators all across the country have started protest against a recent Govt. tax of Rs.25/connection by discontinuing cable services from 6pm to 12am.

My cable services provider’s showing just PTV and his own channels for the time being. The greatest suffering is to be experienced by several national and international TV channels who have lost their viewership due to present circumstances. All Pakistani channels are gone except for PTV.

Strangely enough, my operator continues the transmission of Star Plus & Sony. It did upset me as why were these two ‘special’ channels exempted from such a boycott…

Yesterday, there were not one but three incidents of ‘trouble’ in Lahore’s air space.

An Air Blue flight enroute from Islamabad to Karachi got one of it’s engines in problem, which, eventually was turned off and pilot decided not to risk lives onboard by landing at Lahore.

PIA’s flight [PK-203] from Lahore to Dubai was delayed when authorities heard of a bomb hoax. The plane was thoroughly searched and nothing was found. Later on, the flight left for its scheduled destination after several hours’ delay.

The third incident involved a bird hitting an engine of PIA’s flight [PK-315] as it took off for Karachi from Lahore. The ‘bird hit’ damaged two blades of the engine. Aircraft’s pilot safely landed back at Allama Iqbal International Airport with 185 passengers after 20 minutes.

What’s the problem with our aircrafts…

credit: Daily Times

Need I say more….there is a total lack of respect for public or even private property in much of our country nowadays. For those who don’t know about this Lahori locality, this is right on the Mall road in front of the Punjab Assembly. The tower at the back is the Islamic Summit Minar and the domed kiosk holds a beautiful copy of the Holy Qur’an. Isn’t this being disrespectful to the Holy Qur’an? We have burned and pillaged for much less. So, are we going to see those self-proclaimed mullahs on the roads again? I am not being disrespectful to the mullah’s here. I am talking only about those everyday regular people who seize oppurtunities like these (I don’t have to list them, we all know) to show their religious fervor. That always reminds me though, of that beautiful sher (poetic verse) by Iqbal:

Masjid to banaa di shab bhar mein, ima’n ki hararat walaun nay
Man apna purani paapi hai, barsau’n mein namaazi ban na saka

Jahangir’s Quadrangle Tour continued…..When one looks at the level of craftsmanship in Jahangir’s Quadrangle, one cannot help but say “Subhan Allah” at the level of skills mastered by Mughal artisans. Much of these skills still survive today in the hands of a few dedicated artisans, however; unfortunately their numbers is quickly dwindling.

The exquisite animal shaped brackets span the whole row of porticoes along the eastern and western walls of the quadrangle.
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Jahangir’s Quadrangle Tour continued…..The rooms adjoining the eastern and western walls of Jahangir’s Quadrangle have some of the most excuisite decorative features found anywhere in the fort (except of course the Shish Mahal).

Jahangir’s Quadrangle boasts elaborate sandstone pillers and brackets that spring from their sides in the shape of mythical animals.
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The previous three posts dealt with the rather obscure Masti Gate of the Lahore Fort but today we move on to another major attraction of the fort, that is Jahangir’s Quadrangle. The quadrangle basically includes Jahangir’s sleeeping chamber along the northern wall, a central pool with platform, and rows of adjoining rooms in the eastern and western walls. The rear portion of Diwan-e-Aam comprises much of the southern wall of the quadrangle.

Jahangir’s Quardangle was begun by Akbar and completed by Jahangir in 1618 AD. On the east and west it is surrounded by a row of dalans (porticoes) in the trabeate (beam and bracket) style. There is a large garden inside the quadrangle with a spacious tank in the centre.

Every body has a book in his mind, as they say. But, everybody trying to write one is a different thing, and self-publishing one yet another. There are lots of considerations that induce people into writing about various things: people, events, ideas, issues, passions, observation, noble causes, problems and more. Some of these are pricked by their strong sense of right and wrong to raise their voice for or against a cause of their own or of their community’s interest, while some others do it to cover up some disrepute and or misdemeanors. There are those who do it for amusement. And the ones for whom writing is a career. Of the many other classifications, there is a class of writers and it is a very well populated fraternity that takes its writings as a means to achieve an end. The end, of course, varies from person to person, but the mercenary passion with which the community members market (yes, market) themselves remains constant.
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This photograph was published in Daily Times last week. Its about a huge and disgusting garbage dump right in front of Minar-i-Pakistan, Lahore’s one of the most important landmark. How can Lahore tolerate this?

What can one say, Lahore we still love you.

Suggested by Humaira