Adil Najam, a true inspiration..

Pakistan's going through a rough time when it comes to politics. And recently, even cricket wasn't giving us much to be proud of. From where I looked at it, everything about Pakistan was making me unhappy. And I expressed my disillusionment at a number of occasions on my blog too. This and this are examples I can remember.

On Sunday, in a conversation with a wannabe revolutionary friend that I have immense respect for, both of us were stuck with a question we couldn't answer..

i feel the conversation needs to be posted here so i can remember it. coz had it not been for this, i may never have thought much of the next day's events..

*friend* says:
this country has no foundation
*friend* says:
it has no base
*friend* says:
the political parties are all the ppl who opposed its creation
*friend* says:
if nothing is done
*friend* says:
it will disintegrate make no mistake abt it
Sid says:
maybe we could add that to the circle of underdevelopment.. answers a lot of questions. the pakistani idealogy is hollow
*friend* says:
IMPLOSION!
Sid says:
ive been asking myself this question and for some reason i trust u to have an answer...
Sid says:
we do keep telling ourselves that we havent done anything, but what is it that we're supposed to do?
*friend* says:
nothing
*friend* says:
as apathetic it sounds
*friend* says:
thats the truth
*friend* says:
hence i do wht i can do
Sid says:
what is it that u can do?
*friend* says:
wake them up
*friend* says:
as i grow older this voice will grow louder
*friend* says:
soon it will be backed by money
Sid says:
but what when ur attempts to wake em up fail? who is to blame then/
*friend* says:
if something is inevitable it is
Sid says:
what when ure told that ure all words and no action?
*friend* says:
u see its evolution
*friend* says:
if are not mature enough to have a nation we shudnt have one
*friend* says:
the jews had to wait 5000 years for theirs
*friend* says:
maybe we need the same thing
*friend* says:
maybe then we'll understand wht this means to us
*friend* says:
from time to time the memory of freedom needs to be refreshed with the blood of traitors and patriots
Sid says:
n so the individual lives of the living has no significance over the collective well being of a nation?
Sid says:
whats a nation anyway?
Sid says:
what defines a nation?
*friend* says:
ive never been able to answer this question
*friend* says:
i was asking this myself while walking
*friend* says:
if i say id die for this country
*friend* says:
wht am i dying for
*friend* says:
family
*friend* says:
land
*friend* says:
bunch of racist assholes
*friend* says:
in the end i think its identity im dying for
Sid says:
what identity?
Sid says:
whose identity?
Sid says:
what is ur identity?
Sid says:
and why is it so important?
*friend* says:
it is
*friend* says:
its the concept of belonging to something
*friend* says:
u never can explain the concept of a nation
*friend* says:
not unless uve lost it
*friend* says:
im not abt to find out the hard way
Sid says:
n we just might
*friend* says:
haha worry the not yaar
*friend* says:
itna jaldi kuch nahi hotaa
Sid says:
i keep askin myself what id be without pakistan
*friend* says:
but u see now let me be rational
Sid says:
and i usually find something inside tellin me 'better off'
*friend* says:
pakistan goes no where
Sid says:
maybe it should
Sid says:
maybe..we need to start over
Sid says:
a wobbly 2 floors with no foundations needs to be demolished before u try build a sky scraper..
Sid says:
shit... i feel guilty. im the grinch. u arent. im probably ruining your eid
*friend* says:
lol
*friend* says:
no man
Sid says:
go have fun boy. we should put this conversation off for anohter day
*friend* says:
u see ppl understand development
*friend* says:
spend money on them
*friend* says:
empower them
*friend* says:
show them a abetter life
*friend* says:
or the illusion of a better life
*friend* says:
give them something to look foward to
Sid says:
those r hollow pillars
Sid says:
they will crumble too

and that is where the conversation sadly ended... ever since another friend had accused me of hollow words, of being part of the system i wanted to change, i was ill at ease. the conversation above made it more difficult for me to answer the question i had been asking myself, 'how do i be the change i want to see?'.

but then here's where i found my answer. Adil Najam of Pakistaniat, just became a Nobel laureate when his work for the IPCC was acknowledged. And how does that answer my question? maybe the followin comment on the congratulatory post would answer that question..

wah, so someone who is on a Nobel-winning research team was writing for us on Rooh Afza! Yeh hoi na Pakistaniat! Well done.

Even though, people like me who always see the glass as half empty have the nerve to say,

I’m sorry but I don’t see this nation going anywhere. And it’s surprising that it survived so long.

people like Adil don't sit and brood but write about Rooh Afza, Amanat Ali and nominating Edhi for a Nobel. The point is, even when no one knew of his work for the IPCC, he still gave countless pakistanis reason to smile about belonging to a nation with a rich history and culture. I have spent many hours on that website going through the archives digging up posts on Pakistani poets Ghalib and Faiz or posts on priceless gems like NFAK and Noor Jehan. These are but a few examples. Only those that visit the page truly know what a treasure it is.

I thank Adil for answering my question for me. What I can do is stop being so hopeless. That is how I play my part. by believing in this nation. by not saying, i'd be better off without it. by discarding my role as the Devil's Advocate.

true, there's a lot left to be desired, but this is how Adil deals with a problem. Faced with the same problem on KMB, I almost decided to quit writing. Had it not been for the timely post by Adil, I wouldnt have been a part of that team. This is another reason I need to thank Adil. Had it not been for him I'd never have written this after the brutal criticism I got from some readers here, here and countless other posts.

And, I really want to thank the wannabe revolutionary *friend* as well as Superman for making me ask these questions in the first place. Im not doing a lot, but I can start with changing my attitude..