Interesting take!

Still not sure if I agree with this but find it thought-provoking. 

 

 

The judgement of a split second

 It was 2017. I was in London for a conference. As it was hard to find a cheap and decent hotel around the conference center, I stayed away from London in a smaller town named Burgess Hill and decided to take the bus - I explicitly remember bus # 523. It was summertime, so it was good to walk and enjoy the bus ride.

One eve., as I was on this side of the road, I saw bus #523 at the stop on the other side of the road. I thought I could jaywalk the main road and catch the bus. I had an old English man standing beside me. He said: "Don't Do! There is no way you can catch that bus". Knowing my skills of catching buses from Karachi, I asked, 'how you know?' He smiled in the classic English style and answered in an accent. "I know because when you live in an area for decades, you gain enough experience and the skill of judgment of a split second." 

For many days, I thought about his notion of the judgment of a split second. Indeed, when you get experience in any matter of life, what makes you superior to a novice is a split second, which makes the difference. The whole wisdom is about gaining that split of a second.

Why we want future

 

Fourth Wall

 Insaan zindagi main baRe drame kerta hai - aur jawani main kuch ziyada hi. 

When I was 19, I gave an audition at the Karachi Arts council for acting. To imitate India, Pakistani actors were getting serious about formal training in acting. To make a story short, I was selected (which I never pursue after a few classes). The first lecture was from actor Talat Hussain. On that day, I realized he is indeed an actor of high caliber with a depth of knowledge in literature and human emotions. On that day, he said a beautiful thing.

"Actor's biggest obstacle is the fourth wall. An actor on stage has three walls around him but there is an unseen wall between him and an audience. You need to learn to break that wall and connect with your audience. That's the only skill you might need all your life even if you are not an actor. You will need this everywhere. This skill of connecting with the soul and psyche of your audience to strike the cord is the essence of your success".

Ana'a

 

Patthar

 The following is considered the hallmark poem of Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi. Reportedly was written when a student at the National College of Arts, Lahore made his sculpture. The photo was taken at that moment and history and poem both were saved.

پتھر - احمد ندیم قاسمی

ریت سے بت نہ بنا اے مرے اچھے فن کار

ایک لمحے کو ٹھہر میں تجھے پتھر لا دوں

میں ترے سامنے انبار لگا دوں لیکن

کون سے رنگ کا پتھر ترے کام آئے گا

سرخ پتھر جسے دل کہتی ہے بے دل دنیا

یا وہ پتھرائی ہوئی آنکھ کا نیلا پتھر

جس میں صدیوں کے تحیر کے پڑے ہوں ڈورے

کیا تجھے روح کے پتھر کی ضرورت ہوگی

جس پہ حق بات بھی پتھر کی طرح گرتی ہے

اک وہ پتھر ہے جو کہلاتا ہے تہذیب سفید

اس کے مرمر میں سیہ خون جھلک جاتا ہے

ایک انصاف کا پتھر بھی تو ہوتا ہے مگر

ہاتھ میں تیشۂ زر ہو تو وہ ہاتھ آتا ہے

جتنے معیار ہیں اس دور کے سب پتھر ہیں

جتنی اقدار ہیں اس دور کی سب پتھر ہیں

سبزہ و گل بھی ہوا اور فضا بھی پتھر

میرا الہام ترا ذہن رسا بھی پتھر

اس زمانے میں تو ہر فن کا نشاں پتھر ہے

ہاتھ پتھر ہیں ترے میری زباں پتھر ہے

ریت سے بت نہ بنا اے مرے اچھے فن کار 

Paradox of history

As I was watching the USA's election in the doctor's lounge, one old-timer physician made an interesting comment: 

"It is interesting that in history, people have switched sides. In the Civil War, Republicans were in the North led by Abraham Lincoln and were anti-slavery. Pro-slavery conservative white democrats dominated the South. One hundred sixty years fast forward; the North is full of socialist democrats, and the South is red, more conservative states. Unfortunately, this is true throughout human history. Victims turned into aggressors; defenders became attackers; pacificists generated into warmongers; anti-this and pro that switched to anti-that and pro-this; and builders turned into destroyers or vice versa. Pick any nation, religion, or culture - you will see this phenomenon perpetually happening".

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