Higher Education Abroad

Only a couple of decades ago, foreign education was still the preserve of small elite of potential superstars. Not anymore. The number of students going abroad for higher education has increased many folds.

What is driving this solid growth and "massification" of students going abroad? Three things: Perception of informed parents and students that the quality of education abroad is a lot better and up-to-date than in Pakistan universities and higher educational institutions. Second, the "foreign-qualified" candidates see better response in not only local but global job market as compared to those with similar qualifications from local universities. And effective marketing of education services with the help of facilitations by their governments.

Two children of one of my friend are studying in different universities in United States of America . On the issue of study abroad he says, "My son graduated in computer science from reputed university here. He wanted to pursue the subject further but no local university was offering further education in the discipline of his interest so he had to go to America. On the other hand, my daughter has been offered full scholarship by another American university that was difficult to decline." My friend's younger daughter thinks that her brother and sister have gone after post graduation whereas she should go abroad after completing her "A" level. A succes story. No?

Aiming at long term benefits, western universities are now helping Pakistan to reverse the so called 'brain drain.' "Some of the scholarships offered to students have a condition that students will come back after completing her education and stay in Pakistan for at least two years."

In 1947, there was only one University of Punjab. Today, we have almost 35 universities in the public sector and more than 100 in the private sector, and this number is growing with newer disciplines being added every year. After the new concept of private education has taken over, many private universities have shown their results whereas some of them have even left their mark on world map. No doubt these universities are playing their role in promoting quality education, but at the same there is a difference between graduates from privet sector universities and public sector universities. The difference is more visible when it comes to getting a job. There is an even bigger difference when comes is seen between local and those who have graduated from abroad.

On the other hand there are not very many openings in local job market. Ask any decision maker in any national or international organizations, private sector companies, multinational companies, NGO's, and educational institutions about their hiring needs, given chance they will prefer graduates from foreign universities as compared to those passed out from local universities. "There is a better match between the modern organizational needs and the foreign education, particularly when the hiring concern has to operate globally," says Professor Dr. Tehseen Sulehrya.

What is more, the glamorous and magnetic power of the world's top universities in the developed world have speeded this growth even further. They are extensively marketing their education services. A growing number of rich countries are redefining both their education and their immigration policies in order to attract more students. Competition for the tuition fees that foreign students have to pay, which is particularly fierce from countries that will not allow their universities to charge realistic fees to home-grown students.

Another factor is the European Union's policy of sponsoring student mobility within the Union so as to create a European identity among the young people. Several countries - most notably Australia and New Zealand - are trying to turn education into an export industry. Foreign students are triply valuable. They pay fees to universities, spend money on things like food and lodging, and may even end up staying on permanently. What better way to shift an economy from its traditional reliance on primary production?

For the past 50 years America has effortlessly dominated the market for international students, who have brought both direct and indirect benefits to the country. Not only are the foreign students contributing some $13 billion a year to America's GDP, they are also supplying brainpower for US research machine and energy for its entrepreneurial economy. After some past incidents, America's leadership came under a challenge. The Institute of International Education reported that the number of foreign students on American campuses is on decline for the first time.

American leadership was alive to the situation and academics acted fast. Now the United States of America has streamlined its visa process for education purpose. Applicants earlier had to wait for 75 days for technical clearance, but the period has now been reduced to 13 days, and students can walk into the embassy without an appointment and apply for an interview at the visa desk. Similarly other western countries and their universities are also making changes to facilitate the students from third world.

Irony is that at government level, there are no proper channels to guide Pakistani students in this regard or institutionalize the process. Legal and illegal immigration consultants selling 'study abroad' can be spotted easily at educational exhibitions and in major cities though. Stakeholders have been demanding the government establish such resource centre in collaboration with foreign embassies and streamline the process till the time the needs of the students desirous of higher education can be met at home.

Sadly, that has not started happening yet.

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Nanotechnology

Cloaking technology can bend light around itself could hide objects from sight. Imagine how the world would look like when Nanotech scientists are able to bring electromagnetic devices in the market. And news is that this is not impossible now.

Beyond possible military and lifestyle uses (remember the science fiction senses Hollywood movies), scientists are working on a material that could eliminate hurdles in communication signals. The material is easier to make and has a far greater bandwidth. It is made from a so-called metamaterial -- an engineered, exotic substance with properties not seen in nature. Metamaterials can be used to form a variety of "cloaking" structures that can bend electromagnetic waves such as light around an object, making it appear invisible.

As per BBC news, a US-British team of scientists has successfully tested a cloak of invisibility in the laboratory. The device works by deflecting the microwaves around the object and restoring them on the other side, as if they had passed through empty space. The cloak consists of 10 fibreglass rings covered with copper elements and is classed as a "metamaterial" - an artificial composite that can be engineered to produce a desired change in the direction of electromagnetic waves. Like visible light waves, microwaves bounce off objects, making them apparent and creating a shadow. But at microwave frequencies, the detection has to be made by instruments rather than the naked eye.

Successes in the fields of Nanotechnology are poised to bring about so many changes in the ways we work and live. No?

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Do You Hold Back?

Every one has secrets in personal life. Those secrets people do not share with any one no matter what. Situation gets out of the ordinary when deeper feelings are withheld between life partners – those living together, having common dreams and goals. Does sharing of the private things by husband give his wife power over the former? Or does holding back from each other spoil relations and home milieu that is the basis of trust and dependence.People have deeply personal or even ordinary secrets they do not share with any one because they think that the revelation may make them vulnerable. It may give the partner some power over them. But, power is abstract, an influence one can exercise over others.

Consider this example: The husband shares with is his wife something about his own brothers, sisters or parents. Say, he tells his wife, “Dear, we need to go to them more often, we need to take care of mother or an upcoming marriage of sister’s daughter.”The wife replies, “You have already done so much for each one of them. You have always been taking care of every thing. Now it is high time that they should take care of themselves and you should concentrate more on your own home. Our children are also growing up.” Unconsciously, with that a few unthinking, conclusive sentences, the wife stop her husband from sharing any more on the subject. So, in the situation, the husband may begin to secretly set aside money to save for taking care of his parents. In doing so, the first step is taken: a secret is withheld. In the years to come, the husband will begin to hesitate to share with his wife because he does not want to feel powerless.

Wives keep secrets from their husbands as well. The wife wants to buy a new microwave oven, or wants to change old curtains or aging furniture. So, she asks her husband, “Dear, we need to go in for a new microwave.” The husband replies from over the file he has brought from office to work home, “We cannot afford it.” Unconsciously, the husband imposes his authority and the wife feels she is no more in command of the financial situation. So, in the situation just described, the wife may begin to secretly keep away money from her household budget to save for a microwave oven, for curtains or furniture items. In doing so, again sharing is stopped.

Sounds like a storm in a teacup? But, consider what happens around and you will find that withholding of secrets start from just about as minor incidents, events, not necessarily having financial implications. Things keep adding over time. Personal feelings are more fragile than we realise. People feel the loss of power very easily. It does not take much to draw back and hold secrets. Sometime, one look, one gesture from the spouse is enough. Whenever any thing is withheld, behind it is an unspoken plea: You do not understand my needs, my fears, my hopes, my wishes, my aspirations.And behind every reaction is an unspoken attitude. When the husband instantly replies, we cannot afford a microwave oven; he also says without words, I do not care if you are inconvenienced. Instead, if he were to put down his work for a moment, nod sympathetically and ask, what do you think would be easier on our pockets — repairing this one or going for a new one? This way he could have shown his involvement with her predicament, yet draw her attention to his.Likewise, when the wife smiles disbelievingly and replies, “You have already done enough for every one,” she is also communicating wordlessly, “I do not care about your family.” Instead, if she were to say quietly, “Would you like to talk about it? How should we be able to balance every thing out? ” She would have shown him that she is with him in his concerns and he would not feel the need to retreat.

What should be done in situation like this and so many others like this? The husband and wife each can bring strength to a relationship. Without one or the other, the relationship would not exist. So, neither should feel disempowered by the other. Rather, when one partner is seeking, is doubtful, is troubled, the other should share his or her power constructively, encouragingly, supportively rather than further restricting, suppressing or limiting the already-troubled partner. Once couples understand this idea of individual power and that each contributes his or hers to the relationship, their going gets a lot easier. And it does not need a degree in physiology.

The next step is to become involved and listen. For example, when the wife wants to talk out her needs, is it so important for the husband to continue what he is doing; watching television or reading newspaper? Or, when the husband wants to talk, is it necessary for the wife to continue what ever she happens to be doing? The most important thing is to stop every thing and listen. The listening partner has a false idea of time — the idea that If I do not finish this now, I will never finish it.

This makes the relationship functional rather than loving. Priority must be to make time to listen to each other. It may mean a messier house or missing your favourite TV programme, but it will certainly make for a more sharing and caring relationship with no troubled, fearful, unresolved secrets hovering like invisible barriers in the mind.

After having live my own life and seeing so many others in my circle, one more step that comes to mind is equally important. Never assume that you know your spouse inside-out. When the wife talks about buying a new microwave and the husband thinks, “Oh, there she goes again, always wanting to spend money!” He does not share his feelings; he holds it back with his cynicism. Similarly, when the husband talks about his parents and the wife thinks, “Oh, he is at it again.” She does not share openly. She holds it back with her dislike.

Finally, always put yourself in the shoes of the other. By imagining how it feels, the listening partner jerks himself or herself to awareness of his or her feeling. And the best way to use it is by sharing it! As much as a good relationship is a cozy co-existence where you live and let live, it is also a trusting, concerned, open-hearted co-existence where you live and help live.

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Gogera Sadar

Situated on the bank of river Ravi on Okara Faisalabad Road, Gogera (Sadar) was once an important and dignified town in the plans of Central Punjab. It is reduced to a shabby and sleepy suburb of Okara today. Town still boasts its importance when it was important British power centre and district headquarters from 1852 to 1865 and the part played by the resilient people of the area during War of Independence in 1857. The stories of the war that was fought around Gogera echo in the pages of history books.

The only historic building — a British court — that reminds of the colonial period has been converted into a school. The verandas of the old building with round arches have been clogged to create additional rooms and red thin bricks are covered with coats of whitewash. It was much better if the building could have been conserved in its original shape. That does not seem possible now.

Just in front of the school is dilapidated and crumbling Bakhshi Khana with its round corners towers. It was built in Mughal era. The barracks where prisoners used to be kept before and after appearing in the court have vanished. The treasury room inside the huge complex is still in tact and being used as a living room these days. The huge bargad tree in the compound is an abode of squirrels and common birds. There is also water well in the courtyard that serves as a source of drinking water for the residents. Sitting in the shade of old tree, the resident of the evacuee property told, “We want to build a new house in place of this khandar but presently the property is under litigation. We will do it after the decision by the court.” Another sign of old time we are poised to loose forever.

In the middle of the lush green fields, the circumferential walls of a Christian colonial cemetery — the last resting-place of Lord Berkley — can also be seen. Neglected ever since! The British Government had allotted agricultural land to the local trustees for upkeep of the cemetery but they have not been able to preserve this important historic sign. “The parameter has been used to keep the animals in the past,” told my host Agha Najm ul Hassan, a school teacher and social activist who accompanied me during exploration of the town. I asked many locals but no body could indicate the place where used to be Gogera Central Jail.



Lord Berkley’s Last Resting Place

History not only chronicles the events, it also influences the readers as to how the historians had experienced the events. It often describes just what authors want you to know. Most of the sources for the history of the Subcontinent for the colonial period are gazetteers written by British army and civil bureaucrats. And, sadly, they have written our history from their point of view.

British have narrated the history of ‘War of Independence 1857′ as a ‘mutiny’ and the heroes of the war have been portrayed as ‘insurgents’. One of the first real precursors of the storm that was brewing against British occupants in the Subcontinent occurred in Gogera on the night of July 26, 1857 in the shape of an outbreak in central jail. News of British military actions at Mian Mir (Lahore) reached Gogera on May 13, 1857 that triggered the chain of events. Deputy Commissioner Gogera Elphinstone and Extra Assistant Commissioner Berkley fought the people of the area. The villages (including Jhamra — village of Ahmed Khan Kharral) were burnt and innocent people killed in search of Ahmed Khan Kharral and other activists. Troops and artillery gun from Lahore and Multan Garrisons also reinforced the Gogera based British forces. British suffered heavy losses including killing of Extra Assistant Commissioner Berkley. The courageous struggle by the people of Gogera will always be remembered in the annals of history. Though there is nothing much left on ground that could be associated with the War of Independence or bring back the memories of the days gone by.



Sign of Bakshi Khana

Gogera Town Committee was established in 1995 but the committee has not been able to make any difference in the condition prevailing in this market town. Only 13 sweepers and two donkey carts are not enough for keeping the town clean and remove exponentially growing municipal waste. “People keep their cows, buffaloes and goats in the streets,” told an official of town committee. It is one of the rich town committees. The only project that has been under taken by the committee is brick lining of the streets in both parts of the town where water keeps standing even in dry seasons. Sewerage system and Degree College have been approved for the town. People think that the work will start soon. The committee is oblivious of the conditions of what remains of the heritage in the area.

Many of the old buildings lining Gogera’s sinuous streets have seen no care or maintenance in near past. Population migration from interior has turned it into a sprawling town without civic amenities of the modern time, in a short time. Town is more rural than urban. It is a mixed cluster of houses widely varying in size and quality. Agha Najm ul Hassan says, “The residents are not familiar with civic amenities that should be available in the modern towns. There is no body to see the growth of the town and co-ordinate the effects of different agencies.”

Gogera has every thing nature could bestow; hard working and spirited people, fertile land, water, communication infrastructure and clean healthy environment. This important power base during British period can be converted into important farm town though scientific development and adoption of modern techniques in the field of agriculture. This has not started happening yet.

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Last Battle that was Lost

To-ing and fro-ing, at time zigzagging, in Punjab introduces to wonders and legions of what may be called middle ground of cultural fusion of the present Punjab. The area is gold mine for history seekers, spiritual and curious travelers. You may find much more than what you hear or read. It pays to get out into the countryside and talk to ordinary people. People of the area are eager to help – on their own expense - when you ask anybody. One finds volunteer 'guides' who were forth coming with wealth of information.

Chillianwala is a historic village that played an important role in the history of the South Asia. It was a battle ground where British and Sikh forces fought one of the decisive battles in the history of the Subcontinent in 1849. The quiet village has not changed much since then. Only slowly old agricultural methods are changing and tractors and wheat threshers are seen in please of bull driven ploughs. Painted double story houses are coming up where used to be conventional mud houses. Land is excellent with record carrying capacity and the display of seasonal crop is very powerful.

The Battle fought in the fields of Chillianwala (not to be mixed with Jallianwala Bagh massacre) was possibly the turning point for the British. Had the British lost to the Sikhs on January 13, 1849, it is difficult to see how they could have sustained their hold over the Subcontinent.

Oddly, both the British and the Sikhs consider Chillianwala as their victory. The Sikhs say it was their victory because they broke the British force and the myth of them being invincible, who were forced to retreat. The British did retreat, but three days after the battle. The British admit that had the Sikhs realized they had the advantage and continued the battle after fighting ceased at night, they would have overrun the British who were exhausted, seriously depleted, and in unfamiliar terrain. As it was, six British regiments lost their standards at the battle. The Sikhs instead celebrated victory; three days of incessant rainfall prevented them from crossing suddenly-flooded irrigation drains and streams, and the British, picking themselves up, marched away in reasonable order. Since the Sikhs appear to have disengaged first, the British claim the victory.

Of the Sikh forces, history knows little, except that the British estimate of 30,000 enemies was significantly exaggerated. The Sikhs had little if any superiority to the British force of 13,000. The artillery was about equal, 60 guns to each side. The British handling of their artillery was much better than that of their opponents, and this was a winning factor in all the battles for the Punjab. The Sikhs were led by Sher Singh Attariwala, and were deserted by some of their allies such as the Rohillas, and the Dogras under Colonel Stienbach, a former employee of the Sikh government, who turned coat to fight for the British.

The British were led by the 70-year old Lord Gough, a fiery fighting general who was replaced despite the victories. Blame for the high casualties seems to be one reason. The list of military disasters which the British suffered in India is long, but most of these were rationalized by British military historians by highlighting situational factors which made British defeat certain and inevitable and was in many cases due to circumstances involving overwhelming numerical inferiority, excessive battle exhaustion, adverse weather and terrain.

The Battle of Chillianwala is, however, one odd exception and stands out as a battle in which the British failed to defeat their opponents despite having the advantages of weight of numbers, ideal weather and terrain and superior logistics. A succession of British military victories since 1757 barring few exceptions like Battle of Pollilore (September 10, 1780), Siege of Bhurtpore (1804-1805), Monsoon's Retreat (1804), Kabul Brigade's Retreat (January 1842) which were dismissed as exceptions (to the general rule of "European Superiority) by virtue of exceptional numerical or other odds; it was assumed that no native army of India, Nepal or Afghanistan could stand a determined bayonet charge by the Red Coats. A feeling of superiority was produced accompanied by the natural attitude of over confidence and rashness, and most British commanders felt that simply a direct march to the sound of guns and a simple frontal assault using "Cold Steel" was enough to disperse any native army however tough or well trained. The use of maneuver and the fact that a British army could ever be surprised was dismissed as impossible. Thus once the British suffered a rude reverse accompanied by heavy casualties despite having all the advantages; public opinion in Britain was shocked.

British Army despite a high European troop component, sufficient artillery, and two heavy cavalry brigades to ensure that no one could surprise them, little campaign exhaustion having fought no major battle since assumption of hostilities, winter weather negating the possibility of heatstroke and cholera the worst killers of white soldiers in India, failed to defeat the Sikhs. Which is why Chillianwala stands out as a battle which changed Indian perceptions about British military effectiveness? The damage done at Chillianwala to the prestige of British arms was enormous and played a major role in changing Indian attitudes about the British. Though defeat at Chillianwala was forgotten soon enough and Gough again became a hero. Thanks to "angling" by the British historians.

In fact, the Sikhs did ask for a ceasefire and for terms after the battle, because they could see their end was near. Their requests were rejected; thirty-nine days later, the Battle of Gujrat was fought. The Sikhs lost. Those who were captured were killed; those who still refused to surrender were hunted down and killed. Of course, what happened to the defeated Sikh army was nothing compared to the wholesale atrocities inflicted by the British on Muslims during the war of Independence of 1857 and the civilians who happened to get in the way, but that is another story. After Gujrat, the vast area passed from the heirs of Maharajah Ranjit Singh to the sons of John Company, and ten years later, to the Imperial crown. At Chillianwala the Sikhs offered the fiercest resistance; yet, once defeated, they willingly entered British service, becoming, along with the Gurkhas, among the Empire's most faithful servants.
Nothing is left of the history on ground now. The only sign right on the Kharian-Mandi Bahaud Din Road side is a British cemetery, commonly called Gora Qabristan, outside the village. Among the dilapidating graves, stands tall memorial Obelisk, like an obelisk built at Killa Kohna Qasim Bagh in Multan, and a Cross in the memory of those British who were killed in the Battle. The boundary wall of the cemetery too is falling apart and is used by the villagers for drying dung cakes. The children are seen playing Gulli Danda – local cricket in the parameter.

Nearby, there is an ancient banyan tree where busses plying on the route stop and from where villagers, oblivious of the past history of the place, board the overloaded busses to go to the town for exchanging commodities. The Union Council can hardly be expected to take care of the memorial or the historic graveyard. May be some one should think of preserving the past relic. It is part of our history.
The ionic counter point is the lack of attention in maintaining the bits and pieces of unique heritage. The neglect may be attributed to lack of awareness, education, coordination between authorities, economic constrains and or simply the natural hazards. There is a need for information in the form of travel guide writing, pure travel journalism, travel book writing and geographical description in form of maps. No ordinary coldness of phrasing can express the surprise and delight, with which one makes acquaintance with the sites. Their perspective gives you a wonderful sense of being there.

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Moods and Attitudes of Pappoo Dana

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Men at Their best with Vincent Samuel

Meeting old course mates is always a treat. It brings back the cherished memories of the past and make to relive those good old days. Last evening, Men at Their Best (55 PMA) Lahore Chapter had a get together. Reason, as if the need a reason to meet) was Vincent Samuel visit to Lahore. Vincent Samuel is our comrade no settled in Canada for over more than a decade.

Meeting Samuel was a personal treat on my account. He was my side roommate. He was decent and he was a good company. He still is. In Canada he has completed his studied before doing business. Now he is a successful entrepreneur there (and he has promised to give the nuskha of his success to us). He updated us on all about how life has been dealing with him. The highlight of the evening was his found mention of his family. He loves them very much. Personally, I could read much more on his face than what he said during the lovely evening.

This also gives me an opportunity to talk about on one of issues we are going to face on the retirement of Muhammad Zahir Khan – the moving spirit behind the Lahore Chapter. Despite being very busy in his job assignment, he has wonderfully managed the coordination of the Chapter. No one could do this way. I, on my own behalf, and on behalf of all those to whom I have talked about the responsibilities of course coordination, suggest that he continues doing course coordination even after retirement. Yes, he will need help. We can create a small organization of our own to assist him.

Hypocrisy

Rancorous ruminations flood her thoughts, engulfing her mind with pernicious vengeance. May you die a painful death. May you burn in Hell forever. Bitterness overflows from her very soul.

But when she catches sight of you, her angry accusations are shoved aside, the disgusted sneer quickly wiped away. Suddenly, she is all-smiles and pretended interest; arms stretched open to receive you; warm, loving words flowing from her lying lips.

She hates you. But she does not tell you.

Know though that many others are aware. She has meticulously catalogued your faults for public access and retrieval. They all know. Believe me, I’ve heard the rumours too.

And yet you seek out her company and simper at her false praise, stubbornly refusing to see her for what she is. How can you not acknowledge the spiteful allegations? Do you not notice? Are you fooling yourself?

Or are you hiding mutual animosity beneath that cheerful veneer?

Ah, you see, I sense the truth.

You hate her. But you do not tell her. Two can play this game.

Pleased in Pakpattan

Pakpattan - the name is enough to start the travelers, cautiously curious and devoted faithful dreaming. Already the magic words like sultans and saints are stirring in the head. Let your gaze slip over the dhaki - original citadel of Pakpattan - and the town will suddenly appear. The antiquity is its own message: the town is heritage, and heritage permeates the town.

Enter the once walled inner-city through one of the existing gates and you will find yourself in archetypal form of an ancient town - crooked and narrow streets, dense housing, intricate woodwork on Jharokas, bay windows and doors. So many historic cities have developed losing much of their original character in the process during modern times, but Pakpattan has survived remarkably in tact. It is the entire urban fabric of the place that is historic. Though, the major portion of the fortification wall has disappeared. At places, the wall has even been utilized as a part of the residences. Four gates (Shahedi, Rehimun, Abu and Mori) have survived out of six but they are all crumbling. Now extensive suburbs stretch from the foot of the wall all around. Thin red bricks from centuries old wall are seen used in the new houses all over the town. The portion of the settlement that sits on the mound can be compared with walled part of Multan City.

The remains of peripheral wall with ancient mystique define the inner portion that is totally pedestrian, vehicular traffic and modern development contained out of the wall. Homes have also retained their essential trait despite renovations to make them comfortable for modern living or to create additional space for more families. You can see the mythical woodwork, murals as well as tiled facades and colorful patterns in old havelies.

General Alexander Cunningham has recognized Pakpattan, anciently known as Ajudhan, as a town that appears in the work of Hellenic historians and other classic writers under the names of Ohydrakae, Sydrakae, Sudraykae and or Hydaekae. Two strategic roads of the past - one from Dera Ghazi Khan and other from Dera Ismail Khan - used to meet here. Great conquerors like Mahmud Ghaznavi, Taimur and traveler like Ibn-e-Batuta crossed Sutlaj from Pakpattan that had been principal ferry on River Sutlaj for centuries.

Medieval history of the town started when Amir Subuktagin subdued Pakpattan in 980 (AD) followed by Ibrahim Ghaznavi in 1080. Even today, the thought that Taimur during his invasion in 1398 spared the lives of those who had not fled the place, out of respect for the shrine of saint Baba Farid, inspire reverence.

The soul of the city is famous saint Farid-ud-Din Masud Ganj Shakar commonly known as Baba Farid. The saint was born in a village Kothewal (near Multan) in 1173 in a family that had migrated from Afghanistan. Saint, scholar and poet, Baba Farid traveled to Khurasan, Kirman, Badakhshan, Baghdad, Mecca Muazzma, Madina Munawara, Kufa, Basra, Damascus, Nishapur, Bukhara, Dehli and Multan before he finally settled in Pakpattan. Here he spent his life in spreading the light of divine Islam. It was due to the religious services and personal example of the saint that Islam spread in this part of the Subcontinent and many people including Hindu Jogi Birnath along with his followers came into the folds of Islam. The saint died in 1265 and his shrine was constructed by Khwaja Nizam ud Din Auleya in 1267.

Splendors of the 'Farid Complex' fire the imagination. The shrine - simple and destitute of ornament - stands next to the bigger shrine of his grandson Ala ud Din Mouj Darya, which was built by Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq. The main chamber of the shrine of Baba Farid has two doors - one in the East is called Noori Darwaza and the other in South in famous Baheshti Darwaza. Besides the principal grave of the saint, there is another grave in the chamber where his son Badr ud Din Suleman is buried. The ample, pure and unadorned architecture is very inspiring. Urs of the saint is celebrated in the month of Muharram but large of devotes stream into the shrine everyday. You can also see Qawwal groups performing and malangs falling in state of trance mostly on Thursdays.

Both the principal shrines are in good condition but the adjoining ancient mosque has decayed. Auqaf is constructing a new mosque nearby as a part of Farid Complex. Besides the shrines of Baba Farid and Mouj Darya, there are over twenty shrines of saintly persons in the town. Most eminent out of these is the shrine of Baba Aziz Makki.

There is a whole different world outside the shrine parameters. Cubbyhole shops selling deathbed spreads, flowers, big bangles and sweets (for niaz) known as Makhane and eating joints are lined up in both the streets leading to the shrine. Business in the streets is thriving because devotees 'must' take something home from the shrine. Sleazy sounding and persistent beggars flock around devotees heading for the shrine. People are seen distributing free food: cooked food is available for sale in large quantity round the clock. A philanthropist from Karachi is running a separate Lunger Khana at his own expense since 1995. Bustling with activity, the place seems to have its own culture.

How the name Ajudhan was changed to Pakpattan? It is a fact that name Pakpattan (meaning pure ferry) distinguished due to the home and last resting-place of Baba Farid. According to a local lore, Mughal King Akbar on the eve of his visit to the shrine to pay homage to the saint declared Pakpattan as an official name of the town. The thought that so many people including Ibn-e-Batuta, Guru Nanik Dev Jee and Waris Shah had visited the shrine evokes awe and aura of eternity.

Wandering about in the older part of town near the relics of Kacha Burj - defensive tower that was erected by Haibat Khan during the rule of Sher Shah Suri, you can think about the strategic importance of this town in the bygone era. But, during Mughal time when danger from the North reduced, the town lost its defensive significance.

Pakpattan was first declared district headquarters in 1849 when British rule established in the Subcontinent. The headquarters were later moved to Gugera in 1852 and then to Sahiwal in 1856. British also instituted Pakpattan Municipal Committee in 1868. Kasur-Lodhran section of Railway line was laid in 1910 and Pakpattan became an important station on the Railway map because of railway divisional headquarters and loco sheds. Though this section of railway line was torn apart and sent to Mesopotamia during Second World War and the town could not prosper as an agricultural market in those days. On July 1, 1990, Pakpattan was again declared district headquarters. This became the only district of the country without any tehsil until Arifwala tehsil was included in the district in 1995. In order to preserve the bits and pieces of history lying under the layers of time, the experts could carry out a survey to record the places having essential significance. The living heritage should be declared as 'protected area' _ the concept that presently is not there in Pakistan.

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends".

Dr Martin Luther King Jr

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Manhattan IT Consulting

Information technology (IT) has become vital for every businesses. No business, small or large, can do without employing IT. There are two way to take advantage of cutting edge IT solutions; have an in-house IT or ask a leading IT firm to manage your IT tasks and provide you what you need. Best would be to approach experts in the field and use their services. More so in the current times when economies are very slow.

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A man without borders - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

Before I could write my own post about Martin Luther King Jr, Deb S has written a wonderful tribute for this wonderful person. That is good because I can’t give a neutral opinion about this gentleman. Reason: I like him and his ideas.

Read about this man without borders here.

Shifting Sher Garh

An old sleepy and dusty village Sher Garh lies about 20 minutes drive away from Renala Khurd (Okara). The coins found at Sher Garh prove that the place was inhabited at the time of Kushan dynasty. Though “the name Sher Garh was given by the Governor of Molten, Faith Jang Khan after the name of Afghan King Sher Shah Sure,” wrote Abbas Khan Sarauni in his book Tarikh Sher Shah Suri.

On the old bank of River Beas, it is a typical Pakistani village where farmers live like rustics in the face of urban attractions. Even the electricity and telephone are a recent phenomenon. But the village has never been out of limelight. Besides heritage conscious people from all over the world, the village is venerated by a large number of devotees. Reasons, a massive mud fort and mosque which were built in the period of Afghan Sher Shah Suri. And, it is the last resting place of Saint Muhammad Ibrahim Daud-e-Sani Kirmani Bandgi.If one wants to absorb the sense of history, Sher Garh is a place to visit. Director Syed Noor has set his film Chooriyan in the background of this village. One has to possess a sensibility shaped in granite not to be moved by the village of past age that has not changed much in last 400 years. In the periphery few van (salvadora) trees, may be as old as the village stand witness to the bygone era. The village is experienced changed due to awareness about various things and agricultural advancements but at a snail speed.

Saint Muhammad Ibrahim is regarded as one of the famous saints of central Punjab. His forefathers migrated from Kirman (Iran) and settled in Seetpur (suburbs of Multan) where Muhammad Ibrahim was born. The family later moved to Sher Garh when Mir Chakar Rind was ruling in the area. The Baluch hero Mir Chakar Rind having refused to help Sher Shah Suri joined Humayun when, after a long exiled Mughal emperor recaptured Delhi and ousted Afghan Suris in 1556. The emperor as a reward conferred a vast jagir including Sher Garh (also horses and slaves) upon him. He ruled this chieftaincy till he died in 1565. Farishta has written, “Mir Chakar Rind was a holder of jagir and commanding hordes of warriors in Punjab.”

Muhammad Ibrahim completed his education in Basirpur and Lahore. Contemporary of saints like Musa Pak Shaheed and Sher Shah of Multan, he got his spiritual blessings from Saint Syed Hamid Ganj Buksh in Uch Sharif before he set about preaching Islam in Central Punjab. Komal Singh Maghyana, a famous landlord of his time who used to keep 1000 buffaloes (hence Maghyana) was one of the first who embraced Islam. Mulla Badauni wrote, “Hundreds of non-Muslims used to convert to Islam on the hands of Muhammad Ibrahim every day.”

Sher Shah Suri built a fort in Rohtas against gakhars. But why the Governor Fateh Jang Khan built the mud fort near strongly defended and fortified places like Dipalpur and Pak Pattan? “It might have been built to guard against thieves and robbers,” says Muhammad Abbas Kirmani, the direct descendent of the saint, once told me. There is no trace of the fortification in the village. The mosque that was built in the middle of 10 century in the village was a fine specimen of Islamic architecture. It had large (100 x 25 feet) main chamber, five doors, five dooms and a wide compound with a well for abolition. The mosque had 30 feet high octagonal minaret in each corner. During the Sikh rule, the mosque was desecrated and damaged and it decayed completely in 1958. Now a new mosque has been built in red bricks at the same place. There used to be a library containing rare books and manuscripts that too was destroyed by the Sikh rule.

It was the shrine of Saint Muhammad Ibrahim that I had come to see at Sher Garh. Among the cluster of old and new houses inside the village is a dominant building of the shrine which is enclosed in a court-yard. It was constructed by Shah Abdul Maa’ali- the nephew of the saint. Upon entering the doorway to the shrine compound, I was taken aback at the sheer tranquility and beauty of the place. This grand edifice with solid masonry and ornate design wrought by artisans and artist centuries ago is one of the fine specimens of Muslims architecture. There are many graves of descendants and devotees and another smaller shrine in the enclosure. People were having food at lounger (community kitchen for free food) in one corner of the courtyard.

Constructed of narrow red bricks, used in upright courses to ensure additional strength, the shrine is located at the vantage point in the village. Being at the raised ground it looks higher than its actual height. The fine quality of marble has been used outside where as inside is decorated with intricate Kashi work.

A devotee was reciting Holy Qura’an in the main chamber. The shrine is in the care and custody of the Auqaf, though the department has not been able to repair even the gold plated pinnacle that needs immediate attention.

The first impact that this monument gives is an emotional one for it is a symbol of cultural identity – a part of heritage. It also has architectural historic, documentary, spiritual and symbolic values.

I managed to arrange impromptu meeting with Muhammad Abbas Kirmani, a progressive farmer, who had graduated from Government College Lahore in 1930. Muhammad Abbas is remarkably alert at the age of 84. Sitting inside the room of his home adjacent to the shrine, Muhammad Abbas Kirmani told me about the family history. He also talked candidly about every thing from agriculture policies to old customs to modern culture. I could not see the hand written Holy Qura’an, though. “It is taken out on the eve of annual mela which is held on March 13,” he said. Besides my differences of opinion on few of the things he said during our frank conversation, I was impressed by the amount of interest he had in variety of issues of the society, his force of conviction in arguments and intellect.

As I drove back on a single way metallic road through the green fields of sugarcane, piled mainly by animal transports and milkmen on the motorbikes, I could not help thinking: I shall have to go back to Sher Garh again. May be to see the annual mela next March.

Fuel Your Sports Passions

Outdoor sports are the best and healthiest human activities anywhere in the world. Many play them and most of us watch and enjoy them but everyone loves to talk about favorite sports and sportsmen.

The passion for sports is certainly sweeping, particularly for the youth and sportsmen. In addition to playgrounds, on conventional media (Radio, TV and Press), now fans enjoy sports on Internet. Go online and find what you want to - all sorts of information including multimedia content, still photos, brief video clips of stars and highlights from sports. There are so many sites but I liked Comcast.net's the best. Explore their NFL section and you will know what I mean. The search function on the site is very efficient. You can easily find what you want to.

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Bola Rehre Wala

Setting eyes on Maqbool and his mule cart for the first time, one culd be forgiven for thinking that he belongs to a working class endeavoring for survival. His shabby dress and toes peeping out of slippers too large for him, do not project an image of a contented and happy man who is fond of good animals and racing.

I first met Maqbool, commonly known as Bola Rehre Wala, at the Multan Railway Station where he works from 6 am to 9 pm every day, no holidays. He takes all the newspapers and magazines arriving at Multan Railway Station from all over Pakistan to various newspaper agencies in the city. He also takes with him any other load he may find on the Railway Station if he is free and his mule is 'willing'. He earns six to eight hundred rupees daily out of which two hundred rupees go to the diet and care of his mule.

Over a period of time, I found out that he has four children, two boys and two girls, none going to school. He and his wife do not wish to send their children to school because the boys are to join him in work as soon as they grow up and the girls are to be married off. His wife takes care of every thing at home. His elder son Nasir Iqbal has already started giving him a hand off and on. In return Nasir gets two hundred and fifty rupees per week as pocket money from his mother, which he spends on rented VCR and five films every week. The family has a colored TV in their in two room house with a separate place for the mule and the cart. Bola is not getting the cable connection because he fears, "girls will see cable all the time."

At the end of the day, Maqbool gives all earnings to his wife. She carefully spends the money on the mule, the family and invests the balance amount in different saving committees in her mohallah. The moment she receives any committee she sends her husband to deposit the money in his bank account. Maqbool says, "She likes the idea of being a wife of a lakhpati." Maqbool had some time ago put some money in a fixed deposit, which is going to be five times in near future. He loves his wife deeply and proudly says that he could not have saved anything without her financial wisdom. They are both illiterate but this does not bother them except that she has to take help from different people for maintaining the record of saving committees and book keeping.

In his mid forties, Maqbool is fond of cart races and looks forward to participating in the annual mule cart race from Multan to Pakpattan on the eve of Baba Farid Ganj's Urs. He prepares for this long race all round the year but two months before the race the expenditure on the diet of his mule shoots up to four hundred rupees a day. One of his few ambitions in life other than winning the annual race is to slaughter the best cow on Eid Ul Azha. Apple, honey or milk for horses might be common in Pakistan but I had never heard of anybody feeding sweets to his cow. Maqbool does.

"I want to buy a dala for work and keep my mule and cart only for the races," Maqbool informed me secretly, "but my wife says we do not have enough funds yet. My son Nasir will drive the truck and I will collect business for him. Nasir does not like working on the Cart. We have also decided to get him married once he starts working and after we buy a truck."

Apart form his contentment and passion for hard work, Maqbool has almost every quality that one can expect of a happy man living in today's complex world, some of which I discovered during the chance I had to know him better. He has no hostility, fear or alienation. He is free form pretension and phoniness. He has complete faith in God Almighty. Even his work ethics are different than any one in his class. He will often load his cart with luggage at half the fare of what any other cart man will charge. He is famous for being open to persuasion among his colleagues at the railways station. They often refer the passengers "to go find Mooba" once they cannot clinch a deal due to less payment, heavy load, long distance or odd timings.

Surprisingly Maqbool does not complain of the bone breaking price hike or what is happening in the society around him. Nothing bothers him as if he is living in a shell. Though he always comes to know about any thing important happening in the country not by reading the newspaper or listening to the TV news but from the weight of the newspapers he has to carry every day. His load increases whenever some government falls or new prime minister is to be elected in a hurry or if there is any other political and or social turmoil in the country.

The big question which comes to one's mind is that whether it is enough for him or for that matter any person to live all wrapped up in one's work, own self, family and be happy or should one aspire for commitment, enlightenment, sharing, giving, reaching for success and affluence.

What do you say? What do you aspire for in life?

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Astola

The flora and fauna at Astola are as they would have been centuries ago, but spellbinding: The natural vegetation is composed of the type able to survive arid climate. It does not only suffer from extreme drought but also from wind carrying saline particles. Salt sprays coupled with sand particles clog the respiratory mechanism of plants, affecting growth. “Prosopis juliflora is the most significant widespread species distributed in the island. Indigofera oblongifolia and Hycium depressum are also prevalent forming large bushes.

Other types of vegetation found include Sueda fruticosa, Aerua persica, and Tamarix dioca,” The experts gave these names but to me it looked like undergrowth in the form of shrubs and creepers. The island supports a large number of breeding seabirds including Larus hemprichii and several species of terns. The internationally endangered Green turtle and critically endangered Hawksbill turtle frequents the site for nesting purposes along the sandy beach threatened.

Astola is the only site along 1,000 kilometres Pakistan coast where Hawksbill turtles have been sighted. Dolphins and to a lesser extent, whales have also been reported. In fact, in December 1994, a large whale (possibly sperm whale) skeleton washed up on the shores of Ganz, Balochistan. The bones of the whale are on display in Gwadar town. Astola is also rich in corals, oysters and important commercial fishes.

Isolated island such as Astola, which has been cut off from the mainland for ages, supports endemic life forms. One such endemic species, Echis carinatus astoli, a sub-species of saw scaled vipor was discovered by a German scientist who took a specimen back with him for display at the Senckenberg Museum in Germany. If a detailed study is carried out, it is likely that many other types of sub-specie of small mammals, reptiles, plants, and shrubs could be discovered. No detailed surveys have been undertaken in the area as yet, so there is a lack of count data for the important species.

A short walk through the Island‚ a nesting site for many seabird species is most intriguing. Without the usual predators‚ fearless birds have been nesting on the ground‚ or on branches at eye level. Only a few visitors the Island attracts are able to come within centimetres of magpie robins‚ tropic birds or noddy terns staring straight back at you. Sadly, the sea-bird population has dropped over the years, as a result of increased numbers of feral cats which feed on the eggs and disrupt the nesting and breeding sites.

Astola is used as a base for fishermen who frequent the Island between September and May to catch fish in general and lobster and oysters in particular. Between June and August, the Island remains free from human interference due to rough sea and high tides. On finding a small Island ideal, the fishermen decided to bring their cats along in order to rid it of its resident vermin. What they do not realise is that by doing this, they trigger a change of events that leads to destructive changes in the Island's habitat. A few fishermen and their pet cats on a trip to Astola unwittingly can almost destroy this unique ecosystem.

An NGO concerned with conservation of nature plans to initiate an awareness raising programme in Astola Island as a first step towards a community-based conservation programme to reverse the degradation of the Island's biodiversity. Astola requires urgent conservation efforts, may be at government level, as the natural ecology is being damaged due to the introduction of feral cats.

About 25 kilometres south of Balochistan coast, Astola is six kilometres in length and administratively comes under Pasni subdivision of Gwadar district. According to the Balochistan Gazetteer, printed in the beginning of the 20th century, the island - known as 'Satadip' among Hindus - was held in extreme reverence by the Hindus and pilgrims from all parts of the Subcontinent venerated in increasing numbers. It is said that goats were taken to the Island for sacrifice; only the blood was spilt at the shrine of Kali Devi while the flesh and entrails were thrown out to the sea. Even now the Island has an aura of mystery. There are architectural remains of an ancient temple of the Hindu goddess Kali Devi. A prayeryard has been constructed in the memory of a Muslim saint associated with oceans. A small solar operated light tower has been installed on the top of one of the Island's cliffs for the safety of passing vessels.

Locals have given it the name Haft Talar meaning seven rocks but the Island appears to form a single block with an estimated height of two hundred feet at its summit. An isolated rocky area has broken away from the main block towards the south end. Given that the Island is not sheltered from the open sea, it is subject to strong wave attack during the southwest monsoons, when wave height exceeds 3.5 metres. The coastline therefore suffers from severe erosion.

Astola is one of the biggest offshore islands in the Arabian Sea. Possessing a unique habitat, it was identified as part of a Global 2000 eco-region. It is the only significant offshore island along the north coast of the Arabian Sea, and as such maintains the genetic and ecological diversity of the area. But irony is that presently it does not merit even a dot on most Pakistan maps.

It would be worthwhile to study Astola Island's leeward side as an offshore (oil or even for liquefied gas) embarkation platform in the extreme north end of the Arabian Sea. As the largest Island of Pakistan, Astola has a considerable potential for being developed into an eco-tourism site where both local and foreign nature enthusiasts can visit and behold rich flora and fauna of the Island, as well as witness the flourishing marine life in the clear waters through glass-bottomed boats.

The communities living on the mainland would benefit by providing services to the eco-tourists as an alternative income generating venture. Currently there is no recreational and or tourism activity on site for which it has potentials.

Our days ebbed away, an evening anchored beside the quintessential postcard coast Island and we sailed back, it was as though sea and wind‚ hull and rig were singing a perfect note. {Image Muzaffar Bukhari}

Tags: Travel, Travel Destinations, Pakistan

Hormone Replacement

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When hormones decline with the age; bioidentical hormone therapy replaces the hormones that your body needs to function. BodyLogicMD uses bioidentical or natural hormones versus bio-similar or synthetic hormones. Bioidentical hormones are molecule-by-molecule, exactly the same as the hormones present in the human body. At BodyLogicMD, your anti-aging physician will assess your individual needs and work to restore these hormones and customize a medical plan specifically for you.

Similarly, BodyLogicMD anti-aging physician will also discuss the importance of good nutrition, fitness and lifestyle choices in your journey to better health with natural hormones. Eating right and exercising are equally important aspects of bioidentical hormone therapy or hormone replacement therapy. If your hormones are out of balance, your body will not respond optimally to improved nutrition and exercise. As your hormones, nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle improve – you will begin to feel like your old self with improved energy, vitality and results.

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Quit Smoking or Die Younger

www.theartofquitting.com is a website which encourage visitors to contribute a quit smoking message in the most interesting way they can create. Explore the site and see some of the most innovative creative quit smoking messages. Smoking is a killer. I sometime wonder not on why people smoke despite knowing the facts but on the fact that how much smokers hate and yet smoke? I liked this message the most. Know why?

The Social Side

Virtual world is seamlessly getting into real world. Social side of technologies is making the World Wide Web much more localized by bringing like-minded people together and in the process creating closely knit online communities.

Combination of features like worldwide accessibility and instantaneous communication has made it possible for backpackers, globetrotters and other curious from all over the world to join together at different online platforms to exchange information, experiences and plans in their favorite pursuit; travel.

Subscribers range from the professional travel writers to hardcore travelers and adventurers and commoners who are simply interested in reading online. Travel communities are accessible by millions of interested people all over the world.

Out of some major and hundreds of less noticeable travel forums on the Web, I have had the fortune to belong to a few and have been visiting some others for my travel information needs.

Exceptions apart, all virtual travel communities have some common features: Communities mostly provide a warm, trusting and supportive atmosphere. When members give information, they do it with great care and responsibility. They rely on each other more than they do on outdated travel guidebooks or on second hand and static information from conventional travel literature.

Visit any online community and one finds anything related to travel, along with flames and off topics, which are informative, sometimes funny or even annoying. The mutual exchange of information is not restricted only to destinations, affordable places to stay and dine in, security issues, maps, weather conditions there and where to have best bargains and how to find public restrooms or which Websites better describe any particular place. Or which dress a female anthropologist going to study Kalash clan up in northern district Chitral should wear during her extended stay there. It goes much beyond to helping in finding work, selling and promoting each others in local markets.

“Travel forums have become hunting grounds for meeting fellow travelers and making new friends. You really do not require any other reason to join a community or two,” says Atoorva Sinha who intends building up travelers’ community at Mindzwine.

Carla King is founder member of one virtual travel community called Wild Writing Women for female travelers. She emailed, “When we published Wild Writing Women -- Stories of World Travel (an anthology of women’s travel stories) -- we got a lot of publicity. People wanted to know how we traveled solo and weren’t afraid, and just how we went about it. We started giving workshops. We also started giving writing workshops and hosted a free monthly literary salon. People just gravitated, and we accepted them. We made a business of it and formed the online community. So it’s a profitable business for us to expand the community, and also, happily, it’s close to our hearts.”

Members are slow in response sometime. Chris Heidrich, the Director of a BootsnAll says, “One has to be patient in waiting for a response from members and insiders. It should be understood that it is a voluntary favor and some people do not come on board or check email as often.” Court who is always found on board in the same community adds, “Some time they may be away traveling to yet another location.”

The recipients of information have to keep in mind that what ever comes is based upon individuals’ personal experiences or empirical observations. One member may have had different experience than others. When I posted a query about Virtual Travel Communities (for this article) at BootsnAll community; the first reply referred me to Nick mediator at another community at Bali Blog who in turn advised me to email direct to all on his mailing list. The replies I am still receiving are varied showing so many perspectives. “There is nothing like variety,” says Nick.

The virtual world is composed of information rather than physical identities. Information spreads and diffuses. Those who belong to these impalpable spaces are also diffuse, free to take it or leave it.

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The best thing us that 247 Spares offer parts and spares on very reasonable prince. They guarantee the lowest prices anywhere. Their customers service is excellent and all orders arrive promptly. That is what has made 247 Spares as is leading in parts and spares network and is ranked number 6 in the hitwise category for "Automotive Shopping Online." See what their satisfied customers are saying about their services.

Finding what you are looking is easy. Parts are listed category wise on the left sidebar. Search function is also very efficient. You can also get free instant quote just by filling a small farm online. What is more, you can find spare and parts by British, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Swedish makes and types.

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Telecommuting

Advances in information and collaborative technologies are resulting in rapid changes in work practices. An emerging technological phenomenon called telecommuting (or telework) is helping professionals move away from physical presence at the primary work site and towards remote delivery of inputs.

While the concept of telecommuting has been in existence for some time, the technological tools available today are making it possible to practice it more productively. The trend has steadily grown over the past two decades in the developed world.

Pakistan job market, however, has traditionally been tight. It is tough for an employable workforce to find regular jobs, what to talk of telecommuting. As a result, the trend is yet to pick up in corporate Pakistan.

What is telecommuting? It is a work practice made possible by use of telecommunication and collaborative technologies to facilitate work at a site away from the traditional office environment. As per Wikipedia, telecommuting is a term coined by Jack Nilles to describe a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in work place and time (within certain limits). In other words, it is a set up in which the daily commute to a central place of work has been replaced by telecommunication links. The motto is “work is something you do, not something you travel to.”


Let me add that telecommuting is not just for computing-related fields. Even a person living in Kot Lakhpat and stitching shirts for a foreign-based concern can be a telecommuter, rather than a contractual worker. Also, there is a difference between freelancing, contract work and telecommuting.

Large bandwidth and fast internet connections, social methodologies for balancing work control and work freedom, the perceived values and economies in telecommuting, and the opportunities and need for working collaboratively are some of the factors that should be considered to favour the possibility of telecommuting picking up in our country.

Pakistan lags behind in this. Despite all the changes we are going through, many areas are still without internet coverage. Teledensity has increased, but is far from being adequate.

Corporate Pakistan has not yet embraced IT, exceptions notwithstanding. One cannot see the positive effects of the technology on the ground or in terms of revenue. What has been achieved by the Pakistani IT industry and some end-user futuristic concerns are merely the tip of the iceberg.

The reasons are many — resistance to change, lack of trust in technical solutions for business processes and tapping human resource potentials through cooperation and collaboration. Moreover, the latest technologies have not been made use of, due to a lack of a standard business culture involving strategic thinking and planning. These factors are inimical to the long-term investment in time and resources needed for IT to develop.

Another impediment that stands in the way of telecommuting is societal concerns. In a number of ways, the corporate sector seems to distrust IT solutions. Prof. Dr. Ehsan Malik, an international marketing expert, says” “The generation at the helm of business affairs, mostly family-run, thinks that what has been working for them in the past is good enough. They hesitate to take new steps in untested areas. The strength of this social impulse reins back the widespread IT employment in any area. Other limitations with flexible trends are poor or lack of necessary infrastructure, slow speed or the non-availability of internet access.”

Let us take a look at the user base. A large majority of the online community in our country is of medium users. This group includes every one from whiz kids with ambitions and degrees from IT institutions and international certifications, to self-taught albeit experienced professionals in their respective fields. These users can perceive modern technologies as a great leveler to work and make their lives better. But they do not find many openings when it comes to putting their skills and experience to work on the ground.

To date, no university in Pakistan is teaching telecommunication courses to business students. The Higher Education Commission should ensure that this subject is included for business programmes, just the way it is being done in reputed business schools abroad.

Pakistan has a world-class workforce. I am not being ethnocentric here. Local businesses should plan to plunge into telecommuting boldly. They already have the opportunity of learning from success stories in developed countries, by closely examining the work methodologies being implemented.

Before that, the public sector should focus on improving the infrastructure and ensuring an uninterrupted supply of bandwidth, electricity and phone connections everywhere. Potential employees should start learning and be ready to take up openings when they come along.

Meanwhile, all stakeholders should take extensive confidence-building measures for use of information technology. One hopes that a demand-driven telecommunication will pick up soon.

XML Context

Are you XML Superstars? If yes, here is your chance to enter the XML Challenge created by the International DB2 Users Group (IDUG) to search for XML. There are huge prizes including thousands of dollars and Wiis to complimentary technical conferences awaiting multiple winners and some recognition for students as well as professionals. The XML Challenge is designed to recognize developers who will shape the XML landscape of the future. You can be part of that.

If you're a student, then you can use your entry in finding a job and the professional can gain some well deserved recognition for their XML skills at an appropriate forum.

Explore XML Challenge and see what they are offering and how. In brief, this competition consists of five different contests aimed at students and professionals alike. Each contest offers its own recognition and set of prizes. The range of skills encompasses those with a passing interest in XML and database technology to those with hardcore programming skills in DB2. Before participating, you will first need to take a Quick Quiz, a short questionnaire that requires no prior XML or database experience to complete. You only have to take the Quick Quiz once. Start by registering for one of the contests (Video Contest, Gadget Contest, Query Contest, Posted App Contest1, XML2 Contest). Try the challenge.

eXplore Pakistan

Pakistan is in rare position, both geographically and figuratively. Travel attractions – historic, heritage, natural, adventurous, ecological — are richly distributed on this land from Astola in the Arabian Sea to Khunjrab on Pak China boarder up in the north. Travellers, site seers, explorers, trekkers, and mountaineers have been coming here from all over since the time when there was no Internet to forecast weather, show maps and pictures, make reservations and for reading about people and places online before planning a trip.Travel is a function of prosperity; mostly.

Apart from business, people travel for so many different reasons: to explore, to feel, to learn, to get away from humdrum of the fast lane life, and to lose themselves or find themselves. George Santayana, a Philosopher, has been quoted as describing, “We need sometimes to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard, in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment at no matter what.” In the present cyber era, Internet has brought seismic changes in the ways people travel.World travel industry as a major economic activity appears to have taken off on the Web in a big way. Planning holiday trips online is on the rise in networked countries of the world. According to a survey by PhoCusWright “travel is the top selling service on the Internet that consumers want to buy and it is generating a plenty of competitive spark between service providers: airlines, hotels, and travel agents.”But this is yet not the case when one wants to explore Pakistan. Reasons: Most local tour operators and travel agents have no presence on the World Wide Web. The travel information available only about some obvious locations seems spotty, static, and offers no scenic routing. Foreign travellers are often advised not to trust whatever information that is offered on the Web. Some time they are warned against travelling to Pakistan also. More often than not, warnings by western governments effect arrivals from other countries as well. Online reservations are still not possible. Which is why the foreign travellers to Pakistan who earlier used to depend on gazetteers compiled by British bureaucrats from their own skewed points of view, the guide books written by foreign travel writers now look for travel services outside Pakistan or “ask their personal contacts in the country for the requisite information and help,” tells Muhammad Aurangzeb, a non resident Pakistani working in America? What is more, Travel, adventure, holidays and travel writing are not very popular pursuits locally.

How local travel services present on the Web work here? In order to find this, my first stop was Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Website that led me to a page where I tried to reserve a room in PTDC Motel. I did not find the site very users’ friendly, to say the least.

One of the things I could get from the official tourism Website was a rich listing of tour operators, some with email addresses. I tried one in Gilgit. My emails were replied efficiently and I could get some information about rates and availability of lodging, guides, porters and transport.

Situation is almost similar in a few other South Asian countries that I tried. My next stops were Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. I visited a few Website, many of them maintained from outside the country. The travel information on the local sites in both countries offer typical travel guide style information: visa rules, currency, events, destinations, hotels, transport, and some dead links. The tour operators I found and contacted through email in both countries also were forthcoming with usual replies to my queries. There were no value added offerings (read discounts) along the mails like one gets from Expedia, Orbitz, or Travelocity, online global travel powerhouses.

Exponentially growing travel industry cannot be left to public sector alone these days. In Pakistan, all the stakeholders [like PTDC, PIA, Survey of Pakistan, museums, city governments, Auqaf (custodians of many touristy heritage locations), Archaeology Departments and Evacuee Property Trust (Care takers of built heritage left by non Muslims) in public sector and hotels, tour operators and travel agents, and transport companies in private sectors], print and electronic media should work together in close collaborations with each other for a common goal: to facilitate any one planning to see the sights around Pakistan.

Word Tourism Organisation (Silk Rout Project), IUCN – the Word Conversation Union, World Wildlife Fund Pakistan, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (there are eight recognised International Ramsar sites in Pakistan), UNESCO (the Lahore Fort and the Shalimar Garden are on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List), Agha Khan Foundation (hexagonal shrine of Shah Rukn-e-Alam in Multan and a mosque at village Bhong near Sadiq Abad have already won prestigious Agha Khan International Architecture Award) and other interested international agencies can be approached for purposeful partnership.

The glut of government rest houses, especially those situated off the beaten track (also those that are on track), which remain unutilized unless some officials or well connected tourists have to stay there, should be made known and their acquisition made possible, may be from a central location. Putting up a Website with a listing of all the rest houses in Pakistan, with complete addresses, so that they can be booked in advance even from abroad may be good idea to start with.
This can be done by putting services along with other meaningful and current information about every possible destination in the country online. All ministries and departments shall create their Websites in the first place. There should be a comprehensively developed online system to access residential facilities, transport channels, and other services required by international travellers. The sites offering travel information should also include pictorial travelogues and travel stories by the travel writers. The personal experiences of travellers are one of the best ways to learn about new places and strong referrals.

If you have some thing, why not show it? When most touristy location in the world are becoming crowded, people are looking for places that are pristine, quiet, serene, and those they can have to themselves. Pakistan still has some left in the country. The need is to market the travel potentials of the country, largely unknown to outside world. And there is no other medium better than the Web for this purpose, particularly when every interested person is logging on to find what is left there to be seen.

Medical spa and Salon Equipment

Medical spa and salon services are growing fast. More and more people are using these services all over the world. Thanks to Microdermabrasion – one of the best places catering to all the needs of the medical spa and professional salon industries. Microdermabrasion offers a variety of high quality machines, crystals and other supplies at one place. They also carry a large selection of home microdermabrasion kits, products, Edge Systems and Parisian Peel. See their huge collection displayed on the site.

Microdermabrasion.us.com caters to everyone from medical spa owners, practitioners, and salon professionals seeking professional and medical grade Microdermabrasion Equipment, and supplies to those shopping for an at-home microdermabrasion treatment solution.

What is more, thy offer equipment financing solutions too? And you can download the application form the site. Apply and get the answer within 24 hours.

The site is neatly laid out and users friendly. It is easy to find what you want. Product imagery is good and gives the feeler of what one may be looking at. They offer different payment options. Their FAQ page is information rich and answers most of the question one may have. Explore the site and see what they are offering and how. Better still, try them. They can deliver the best you need.

Smog Over Lahore

Winter in sprawling Lahore spells horror for thousands of residents. Not because of cold but due to the phenomenon of smog. Let your gaze roam over the cityscape while standing on top of the Yadgar-e-Pakistan and one finds how the skyline of the minarets and domes looks dark and sad against the clouds of thick smog.

The fog is triggered by temperature inversion - the formation of a static layer of cooler air close to the ground as the nighttime temperature drops. Normally, air closer to the ground is warmer than the air above it, and therefore rises. Inversions are frequent on winter nights after the ground has cooled down so much that it begins to chill the air closest to it often causing mist to form as water vapor precipitates on dust particles. Normally the morning sun swiftly breaks through the mist and heats the ground, which warms the air above it, breaking the inversion.

The term smog was first used in 1905 to describe the conditions of fog that had soot or smoke in it. In fact the word smog had been coined from a combination of two words fog and smoke. Smog is a mixture of various gases with water vapors and dust. It is also referred to hazy air that causes difficult breathing conditions. A large part of the gases that form smog is produced when fuels are burnt.

Lahore is one of the cities with large number of registered vehicles, and many more coming and going every day from out of the city. Due to the concentration of heavy traffic, emissions of smoke and sculpture dioxide and nitrogen oxides are much greater than they are in adjoining rural areas. Some industrial concerns in and around Lahore also emit heavy amount of haze causing pollutants (mostly fine particles) directly into the atmosphere. Thick clouds of smog form when heat and sunlight react with the gases and fine particles in the air. Metrological Science experts say that air pollution can span broad geographic areas and be transported great distances, sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles. Consequently, smog occurs regionally throughout the Punjab sometimes.

Environmentalists attribute the heavy smog in Lahore, increasing in intensity as well as length of the smoggy period every year, to the constantly growing number of polluting vehicles that jam the city's roads. Many of the vehicles plying on the city roads are old vintage and have engines that guzzle petrol and diesel, and spew out poisonous fumes. Even heavy vehicle commute most city roads freely. But "the main threat is obviously cars. It is a case of can we improve air quality fast enough as in the absence of suitable city transport system more and more cars come onto the roads of Lahore," says Metrological expert Khan Ghulam Abbas.

"What Lahore is witnessing every winter since 1987 is the kind of killer smog that used to envelope cities like Los Angeles, London and Mexico City a few decades ago. While awareness about the dangers of pollution has resulted in improved emission standards in advanced countries, in Pakistan, we do not have clean environment concerns," Khan adds.

The calm puffs of air from plains does not help in blowing away much of the pollutants for winters and a large part of it remain hung a few hundred feet above the ground in the city. So, most mornings and evenings - especially in December and January - mist or fog turned smog defines the climate of the metropolitan.

Smoke particles trapped in the fog give it a yellow black color and this smog often settles over city for days causing poor visibility -- one of the most obvious indicators of pollution in the air. It often occurs as a result of smog that obscures the clarity, color, texture, and form of what people see. Result: The Lahore Airport remains close during long hours of smog disturbing schedule of national and international flights to and from Lahore. Motorway (M 2) has to be closed. Even railway schedule is affected.

The most harmful components of smog are ground-level ozone and fine airborne particles. Ground-level ozone forms when pollutants released from gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles and oil-based solvents react with heat and sunlight. It is harmful to humans, animals, and plants. Not only that, the prime ingredient in smog, can come into the houses and combine with the other household pollutants that emanate from flooring, citrus scents or solvents in air fresheners, floor cleaners, deodorizers and furniture polishes and can enters the lungs. Hint for the health minded is to keep the windows and ventilate while vacuuming. Not to spray chemicals. Even putting on nail polish inside the house adds a bit to the indoor pollution. Avoid air fresheners or scented candles and aggravates.

In winters, this vibrant and living city gets enveloped in smog from early morning and those suffering from lung ailments like asthma and other diseases are the worst sufferers. On many mornings, it fails to dissipate till even 10 AM. Doctors advise people to remain indoors, instead of going out on jogging or exercising out in the open. The last few days have seen hospitals reporting a large inflow of patients, especially children, suffering from lung ailments.

Relatively little has been done to control any type of pollution or to promote environmental protections until now in Pakistan. Today, smoke and sulphur dioxide pollution in cities is much higher than in the past. May be some government puts up a legislation to control pollution emissions. Or we keep getting used to the worsening situation. It is one of the very valid fields of scientific activities and political priorities elsewhere.

Recreate New You

Cosmetic surgery is one of the wonders of advancements in medical sciences. Many people are benefiting; some who really need it and some others who want to make themselves amazing.
One of the best places for the purpose is MYA Cosmetic Surgery where some of the most experienced and skilled surgeons in the world practice. What is more, they offer a range of affordable, flexible finance packages to help recreate you.

MYA Cosmetic Surgery handpicked team can offer a full range of surgical including breast enhancement surgery and non-surgical procedures, providing you with a great choice of options to give you that body confidence you deserve.

What is more, MYA Cosmetic Surgery offer a range of affordable, flexible finance packages to help create the new you. Plus, there is a national network of consultation centres in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield. With other prestigious city centre clinics opening soon, they hope to make it as easy as possible to make yourself amazing.

Explore the neatly laid out and information rich site and see what they are offering and how. Better still try them and see how they can recreate new you. They deliver the best results.

Merewether Tower, Karachi

Owais Mughal

Merewether Tower, Karachi or as locals affectionately call it - the ‘Tower’ - is one of the most known, but arguably the least acknowledged landmarks of the city. It is most known because it is located at the confluence of two major roads of the city viz. I.I. Chundrigar Road (formerly Mc Leod Rd) and M.A. Jinnah Road (formerly Bandar Rd) therefore most of the city people have seen it. It is also one of the major terminus of city buses. All around the city one can hear bus-conductors shounting tower tower. Therefore even those who have not seen it; they have at least heard about it as echoing sound waves.

Despite all the fame, it is least acknowledged in a sense that very few people actually take time to visit it or even look at it as an architectural heritage of Pakistan. Even lesser number of people know the history of it. For many people, it is just there since time unknown.


The tower is named after General Sir William L. Merewether, who served as ‘Commissioner-in-Scinde’ (Sindh) from 1868 to 1877. Famous writer Richard Burton on his last visit to Karachi described Merewether’s ‘distinguished career’ in Sindh in following words:

…General Sir William L. Merewether, K.C.S.I. etc.etc.etc. an officer who, by entire devotion to the interests of his province, the scene of his distinguished career during the last thirty-three years, has made epoch’ and history (Burton 1877:1.76)

Construction Dates:
The foundation stone of Merewether Tower was laid in 1884 by the then Governer of Bombay, Sir James Fergusson. It took 8 years in construction and in 1892 it was handed over to Karachi municipality by then Commissioner-in-Scinde Evan James.

The photo to the left is circa either late 1880s or early 1890s therefore it either shows Merewether tower when it was almost complete or just after completion.

Architecture:

The architecture of Merewether Tower is similar to the buildings designed in ‘English Middle Ages’. It was designed by the Karachi Municipality Engineer, James Strachan. It is said that James Strachan designed the tower to evoke memories of Medieval England (11th to 15th century A.D.).

It is built in buff colored Gizri stone and shows a heightened sensitivity to detailing and emphasis on carving and decoration.

About Eleanor Crosses:

It is said that the architecture of Merewether Tower is in the form of an Eleanor Cross. Eleanor Crosses were 12 stone monuments which were erected in England between 1291 and 1294. Three of those original Eleanor Crosses still exist in England alongwith several replicas as well as those which share their form. Merewether Tower, Karachi is one of those which share their form with the originals.

Before we go further on the architecture of Merewether Tower, a quick note on the original Eleanor Towers. Why were the created? They were created by King Edward I in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile. Her dead body was being brought to London for burial and wherever the funeral procession spent a night on their way to London, an Eleanor Cross tower was erected as a monument.

Following photo shows Merewether Tower in 1928. Also visible in the background is the historic Rustomjee Building.


A excerpt from the reference item [2] below goes like this:

Building designers of the time had become increasingly aware of the capabilities of Indian craftsmen, thus the skill and craftsmanship which has been available to medieval builders was also at Strachan’s disposal. Strachan was no doubt aware of the intricate carving executed by native craftsmen for the baserellets designed by Kipling for the Crawford Markets and the then under construction Victoria Terminus. The Memorial shows a heightened sensitivity to detailing and an emphasis on carving and decoration, more then my other building designed by Strachan. Whereas the Empress Market’s tower is a little squat, the Merewether Tower is elegant and tall, evoking memories of medieval England.

In the photo above, one can easily appreciate the detailing and craftsmanship that went into the construction of Merewether Tower.

Dimensions:

Merewether tower stands on a platform which is 44 feet square and rises to a height of 102 feet. It prominently displays clocks on all four sides. The clocks are situated at the base of a spire which is 72 feet high from the ground. The clocks are 7 feet in diameter. In the last few years a protective iron fencing has been provided all across the tower to keep anti-social elements away. This iron fencing is visible in the photo to the right.

The Photo to the left is possibly the most copied photo of the Merewether Tower on the web. Whatever search I did for the tower on the web, this photo kept popping up on every other link. It is courtesy of Iqbal Khatri, whom we incidentally featured in another post related to towers called ‘pateeli towers’ of Jodia bazaar, Karachi in 2006.

The Bells of Merewether Tower:

When constructed, the tower had a large bell and several smaller bells. The larger bell used to sound every hour and smaller ones ever quarter of an hour. The weight of the larger bell at the time of installation was three hundredweight (cwt) which is equal to present day’s ~336 lbs or ~153 kg. Smaller bells weighed one hundredweight each which is equal to present day’s ~112 lbs or ~51 kg. I am unable to research if these bells are still present inside the tower or not. One thing is for sure that they don’t sound any more.

The Cost of Construcution:

At the time of completion, the total cost of the project came out to be Rs 37,178.

The Tower is still maintained by the City Government of Karachi. Some sources on the web suggest it is maintained by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Any authentic information from our learned readers will be appreciated and I’ll do the correction here.

Merewether Tower did go through a major restoration in 1992 on the eve of its century celebrations. I do remember that its walls were washed and monument lighting was provided which gave it a beautiful look at night.

References:

1. Karachi Illustrated City Guide by Yasmin Lari
2. J.W. Smyth, Gazetteer of the Province of Sind B Vol 1 Karachi District, Government Central Press, Bombay 1919. Reprinted by Pakistan Herald Publications Ltd, Karachi.
3. The Tic Tac Toe on the Tower
4. Historickarachi.com
5. Kurrachee: Past, Present and Future by Alexander F, Baillie

Photo Credits:

1. Iqbal Khatri at flickr.com
2. Historickarachi.com
3. Harron M at flickr.com
4. Danish Hassan at flickr.com
5. Yasir Nisar at flickr.com
6. Flame of Aries at flickr.com
7. Tariq Raja at flickr.com
8. Aliraza M. Iqbal at flickr.com
9. qfazeem at flickr.com
10. Kashif Mardani at flickr.com

LMB Bloggers' Meet

Meet ups are important to keep the spirit alive and to 'meet-up' with fellow Guilders. Many of us have yet to know each other and discuss a lot about life and Lahore. Besides, some new authors have also joined our fold and I would love to introduce them to you guys. Hence, Hassan Mubarak – the LMB Captain proposes a get together again this Sunday (January 04, 2009) at Jammin' Java.

Lahore Metblog is the most popular blog on Lahore and one of the most popular blogs in Metro Blog Network; substantial and meaningful. It gives a real and candid picture of the city life.

New in this meet up was Ahmad Rafay Alam – inside out Lahori writer who writes Lahore Nama along with Raza Rumi. Rafay know Lahore more than most people and it was nice hearing someone who still appreciate how Shalimar look from an adjacent home rooftop. Khurram Farooq (Samsung) and Nargis (Dawn TV) have recently come from Karachi and good addition to LMB family. In addition to Sohaib Athar (where was I when he was writing his excellent blog?) and young Ale Muhammad, Aqeel Ahmed – man who know all about Menu Lahore were there to share.

Thanks to Hassan Mubarak – the spirit behind LMB - for this wonderful afternoon. (Image by Khurram Farooq)

Let us Meet at West East Café

Power of the World Wide Web has changed the ways w live and work. In the past, there used to be different ways to meet people and get married. Now anyone with a connected computer can use power of the web sitting home. There are different sites, where Internet users can look for people with whom they want to settle for life. It is easy; browse personal profile, contact and eventually meet. No other medium could do this the way Internet is doing. This trend has given birth to different websites that offer their platforms to look for spouses. Now there are different Internet dating services, each with their own separate character and features. It is difficult to choose the best one.

West East Café helps and inform singles about dating tips, the opportunities and benefits of dating online and how it is changing the way everyone meet and date. Explore the neatly laid out and information rich site see what they offer for you. I read some of the articles and picked up some great ideas.

WestEastCafe.eu specializes in providing a free and open meeting place for people from all corners of Europe to meet, make friends, practice their English or maybe even find true love. Try them.

Lansdowne Bridge, Sukkur

Owais Mughal

Any vistor to Sukkur-Rohri Pakistan is usually awe struck by the largest man made monuments in the area. They are two in number. One is the 118 year old Lansdowne bridge and the other is the 45 year old Ayub Arch.


Silver metallic structure is the Ayub Arch and the brown metallic structure is the historic Lansdowne bridge. This photo is dated July 25, 2007 and is courtesy of Raja Islam

Indus was bridged at Attock in 1887 and that allowed Railways in India to run from the Western most post of Khyber Pass to the eastern city of Calcutta.

India’s rail link to the port of Karachi was however, still broken at the Indus flowing between the towns of Rohri and Sukkur. Indus was not bridged between Kotri and Hyderabad either therefore trains ran on Karachi-Jamshoro-Larkana-Sukkur route as early as 1879 and then they were ferried across to Rohri and vice versa on a river ferry.

At Sukkur the river Indus flows through a gap in a range of low limestone hills and gets divided into two channels (Sukkur and Rohri channels) by an island called Bukkur. The Bukkur island thus provides the best spot for a river crossing. See photo to the left, which shows two river channels between Sukkur and Rohri.


The river channel between Sukkur and Bukkur got bridged by 1885. The river bottom here is rocky so it provided solid foundations for masonry piers. This bridge got completed with three girder spans of 90, 230 and 270 feet. A 2007 photo of this bridge can be seen here.

Bridging the channel between Bukkur and Rohri was not so easy. The river bed here is not rocky but silty which made it difficult to build a bridge pier. Therefore bridge designs were put forward to build a bridge without a pillar. One such design was for an arched bridge but it was not considered in 1870s. Interestingly later on in 1962 the river was bridged using a very similar design that came to be known as the Ayub Arch.


Between 1872 and 1882 bridge survey was conducted and different people suggested 5 different bridge proposals. None of them was considered completely feasible at that time. An engineer by the name of Sir Alexander Rendel was then called in and he proposed a design consisting of two anchored cantilevers, each 310 feet long, carrying a suspended span of 200 ft in the middle. Interestingly, this design was considered feasible and later came to be known as the Lansdowne Bridge.

The girderwork of this bridge was given to Westwood, Baillie & Co. of London.

The bridge was first put together in the contractor’s yard. The 170 feet tall cantilevers of the bridge when assembled, made quite a conspicious scene in London.

By 1887 the steel work started to arrive at Sukkur and Rohri. The bridge construction was then started under the supervision of F.E. Robertson and Hecquet. Their names are written to date on a plaque on each cantilever of the bridge.

The construction of Lansdowne bridge was no joke. It is said that bridge designer didn’t thought much about how the bridge would be built in real life. Giant derricks, each weighing 240 tons and each being 230 feet in length had to be erected leaning out over the water and at the same time they had to incline inwards in the plane at right-angles to the line of the bridge. And as if that was not difficult enough, horizontal tie girders 123 feet long and weighing 86 tons each had to be assembled at a height of 180 feet. This indeed was a challenge in 1880s.

When both cantilevers were completed, work started on the center span. The bridge designer had intended that 200 ft long span would be assembled on boats and then hoisted up.

This plan did not work in practical as Indus remained quite violent 6 months of the year owing to floods. In the end Robertson built another temporary bridge to provide a platform on which the suspended span could be put together. This temporary staging wieghed 56 tons. The permanent girderwork of the 200 ft span was erected and riveted in four and a half days. This is a good going even with today’s standards. In 1880s Robertson’s men didn’t have pneumatic tools or electric drives.

The Human and Monetary Cost:

The construction of Lansdowne bridge claimed 6 lives. Four men felled from the dizzy heights and 2 were knocked out by falling tools on them. The cost of bridge was Rs 2,696,000 including Rs 276,000 that were spent on foundations only.

Bridge Testing:

On March 19, 1885, Lansdowne bridge was tested by running coupled L class locomotives and a train giving a gross load of 786 tons or about 1 ton per foot. The train crossed the bridge at a speed of 56 kmph (35 mph) and it caused a deflection of 8.9 cm (3.5 in) at the center of the 250 m (820 ft) span.

The Inauguration Ceremony

Lansdowne bridge was inaugurated on March 25, 1889. End of March is usually very hot in Sukkur, therefore the ceremony was scheduled for early morning. The chief guest was Lord Reay, Governer of Bombay who was deputising for Lord Lansdowne, the Viceroy of India. Consecratoy prayers were offered by the Bishop of Lahore. The bridge was declared open by unlocking a big ornamental lock which was used to shut down the iron gates of the fortified entrance to the bridge. This lock was designed by J.L. Kipling, CIE, Principal of Mayo School of Art in Lahore and father of famous poet and author, Joseph Rudyard Kipling.

After the lock was unlocked, people attending the ceremony walked across the bridge and then adjourned for a breakfast followed by toasts under a shamiana (tent).

The photo above is courtesy of British Library. It is circa 1890s. This photograph is from an album of 91 prints apparently compiled by P. J. Corbett, a PWD engineer involved in irrigation work at the famine relief camp at Shetpal Tank in 1897, and in canal construction in Sindh in the early 1900s.

Enhancements to the Bridge:

In 1889 when the bridge was opened, the heaviest locomotive on this section weighed only 73 tons.

This weight was divided on 16 wheels including tender. With increasing loads, it became necessary to strengthen the bridge. Two such strengthenings were carried out in 1910 and 1939 by removing the dead weight of the bridge. In 1939, 200 tons of dead weight was removed from the bridge. This allowed eight engines coupled together with an axle weight of 17 ton to cross this bridge. The bridge was lightened by removing roadway decking. Two feet of walkways was retained. The road traffic between Sukkur and Rohri was diverted via the Sukkur (Lloyd) Barrage.

Neither Architecture nor Engineering?

While Lansdowne bridge is a feat of construction, not many people agree on whether it is aesthetically pleasing also.

Waddell, a well known bridge engineer of USA once said:

The appearence of the cantilever bridge at Sukkur is bizarre in the extreme and the structure is economical in neither weight of material nor cost of shopwork.

The photo above is circa 1957 and courtesy of Mr. Iqbal Samad Khan

The publication of Engineer of July 11, 1884 was even more outspoken:

Contemplating the monstrosity of the general design, one would expect that in point of economy and detail construction, a fair degree of excellence had been attained. But neither is this the case. There are many ways of reducing the unsupported lengths of the great uprights and raking struts, and consequently of reducing material; but as these would involve some calculations of stresses beyond those of the most elementary kind, they were probably not deemed worth the trouble…. A derrick, the half of an English roof-truss, a Whipple girder, the other half of the roof-truss and another derrick, are very excellent things in thmeselves, but to string them together upon one line, thereby making a bridge, is not engineering, nor is it architecture.

In 1895, members of World Transportation Commission from USA visited Lansdowne Bridge and following photos are from this historic occasion.

(1) Fortified entrance to the bridge on Sukkur Side. This is not Lansdowne bridge but the other smaller bridge connecting Sukkur with the island of Bukkur

(2) Members of World Transportation Commission on an inspection trolley at the Lansdowne Bridge

(3) Panoramic view of the bridge in 1895 with retouched colors.


Lansdowne Bridge After 118 years:

The Lansdowne bridge is still operational. Not because it is needed for trains but because after the roadway deck was restored it is used by the light traffic between Sukkur and Rohri. Road traffic is not as heavy as a train therefore this bridge may have many years of life left in it. The photo here is from 2006 and shows light traffic still using the bridge.

Chronology:

1872-74: First site survey is made of Rohri-Sukkur area by J.Ramsey to bridge Indus here. He proposed a 650 feet long suspension bridge.

1875: The survey was continued by Major General Sir James Browne who recommended a stiffened suspension bridge with cables formed of steel links and a span of 786 feet.

Photo to the right is the satellite image of Lansdowne bridge and Ayub Arch.

1879:

(1) Railways reached Sukkur from Karachi.
(2) Sir Guilford Molesworth suggested a three-hinged arched bridge.
(3) J.R. Bell suggested a parallel truss cantilever bridge with a main span of 680 ft.

1882: A scheme of a bridge with 250 ft spans supported on masonry piers was proposed. This design was almost chosen when a severe flood in the river took its bed depth down to 100 ft and this design was shelved.

July 11, 1884: Publication of the Engineer called Lansdowne bridge design as a “monstrosity” which “is not engineering, nor is it architecture”.

1885: The Indus channel between Sukkur and Bukkur island got bridged.

1887: The steel work for the Lansdowne Bridge started to reach Sukkur from the Westwood, Baillie & Co. of London.

May, 1887: Bed plates for the Bukkur side of the Lansdowne bridge Cantilever arrived by the end of month.

Septemer, 1887: Full supply of steel works for the Rohri side cantilever arrived at the site.

March 19, 1889: Lansdowne bridge was tested by running coupled L class locomotives and a train giving a gross load of 786 tons or about 1 ton per foot.

March 25, 1889: Inauguration of Lansdowne Bridge.

1910: Bridge strengthening was carried out to increase the load it could carry.

1924: Permissible speed of trains on the bridge was reduced by 8 kmph (5 mph), after deformation and temperature stress was discovered.

1936: Harold Wood Robinson who was deputy chief engineer of bridges, prepared an outline design for a two hinged arch design to replace Lansdown bridge. The drawing was prepared in the Bridge office in Moghalpura, Lahore but this project didn’t see light of the day.

1939: Bridge strengthening was carried out to increase the load it could carry. This time 200 tons of dead weight of the bridge was removed.

Photo Gallery

1. Aerial View of Lansdowne and Ayub Bridges
2. Railway Bridge connecting Sukkur with Bukkur

References:

1. ‘Couplings to the Khyber’ by P.S.A. Berridge, 1962
2. 100 Years of Pakistan Railway by M.B.K Mallick, 1962
3. www.harappa.com

Photo Credits:

1. Mr. Iqbal Samad Khan
2. Raja Islam
3. msb1606 at flickr.com
4. British Library
5. Around the World in the 1890s.

Thatta Kedona

The cluster of mud and brick houses in the plains of Punjab, Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka (TGD) looks like a typical Pakistani village about 80 kilometres away from Lahore and 40 kilometres from Indus civilization ruins in Harappa. There is no gas or telephone in the village. No asphalt roads lead to it. Yet it is different, the beautiful dolls and other handicrafts made by the village folks are collectors' delight all over the world. Influencers from Indus civilization from nearby Harappa and modern techniques brought by the German volunteers can be seen in the village together.

The dolls made in the village are on display in international doll museum in Iceland, prestigious galleries and showrooms in Pakistan and abroad. TGD village doll project was one of the 767 worldwide projects presented in the "Themepark" at expo 2000 in Hannover (Germany) as an example of thinking of twenty first century. Earlier, the dolls from Pakistan participated in international toy fair in Nuremberg. These dolls show how culture goes beyond simple work of art and becomes collaboration among applied and natural sciences as well as other forces that affect our lives.

Thatta Kedona is a project, first of its kind, in rural area where handmade quality dolls and toys are crafted using all indigenous material and traditional designs based on cultural and folklore themes. The workmanship of the dolls and toys has acclaimed international recognition and clientele through their participation in numerous international events, exhibitions, fairs and display at International Doll Museum Iceland and Deutsche Gesellschafr zur Foerderung der Kultar, Germany. These toys are the embodiment of dreams, hopes and most of all self-reliance of the hands, which breathe a part of the soul into them.

How all this started? A Pakistan studying in Germany, Amjad Ali who is a native of village TGD invited his German teachers Dr. Senta Siller to visit his village back home. Dr. Senta Siller along with Dr. Norbert Pinstch came to the village where they were presented a doll made by a local woman. Dr. Senta Siller was impressed by the doll and liked the natural and simple village life. She decided to work for the village; established NGO Anjumane-e-Falah-e-Aama and started community based Woman Art Centre in TGD in 1992. The aim of this centre is to involve local womenfolk in productive, creative and healthy income generating activities. For men Dr. Norbert Pintsch established Technology Transfer and Training Centre (TTTC). This created awareness and built confidence among the village folks and they started making dolls and toys on self-help biases that are marketed all over the world. The village and its residents are benefiting in the process.

This is a holistic project. Handicraft is in the spot on the stage but the project has a cultural philosophy. Education, science, agriculture, hydrogeology (drinking water project), appropriate technology, public health, economy (marketing, distribution), tourism and communication, are all in practice.

TTTC is concentrating on improved agricultural techniques and other suitable jobs for men. Also, carpenters, blacksmiths and tailors in the village are profitably involved in production for the TTTC for men. On Dr. Norbert Pintsch's arrival in Pakistan this time (November 2007), Nation took a chance to ask him about goals, the motives and motivations.

"The goals of the project are self-help activities at a grass roots levels, holistic village development, empowerment of women, income generation, and literacy and vocational training, says Dr. Norbert Pintsch. The philosophy working behind this selfless work is "preservation of cultural heritage, reduction of migration to cities by creating additional income in the village and future is in the rural areas," he added.

Dolls from Pakistan in authentic attires of the specific tribes, communities and areas and thematic toys tempt tourists and diplomats. They collect these dolls as a souvenir of the time they spent in Pakistan. "During last seven years, the Pakistani dolls have travelled in suitcases of our client to 40 different countries. They (dolls) sit in the ambassadors' residences not only in Islamabad, but accompany them to the next and second next posting. I have met TGD dolls in the Japanese ambassador's home in Jakarta and also in the German embassy in Damascus," tells Dr. Norbert Pintsch with pride and pleasure. "Part of the artists go where ever the dolls go," says a young artist. Each doll has a small plate attached carrying the name of the doll maker.

Doll making is one of the oldest and popular folk art in Pakistan. Simple stuffed dolls are made for children particularly in rural areas where people are still striving for the attainment of basic needs. The main difference of previous doll making and the modern techniques taught by Dr. Senta is that she has introduced variety in size and shapes and dresses them in colourful costumes with attentions to details. This has resulted in high quality soft toys to cater to demands of the gift market.

Work of Dr. Norbert Pintsch and Dr. Senta Siller has not only moved the people of area but also raised a spacious and simple building for the Women Art Centre and TTTC with the help of different donors. Now there are as many as 120 women from the age of 24 to 40 working in both the centres making dolls dressed in regional (Punjabi, Sindhi, Pathan, Balochi, Kashmiri and Kalash) embroider costumes, miniatures, hand knitted shawls tin rickshaws and other toys and earning their living. They are making their own lives better and strengthening their families. "They (the women) are moving towards true equality and independence" says a doll maker who has twelve year of schooling, is married in this village and working in the Centre.

Village TGD is changing. The relative prosperity has beginning to show. Villagers are putting their children, particularly the girls in school. The Woman Art Centre is also playing a part in the well being of the villagers. The Centre has provided furniture and other equipment to the primary school in village and opened a well equipped health care centre. An annual quality of life competition is held in the village when best houses are selected in three different categories.

This seems to be one of the unique and best self help project anywhere in Pakistan.

Learn Chinese

This post reminds me of my days when I was completing three years linguistic degree in National Institutes of Modern Languages. Those were good days – interaction with different people from all over the world speaking different languages and learning other languages other than own. Our department was next to Chinese department and I had befriended so many instructors – nice people going all out to make me understand though I was not Chinese student. I wish I had learned some then.

Like me if you also have missed a chance, you can make up at MyChineseLessons – neat and resourceful site that offers free Chinese Lesson. The lessons are self paced online so students can learn according to their own schedule. They just recently added audio to the lessons. Lessons provide an in-depth analysis of each Chinese word, with printable lessons (in PDF), puzzles (only in the first few lessons so far), grammar insights and rules, sample dialogs, online testing and practice application - and the most important feature is the printable flash cards. Flash cards are the most proven way for learning and is key to learning Chinese. Flash cards are formatted to be printed onto business card template paper - just print and snap the cards apart.

What is more, everything on the site is free. Why not try. I am rethinking to learn once again.

Bad Credit Auto Loan

Buying a car is an experience. Before the advent of the Internet buying a car was different. Now having so much information available online car buying experience has changed altogether. People can go on the net and not only can find a car they need but also dealers as well as financers who offer auto loans. TheAutoFinder.com is one such site.

TheAutoFinder.com offers auto loans of all types, including Bad Credit Auto Loan and new car finance options for consumers nationwide. The Auto Finder can also help with their national car dealer locator, auto classifieds, car buying guide, free credit report and auto lease guide. Finding an auto loan or bad credit auto loan is made easy at The Auto Finder.com, reads the site.

The Auto Finder has a history. They have over 100 years of experience in the automotive and financing fields and have taken their rich experience into an e-commerce web site that assist users to find a automobiles, find and secure an auto loan, and get consumer guidelines on auto leasing, purchasing, and auto loans and a lot more. The information on the site shows their competence and knowledge in the related fields.

Use their online auto loans, auto insurance, or explore auto classifieds and car dealers sections. In addition, the Auto Finder also covers latest news articles relating to the auto loan industry. Check their regularly updated site and stay up-to-date.

See the Guests in My Garden

Have you ever thought of bringing wildlife to your own home? It may be wonderful adventures to attract more birds, fireflies and or butterflies and so many other creatures to your own garden in courtyard, backyard or rooftop?

All wild species have four basic requirements for existence: food, water, shelter, and places to breed. Look around and one notices that the home garden, how small it may be, may already be providing habitat for some of the wildlife. Plants in the garden provide food in the farm of seeds, fruits, nuts, and nectar and or a nesting and breeding places to the birds? Even dead or dying trees (some time placed for decoration) are haunts for some species. They are excavated and used by woodpeckers, squirrels, and a multitude of insects and cavity-nesting birds, such as owls, bluebirds, chickadees, and wrens.

Make sure to include at least one good clump of evergreen trees and shrubs to provide year-round protective cover from weather and predators while choosing plants for the garden. Deciduous shrubs offer effective summer cover for nesting and escape from predators.

Additional feeders can provide nectar for hummingbirds and a variety of seed for other birds throughout the year. But the additional feeders should only be used as a supplement to natural food provided by plants.

Like all living things, wildlife needs water, for drinking, bathing, and in some cases, breeding. Water can be supplied in a birdbath, a small pond, a re-circulating waterfall (do not include washing powder in the water falls) or a shallow dish. Those who have a natural pond, stream, pool, or other wetland on hand can include them in the scheme of the garden. A small pond set into the ground provides water for drinking and bathing, as well as cover and reproductive areas for small fish, insects, amphibians, and reptiles.

Butterflies are beautiful creatures that enhance the beauty of any garden. Still they are common in this part of the world. To attract the large number of butterflies and keep them in the garden is easy. All they need is plants that serve the needs of all life stages of the butterfly. They need a place to lay eggs, food plants for the larva (caterpillar), a place to form a chrysalis, and nectar sources for the adult. They require plants that serve as food sources for them during their larval (caterpillar) stage. Butterflies almost invariably lay their eggs on the host plant preferred by the caterpillar, so make sure to include some of the host plants in your garden.

Butterflies' "feet" possess a sense to taste. Feet making contact with sweet liquids such as nectar causes the proboscis to uncoil. Nectar-producing plants are best grown in open, sunny areas, as adults of most butterfly species rarely feed on plants in the shade. Bringing caterpillar foods into your garden can greatly increase your chances of attracting unusual and uncommon butterflies, while giving you yet another reason to plant an increasing variety of plants. And, butterfly caterpillars do not cause the leaf damage some people associate with some moth caterpillars such as bagworms, tent caterpillars, or gypsy moths.

Do not let the scarcity of the place be an excuse to start. One can start small to add some colors in life.

Look at the House Plan

Only architect can make a house plan but eveyone can dream about and appreciate one. Everyone of us can appreciate one that is a well laid and aesthetic. House Plans are the first steps in the process of building housees. In some parts of the world, it is legal requirement to get a house plan approved before starting construction. In any case you need a plan to start.

Thanks to Home Design Alternatives (HDA, Inc.) that they have made it easy for users. They offer information services and products like blueprints, wall murals, yard art patterns, project plans, and home related books, magazines, and CDs to name a few to enable users to build and improve their homes.

Explore their neatly laid out site and see what they are offering including Country House Plans and how. Uncluttered and easy to navigate HousePlansAndMore.com has a lot of information for those who are planning to build and or improve their homes. Imagery is good and looking at those images gives you an idea of what you will be getting. I liked Home Plan #592-008D-0159 in log home floor plans section. Have a look at the house plan before you get your first brick in place.

Country Homes

Best mud hut in Thatta Ghulamka Dgeroka

Best exterior

Best brick house

Thatta Kedona stall

Growing with Thatta Kedona

Meeting

Volunteers at work

Some of those who work togather to make all that happen.

In Jamaica

This is a vacation season. People are in festive moods. Most of us want to get out and be at some best place to celebrate life. Given my own interest in “seeing that and being there,” I can say that Jamaica all inclusive resort is one of the best idea for any romantic vacations.

Jamaica is one of the most magical places for visitors. Tucked in between rugged mountains and sundrenched beaches, emerald jungles and impossibly blue Caribbean waters, the island of Jamaica is both a study in contrasts and a living lesson in geography. Jamaica’s legendary beaches will truly live up to everything you have ever planned. From world famous Doctor’s Cave Beach in Montego Bay, to the quiet coves of North Coast near Ocho Rios and Runaway Bay, to the endless expanses of Negril’s famous 7-mile beach, you will never get over the softness of the sand, or the soothing hush of the surf lapping against the shore. But Jamaica also boasts one of the richest and most varied landscapes in the Caribbean, with waterfalls, springs, rivers, and streams all flowing from the mountains down to the sea, so be sure to leave time for activities like river rafting, waterfall climbing and horseback riding, Of course, if you’d rather just rock the day away in a hammock under a palm tree like you’ve done so many times in your imagination, feel free to live the dream. These are the settings that make Jamaica as one of the best RV for Caribbean weddings.


No amount of words can express the feeling you will have while being there. So be there.

Via Hassan Abdal

Comfortably tucked in green hills north of Islamabad, Hasan Abdal is situated right on the Grand trunk Road. The town's claims to fame are Cadet College and temple of Panja Sahib. This small and clean historic town neat is sacred for Sikhs.

Hassan Abdal is famous for its cadet college and also serves as the gateway to some most stunning sites in Pakistan. It is from here that Karakoram Highways turns towards Northern Areas. It is a convenient halting point of Grand Trunk Road (G T Road) from where one can go to places like Abbotabad and Northern Areas, Peshawar, Taxila, Wah, Rawalpindi. Coins of the Greco-Bectrians kings discovered from the adjoining tract suggest that the area was inhabited in first century B.C. Accounts of Xuan Zang, a seventh century Chinese Buddhist traveler tells us that the place was also sacred to Buddhists. However, presently the town is associated with Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion and Baba Wali Qandhari, a revered Muslim saint. It is not clear how the town got its name but a reference is usually made to the eighteenth century Afghan conqueror, Ahmed Shah Abdali. The town has been mentioned by Mughal Emperor Jehangir in his memoirs and was frequently visited by successive Mughal Kings, on their way to Kashmir.

One has to understand it; it was wonderful during Mughal period: Romantic, beautiful and quiet. One of the significant landmark of past in Hasan Abdal is a set of greatly spread red brick buildings immediately to the west of the Grand Trunk Road. These buildings belong to the Cadet College Hasan Abdal, Pakistan's foremost premier boarding institution. Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan inaugurated the school in 1954. The main academic block overlooks the college with a cricket ground in the centre, called the Oval. Six residential wings surround the Oval and it is always a pleasing sight to see smart young boys in uniforms walking towards their academic block. The college has always been famous for its academic results with its students bagging most of the top positions in board examinations. While Aitchison College has for a long time catered to the political leadership of the country, the establishment has come from colleges like Cadet College Hasan Abdal and Lawrence College.

One of the interesting facts regarding these colleges is the strong sense of comradeship and fraternity that prevails among the students. The boys of the Cadet College Hasan Abdal use word Abdalian with pride and pleasure. The Cadet College is surrounded by Loqat orchards, lush green fields and a gushing stream where a day with fishing rod can really be fruitful. Mr. Catchpole, the first principal of the College is also buried here.

The other claim of the town to international fame is Sikh Gurdwara (temple) known as Panja Sahib having a rock with the hand print of their religious leader Baba Guru Nanak. Twice a year, Sikh pilgrims visit this Gurdwara from all over the world. The legend has it that in 1521 AD, while passing through then deserted area on a very hot day, Guru Nanak's companion Bhai Mardana got very thirsty. The Guru suggested that he go to the Saint Baba Wali Qandhari who lived in a hut atop a nearby hill and ask for water. The Saint refused to give water from his well. Desperate with thirst, Mardana repeated his plea three times. Finally the saint reprimanded Mardana who returned to his guru and collapsed at his feet.

The Guru asked him to pick up a stone. The disciple did as he was told, and water flowed from under the stone, while the Saint's well dried up. The Saint then pushed a large boulder from hilltop and sent it rolling towards the Guru and Mardana. But when the boulder reached them, the Guru stretched out his hand and stopped it with his palm.

During Sikh rule, Hari Sing Nalva got the edifice of temple made at the place. Later, the temple was extended and a sarai (inn) was added for accommodation. The temple is typical of the rather florid Sikh style with gilded domes and cupolas and stands in the middle of a large water tank. Built with grey sandstone, its exterior is spotted with protruding domed bay windows. The central fluted dome is encircled by several symmetrically placed big and small domed kiosks. The cemented water tank derives its supply from a fresh water spring that emerges from underneath a huge rock. Now this huge rock has that famous hand print on it for which the site is known as 'Panja Sahib'. On the nearby hill, at an altitude of 714 meters, lies a meditation chamber of Saint Baba Wali Qandhari, popularly known as Baba Hasan Abdal. The saint stayed in Hasan Abdal from 1406-1416 AD but died and is buried in village Baba Wali near Qandhar (Afghanistan). The devotees and visitors climb over the steps leading to the hill, for offerings and to have a panoramic view of Hasan Abdal. Two other historical buildings of Mughal era (Muqbara Hakeeman and so-called tomb of Lala Rukh) are located just opposite the temple. Hasan Abdal is an interesting small town.

I have known Hasan Abdal during my stay in Abbotabad. It is a neat little town, as pretty as a picture postcard. The town has a character of its own. Environment is tranquil, pollution free and quiet. One finds countless attractions spread around the town. And you can see (and have) lines of shops selling mutton karahi made in desi ghee side by side Peshawar fame chappal kabab along the G T Road near buss stop. Move away from the traffic hustle of the G T Road and what strikes you first is the emptiness. There is nothing much there, just air of a blue that is so attenuated that it is almost white. You stand anywhere and breathe in the dry air, feel the sun upon your neck. You are in Hasan Abdal suburbs; a countryside that is on the main road but still relatively only a few people visit.

Custom Wheels

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Happy New Year