Self Paced Online Computer Training
Thursday, 30 April 2009
K Alliance is one of the best educational resources that is playing important role in providing wide range of online courses in video and online formats. K Alliance’s self-study videos offer complete, instructor-led training courses that are very effective. Interested students can take advantages of these courses and gain required knowledge and improve their skill in their own time.
Best thing is that these videos offer complete control to the students. Students can start, stop, rewind as many time as the need and book mark the content, as they want. K Alliance training programs cover everything from office desktop training to complex IT topics and IT certification including Microsoft, CompTIA, Oracle, Cisco, ITIL, PMP, and many more. Certified and experienced instructors prepare curriculum of courses and K Alliance bring that as an affordable and quality learning solutions to students.
Explore and see what all computer based training is on the offer and how can it help to further your education and skill level. Best is that you make informed decision about your career growth.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/30/2009 10:21:00 PM,
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Wisdom on Wheels
Loosely translated this satirical verse says, “Look, these days girls take (much) pride in their beauty. (They) don’t know how to read and write (are illiterate) but prefer to talk in English.”
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/30/2009 09:58:00 PM,
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Windows Server 2008 Training
In addition to the conventional class rooms, IT education is also available in the form of self study courses where students can get requisite education online or through training videos. K Alliance is one of the leading source that deliver IT education online and or in the form of training videos. My recommendation for those who are interested in self-study Microsoft Windows Server 2008 training course must have a look at K Alliance and see what they are offering and how.
K Alliance self study course provides best chance of learning in own time. Play windows 2008 training DVD into your computer and start learning in the comfort of your own place. The DVD has in-depth discussions, demos and presentations that detail the steps needed to work with the program. Try and have useful learning experience.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/30/2009 11:06:00 AM,
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CCNA Certification Training
Have a look at Cisco CCNA Online / CBT Training Course by K Alliance and see how it can help you in your field of interest. The CCNA training course features a dynamic curriculum designed to successfully prepare IT people for a career as a CCNA professional in the IT world. CCNA certification training video course covers basic mitigation of security threats, introduction to wireless networking concepts and terminology, and performance-based skills, as well as the use of these protocols {IP, Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), Serial Line Interface Protocol Frame Relay, Routing Information Protocol Version 2 (RIPv2),VLANs, Ethernet, access control lists (ACLs)}.
What is more, CCNA training course gives certified and experienced instructor lead lessons and is available in CD, Online and Network formats. Choose what is more convenient to you. See more detail on K Alliance, better still take the course and improve your future.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/30/2009 10:16:00 AM,
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Will You Be My Friend?
My friend must be a Bird-Emily Dickinson
Because it flies!
Mortal, my friend must be,
Because it dies!
Barbs has it,
like a Bee!
Ah, curious friend!
Thou puzzlest me!
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/30/2009 08:13:00 AM,
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Christian Chat City
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Christian Chat City offer instant access to free Christian chat where likeminded people can chat with hundreds of users all over the world in their 100% free chat rooms.
Explore Christian Chat City where tons of Christian users from all over the planet join to chats and have fun for together. What is more, you can get on your cam and show many of people see you while you view their video cam. You can create a totally free membership right now and start seeing and communicating with all of the users on this site immediately. You will find a lot of different chat rooms on Christian Chat City. This free chat site is best for chat users who like to have web cams that allows you to see for free.
In addition to chatting, Christian Chat City chat room can do a lot more to know each other. I suggest you join Christian Chat City and see what all they are offering and how. Better still join and be part of the chat city.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/29/2009 10:10:00 PM,
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Job Market
This is what happened to a business graduate who had toped at the Oxford: When the student came out of the convocation hall, he was first greeted by his family and friends. Later, he started getting offers then and there: One businessman said, "I congratulate you on your brilliant success. I will be pleased to make you part of my concern. Your salary will start at £ 50, 0000.00 per month . . ." An automobile manufacturer was about to open his deal when a shipping tycoon drew the attention of candidate to himself and started, "We are too pleased on your success. My company wishes to have you on monthly £ 50, 000.00 plus an apartment in a prestigious neighbourhood . . . "
Then came a beverages businessman who after congratulating him put the price tag of £ 75,000.00 monthly, accommodation where ever he wished in London and a car for him and another for his family. Moreover, he was told about one month annual break any where in the world on the company's expense. The candidate accepted the offer!
A senor citizen with his wife was passing by the site who after hearing this "auction" remarked, "This is a new kind of slavery. Now capital is taking over intellect." His wife added, "No. This is not colonialism by needs and wants and not the wealth."
Another young man who was standing nearby commented, "If this is a slavery of needs and wants then it is being perpetuated since beginning of the humanity." The winning candidate over heard all these comments and started moving out to meet these people. He could not do that. They had already gone.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/29/2009 10:00:00 PM,
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Punk Chat
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/29/2009 09:49:00 PM,
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Where Are They?
Labels: News and Media
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/29/2009 09:48:00 PM,
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Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Training Courses
Those who want to learn about the next-generation server operating system must take online windows 2008 training. This training course not only helps IT professionals maximize control over their organization's infrastructure, but it also provides exceptional availability and management that leads to a more secure, reliable, and robust server environment. Also, if you have recently upgraded from the previous version and would like to learn how to master it like a pro, then Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Training Courses is just what you need.
Trainers who teach are Microsoft certified and have years of experience in the industry and will teach you how to successfully work with the latest version of the server so that you can use it to its maximum potential. See the details at K Alliance and learn what they are offering and how.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/29/2009 09:24:00 PM,
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Rickshaw Poetry
Thanks to Asma Naveed for some funny snaps 'Mera Pakistan.' Note 'Love For Sale, Discount 100%' ad. What you think?
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/29/2009 10:59:00 AM,
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Talked and Bloged
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Get noticed and get talked about, "Being a best-kept secret will not deliver the promotion or raise. Also blog, blog, blog.
Labels: Bloggers
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/28/2009 10:34:00 PM,
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Online Training
Online training is a formal process of making certain that an individual is qualified in terms of particular knowledge or a skill. Have a look at K Alliance a+ training online and see what they are offering and how they can help you further your education and skills. K Alliance training videos available now offer multi dimensional training at the pace of learners and much beyond class rooms.
K Alliance training goes a long way in career development; to stay current and excel in the computing professions. Online training can go a long way, particularly in these tough economic times when jobs are harder to come by anywhere in the world. Take advantage of online training and be successful in the competitive high tech job market or to improve on the performance of those who already happen to be working.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/28/2009 09:16:00 AM,
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In Kalash
Monday, 27 April 2009
Centuries old Kelash indigenous culture is at a greater risk today than any time in the past. Despite their remote location - landlocked in winters - last of the Kelash race is maintaining tenacious hold in district Chitral but is vulnerable to ravages of time and different pressures with external locus. The onslaughts are clearly eating at their open and nonchalant indigenous culture. Many have been forced to join the drift to the cities. But when asked what they want, their collective answer was simple: we want our old way of life. Which is why, pastoral Kelash have been able to keep some of their cultural traditions and identity so far.
Some historians and anthropologists think that the Kelash are descendants of Indo-Aryans who overran the region in the second millennium BC. The Kelash say they are from a place called Tsiam, though nobody is sure where that is. Commonly they are considered as descendants of Alexander from Macedon who came this way. Their warrior like forebears managed for centuries to keep everyone - including Tamerlane - at bay. In 1893, the British and Afghan governments agreed on a common border that cut right through Kafiristan dividing the community into two parts. Abdur Rahman who was then Amir of Afghanistan renamed Afghan Kafiristan as Nuristan - land of Light.
The Kelash are called Kafirs (infidels) and their land is known as Kafiristan. Between the 13th and 16th centuries the Chitralis gradually subdued the Kelash. By the 19th century, Kelash had been pushed into the higher valleys of the southern Hindu Kush. Rudyard Kipling set his book “The Man who would Be King” in Kafiristan, portraying the people as fierce and credulous though he never went there. And later, what Geoffrey Moorhouse has described in his book "To the Frontier" is no more there. Even the Chitral town of days when Russian were in Afghanistan (shops used to be full of the US goods like sleeping bags, shoes and field jackets) is no more there.
Not properly documented in our history books, I had the opportunity to explore the Kelash valleys in the widespread and on the edge district Chitral in Pakistan and know the people during my two years long in small village Mirkhanni – a gateway to Kalash trilogy. There are no villages called Rumbor, Bumbret or Birir. These are the valleys inhabited by Kelashis. One can take a 4 x 4 jeep (or hire one) from Attaliq Bazaar Chitral, or more adventurous type can get off on foot and walk along river Kunar up to Ayun.
From Ayun, the road forks left to Bumbret and right to Rumbor. After the fork, the barely jeep able roads to Rumbor and Bumbret - steady climb - will give you a new appreciation for walking particularly if you have been missing walking. There you will see lush green tree lined terraces, dancing and noisy torrents and lofty snow capped peaks set at a distance in the backdrop of forests of Himalayan. Rumbor is friendliest of all valleys where as Bumbret is most picturesque. The mouth of Birir Valley is at village Gahiret, about seven kilometres south of Ayun. Birir - the traditional of all valleys - peters out beyond village Guru. Near the village, you will find out a breathtakingly beautiful spring beneath a mound of stones. It is possible to trek between the valleys. There are also some good locations for 'rock repelling' and places for camping especially in Birir.
Lively by nature, the Kelash are a bit Mediterranean looking, though they gamut from fair and nearly blonde to quite whitish. Men have largely traded traditional goat skin tunics for Shalwar Qamiz and Chirtali caps, often with plumes, feathers, or fresh flowers in the brim. It is the dress of the women that is unique and quite amazing. Even in the fields, women wear immense black or brown dresses reaching to the ground, bound at the waist with a sash. Over locks of hair they wear splendid headpieces decorated with cowries, shells, beads, buttons, coins and plumes. The formal forms of these outfits are spectacular, with embroidery, mounds of bead necklaces and bells. They often decorate their faces with mulberry juice tattoos or pomegranate seeds or blacken them with burnt goat's horn (also for sunburn protection). I once saw a three years old child completely coated with the soot of burnt horns. A local told, "This will keep the baby fair coloured through out life."
The Kelash religion is complex and polytheistic with a single creator, called Dezau or Khodai, and many other lesser gods and spirits, each with its own responsibilities. Two important ones are the warrior gods Mahandeo, guardian of crops, animals, other public matters, and the female goddess Jestak who cares for home, family and private matters. All need occasional compensations, usually in the form of goat sacrifices and ceremonies at their shrines scattered through the valleys. The religious traditions are taught by one generation to the next.
Traditionally the dead are not buried. The wooden coffins used to be placed on the ground. Wooden totes or effigies were carved for wealthy or honoured people. At few old style graveyards I saw, the coffins fallen open, wood pieces and bones scattered about. Totems are scarce now; some carted off by anthropologists and treasure hunters. "Swat and Karachi museums have a few in good conditions," informed a German researcher Laila Mason, whom I met in village Bashala. These days the dead are simply placed on cart in the graveyard.
Tradition has it that women are less pure than men are and there are precise rules about what each may do, where they may go and how to purify people and places. Women during menstruation or childbirth are confined to a lodge called Bashaleni (which is also a shrine to the goddess Dezalik, who looks after births). Men cannot go in; even other women must be 'purified' after a visit. In old days, even food could be served to the women confined in Bashaleni only by virgin boys, untouched by women. Gradually these traditions are losing their power. But still it is the women that are seen working around in fields or homes and men spend all their quality time sitting on the pathways. The burden of perpetuating the last strains of Kelash indigenous culture is also born by women alone.
The Kelash take their festivals seriously. In addition to religious ceremonies there is always dancing and local made wine. Typically the older men stand in the centre, taking turns chanting old legends. Accompanied by drums the women dance round them arms around one another's waists and shoulders in spinning twos and threes or trance like encircling lines.
There may be day dancing (adua-naat) and night dancing (raadt-naat) or both. Some may even be closed to outsiders. Each valley has its own style and timing. The dates may not be fixed until the last minute, often depending on harvest or other work, so you could end up waiting days or even weeks for the kick off. Locals from down country may find it difficult to attend any such function but foreigners are often welcome. A Swedish tourist Toni has an interesting theory for this. He says, "Kelash people do not like those who go looking for alcohol, hashish, women or pure salageet.
This feast dedicated to spring and to future harvests is called Joshi. It includes day dancing and family reunions for four to six days in mid May. The summer festival Uchau, celebrating the wheat and barley harvests, is a big tourist draw. It may include night dancing every few days in successive villages, form mid June to mid August. Pul is held only in Birir, for three or four days in late September or early October. Night dancing is held in various villages and day dancing on the last day. It marks the walnut and grape harvests and the end of wine making, though its origins concern the return of shepherds from the high pastures. This solstice festival called Chaumos is probably the biggest for the Kelash, with visiting, feasting and night dancing for around 10 days starting in mid December.
"It is in unique indigenous culture that Kelash differ from the rest of the country," confirms Pordum, an elderly resident of village Guru. It is also perhaps the sole claim to fame for the region besides gorgeous natural beauty, poverty and backwardness. Laila Mason says, "unless opportunities are created and due respect is given, this unique culture will disappear fast."
Labels: Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/27/2009 12:18:00 PM,
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Blue Nile Diamonds Are Forever
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Diamonds are proud possessions and joy to own. Have a look at Diamonds at Blue Nile – one of the largest online retailer of certified diamonds – and see what they are offering. You can choose from their great collection of over 70,000 diamonds. The collection can surely cater for any taste and need. Blue Nile offers loose diamonds and or set in a setting of your own choice.Blue Nile is an aesthetically laid out site and is users friendly. The search function on sit is very efficient. That helps you choose perfect diamond by cut, color, clarity, carat weight and more. Have a look at what they are offering.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/25/2009 07:23:00 PM,
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Tonik Health Insurance
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/25/2009 06:58:00 PM,
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Shared Heritage and History
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/25/2009 06:57:00 PM,
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Vegas Health Insurance
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/25/2009 06:41:00 PM,
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Pakistan House in Postdam, Germany
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/25/2009 10:02:00 AM,
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What Games Those Women Play
Friday, 24 April 2009
According to Nielsen Games, gamers are looking a lot more feminine then you might expect. True, the most-active console users fit the stereotype—male, ages 12 to 17 with annual household income of $70,000 or more. They mostly played PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. However, gaming has grown increasingly popular among older players, other demographic groups—and women. Women ages 25 and older tended to be more faithful to their consoles than men of the same age, making building customer loyalty among console-makers a good strategy.
Read at eMarketer
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/24/2009 08:28:00 PM,
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Las Vegas Shows
Those who go to Las Vegas want to follow all cultural, sports and other events in the city that they can. One problem is that tickets to some of the popular shows sell out on a nightly basis. If you wait for your arrival in Las Vegas to secure show tickets, you might not be able to get the tickets you want to the shows that you've been dying to see. That is very disappointing to say the least.
Thanks to Las Vegas Shows that they have made it easy to follow the shows and buy tickets. You can order your Las Vegas show and event tickets from ShowsLasVegas.com. The booking online is a safe, secure, and private site. Not only that, ShowsLasVegas.com offers best prices.
Explore the site and get familiar with their show and event calendar; what is coming up next and when. Site is neatly laid out and they also offer different payment options including paypal. Try them when you are planning for Las Vegas.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/24/2009 08:15:00 PM,
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Mud Cool Fridge
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/24/2009 06:22:00 PM,
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Security Cameras
It is wiser to have security camera system which can serve as a constant vigilant for your home whether you are present or not, and close the opportunity for any unwanted outsiders to gain access to your home. Thanks to SmartHomeDiscounts that they offer wide range of Security Cameras for home.
Explore the site and see what they are offering and how. Have a look at the list of Product Details Summary of different cameras and also note the discounted prices (given in red) and see what suites your security needs and budget. This will help you make informed purchasing decision. Panasonic BL-C131A Network Camera Wireless 802.11 is one of the best offer. Features packed BL-C131A Network Camera is MPEG4, has automatic network configuration facility, universal plug and play, set-up wizard, remote pan/tilt control and built in PIR motion detector. I suggest that everyone check out this site and find out what they have for you.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/24/2009 02:02:00 PM,
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Taliban Are Coming
Thursday, 23 April 2009
The Taliban have seized a district close to Islamabad, and the government appeared to make no move to fight back. The district borders the Swat Valley, a region the Taliban wrested from Pakistan’s army in February. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari’s government recently agreed to the introduction of Sharia law in Swat, which the Obama administration thinks is too big a concession to the Taliban. “I think that the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday. The Taliban have tried to take over the Buner district before, but citizen militias forced them away. Now the Taliban have more recruits in Swat and were easily able to invade—and they’re one step closer to Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.Read at New York Times
Labels: Taliban Are Coming
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/23/2009 08:52:00 PM,
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Build Website With Wild Apricot
Wild Apricot offers Association website software that helps create a fully functional, professional and interactive website. I suggest you explore Wild Apricot, better still take a tour that shows users how Association website software works. Also view their video tutorials or try Association website software for free. Browse through their customers’ feedback and testimonials and read what their happy clients have been saying about the product. This will help you making an informed decision. I downloaded Wild Apricot power point presentation and picked up some great ideas myself.
With Wild Apricot's association website software makes it very easy to create a member focused website complete with powerful communication and administrative features like online member sign up and renewals, online payments, email blasts, online event registration, online forum, blog and much more. Association website software is an ideal solution for member focused organizations that need an easy-to-use website. What is more, it is affordable and efficient. Try it.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/23/2009 09:55:00 AM,
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Dolls Network
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
The idea behind the Dolls of the World took birth in Pakistan when Thatta Kedona - a self help project - started in small Punjab village Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka in Pakistan and NGO Anjuman-e-Falah-e-Aama (AeFeA) was registered in 1999. The rest is history as they say.AeFeA has grown multidimensional over time. Now AeFeA cooperates with six local NGOs all over Pakistan from Karachi to Hunza and in many countries around the globe. In Pakistan, the project also enjoys cooperation of prestigious educational institutions – Bahaud Din Zakriya University Multan, Indus Valley School for Art and Architecture, Karachi, School of Visual Art, Lahore, Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi – interested in heritage, culture and or agriculture.
Women from other countries heard about the success of the project in Pakistan through DGFK newsletters and other media channels as well as through word of mouth (mostly from diplomatic corps housewives) and invited Dr. Senta Siller - Mother of Dolls - to start similar projects in their countries. In Cameroon, three independent NGOs -- Akwatinnighah (1998), Akaanhong (2002) and Center of Appropriate Technology in (2001) are working where over 90 persons are involved in handicrafts and appropriate technology with support from Bamenda University of Science Technology, Bamenda.
Tanto Mejor Por La Paz, Saboya is working in Colombia in cooperation with four independent local NGOs or similar organizations since 1999. Over 60 persons are busy in handicraft with collaboration from Dept of Environment Technology National University in Bogate and AeFeA.
Besides, AeFeA has networked with International Dolls Museum Flateyri and University of Reykjavik in Iceland and Benaki Museum Greece. In UAE-Dubai, AeFeA is participating in Global Village Expo every year since 2001. In Germany, besides most German senior experts coming to Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka, Dolls of the World project has support from Institute for Planning and Consulting, Potsdam.
This international community of like minded people has come a long way. Sky is the limit.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/22/2009 06:48:00 PM,
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Kipling's River of Life
Travelling on Grand Trunk Road all my life, it captured my imagination as a cultural curiosity when I read Rudyard Kipling's Kim. At the beginning of the last century Kipling called it "a wonderful spectacle.... without crowding.... green-arched, shade-flecked ... a river of life." But Pakistan's National Highway Number 5 (N-5), alias the Grand Trunk Road, or simply the GT Road, presents a different impression now. Commuting up and down the GT Road are caravans of trucks, buses, cars, animals and animal transport also auto-rickshaws, all having equal right of the way. On the GT Road every bus, truck, and a car must pass the vehicle ahead. "The GT Road," a veteran traveller John Otto wrote says, "really belongs to the trucker." And he is right in a way.So much has changed since Kipling's description of the GT Road, which he saw "brimming with all manner of travellers -- rich merchants with elephants and camels laden with merchandise, guarded by retainers. The aristocracy on colourful horses and elephants with gilded howdahs for the ladies, their silk drapes fluttering in the wind, the raggle taggle of the gypsies roaming from one village to the next in search of food and work." The old identities have steadily defused by the common objectives for prosperity and development. Since partition, the new social and economic objectives have been the major engines of change. The only thing that still remains on this strategic, economic and cultural artery of Pakistan is that it is "the river of life."
Kabul-Calcutta GT Road runs through many of Pakistan's most historic places starting from Khyber Pass: Peshawar, Lotus Valley of Ghandhara civilization, Attock Fort (built by King Akbar in 1581), Hassan Abdal, Taxila, Potohar Plateau, Fort of Rohtas (built by Sher Shah Suri), Gujrat, Gujranwala, Lahore, and Wagha. It and passes over great rivers. The most interesting portion of the road is near Margala Pass that was used by Babar in his evasion. Near by is the oldest portion of the road. This section remained preserved because it did not come in subsequent alignments of the road. Some of the holes along this portion are being used as living quarters. During these alignments and widening the old banyan, shisham and acacia trees have also vanished and eucalyptus trees are coming up all along. A few banyan trees can be seen around Mandra but no body seems having time to sits under their shads.
The road looms in minds of local commuters as well as foreign travellers on a scale comparable to the K 2 or the Northern Areas or the Shalimar Garden, not least because it has been around for several thousand years. Its angles have been yanked and diverted by history. It has witnessed the march of Aryans and victorious advance of Persian and Greek armies. It also saw the Scythians, White Huns, Seljuks, Tartars, Mongols, Sassanians, Turks, Mughals and Durranis making successive inroads into the territories beyond Peshawar Valley and Indus. It is this road through which the subcontinent was invaded time and again by conquerors like Timur, Babar, Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali. Geography rather than history has fated the GT Road to play a role in the history in every age. Since the Aryan invasion of the subcontinent, the natural route that starts at the Khyber Pass and sweeps east, has served as a corridor for the movement of travellers, goods, armies, cultures and ideas. For hundreds of years, great camel caravans travelled through this road. These ancient merchants and traders brought luxurious silks and fine porcelain objects from China to the Middle East.
It was Sher Shah Suri who built the GT Road, originally called Gernaili Sarak till the British changes its name. The Afghan King built the serais (inns) and watering points, Kos Minars (mile minarets equivalents of present day milestones), mail horse-changing posts, planted trees and provided it with the basic amenities. Though, the construction of the GT Road is assigned to Sher Shah Suri but some historians and researcher say that it was already there and Sher Shah Suri only improved it in consonance with his own long-term strategic plans. A random question comes in my mind whenever I take spanking new Lahore-Islamabad Motorway: whose name will be associated with the Motorway in times to come?
Whatever mode of transport one is using, travelling on the GT Road does not exhaust, neither it alienate the spirits. It is one place where Pakistan proves so easy to appreciate. It is living all along every time of the day or night. For one, the road is a great bazaar from Peshawar to Lahore: food and other things are available right on the roadside. The public transport stops at different points, away from habitats, and the passengers can fresh up either in modern hotels or open eating joints serving every thing to satisfy the taste of cross section of the commuters. Even those using their own transport stop by to have a deal on dining in the way.
There is a plenty of choice on the road for shoppers too. The vendors all along the road selling ceramics and furniture of Gujrat, kitchenware from Wazirabad and Gujranwala, marble and stoneware from Taxila, plants and flowers every where, basketry from Soan valley or fresh fruit of the areas from where the road happens to be passing and even carpets hanging high. This suites the commuters well. They park their cars, haggle and make purchases on much cheaper prices than they would in the city markets. Even some factories have opened their showroom on the roadside.
Most of the road is two ways and bypasses have been made to avoid passing through cities but it still passes from some cities. The passion is also required when the road has to pass over the railways crossing around train timing but mostly the road runs parallel to the Railway Line. We in our society have a social trend to live near roadsides. Which is why one can see ribbon colonies coming up all along the road and the bypasses. Same is the reason for large number of smoke emitting factories on both sides of the road. Remember the pungent whiff near Kala Shah Kaku. And, near a village Momdi Pur Madina between Kharian and Lala Musa, a vender who sells tea in a cubby-hole stall has kept a large number of ducks in a pond on the Highway Authority Land. He has also constructed a small inconspicuous mud hut near the pond. The ducks lay egg in that hut and he sells them to bakery owners.
Wall chalking - political, religious and or commercial slogans -- is another very telling thing that one notices all along the road. Every object that is standing is painted, and painted very crudely, very harshly. Dr. Muhammad Anwar, a social scientist and researcher says, "Majority of the advertisement on the road between Gujranwala to Lahore is about Najumis, Aamils and those who claim to treat the 'hidden' diseases."
The road taken once is never enough. Next time it will look different. That is the speed with which some of the things including physical environs are changing.
Related: KKH - Anothe Road with History.
Labels: Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/22/2009 10:30:00 AM,
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What Do You Call This: Knock of the Life
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Labels: Life
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/21/2009 08:20:00 PM,
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Global Worming Art
"Global Warming Art is the result of a dream that the public and educators should have easy access to the same data and results that have framed the scientific discussion of global warming and climate change."
You can learn more about Global Warming Art here. Also, take a look at the images posted and read carefully all the explanations. It might look pretty, but it's not. it's cruel reality. And a great way to create awareness, to my mind.
Labels: Environment, Sustainable Growth
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/21/2009 06:59:00 PM,
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Lahore School Fifth Annual Conference on Management of the Pakistan Economy
Monday, 20 April 2009
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/20/2009 10:26:00 PM,
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Video Production Services
Living in the age of multimedia, businesses as well as persons need professional services to create videos and presentations. There are so many occasions that need to be recorded in business as well as life.Thanks to Richter Studio – pioneers in the golden age of multimedia – that they offer Video Production Services to all needs related to the studio business from shooting a corporate, training, trade show, recruitment, marketing, sales, TV or promotional video to documenting processes and procedures? At Richter Studios, the experts also carry out post production editing of your footage to make it attention-grabbing masterpiece. Their range includes 2D graphics, 3D animations, text treatments, logo animations, stylized effects and animation wizardry.
Richter Studios have been creating presentations for over 10 years from custom presentations for multi-million dollar bids to enterprise based presentation delivery to simple PowerPoint decks. Professional experience of the experts at Richter Studios can help you convey your message as you want it. Richter Studios can deliver on multiple levels and in multiple formats. They have been creating interactive content from simple Flash animations to 1+ million CD productions to web 2.0 websites for the last decade. They can even implement tracking/metric solutions on CD based content. Be it PHP, SQL, Lingo, Action Script, HTML, XML, ASP or any of the other programming languages out there.
Browse the site and see what Richter Studios offers and how.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/20/2009 09:45:00 PM,
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Have You Been to Stowe Vermont
What makes the best vacation site? Answer to this question depends on whom you ask. For me, landscape beauty, serene environment, mountains and a cool nip in the air are naturally relaxing. And on top of these settings, if I can have luxurious accommodation and the modern amenities, it makes ideal type of vacation, may it be romantic retreat or a place to conduct important business meetings. Which is why I recommend and Vermont activities?
Trend to get married at exotic places in growing fast. More and more people are opting for getting married at distinct places. Have a look at the Vermont weddings and see what is on the offer. To me this seems one of the best ways to start a new life. Getting married in Vermont is one of the most romantic adventures one can ever have, especially during autumn when Vermont is at its best and New England fall foliage is at its most spectacular. Come discover the charms spread around in Stowe Vermont.
Similarly, Vermont Meetings can be more productive and useful business ventures. In addition to doing business, your guests can enjoy acclaimed restaurants, specialty shops, a year-round activities to get involved, interact and give better shape to their ideas. I think environment matter a great deal in life as well as business. No?
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/20/2009 09:14:00 PM,
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The Other Bhutto
View the Video by CBC.Ca
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/20/2009 10:21:00 AM,
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If Only Walls Spoke
Saturday, 18 April 2009
An important battlefield for centuries, Dipalpur is now a quite and peaceful town. It is situated at the distance of 25 Kilometres from Okara on an old bank of River Beas in Bari Doab. Dipalpur is famous in the history as an outpost that has played a significant part in the defence of Delhi kingdom against Mongol invasions in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.History of Dipalpur dates back to ancient times. The coins of Sakas (Scythian) period found on the site suggest that the place was inhabited in 100 (BC). After Multan this is probably the oldest living city in the Subcontinent. General Alexander Cunningham writes that the place figures out in works of Ptolemy under different names. As per the tradition, Dipalpur was named after Raja Dipa Chand once he captured it. Dipalpur once used to be the first fortification in the way from Khyber to Delhi. In 1285, Muhammad Tughlaq son of Emperor Balban was killed in a bloody battle with Mongols and the famous poet Amir Khusuro was taken prisoner in Dipalpur. The dilapidated tomb where Muhammad Tughlaq rests stands neglected in a silent corner of the town, for removed from the noisy haunts of men.
Under Ala-ud-Din the town became the headquarters of Ghazi Malik. Feroz Shah Tughlaq visited the town in fourteenth century. Mughal Emperor Akbar made it the headquarters of one of the sarkars (revenue district) of Multan Province. The town lost its importance during colonial era. Partition changed the face of the town and it witnessed the new demographic and socio economic order in 1947. It is now a market town and tehsil headquarters of Okara district.
Dipalpur in the past was surrounded by a fortification wall, rising to the height of 25 feet and strengthened by a deep trench and other defences. When and by whom this fort was constructed is not known but it was renovated, repaired and improved during the rule of Feroz Shah Tughlaq and later by Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khanan who was the governor during the time of Akbar. Feroz Shah Tughlaq constructed a grand mosque, palaces and excavated a canal from river Sutlaj to inundate the trench and irrigate gardens around the town.
Wide and airy tunnels linked the royal residential quarters inside the fort to the adjoining gardens outside. There were 24 burgs (musketry holes) on the fortification wall, 24 mosques, 24 bavlis (ponds) and 24 wells in the town in its hay days. The trench, ponds and tunnels have been filled but at places the location of the trench can still be defined. Most of the wall has been razed. Two of the four massive gateways with pointed arches also exist though they are badly damaged and their wooden doors have vanished. The coats of cement have marred the architectural importance of the gateways.
Inside the walled city that is a vital living part of Dipalpur, dismayed, I looked around and thought that I have entered a big and confused jungle of houses. The remains of once magnificent buildings of olden period adorned with beautiful wood engravings serve to relive the dullness of the domestic architecture. The whole area has a homogeneous urban texture that has survived for centuries. The narrow and winding streets lined by redeveloped and shoddily built new houses give Dipalpur a mean and gloomy look. The old character of the city is eroding due to erection of new structures and unsuitable repairs.
Besides doors with decorated latches, jharokas, bay windows and cut brick works still surviving despite all odds, the most noticeable feature inside the old Dipalpur, which reminds of the past prominence, is the monastery of Lal Jas Raj, a guru much venerated by the Hindus.
As per the famous legend, Lal Jas Raj was young son of Raja Dipa Chand, the founder of Dipalpur. The boy sank in the earth due to the curse of his stepmother Rani Dholran. Raja Dipa Chand constructed this monastery in the memory of his son. Today the dilapidated and empty chamber stands infested with bats and rats. I could not open the doors to the chamber because they are jammed and a stairway is serving as storage for dried dung cakes of the neighbours. The structure is crumbling. "There is nothing inside. There used to be a grand annual 'mela' here. Hindus have been coming here to shave off the heads of their sons till after the partition but no body comes anymore," informed the residents who had gathered around me.
Another noticeable building inside old Dipalpur, which reminds of the bygone glory, is a saray (inn) near the monastery of Lal Jas Raj. The architects of the period when this inn was raised were familiar with use of space, element of design and response to climate. It was a spacious building with airy rooms on four sides, a big courtyard in the centre and four arched entrances. The inn used to be functional and firm but now it is dark and dirty. It has been divided and subdivided by its occupants so many times that you can not make out its original shape. Even the verandas have been clogged to create additional rooms. The best would have been if the inn remained in public use. This does not seem possible now.
Muslim saints have been coming to this area to spread the light of Islam. Hazrat Bahawal Haq commonly known as Bahawal Sher Qalandar came from Baghdad and settled in village Patharwall near Dipalpur. The saint constructed a Hujra (living room) and a mosque outside the village. His grandson Hazrat Shah Muqeem continued his mission. The village came to be known as Hujra Shah Muqeem. This is the place that is mentioned in famous Punjabi folk love story 'Mirza Saheban'. Though there is no historical evidence that Jati Saheban came here and prayed: "Sunjian howan gallian which Mirza yar phere" (the streets should be deserted where my lover Mirza should roam about).
Mughal king Akbar along with his son Saleem and royal entourage stayed in Dipalpur when he came to pay homage to saint Hazrat Farid Ghang Shakar 1578. Akbar named the corridor as 'Bari Doab' by combining the syllables of the names of two rivers (Beas and Ravi) that bounded the belt. Baba Guru Nanak also stayed in Dipalpur for sometime. A completely ruined Gurdawara (temple) reminds of the place where Guru Nanak stayed.
Situated on the old bank of river Beas, Dipalpur started expanding and spilling out of fortification long ago. It was declared as notified area in 1949, which has been raised to the status of Municipal Committee. Now it is a typical Pakistani market town with all the hazards of urbanization: congestion, mixed traffic, encroachments, potholed roads and piles of domestic waste. Municipal Committee does not seem to notice the plight of the residents, particularly those living in the old portion of the city. The area is very fertile and ideally suited for livestock and agro industries.
Sadly, our Archaeology Department is neither very keen to discover the missing links of human evolution in this area nor in preservation of bits and pieces of history lying under the layers of time. Challenge of restoring the ancient Dipalpur to its old magnificence might be too much, but the experts could carry out a survey to record the places having essential, historic, social and architectural value.
Tags: Travel, Pakistan
Labels: Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/18/2009 01:01:00 PM,
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Thatta Kedona Guests
Monika Kuppler (on the left in top image) has been passing along this the best way. She is very energetic and keen – working hard with local girls and women in Women’s Art Center Monika. Monika is here for the fourth time. She conducts pottery workshop with groups of women and starts every time where she had left the previous time. That has resulted in stream of new products and enhanced skills. What is more, once she had brought her daughter Sophie Kuppler - another very bright student and volunteer who conducted English language classes). She has also conducted another workshop with paper.
Labels: Thatta Kedona, Volunteers
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/18/2009 10:42:00 AM,
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Taliban Stir Up Class War
Friday, 17 April 2009
Read at New York Times
Labels: Taliban Are Coming
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/17/2009 09:43:00 PM,
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Attention Bloggers
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/17/2009 10:40:00 AM,
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San Diego Home Inspections
Thursday, 16 April 2009
These days buyers specially make it a point get a home inspected. Even real estate agents advise home buyers to do a home inspection. It is a home inspection report that disclose different types of defects or common. That is what makes inspectors important in the process. As much depends on the home inspector that is why one need to find the best. My own recommendation is that you must get the home inspected before moving in. Even sellers should get the home inspected before putting the property up for sale.
If you are in San Diego Home Inspector and need a home inspector, I suggest you approach San Diego home inspection. You will find a cheap San Diego Home Inspector who has very reasonable prices. Call 619-591-8284 San Diego, California or request a phone call online. You can leave the rest to the inspector.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/16/2009 11:07:00 AM,
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What to Do?
Some time ago, a friend told me this story. I am still wondering what to do in such a situation. Any idea?
It goes on and on for days, then suddenly it gets worse. Some days I just have too much “life”. Wednesday evening is a perfect example.
After working a long day at the school, I went to visit my daughter and the baby. The kids are still staying with friends, while I live nearby with my young adult son. My daughter, grandson and I been moving around a lot during the past year. Technically, we’re homeless. In a post a couple of months ago, I wrote about the living situation where my daughter lives currently - a household with a lot of females. Wednesday night I saw firsthand what she’s dealing with.
When I went to the house, I had planned to just drop off money to my daughter, “Anne,” rather than visit, so that she could get some rest. When I saw my daughter at the door, however, I could tell something was not right with her. She looked unhappy and stressed. I decided that I’d go inside to talk with Anne. I wanted to do this privately, away from everyone else in the household.
Sometimes the best thing a parent can do is listen: It took some doing, but I finally got my daughter to start talking. I listened. Sometimes my daughter doesn’t want to talk about what’s bothering her. But I’ve learned that if I can get to talk at all about something, she decompresses and eventually returns to her bubbly, inspirational self. But something happened that shot my efforts all to hell.
The mom of the house, “Mary,” stuck her head in the room we were in, and asked suspiciously what was going on. But before we could answer, she said, “I don’t like it when you two sit in here and talk about me.” I looked at Mary in amazement. She continued to talk.
“I could see the tension in Anne’s face when she came inside. So I guess she said something to you. She’s been walking around here looking unhappy. I asked her what was wrong several times, but she wouldn’t tell me. Now she’s talking to you in my house.”
Can’t we all just get along? The situation escalated. The more Mary talked, the more upset my daughter became.
“I didn’t ask my mom to come inside, and we weren’t talking about you!” Anne said in frustration.
“All you do is take me for granted!” Mary countered.
By this time, all the little kids and Mary’s 19-year old daughter had come into the room. All I could think was that we needed to clear the room quickly.
“Mary, could we get all the kids out of the room so we can have a private conversation?” I asked as calmly as I could.
“You always take up for her!” Mary screamed. Clearly, she was taking this whole thing personally and was hurt. At that moment, I felt as if I were the only grownup in the room.
Now it gets ugly: It finally happened. My daughter exploded. She yelled back at Mary and started cursing. Anne is very respectful of adults, and it is not her personality to curse. When Mary’s 19-year old daughter heard Anne’s outburst, she got into the act and started screaming accusations at my daughter.
You get the idea. Meanwhile, there were all these little kids around us, including my 11-month old grandson. And my daughter just burst into tears.
I was very frustrated because I had tried to prevent this outburst from happening. I didn’t want to see anyone hurt - not my daughter, not Mary, and I certain didn’t want the children witnessing this. I certainly don’t condone my daughter’s behavior, but I think Mary pushed her over the edge.
Eventually, I got a tearful Mary to go behind closed doors where we could talk. I left my sobbing daughter in the other room. That was hard to do, but I felt that I really needed to talk to Mary first. I kept my composure as Mary sobbed about how she considers my daughter to be her own and how much she loves her, but she wouldn’t allow any child to disrespect her. I assured Mary that my daughter was already grieving about her outburst and that she would apologize.
I offered to start looking for another place for my daughter and the baby to live. The last thing we wanted to do was to disrupt someone else’s household. Mary wouldn’t hear of it. I have been dragging the kids from one place to another for almost a year. Mary was the one who invited my kids into her house. She’s really an angel.
Mary knows how much I want my daughter and I to have our own place again - how much I want to give my son his privacy back, especially since he lives in a one-bedroom apartment. There’s one problem, though. My job carries lots of responsibilities, but it pays slightly above the poverty level. In addition, once I accepted the position, the state decided that I no longer qualify for public assistance for food. I’m appealing the state’s decision. The assistance helped me to feed my family.
A return to peace: By the time I left Mary’s house, she and my daughter were hugging and saying “I’m sorry.” They were smiling. So was everyone else in the house.
I smiled back, then hugged everyone and said good night. I was very, very weary, but I didn’t let it show. By the time I got home, I was numb.
I told my son about the incident later that night. He listened. Then he suggested that I should be putting more effort in finding my own place. His message was short and sweet. He was uncomfortable in his own house because I was there.
“You’ve been here five months,” he said.
I looked at my son. I didn’t argue. I made my bed on the sofa and went to sleep.
In the end, I know everything will get sorted out. We’ll all get our lives back. For a couple of days, it hurt like hell. Here’s to character-building moments.
Labels: Real Life
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/16/2009 10:30:00 AM,
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When Dreams Come True
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
The first thing that I saw hung on the wall of his office was a framed verse of revered Pushto poet Khushla Khan Khattak. It said, "Right you love me deeply and immensely but what should I do that it still is not enough for me." Gulzar is a newspaper forwarding agent who works on contracts with different publishing houses to dispatch their publications to the newspaper agencies, which further arrange their mass circulation. I first met him in his office cum residence a decade ago. That was a place from where he arranges the dispatch of newspaper and periodicals to the agencies in over 200 stations (including remote villages, towns and small cities). He uses railways, road transport and airlines of that purpose. He has employed 11 workers, one motor rickshaw and a Suzuki pick up for the job. He has two telephones in the office and of course carries a cell phone.
It takes a lot far a man to admit but over a period of 10 long years of our associations, Gulzar Baig has displayed a great courage in revealing the emotional trauma of his childhood, contempt and malice with which he had been treated and his undying obsessions.
It started when Gulzar was very young. "Branded as a burden child in a large and a poor family I had to leave home to prove my self as an asset at the age of 14. The beginnings of my practical life were very hard. I had come to Lahore in search of an opening. I had no education, contacts or money in my pocket to go back home. I stayed on Lahore Railway Station for two days, afraid to step out in the sea of human beings. On the third day, a kind human being noticed, fed and employed me for loading his newspaper bundles. I was so weak that my co-workers used to object that I cannot share the equal burden with them, but the same thing became my survival skill. I am doing the job ever since," he told me while remembering his past.
Winters are very cruel for homeless and poor. "My job used to start with first edition (called Dak edition) of newspapers coming out of the press in early hours of morning. I used to go to Nisbat road where my employer had allowed me to sleep during day at his place. I was once offered rupees 100 for an advance copy of a newspaper and then attacked on my refusal. The reason was that the newspaper that was to be distributed next morning carried examination results," he continued as if talking to himself, "memories of the past still haunt me whenever I come to Lahore and stay in some hotel. That reminds me of days spend out on the road."
Hard work pays. "My patience and determination paid. I won the confidence of my employer and was posted to an other station from where number of regional newspapers had started their publications," he informed. Now Gulzar owns the business at that station and is distributing almost all national and regional newspapers and magazines.
He is educated as per the definitions because he can read and write. He himself prepares daily dispatch returns of all the publications and does the book keeping as well. More than that he can appreciate the increase and decrease in circulation of a magazine after seeing the title and layout. He can also correctly foresee the reaction that readers might have to the published news items. His opinion is considered important in the matters relating circulation.
"Will I ever know any of these journalist, he used to think while looking at Mian Iftikhar ud Din, Anayat Ullah, Nasim Hijazi and their contemporaries coming out of one of the newspaper offices and now my spouse is a working journalist." He always urges her to come up with original stories rather than relying on press releases and producing table stories. His four sons are studying; getting the best education money can buy. None wants to join him in the business, though. He tells them to excel in whatever they happen o be doing in life and career. At the moment he is living in a rented apartment. His own house is under construction in a post locality of Mulatn. "I will shift there after buying the latest model car," he dreams.
Gulzar is an efficient and loveable person on whom others can rely. He does his work in an old fashioned way. Every night when his alarm clock rings eleven, he gets on his motorbike and heads for the railway station. He stops at one or two presses to find out whether his boys have taken the newspapers or not. After visiting railway station he moves to the bus terminal to supervise the dispatch work there and comes back to railway station again. This goes on till the morning when he returns to his office to prepare the dispatch return for all publications dispatched.
Gulzar also sorts out inquires of the agencies about any unusual delay in arrival of the newspaper. In case of any major break down Gulzar hires a suitable transport and rushes to the scene to get the newspaper moving by quickest possible means. He once used army helicopter for the delivery of newspaper in the flooded area. He knows the names of all the holders of newspaper agencies and remembers how their newspapers had been dispatched on that particular day. During day he visits different newspaper offices and meets the circulation staff for any thing new. Apart form this he remains available on telephone. He is a self-employed businessperson. "Money and the credibility that I have earned are my incentives to work hard," he says.
I spent many fulfilling moments in the company of Gulzar sitting on a deserted railway station late at night, talking on variety of subjects. I used to listen to his discussions on finer points. His perceptions and outlook to life are very inspiring.
He is far from satisfied by his success at the moment. He wants to expand his distribution network and shift his base to Lahore. He is also thinking to start the distribution of books from the famous publishing houses. Seeing the reserves of energy he has it does no seem an impossible dream.
Labels: Real Life
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/15/2009 09:39:00 PM,
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Quality of Life
Thanks to My Medicare Medicaid – site that educate consumers about Medicare and Medicaid – they have made it easy. Explore the site and see what they are offering, what are Medicare supplemental plans or AARP Medicare Drug Plan and how to apply to Medicare part D and more. They have explained everything very nicely.
Personally, I learnt that Part A is hospital insurance that helps pay for any inpatient care you receive in a hospital or skilled nursing facility. It also covers some home health care and hospice care if you are terminally ill, Part B is medical insurance and covers many of the medical services that aren’t covered by Part A, like doctor’s services, Part C is the Medical Advantage Plan that combines both Part A and Part B usually with additional services. Part C is offered through Medicare-approved private insurance companies and Part D is prescription drug coverage that helps pay for medications prescribed by your doctor. While browsing, I picked up some good ideas for myself. The information they have will improve your quality of life.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/15/2009 01:25:00 PM,
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Get Togather 2009
Labels: 55 PMA, Men At Their Best, Pakistan Military Academy
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/15/2009 10:30:00 AM,
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To Carry the Dust to Multan
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Tags: Travel, Travel Destinations, Blue Pottery, True Blue, Art, Medieval Art, Multan, Pakistan
A city of monuments, Multan has been around for centuries. History of Multan dates back to ancient times. As per the legend, its origin is assigned to the time of Hazrat Noah (A S). Under the various Hellenic forms of ancient designations (Kasyapapura, Kashtpur, Hanspur, Bagpur and Mulasthan) Multan figures into works of Hecataeus, Herodotus and Ptolemy. It has been an empire, a kingdom, a province, a state, a capital and now a divisional headquarters. Thousands years after Macedonians, the conquerors of Multan present an amazing variety of races: Graeco-Bactrians are followed by the Kushans who in turn give place to White Hans. The Arab first arrived here in 662 A.D. and it came under Muslims rule in around 712. Multan also remained under Karmatians, Lodhis, and Ghaznivids. Between 1221 and 1528, ten invaders swept through the city till it finally fell in the hands of Mughals in 1528. Under the Mughal rulers, Multan enjoyed years of peace and prosperity. Nawab Muzzafar Khan remained in power from 1779 to 1818, when Ranjit Sing stormed the city. After a resolute defense, British captured Multan on 22 January 1849. From Alexander to Aurangzeb the city was built, damaged, repaired, destroyed, demolished, and reconstructed many times. After the British rule, partition once again changed the face of the city and it witnessed the new demographic and socio-economic order in 1947. Multan has been reinventing itself ever since.
Today, there are 'two' Multans. One is the city of inordinate glory and unique architectural style: imposing citadel, Agha Khan International Architecture Award winner Shrine of Saint Shah Rukn-i-Alam and shrines of Bahawal Haq Zikaryya, Shah Yousaf Gardezi (also other shrines of religious, architectural, and historic values) and landmarks like the newly constructed building of State Bank of Pakistan. It is a city of calligraphers, writers, poets, actors and actresses who make difference in the lives and outlooks of others. The other Multan is a soot-choked city (spread over 28 square kilometers area) developed haphazardly without any planning and foresight. This is a city where old trees are ruthlessly cut and all the open spaces have been converted in jungle of concrete in the last 55 years.
The walled city - one of the living examples of old Muslim urbanization in the world - is crumbling. Refuse is everywhere, the air thick with flies. Electric connections are loose and dangerous wires are hanging about. The narrow streets are dark at night. As you roam about in the old city called androon shehr, you will see aged palace-like havellies, shrines, remains of defensive walls, historic gateways, and mosques in the most unexpected places. That is Multan's charm. There are probably more heritage sites in Multan than in all of Pakistan, which is why this city should be recognized by UNESCO as a "World City of Heritage".
Three severing historic gates (Haram, Delhi, and Bohar gates), Hussain Agahi entrance, Khooni Burg (bloody tower), remains of the wall, and Alang (ring road) around the medieval Old City are crowded with stalls and cubbyhole shops and rehriwalas. As per an estimate, there are about 40,000 venders working in every nook and corner of the city selling every thing from Nali Nihari to new carpets.
Clay pot made in Multan Keeping part of its historical and cultural heritage in tact, Multan has accepted the modern trends. People still like to eat Doli Roti, Daal Mong served on tree leaves, specially cooked Sohanjna (curry) and Tabakhi ke Bor (curry). Word is out and it says that a food street (like Gawalmandi in Lahore) is being planned near Hussain Agahi where conventional Multani food will be served. Needlework on Dopatta (head scarf for women), golden work on Khussa (sandals), and items made of clay and camel skins and Sohan Halwa are very popular. At the same time the blue pottery, glazed tiles, cotton sheets, bed spreads, and towels of Multan are in great demand in Pakistan and abroad. Historian Al Masudi wrote, "Multan is a gold mine" and Dr. Karim Dad says, "Multan is a cotton mine with 35,000 power looms manufacturing exported cotton goods." Gard, Garma, Gada and Goristan are no longer the gifts of Multan.
The last thing on the minds of city planners is preservation of Multan's old and legendary heritage. Historic buildings disappear without regret and even the protected monuments are suffering from vandalism. Only 24 historic monuments have protected status in the city. Whereas at least 131 sites of intrinsic and irreplaceable value have been recommended to be protected by Gilmore Hanket Kirke Limited, London based architects, engineers and planning consultants firm who carried out a survey of the city, in cooperation with the World Bank, a decade ago. The list does not include historic houses, narrow streets and engraved 'jarokee' and bay windows - being eaten by termites - inside the walled city that are a vital and living part of present Multan.
Multan building The services of the Corporation and other city development agencies are barely visible in the city. Multan Development Authority, since inception, has hardly been able to do any thing evident in 362 square kilometers area of jurisdiction. A cricket stadium with seating capacity of 18,000 built in Qasim Bagh, 50 feet above city level, was declared unfit for international cricket in 1984 and construction of the stadium inside the cluster of historic monuments, shrines of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Bahawal Haq Zakaria and Nawab Muzzafar Khan, memorial Obelisk, Barood Kana, Damdama, and Babe Qasim, has been a classic example of ignorance of city planners about our heritage conservation.
During the last days of Tughlaqs, when the whole of their empire was in pieces, Multanis selected Shah Yousaf Gardezi, a religious leader and a saint, to run the affairs of the city. If nothing else, the governance of the city should be improved for the saint's sake whose shrine - a unique specimen of architecture - is venerated by many in the Old City.
Multan is rich in both history and archaeology that make for good tourism. In this age when the word tourism is top most industry, Multan could still be a tourist's paradise. The mall road in the cantonment could be extended to the other (Fertilizer Factory) end of city through Airport, Sadar, Abdali Road, Haleem Square, Khanewal Road, touching Bahaudin Zikria University, Qila Kohna and walled city on the way. The encroachments and other bottlenecks could be removed from the road. "It should be called Nawab Muzaffar Khan Road after the name of a lieutenant of Liberty from Multan," says Professor Atta Ur Rehman Khan.
Not withstanding the aforesaid and other typical misdemeanors, I shall still adore preserving the gard (dust) of Multan with Sraiki speaking, passionate and full of love Multanis.
Labels: Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/14/2009 12:15:00 PM,
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ASP Business
Hi-tech developments and changes at a fast rate are moving towards convergence of the software, information, technology carriers, and computer engineering. Result: IT structural designs are shifting from desktop and mainframe environments towards Internet based structures. Similarly, software applications are altering from made to order and separately owned solutions towards pre-packaged and Web based solutions. It is in this context that ASP business model is getting more interest as a hot trend.
IT business model that offers end users – small and large businesses, government organizations, non-profits, and membership organizations even individuals - an access to applications and services over the Internet is known as application service provider (ASP - not to be mixed with Active Server Pages. It also is a commonly used abbreviation of as soon as possible). It is sometime called software-as-a-service, on-demand computing, apps-on-tap or utility computing.
Typically, the applications are deployed by a third party that hosts, manages, updates software based services and solutions and distributes to clients from a central location. XML and HTML processes allow thee clients to interact with the software. Sometime, ASP also rent out the server hardware and the network. What is more, many ASPs, particularly enterprise ASPs, have now started offering on site solutions in which the relevant hardware, software and function remain on the customer's site.
Services provided by ASPs can be grouped in different categories. As per International Data Corp, they are commercial enterprise applications (customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, e-commerce, data warehousing and programs to support vertical industries), collaborative applications (programs that enable internal operations such as e-mail, groupware, document creation and management messaging) and applications for personal use (games, entertainment software, home-office applications and any other software).
Broadly speaking, there are four major types of ASP business: A special function ASP that offers a single application, such as banking service like control of remittance or loan management; An ASP delivering a solution package for a similar customers type, such as a hospital management; A project ASP that give a mixed group of solutions; and an area based ASP that caters to the IT needs of businesses within a specific area. In addition, some large firms like IBM are using ASP methodology as a specific business model that supports specialized clientele. According to ASPnews.com, "ASPs are grouped into five subcategories: Enterprise ASPs -- deliver high-end business applications. Local or regional ASPs -- supply wide variety of application services for smaller businesses in a local area. Specialist ASPs -- provide applications for a specific need, such as Web site services or human resources. Vertical Market ASPs -- provide support to a specific industry. Volume Business ASPs supply general small and medium-sized businesses with pre-packaged application services in volume."
The main advantage of ASP is that the clients do not have to bear the up front capital costs of the hardware and software. They can pay like electricity and or PTCL landlines on a pay per use or yearly license basis. The interest that ASPs have generated, elsewhere at least, does not come only from economy of investment, but from qualitative considerations as well. Using the best applications available, faster than in house deployment are some others benefits. Businesses, though an ASP, can change their operational characteristics, placing less emphasis on IT operations and development, and more on core business operations and growth through the productive use of IT.
The ASP phenomenon is poised to make a central surge on the application market for the years to come. The ASP model can be tempting to any cost conscious businesses but scouting reveals that the ASPs around the world so far are targeting small and medium businesses and start ups, which otherwise may not afford high end and costly applications; selling their software and enabling end users to avail the utility they need at inexpensive price. Small and medium businesses can rely on ASPs and can start using the Web as a business tool rather than a communications tool. The target market for ASPs is much larger in developing countries than in developed ones. Economic conditions and desire to have a competitive edge are likely forces to accelerate adoption, anxieties associated with exercising control over the business processes notwithstanding.
ASP model is one of the economical behind the scenes business methodologies that the Web has made possible and it is working very successfully in more connected world. Many industry analysts see ASPs becoming a big business. ASP concept is ideal for countries like Pakistan. The impact of any such development may be seismic here.
The concept of ASP is still new in Pakistan. One impediment seems standing in the way of ASP business picking up in Pakistan is societal rather than technological. In a number of ways corporate sector seems to have distrust in IT solutions what to talk of shared ones. Dr. Ehsan Malik, an international marketing expert, opines, "The generation at the helms 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 incentives into the untested area. The strength of this social impulse reins back the widespread IT employment in any area." Other limitations with the ASP employment are poor or lack of necessary infrastructure, slow speed or non availability of Internet access or things like electric shutdowns.
ISPs are most suited to transform themselves into ASPs. The only thing they can do before that is to become dependable. Which application they should offer: Customer relationship management applications, enterprise resource planning applications, banking and credit card transactions, hospital management or simple email management? It depends on the market demand. ASPs have to carry out diligent research and interact with potential users to carve out niche areas for themselves. Though, initially small and medium businesses seem the most likely users of ASP, in Pakistan, larger organisations could also convert to this method and cut IT costs. Ironically, when various ISPs were contacted for finding out about any possible future plans for the purpose of this article, the answers were not very encouraging. No one revealed that they have any plans to expand as ASP.
What would constitute a world class ASP business? Local companies have the opportunity of learning from the successful experiences in the developed countries by closely examining the standards being implemented and the demands made by the end users companies. Because every thing cannot be mirrored in local corporate sector, therefore, they should carry out thorough indigenous research and interact with their potential customers. Interested IT firms should help small and large commercial enterprises to identify their IT needs in term of economic profits and then offer the solutions. Stakeholders should take extensive confidence building measures in this field.
Labels: Computing, Information Technology
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/14/2009 10:16:00 AM,
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Distances are Shrinking
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/14/2009 10:00:00 AM,
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Gogera Fort
Labels: Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/14/2009 09:00:00 AM,
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Rural Customs
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/14/2009 08:37:00 AM,
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Monika Kuppler's Volunteer Work
Monday, 13 April 2009
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/13/2009 10:20:00 PM,
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Annual Get Together 2009
Labels: Men At Their Best, Pakistan Military Academy, PMA
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 4/13/2009 09:17:00 AM,
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