Scenic Beauty With Army Hospitality

Paktopia

Everyone gets to travel in various styles; with essentials, in luxury, with friends, with family or simply on their own. What most won’t claim to have experienced is the hospitality and privilege you get on your travels when you are connected to Army.

I traveled to Abbottabad and surrounding areas in the summers of 2017 and I was privileged enough to experience the scening beauty along with the hospitality Army had to offer. My base of stay was AMC Mess Abbottabad which was a courtesy of my father and uncle, both of whom served as doctors in the Army.

Abbottabad is one of the major cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. It holds many beautiful messes of different regiments of the army. Baloch Mess is one of the most mesmerizing of those. Built on the top of a mountain, it is settled on quite a height from the city…

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How I Became a Writer…

Paktopia

My journey to being a writer was inspired and refined by my love for reading. I was in grade 5 when I picked up my first novel to read. It was inspired by the sister of my best friend; Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. From that novel began my intense journey into the world of fiction and books.

I enjoyed the experience of reading this first non-academic book so much that I continued on to it’s sequels and that became my first fandom. Henceforth I jumped from book to book, series to series, enjoying the world of fantasy and imagination it created for me. Having a strong imagination I was able to enjoy these books with vivid visuals in my head. As I read through the books, my creativity, vocabulary and grammar improved. I wouldn’t have picked up so much in English classes as I did from my book…

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Sacred Places in Pakistan-“Living Token of religious harmony”

Paktopia

A country is best known for its traditions and culture and an important element which depicts this is the significance of sacred places which it has. Pakistan is home to a number of sacred places of four major communities which include Muslims in majority and Hindus, Sikhs and Christians in minority. Pakistan is a land where you can practice any of your faith and religion with freedom and freedom to speech is the fundamental right of every citizen. People in Pakistan respect each other’s faith and religion and they don’t cause any hindrance for any other community which may become a barrier for them to practice their religion freely.

Pakistan has multifarious sacred places which are very ponderous to all communities which live here. Sikhs from India and all over the world come to Pakistan every year and they visit Gurduwara in Nankana sahib which is considered to be the…

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Patience: The Key to Success by Ujala Sabir

Dreamers 2016

We all have heard hard work, positive mind set and dedication are the key to success. Have we ever tried to go a bit into the detail to find out what force is binding all these together? We ignore the artist behind the picture, we don’t know the people who made a super hit movie possible, and we don’t know the photographer who took a model’s picture which made her famous. In the similar way, we apparently know the tools to success but we fail to recognize and follow that one thing that underlies these tools. Yes, I am talking about patience.

Take a very vivid example of third world countries and developed countries. When I leave for my university, I see people breaking the traffic rules, I see people fighting, I see people losing their temper while just driving a car, I see people honking for merely no…

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Pakistan, an eye-catching beauty. By Ujala Sabir

Dreamers 2016

27.03.2014

Northern Area

Pakistan, is known worldwide for its natural beauty and atmospheric serenity. Here I am going to explain some of the beauties that I remember from my to-ing and fro-ing in the area in the past. The beauty of the Pakistan landscape lies in the light, unlike any other tourist region in world. Fiercer, stronger, and sharper light silhouettes the mountain resort and scattered houses on slopes in ever-changing patterns against the skyline. The sunlight plays with the green nooks and crags of the landscapes, tossing out long shadows that ripple across the green gorges, sometimes through tall pine and fir trees. It turns the hills from opal in the morning to sapphire to gold to silver and finally to dross before descending swiftly in a bright red ball in the evening.

Whereas the beauty in most places in the world has been marred by the detritus of

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Tick tok tick tok!!

As the clock showed signs of moving on in darkness, my heart started pacing. I could not figure out what this sound meant and what it tried to signify yet I knew there was something. There was something concrete in it. Hidden or Revealed. But there was something. This was the time when my friend Silence came to meet me. It was always a Date. We did not like any distractions in our meetings. We had been meeting since those days at this particular hour. After seeing me in the most miserable of all times, crippled and trampled over I remember it once knocked on my door for never to return. It assured me that it wouldn’t leave me and would be there for me in all times of need. I gradually emptied all my burden in its lap and I remember how it buried it all in its chest. But that night when I was waiting for it to say something this annoying tick tick of the clock interrupted.  I shut my eyes and covered my ears with my hands to keep the sound away which was hindering my routine. But to no avail. The tick tick was piercing through my ears and even eyes. Thrusting through the barriers of my hands which covered my ears it entered my body. Shoving in through my closed eyelids it seemed to be embedding in my soul. And settle there permanently. Urrgghh.. I HATE this! Why would any sound enter me? This seemingly insignificant stimulus was strong enough to bring about a change in me. By now Silence had been the closest friend to me and had been happily residing inside me. I was its abode. I wouldn’t tell it to move away for I love it! I remember how Silence kept me upright. I remember the strength and vigor it gave me. I remember how it showed me ways of getting over things which haunted me. I remember how it served as the only means of healing my wounds, in its clandestine visits to me. After settling inside my senses and brain how hard it had worked day and night to mend my soul. I can never forget how I had developed telepathy with it. The language we used to communicate with was difficult to learn, but I managed somehow. Getting acquainted to an abstract entity was a laborious job especially for somebody like me who was engulfed by material glitters and glamors.  Now that some strange sound which was not worthy of attention earlier was seeping in my soul I actually felt the pressure with which it was pushing my best friend out. It was uprooting my best friend. Probably, it was a battlefield and I could feel the unrest. It wasn’t lesser than any chaos for me. I had to have my friend with me. I couldn’t let it be defeated. I closed my eyes and blocked my ears even harder but it didn’t help. After all I am a week being without any control over my will, mind and senses. I struggled nonetheless. Feelings of extreme desolation and dejection engulfed me again and made fun of me, like those days. But hey.. hang on! There was something even disturbing, on its way. Although these feelings of helplessness and morbidity were too torturing yet there was more mayhem to come. I knew something even more dreadful was approaching but since to err is human, I shunned the idea. Yes. The worse had come. My best friend was uprooted from within me. And here comes the most terrible parts of my endeavors of that night and that was my friend’s amicable compliance to tick tick’s notions. It evacuated my soul. I felt felt the tick tick didn’t need to pull much strings. Silence quickly gathered its family members (Apathy, Gloom, Lethargy, Hollowness and Procrastination) and told them to look for another one like me. After befriending them try to heal their wounds and then call mother Silence to come and settle with them inside that somebody like me and ensure that her family survives and thrives. I cried out loud, ”Don’t leave me.. Please! stay back!” I could not say another goodbye. How many more were written down for me? I hence bowed and clung to its legs. I howled. Shouted and screamed. I did not want my confidante to leave. I loved my best friend! ”Take me along,” I cried. ”Cease my existence and pour me in your blood. I’ll flow in you. Burn me into ashes and sprinkle them in your breath. I’ll give you life. I won’t cause any hindrance and help you in your errands. I’ll support your cause. I’ll live in vacuum. I’ll live where you’ll live. I’ll go wherever you go. I’ll comply to all your demands. But please don’t go. Or or or take me along! Please..” ”How is it possible? How can I cease your existence when your Lord has another plan for you? The Best plan. I cannot even dare to interfere with His will and neither can you. He sent me to you when you needed. Now it’s time for me to go..” ”Please No! Stay back! Even you’re deceiving me. Even you’re deserting me. You promised you’ll be there for me in all times of need. But what now? You weren’t a liar. You were a good being. Somebody who would listen to me and advise me. You would make my pain lesser and diverted me from the miseries I’ve been through. You would blur out my past. How about our meetings? How about our good times? How about everything I’ve shared with you? I can’t show my wounds to anybody! I won’t be able to get another friend like you! Listen Oh please listen. I’ll DIE! Listen..” ”You listen. Your tales of sorrows and sufferings will be used to alleviate someone else’s wounds. They will be felt by them as they are embedded in my chest. Just like you felt somebody’s else’s. You have already found a better friend which has been sent from heaven. Do not lose it.” ”What?” ”Yes. I’ve spent enough time with you and it’s time for me to move on just like it’s time for you to move on..” I smiled as it placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.

Meer Gohram

Insomnia- Inability to sleep!

Insomnia-inability to sleep. Yes I’m an insomniac. Nights and Especially 3am are my best friends. We share a lot. I empty my day’s burden in its lap. It wipes my tears. We giggle at the absurdity around us. In seclusion. With no body around us except nothingness and darkness. Shhusshh.. It advises me as well. It’s my counselor too. We TALK! But they say darkness and nights are breeding ground for evil. Naahh.. I beg to differ here. That night brought goodness with it. Like mending my tattered self. Like putting together the broken and scattered  pieces of my wounded heart.It gave me a unique comfort. Like healing my wounds. Like lessening my pain. Like detaching me from all the menace. Like wiping away the stains of corruption from my polluted soul. Like helping me through All. Like bringing a ray of Light. Of hope. Of survival. Of recovery. Above all, of my relaxed sleep. Such nights come once in a blue moon! It was AMAZING! Want to Know why? Here you go dear one. As I gulped down the second anti-depressant (as one wouldn’t work on my addicted mind and body) and helped myself with the fourth cigarette of the hour, I heard a Knock somewhere. No! No! It was not on the door. It was somewhere very close to me. Very very close!  I stammered and dropped my lighter down. What was it? Who could it be? How could anybody enter the well guarded doors of baba’s kingdom? But somebody had entered already. My head became dizzy and I bent to pick my lighter up. I saw something. I saw an ant moving around. Amidst all my psychological chaos an ant fascinated me. Hahaha. STOP laughing you fool. And listen. It was not something ordinary. It was an ant who carried few crumbs of biscuits (very tactfully)  which I had eaten a while ago. It just startled me. I was spell bound for a moment. And then I heard the same knock again. But this time it didn’t end here. I felt somebody tapped my chest and gave me a tight hug. Who was it?! The suffocating hug was followed by a strange voice which I couldn’t recognize. The voice said, ”Maang. Maang Us Zaat say jo pathar k andar keeray ko rizk deta hai. Maang us say. Maang us say jo teri rooh k andar rehta hai. Jo tujhay tujh say ziada aur behtar jaanta hai. Maang us say Jis ne tujhay paida kia. Maang Us Zaat say jis k kabzay main teri Jaan hai. Maang Us say jo teri maut ka ikhtiyar rakhta hai. Maang us say jo teri har cheez aur amal say waakif hai.” The voice grew louder. So loud that I could not hear my own breath. It then said, ”Tauba kar. Raheem hai woh Zaat. Buhat Raheem. Aur Kareem. Tera Gunah chhota aur Woh Azeem! Allah-o-Akbar!” I felt suffocated. I was numb. It was taking my breath away as it said, ”Aik dafa maang. Laikin shart yeh k Sachay dil se. Us he dil say jis say gunah kia tha. Us he dil se jahan tu kabhi Us ka kheyal laya he nahi. Us he dil se jahan say Usay nikal diya tha. Usay Bhula diya tha..” This was interrupted by the distant humming of Aza’an. The Call for Prayer. The God of Daybreak Calls. Calls you! Calls me! It seldom entered my room earlier. Or was I too busy to hear it?! I tried to move my limbs to get up but failed to. I could only feel my tears. I attempted to shout for help. My voice was gone! I could only hear that unknown voice saying, ”Aur woh Teray sajdon ka mohtaj nahi. Yeh toh tu hai jo Us ki rehmat ka talabgar hai. Har waqt. Har lamha. Aik dafa Usay SACHAY dil se pukaar. Woh yaheen hai. Door nahi. Teray paas. Buhat paas. Tujh say bhi paas. Mil Usay aur mazay kar!” I thought: Ablution? Prayer mat? ”KUCH nahi. Sirf Woh. Tera Sacha dil. Teri tauba aur Us ki rehmat ki talabgar teri hakeer zaat. Beshak Woh niyyaton say gharz rakhta hai.” When silence prevailed I cried without a voice, ”ALLAH-O-AKBAR” ”ASTAGHFIRULLAH” Aur meri Namaz ada hogayi. Maine apnay Rab ko Sachay dil se yaad kiya! My body was jammed. My blood frozen. Only tears and sobs were the signs of my life. BUT it FREED my soul. It broke the chains to which it was bound since those days.  I was FREE. Literally Free. The following day when I woke up around 4pm my mother said she couldn’t wake me up for my routine medicines  as I was Sound Asleep. Asleep in literal terms. And it gave her a deep joy. The joy which she was longing for since ages. ”The unique calm and relief on your face while you slept was unimaginable; I had never seen you sleeping like this earlier. May all your worries end and God bless you my baby girl,” she said as she embraced me, ”I think your new medicine combination has worked.” Ahh.. the New combination. How cute mama! She doesn’t know my worries did end and God blessed me that night!

Meer Gohram

Football!

To discover something you need to first explore. When I first discovered my enthusiasm for football I was in grade five in Islamabad. I probably wouldn’t have been aware of my abilities as a football player had I not been urged to try out the game. What seemed initially as an exciting activity to fill in time, led me to discover my passion for football. The experience of my first ever goal is still etched in my mind as a flashbulb memory. I vividly remember every detail of it. This was the first time I ever played football. Some of the boys in my school had asked me to play with them. I had considerably feeble knowledge about how to play the game. However, I agreed to join them anyway. The idea of exploring something new intrigued me. Anyhow, it happened when most of the players were in our half of the field pursuing an attack. I was in the other half, positioned as a striker. It was during this time that a pass came through to where I was standing and I took the ball and made a run towards the goal post. It was me against the keeper, who happened to be a boy with substantial experience of the game. As I was running with the ball, I looked up at the goal post and set my aim. I somehow managed to dodge the keeper and took my chances with my first ever shoot and scored my first ever goal. That feeling of that one goal is too incredible for words. What I discovered that day was more than just my aptitude for football; I discovered something that I fell in love with; something that gave me reasons enough to struggle for. Following that day I started playing regularly with the boys at my school and a time came when I was even better than some of them. All this kept invigorating my enthusiasm for football.

I had at first not intended to come to LSE but one of the major incentives for me to join the institution was football. I immediately signed up for the team and went to play at the nationals. I scored my first goal for the team in our second match at the national football tournament. We made it to the quarter finals of the event but I ended up with an injury that kept me from playing football for at least six months. That time was awfully frustrating for me. However, following my recovery, I worked really hard to get my game back. I have since been playing as a striker for the LSE team. My best tournament so far has been the last tournament that we played in LUMS. I scored five goals in the play-offs there. Somebody once said to me to continue to work hard at what I love no matter what the odds are and eventually, someone will praise and appreciate what I do. I am now the representative for the girl’s football team in LSE and I hope to develop in my teammates, the same kind of passion for the game that I have. I aspire to keep improving our game and keep working on building team spirit.

Raina
Lahore School of Economics