Review: A Malaysian Journey

A Malaysian Journey by Rehman Rashid

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I started reading this book because of an upcoming trip to Malaysia, my first. I thought it'd be a good idea to know a little something about the history of the country I'm visiting. So I googled, 'must read books on Malaysia', and almost every hit had this book as one of the recommendations. Now, I half-expected myself to labour through these 280 pages over a month and still be clueless about what Malaysia is all about. Because that's exactly how political autobiographies turn out to be, no? Boy, was I wrong!

Rehman Rashid is blessed with the beautiful gift of eloquence. His command over the English language is humbling and does not fail to render the reader speechless. Apart from the author's rich expression, account of his travels across Malaysia are fascinating, engulfing and intimately depicted. And he combines his personal life with Malaysian history expertly with not an iota of break in the flow. Overall, a very enjoyable read and should be on every tourist's to-read list!

The biggest drawback is the availability of this book. I ordered a copy from www.mphonline.com, an online Malaysian bookstore :).

View all my reviews

Aag

Been too long since I've sung or composed anything. Just a tune which means a lot and at the same time is completely inconsequential in the bigger scheme of things. A ramble, nothing more. And we shall call it, 'Aag'. Speedy now, Speedy forever :). 

A Peek into the Past!

A few journeys and experiences in life have such a gargantuan affect on a person's perspective and outlook on a multitude of concepts that were ingrained, not by anyone in particular and without any specific intentions in mind but just due to the natural flow of life. This past month has been such an amazing journey for me personally. Bitten by an imp of nostalgia! The best part about the whole experience has been that the emotional whirlwind that has accompanied it was totally unexpected.

I visited Pakistan in September 2014 after approximately 4 years seeing many a hardship, ups and downs, and laughter and glee on shores afar. It was an absolutely amazing trip with Ahmed meeting his grandparents for the first time ever, experiencing that overwhelming vibe of reassurance and fulfillment from the General, seeing my mother who at one time had become extremely fragile, emotionally and physically, as hands-down the smartest and wisest of the family and pretty much the sole reason why we've survived as a unit these past 39 years and the penultimate ending to the trip with the whole family reuniting after almost a decade when Umar decided to tarry down for a 10 day getaway.

While there, it occurred to me to inquire about where all our family photographs were. One thing that I've found lacking in Australia is that visual connection to my past, and especially now that we've been blessed with Ahmed, the void and it's gaping existence had become vast bordering on being dreadful and hurting. Anyway, fortunately I found all of them stacked and rusting away in Dad's old file cabinets; standard 32-leaflet photo albums, innumerable black and white pictures with groggy hand writing at on their backs - attempts at upholding a fading family history - and decorative photo albums. These were pictures dating back to the 40's up till the dawn of digital cameras in my family in 2004-05. All in all, we're talking about 2935 pictures encompassing the evolution and progression of my family through the toughest of times to where we are now. Alhamdulilah,  Allah has been very kind to us! I wasn't really aware of the magnitude of the task I was undertaking i.e. digitizing the entire family photographic catalogue - a job for which studios charge thousands of dollars;  business idea for my budding entrepreneur friends right there!

So, it's taken me almost a month and a half to complete the entire scanning process. This has been by far the most fulfilling and satisfying job that I've ever committed to, and achieved. Safe to say that I've lived my parents' lives through pictures. From pictures encompassing my father's life before marriage, the insight into which has been utterly special - shots that reiterate the importance and potential of following one's dreams and the relentless efforts in achieving them; he is a living embodiment of this sentiment - to his subsequent marriage to Mama and setting sail to their journey together into a world filled with uncertainty and challenges unforeseen, I've had a very real glimpse into it all. As children, I don't think we're ever able to relate to our parents. We only ever see them as these grown-up super-humans capable of fixing any and every ailment faced; the thought of them being children or teenagers at one point at time in their lives doesn't even begin to cross our minds - that's the level of our self-indulgence and preoccupation with ourselves, or that's just being human I guess. The impotence of not being able to relate to their (parents) lives is one of the biggest reasons children grow up with deep antipathy and grievances directed towards them; it's plain simple intentions misconstrued - if they did screw-up, I'm pretty sure it wasn't out of malice. 

This gig has molded a different nerve in me. I'm not sure how but there is a foreign presence which wasn't there earlier. Maybe time and further reflection will iron out the incomprehensible elements in my thought process, or not. No matter what, I'll forever hold whatever I've gained out of gazing into my family's past very dear. I've become overwhelmingly emotional throughout my journey and definitely have shed a tear or two in the process, rest assured not out of sadness even though it did accompany a certain brand of melancholy, but purely out of joy and elation seeing my parents' dreams gain opacity albeit hiccups but then where's the fun without the crippling family histrionics! 

My source of enlightenment has been a month long scanning of pictures. By the time Ahmed grows up, he'll have absolutely no connection with my life in Pakistan in a very similar fashion to how I didn't have a clue of what my father's life had been like until I started this crazy task. So basically, this laborious lugging around has been in hopes of preserving family history in order to give an insight in to our roots to the cubs of the family when they come of age and if ever they'd be inclined towards garnering some sort of understanding of our origins.

There's nothing more than I'd like to tell my parents that they've done an absolute gem of a job at raising me and providing me with the best of opportunities so that I could somehow come into my own - thank you for everything Mama and Abu, I love you. 

Kal-El is Back!!

By the time I publish this, Kulfi would've watched the movie and the tabsaras can safely commence. If you haven't watched the movie, I'd recommend against proceeding any further!

The wait has been long and painful. To be exact, it's been 7 years since the last Superman movie was released. Supes has been given a completely new look with the underwear being knocked off of him similar to DC's New 52 Superman, and I'm definitely not complaining; if I had cent for the number of times people have japed about that! Besides the undies, the weavy texture given to the suit looks pretty amazing, and the cape (minus the S) doesn't look too shabby as well. Overall, a pretty amazing job's been done with the costume. 

'Superman's March' is one of the best musical pieces ever created, and is possibly the sole element which anyone anywhere in the entire world can associate directly back to Superman. When Zack Snyder announced that a new score would be developed for Man of Steel (MoS), he literally took away Superman's on-screen identity. The job was given to Hans Zimmer, a crazily talented composer. However, the biggest difference, much to my annoyance, between John Williams and Zimmer is that the former has made a name in the industry for creating thematic tunes (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman) whereas the latter has mostly worked on composing ambient and scene-based music. I highly doubt ever coming across Zimmer's take on Superman played out on classical style guitar. Anyway, I think the character specific themes' era is past us. Hans Zimmer has done a fantastic job with MoS's title track, 'What Are You Going To Do When You Are Not Saving The World?' by not drifting too far from the original Superman's March. Besides the title track, the OST blends in really well with the mood of the movie. 

I don't think I've ever been as excited as I was before MoS's release. Partly because of the team that was working on it and mainly because of it being well..Superman's return to the big screen and possibly reclaiming the throne that has been stolen by the likes of Iron Man and Batman of late. The sole reason why there are superheroes is because Superman was created in 1933! Anyway, we've had these discussions a zillion times so lets stick to the release at hand - MoS. 

I'll get right to the matter which I'm pretty sure has created a massive divide within Supes followers - HE KILLS ZOD. Superman KILLS...I mean KILLS...actually takes a freaking life! Now that is definitely not the Superman I've grown up with, the Superman that almost every single fan loves - no matter what, SUPERMAN DOES NOT KILL. But before writing him off completely, lets look at the bigger picture. In MoS, Superman has just found the answer to who he is. The truth is so recent that he doesn't even know that he can actually defy gravity and soar among the clouds. Among all the hubbub in his life already at a chaotic extreme, Earth is invaded by General Zod - a military trained genius tactician suddenly given powers equivalent to that of Superman. And not to forget, he's not alone. At this stage, I don't really expect Superman to be mature enough to foresee the repercussions of his actions and the path he eventually takes to defeat Zod and co. In Snyder's universe, this is Superman's first ever fight. But this is not the reason why I forgive Superman for the kill - that is because of his reaction after he's forced to do the act. The way he screams shows the pain and regret he feels at breaking Zod's neck; Superman understands what he's done. Based on the amount of experience he's had facing bad guys, poor Supes was not given any other option and mostly by Zod himself. Hence looking at the bright side, Snyder has an excellent plot to build-up Superman's personality on. I really hope for the sake of this reboot that Snyder and the writers have the sense to address this incident in one way or the other. If they don't, then this reboot is definitely not for me. 

The other part which I found to be a tad bit more disturbing was the extremely obvious nod to Jesus. No, I do not refer to the post-destruction of the rig but to the part where Jor-El tells him in the ship that he's the savior to which Superman glides out in to space very reminiscent of Jesus crucified. I really wish they hadn't associated the savior angle to Supes. Nevertheless, I'm willing to let this go as well since this image will most probably just go away the minute the sequel is released. Superman is past the first hurdle of breaking in to the scene by going up against the newly formed superheroes with people drooling over how beautifully they strip instead of having the cojones to criticize the absolutely crappy story lines being put forward. 

Apart from the aforementioned part, Snyder and team have nailed Supes, and MoS is beautifully poised to go down in history as the film to have finally done justice to Superman. Kudos to the writers for taking cue for the story line from one of the best comics I read a few years back - Superman Birthright. I really hope they keep going back to the comics for future projects as well. 

I will not go into the positives of the movie since, according to me, they are just too many to talk about! All in all, I'm content with Man of Steel and am intently looking forward to the sequel. Considering this to be a reboot after 7 years and potentially a much stronger one, I'm willing to forgo any resentments I might have against it. But I shall remain skeptical until the issue of Superman killing Zod isn't addressed. Please, please, please don't do this Snyder! Whether we like it or not, Man of Steel is here to stay and by next year we'll have a sequel as well. Might as well get on the band wagon and see how everything rolls out. 

To the person to whom this movie meant as much as it did to me - YESSSSSSSSSS!

Adieu!

P.S. For the record, Christopher Reeve was, is and, unless they clone him, will always be Superman personified. Period. 

The Real Victory!

So the hour is upon us, the fateful and long-awaited 11th of May has finally arrived. This is the day when we can either start afresh or just stick to the traditions of old and continue falling in the abyss. Whoever we vote for will determine the kind of future we want for ourselves. If even now we end up choosing the same leaders that have let us down every single time they've been in power, maybe then we really do deserve them, and the condition Pakistan is in is completely justified. Nevertheless, I've had my share of debates and tabsaraas on Pakistani politics in the last few months, and won't get into any of that in my last post before Elections 2013. 

These past few months have been extremely eye-opening and elating because I can safely claim that I've witnessed and been a part of the biggest movement for change to hit Pakistan during my lifetime. And, most importantly, I can sleep like a log at night knowing that I took shelter under the banner of truth, justice and Quaid's Pakistan. Therefore, no matter who comes to power, for me and millions of Pakistanis alike it will be a victory that we'll cherish for a long time. It's unbelievable how a large number of people have transformed from being practically apolitical for most of their lives to putting themselves in the line of fire (literally) by becoming Tabdeeli Razaakars. This, by a long shot, is the biggest change that Imran Khan has single-handedly been able to bring about. 

It is my staunch belief that as long as we stand by the truth in face of adversity and immense challenges, the light of hope no matter how dim, shall never leave our hearts. This gargantuan effort made my Imran Khan will culminate tomorrow after a killing and cumbersome 17 years, and rest assured, it will never go to waste. No matter what the odds, this man has always carried the beacon of hope on our behalf and Alhamdulilah it has finally been able to encompass millions of us within its fold. I'm very sure that when we don't have Imran Khan as our leader, another from within his ranks will take his place egging Pakistan on to the path of success and prosperity. That is the legacy Imran Khan will leave, and in fact already has!

I'll quickly wind up by wishing all Insafians and Pakistanis good luck for tomorrow. And a hearty congratulations to all you soldiers of justice on achieving such a massive victory in terms of unity. This reminds me of a quote for the ages: 

"When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you." ~ Winston Churchill

I hope to greet all of you in Naya Pakistan very soon, In Sha Allah. Vote wisely!

Pakistan Zindabad!

Awaz!

I dedicate this to all the TR's who've worked their back sides off campaigning for PTI. This is for all those Pakistanis who want to see a Naya Pakistan built under the leadership of Imran Khan. 

If the media player's not working, followings the YouTube video:

P.S. This is the best I could do without any equipment to record. iPhone Zindabad!

Grand Finale is ON!

Imran Khan - A Dream Almost Shattered!

There are a few figures and personalities in life that we take for granted and expect them never to go away. Almost exactly a year ago (17th May, 2012), a dear family friend and a passionate Pakistani Air Force fighter pilot was taken away from us; Squadron Leader Zaigham Shaheed. May Allah bless his soul. We never expect the worst to happen to our loved ones therefore the shock we're greeted with every time tragedy strikes close to home. Imran Khan has been one of those ever-present and 'immortal' personalities, and a role model to not only millions of Pakistanis but his competitors and followers overseas alike.  

Last night was possibly one of the most stressful for me in recent memory. It was around AEST 1.30 am that I woke up for my nightly (annoying) loo visit which follows, almost every time, by the subsequent checking of any latest news out of Pakistan; I was greeted by 4 missed call notifications from Maulvi. My first reaction was to get on to Dawn's website and check for what had happened as none of my friends ever call that late. The worst possible news for any Pakistani first and PTI supporter after, hit me like a wall; something nasty and bad had happened to Imran Khan. 

I spent the next three hours in a state of panic and praying that Khan is safe and sound. And then the 'exclusive' interview spread like wildfire on Facebook. I swear that a public speech made by a politician has never had the sort of an impact and hit me as hard as Khan's voice and message did. More than the content of the message, it was the sheer determination and unrelenting love for Pakistan and its citizens that made me break down into tears. Last night, I witnessed a very different Imran Khan, one that the Pakistani nation could never ever perceive possible. Khan's voice was filled with pain, some regret for getting injured just three days prior to the elections, and most of all desperation to somehow get the word out to the Pakistanis to do the right thing come May 11. I never expected to be hit by the storm of emotions that followed, for a guy whom I didn't know on a personal level and was just a crazy fan of. I remember how much it hurt when my dad fell while running and injured his knee, to see him limp and in pain made me cry. The immediate concern for Imran Khan and the feeling of uneasiness since is ditto to what I would feel for a loved one. 

This would have been Imran Khan's 78th Rally in the last 18 days, a feat which has never been matched by any other leader in Pakistan. The kind of an athlete that Imran Khan was and the way it has trained him, not only physically, but also mentally played a massive role in him agreeing to such a punishing and taxing schedule of rallies. From all his pep-talks and speeches, one deduction that can be made is that no matter what the consequences, Khan does not believe in shying away in face of adversity and challenges which would break almost everyone else down. He believes in giving his best and as he's always claimed that bigger the challenge, the harder he used to, and apparently still does, fight; the affirmation of which is in Khan's interview from SKMCH. I really hope Imran Khan recovers fully and is hopping about like a 30 year old in no time. If there's anyone who has the will to fight something like this, there's no one better than him.

Always keep smiling like this! My Captain, My Leader!

Following these events, my belief in Imran Khan's mission has increased tenfold. We've all been through injuries or stressful situations at one point or the other in our lives, and are all aware of the kind of moods that come upon us. Considering Imran Khan's age (60 years) and the trauma he's gone through last night; it was unbelievable to see him still concerned for only Pakistan and its people. Following are a few last night's tweets of Asad Umar:

Asad Umar ‏@Asad_Umar7h

Literally having faced death all he had on his mind when talking to me in the hospital was pakistan

Asad Umar ‏@Asad_Umar7h

My love & respect for this great champion of pakistan has increased many folds.

Asad Umar ‏@Asad_Umar7h

What an incredible privilege to work with this amazing man in his quest to build a country this nation dreams of.

Last night I actually realized how much Imran Khan actually meant to me. As the case is with the deaths of loved ones, losing him to a freak accident was something I was just not willing to accept. I had absolutely no answer to the stupid if conditions that kept popping up in my head. Alhamdulilah, Allah has been kind enough to spare Imran Khan to us, and we should take heed from this event. Before the vision and dream  of Quaid-e-Azam could come to fruition, we lost him on September 11th, 1948; May 7th, 2013 could have been another such event marking a day when millions of dreams would've been shattered plunging Pakistan into an abyss with no worthy Commander capable of taking the reins to our salvation.

May Allah grant Imran Khan complete recovery. May Allah help Imran Khan in his mission and fulfilling his dream of giving us Quaid's Pakistan. May Allah grant Pakistan security and rid her of these blood-sucking politicians. 

Girte hain shehsawar hi medan-e-jung meh, 

Wo tifl kya gerah jo ghutno ke bal chale