KOMAL MOTWANI: POOR VEGETARIANS

He told me; but I never listened. He told me; I listened but never paid heed. He told me; I listened, paid heed, but forgot. I go to him once more and ask. He smiles; and tells me yet again.

I love him. He cares for me like no one does. He shows me a way when I am sure there is none. He understands me when I am unable to explain myself. He gathers me up when I am falling apart.

I have been mean to him many a times. When I needed him I went running to him and he helped me in the best of ways there could have been. And when things turned in my favor I forgot to even thank him. He never minded. I did thank him later, when I remembered. He didn’t demand an apology and accepted my gratitude.

I knew all the good that was happening to me was because he was doing it for me. He never divulged it on me though. And many a times in spite of knowing the truth I preferred to assume it was happening because I was worth it. When the bad returned I cringed and realized. I was sorry again.

I have hurt him too. When I fail in life, get wounded at the hands of doom; I get perplexed, anguished. I curse myself. I curse my fate. Not knowing what to do I might as well hold him responsible for all the ills. I don’t talk to him. I stay frustrated. He waits, keeps silent, but continues doing me the favors. I confess it. And I seek him again. He forgives.

He is the best of friends. He doesn’t make void promises. He knows what is right for me and keeps that prepared for me without even asking. When I ask him something he knows won’t be good for me in the long run, he never gives. I protest. I plead. I give him warnings. He doesn’t get one bit bothered and stands firm on his decision. I give up.

Some times he even gives me an idea of what would happen had he given me what I had beseeched. I get speechless and I recognize it was only for my pure good that he was so adamant. I respect him all the more.

He forewarns me as to what is right for me and what is not. When still I don’t follow him and conk out he gives me strength to stand again. He doesn’t ridicule. He does not get angry. He accepts me the way I am and helps me get better at every step.

The best thing about him is that it never needs him any telling. He knows it all. Always. It does not need elucidate or reason with him. He comprehends. And of all the mess that I create out of my own idiocy and lack of vision, he manages to pull me out safe. He never complains, get annoyed or tired. He pampers me still.

He has made my life so comfortable it does not need to ask any one else for anything. He is there with me in all my joys, in all my pains, in all my gains. He is gentle. He is chaste. He is loving. He is holy. He is thy God.

AND LIFE CHANGED FOR THE BETTER

Sometimes a single moment is sufficient to alter the face of life entirely. If that one moment, one incident, one providential episode is torn away from life, one could never be the kind of person one eventually grows to be, and things would never be the same. Such a point of metamorphism in my life materialized when I was 12.

I detested my school. It was like any street school where you learn better how to break the heads of your mates than any erudition or etiquette. I remember how profusely I had implored to God with teary eyes that I get into a better school. And I did! It was a like a dream come true. I felt genuinely elated and absolutely gratified.

The initial roads were not smooth though. The teachers used English as a medium of instruction and I had difficulty grasping the words, let alone comprehending the concepts. I again cried, this time for being more like a layperson than a student. Early education does matter, how much, who could tell better than I!

However, the circumstances only fuelled me up. They say adversity introduces the man to himself. Likewise, I got an opportunity to discover, or rather locate myself. I had it, I knew somewhere, and I was certain within a short span. My folks pushed me, guided me, and aggravated me.

The first year in the new school did it all for me. I learnt swiftly. It amazes me to recall that I scored the highest even in the first monthly test. The high achievers were baffled, my teachers impressed. In the previous school, or correctly the previous life, I never got a chance to write, paint, speak, debate, compose, sing, dance, act or create. I did it all eventually and earned overwhelming support and admiration. I was gifted, like everyone else, but I got to open my gift as well. I am glad God found me worthy of that chance.

Within a year, I became popular. So much so, that all the students knew me well, by name or face, or perhaps both. Every prize distribution had something to do with me. I earned the title of “All-rounder”, “Best in Academics”, “Best in co-curricular” and a “School prefect”. Students called me “Einstein” and my favorite teachers thought “words fall short to praise me”.

Of all the favors my beloved school did to me, one best one was to pinpoint the artiste in me. I had an inclination towards art, may it be any form. One that led me to recognition was writing. I began with poetry during my first year in the new school for the sake of inevitable assignments, and fortuitously got them printed too, in that very year. In fact, I remember I had sent my poetry on Wednesday and it rolled up on Saturday, the medium being the magazine of a leading English newspaper of the city.

Funny as it may sound, there was a time when I couldn’t understand English and then was the time I was writing in a newspaper. I showed it to me teachers, and they asked me to display it on the school soft board. The display items only grew with time, and I progressed on my journey as a writer. Good Lord helped my skills get recognized in languages including English, Urdu and Sindhi.

Some folks actually thought I had my uncle as the editor. People had different opinions, they always have. With time I came across two kinds of people, ones who loved me for who I had grown to be, and ones who hated me and thought I was boastful and uncouth. It was encouraging in either case.

Then there was this time when I joined a network of school kids striving for human rights and served as means of its introduction in my school. I also had an opportunity to work in the editorial board of one its awareness magazine.

Another pleasant coincidence was winning a free summer camp at a local hotel in the city. I was an active member for a kids’ club, and so was one of the ten members awarded the free camp, one I could only reverie about. Of many things, I learnt swimming there, although I didn’t agree to buy the costume initially for it occurred quite expensive to me. My father was excited, more than I was, to see me learning what he couldn’t have a chance to. I felt honored and fortunate yet again, and won myself two medals at the end of the camp.

By the time I completed my schooling, I was a celebrity. With around 30 certificates, many prizes and shields to my name, and cheerful reminiscences, I bid farewell to my territory and stepped into a bigger world, though this time with sheer confidence.

My academic progress only amplified. I made it into the best government college of the city. Where I was not within top 100 in my matric board exams (the school top scorer nevertheless), I caught up with the top 30 in my intermediate board exam. I worked harder still, and managed my ingress into best government medical institute of the city, with 3^rd position in the aptitude test.

Too glad as I was for having made it to my desired medical school, I didn’t have money to pay for the admission expenses. My father borrowed it from a friend, who was finally paid back by the aid of a student scholarship awarded as a special case due to my strong academic and extra-curricular background.

On my way to being a doctor, I still have the love for arts ablaze. I have done nothing great, nor am I superior to any one. It is just the fact that my preparation was timely backed by opportunity, lady luck and Goodness’ Grace. My parents, my family, my teachers, my friends and my critics, all have played indefinable role to my success and making whatever little bit I am today.

All that I mentioned might sound meager to be called as a notifying triumph, yet the amalgamation of these little high points of a certain phase of my life is what has made me a person geared up to unveil the earth and its riches. Life is indeed unpredictable!

1ST PRIZE WINNER OF THE ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION, 2011 - NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, LAHORE

Student Category: If I could invent something, what it would be.

NEED OF THE HOUR

Since the day man came to this world, he has travelled a long way. He stumbled on new lands, revealed the secrets of the sea and explored the skies. He developed from a raw individual to an aesthetic creature, one who is erudite, ingenious and influential. He established his reign and awarded himself the privilege to choose whatever path his heart yearned for.

The man is the most spectacular creation of the universe. Bestowed with the gift of wisdom, he has used his dexterity and intellect in directions unfathomable and diverse. On the one hand, he has unbolted ways to manipulate nature by procedures such as stem cell regeneration, hybridization and transplantation, while, on the other, he has devastated mankind and the generations to come by exploiting nuclear power and ammunition. His developments have been unpredictable.

Ironically, while man has learnt ways to control and fight his natural enemies such as earthquakes and tsunamis, he has failed to find means to live in peace with his own kind. He has fallen a victim to the insufficiencies of his own personality. He has been overcome by lust, anger and ego. He has learnt to operate the world proficiently, but failed to operate himself the same way.

In recent years, the world has witnessed new dimensions of terrorism and carnage. More than anything or anyone else, man has become the rival of man. At present, if the world needs an invention, it has to be the one that benefits not a specific segment of the population but humanity at large. Accordingly, if I were to invent something, it would be with the intent to impede the biggest enemy of existence — violence.

My idea is to create a device that could decipher the intentions of people. It will take into account all the physiological, cerebral as well as psychosomatic changes that occur in the body associated with the generation of harmful thought processes in the brain. It will grade intentions into mildly, moderately and severely perilous by quantifying the body changes. For this purpose, thorough research at the molecular level has to be conducted to unearth substantial changes that can be directly associated with harmful intentions such as specific brain signals and their subsequent bodily responses.

The aim of this invention is to identify people with harmful intentions before can take action. It would serve its purpose best when installed at all the places where the maximum number of people could be screened each day. This would include all the strategically high-risk locations and crowded areas such as malls, markets, religious places, processions and important gatherings. Moreover, all means of public transportation will have to be equipped with this device along with important places like airports, railway stations, etc. It could also be used for protection of important monuments and personalities. Any person identified by this device will be investigated comprehensively for further evidence.

Thought categorization as to which thought is exactly harmful may become a challenge for the device. For instance, a kid having played a ferocious video game or anyone who has watched or listened to a belligerent story could have their thought patterns tuned temporarily violent. To fight this hurdle, the device would be equipped with a special program that could trace the reminiscences of identified violent thoughts. This will help verify and ascertain the depth of the intent and guide the ensuing inquiry.

It is important that the principle of its working is kept completely confidential so that when people walk by this device, they do not mask their intentions. It should be marketed in code words. Only credible people will have access to this information, which will be used strictly for state affairs. Infringement upon the privacy of public will remain a limitation, which can be justified by the extent of advantage it provides to mankind.

In this age of incredible scientific discoveries, the way to beat and perhaps stop man could only be made possible by a technological wonder. While a few are bent upon coming up with newer ideas to destroy the world, the other brainy few could sit together to ensure the safety of this globe. May God assist the righteous.

KOMAL MOTWANI

Sunday, July 6, 2008

POOR VEGETARIANS

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