Locked on the Net

Written on Saturday 07/06/08
@
Rawalpindi, Punjab - Pakistan

I went to sleep at about 8:30am. I was so engaged with my work and the tortoise-like speed of the net constantly failed to match the speed at which my brain was working.

I did intend to re-start my strategy of interviewing political, bureaucratic and media personnel but alas, the priority of ordering my data and emboldening my web presence dictated my mood and activity today.

An example of how aloof I am from the outside world hit me hard today. I overheard a conversation that Mohammed Asif (The promising yet precocious cricketer/fast bowler of Pakistan) had been arrested at Dubai Airport for possession of marijuana. Thinking it was news, I relayed the 'newsflash' to a friend over the phone, only to be told that the story was a week old.

On the subject of Pakistani cricketers; I opine that they are an exact microcosm of Pakistani society viz. highly talented, cavalier in style and application, failing to come to terms with the modern world and it's rapid development, unwilling to learn from their mistakes, self-inflicted destruction specialists, unable to gel as a team and the list could go on and on and on........

Someone mentioned that marijuana and Pakistani cricket go hand in hand....Remember Wasim and Waqar in the West Indies? It helps them to focus and concentrate, I'm instructively told.

Living close to the edge is another characteristic I find familiar to the Pakistani psyche. I'm staying in a house whose residents once lived extremely comfortably, a period of not earning or investing prudently has brought them to the verge of destitution. However, the attitude remains cavalier and oblivious of fast-changing dynamics of society. High food prices here in Pakistan compare unfavourably even to some countries in the West, the people here are struggling to adapt, yet it hasn't changed their approach....not yet.