Pakistani Bazaar(Market place)

Bargaining is the main art of shopping in Pakistan. We don’t feel satisfied until we get a good enough bargain. These skills take work.

The shopkeeper showing off the cloth designs for the crowd of eager customers.

I took some shots of the shops around me when I accompanied my mum to the market a few weeks ago. I don’t know why I like shops like this open on the streets…..they hold a kind of charm I can’t quite place. Though it is a pain when the sweltering summer sun is beating on your back and your sweating buckets cause there’s hardly a fan nearby.

Bandar

Monkeys near the roadside. A picture I took last year when I went to the Northern Mountains of Pakistan. Monkeys are called ‘bandar’ in the local language, Urdu. Tourists that pass by often buy challees (corn cobs) for the monkeys,watching then peel and eat them is fascinating to most. These two are done with their cobs and are looking for their next snack.

Change of glasses?

You see the world from your point of view, your window. At a specific angle with its specific tint. It’s the same world that everyone else is viewing and part of…..but do you see it the same? Of course not. What we see and what other people see are two different things. They may intersect in some areas but their are large diffractions in others.

Now that’s fine……but it’s really shocking when you see something and it turns out that you were totally and utterly wrong. That everything was in your head. You deny it at first but as the possibility dawns on you it shifts your whole perspective. You begin to question the authenticity of everything. Does thart girl passing in the corridor talk to you because she likes you or because she wants to seem cool? Do the people around you like you for you or do they just want to use you? Does that guy like you or is it just your over active ego?

The questions rise, and you begin to fall…..You don’t know what to say and what not to say. You begin to doubt yourself…..another question reverbrates through the confusion….Should I change my glasses? It might be unconscious or conscious but nonetheless it is so. The world of fantasies and delusions you loved is the mirage you created. You don’t wish to let it go, but it seems practical. But then again is it practical? The glasses or perspective your considering is dull and lifeless i.e mature according to society. You don’t see the best in people, you suspect everyone of ulterior motives. Life seems like a constant war with battles everywhere. Is that how you want to live?

A life like that seems pretty depressing. I think I’m gonna try and rebuild my mirage. People are gonna hate you and doubt you no matter which glasses you choose. So why not choose the ones that make you happy? You might fall every now and then but wearing the other pair means that your always in the pit. The main reason people get depressed. Isn’t that why childhood is so carefree? If no one ever let go of the little children inside themselves the world would be a happier, friendlier place. Forget the plots and the schemes. The masquerades and the masks. Just be who you want to be, but not at the expense of other people. There’s a difference between free speech and bullying. Know it, tread it, enjoy it.

Cause I’m arrogant…….

People think I’m arrogant when I say I don’t do past papers -.- Well technically they don’t say it, they think it. Plus they imply it pretty obviously…..I give them a solid reason in argument. If I did past papers before every school test, the test wouldn’t be a test. It would be a memory exercise. All our teachers give the exams from past papers and if I had already solved that question before and knew it, what exactly would I gain from taking the test. You take exams to assess yourself, how much you know and understand as well as how you apply your concepts. It’s not a memory test, contrary to popular belief. I seriously feel like saying this stuff but everytime I try I just get glares and cold shoulders.
I swear people, yesterday people in my class were complaining that the test they gave yesterday was so hard. They hadn’t done any of it before and they’d done a lot of past papers. I was literally facepalming myself. I even said it, out loud, ‘Thats called a TEST’. They just don’t get it. Or maybe I just don’t get it…..either way its exasperating.
Oh and today my point was proven. It was my chemistry exam and I was worried about it. I had done most of the syllabus but I wanted to practice some questions so that I could assess myself. So I finally opened the past papers randomly. I did one and realized how serious my situation was, so I decided to do another. I did two past papers and checked them using the official marking scheme. I didn’t score well in either of them but I went over my mistakes so I wouldn’t make them again.
I go to school, and sit in the examination room, nervous knowing that I don’t know enough…….or so I thought. I open the paper and bam, the first question is one of the questions in the second past paper I did. I groan inwardly but continue on in the hope that something different is next. You can guess what was next….ANOTHER question I knew. I looked through the whole exam frantically and realized it was a word to word copy of the paper I solves mere hours ago. Answering the questions was childs play and it was frustrating. I like being challenged. Sure I feel crap afterwards but at least I learn something. -.- I’m still bugged about it. I can’t compete with my friends now because that’s unfair. The exam I gave is the equivolent of not giving it……that’s gonna hurt ME in the long run…….. Oh and if I say any of this to someone they’re going to think I’m proud. Peachy.

Diffusion

Iodine in starch solution.

This is quite an old picture, one that I took last year. Back in the days when I still went to the science lab for practicals. I just loved the colour change when iodine was added to starch and the lab assistant guy was nice enough to give me a beaker of starch solution when I asked, even though I’m pretty sure he knew I was just going to fool around. So for all of you guys who don’t know whats so fascinating OTHER than the awesome diffusion currents that start in the solution, well iodine is actually brown in colour and the yes something this simple can indeed make you all happy inside. It’s the little things!

Musings Part 2

The fact is, I enjoy being swamped in work, i.e I’m a workaholic. Is it a bad thing? If you ask me, nope, not at all. I’m bored sick when I don’t have something to do. Something that takes my time, energy and leaves me drained but feeling accomplished. It’s a drug. So much so that I often bite off more than I can chew, participating in almost everything. I mean you should make maximum use of your time right?
Like for example if you know you’re not going to study don’t put off a competition in the hopes that maybe you will if you don’t go. Odds are that if you do go and take part you’ll feel guilty about wasting the time and actually end up studying more than if you hadn’t gone. You’re more motivated too as well as more clear headed. I mean studying continuously days on end, in the same old pattern…..If you ask me I’d say that it’s a waste of your time. You won’t learn anything cause your brain is dulled and dead. By going out and exploring new avenues and experiences you keep your brain alive, active and happy. You’ll find that grasping new concepts or even revising old ones gets easier. You pick up things faster. It’s a scientific fact that constantly stimulating yourself boosts intelligence. Your mind is more adept.
Even if you have an exam the next day and you have a lot of syllabus left you should take breaks. Exerting yourself constantly is going to slow you down. Study for two to three hours continuously but after that you DESERVE a well earned break. Do what you want in it, preferrably something that doesn’t require much conscious effort. Whatever you do though never go to sleep, trust me you’ll never wake up in time. Well unless you have a human alarm clock i.e you threaten someone with murder if they don’t wake you up at the prescribed time. Breaks like these help your mind absorb what you just read and to store the information effectively. Without this everything gets cluttered in your head. After at least half an hour you can go right on ahead and continue studying. Jack Andraka, the person who discovered a cheap, effective diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer at age 15, also used this method. He used to research for hours and then go on a walk to contemplate what he had just read and sort through it.
What I’m trying to say is, don’t throw away your life for your exams. They aren’t as hard as you make them seem. We students tend to stress ourselves out over them too much. I really don’t get people who totally turn dead to the world a good three to four months before the exams. Yes, I know people have different speeds at which they pick things up, but I believe that overstudying is just as bad as understudying. Don’t waste your life.

Wait for me

I open my mouth
No words come out
I take a step forward
You slip further away
My hearts in my mouth
Yours is safe, untouched
So far away,so distant
A thousand oceans lie between us
I need you here
With every fibre of my being
How is it that you do not know?
Just glance this way
A look says it all
The desperation
The obsession
I’m running now
Running….running
Just stay where you are
I’m on my way
Running, running
Past the up turned faces
Past the frowns
Running,running
Clinging to this shred of hope
The voices in my head
Running…..running