City of God

I'm not from Rio; its a continuation of the divine hangover.

The last ten days of Ramadan means that their would be a marked increase in the fervour of the faithful. The mosques will still be less crowded that the shopping malls. A similarity, though, would be the raised shalwars at both places. The shopping centres have been thronged by women of all ages(and sizes) attempting to outdo each other. Western fashion trends are depicted by those who have had their foreign sojourn, in close pursuit of those relying on hollywood and fashion magazines to keep them in sync with modern times.

2 days after Eid:

Life goes on in Karachi with the usual clamor. The teeming metropolis continues to attract immigrants from far-flung corners of the country. The gravitational pull continues to bring in un-skilled labour, adding to the woes of the employment minister, if there's one, and if he has any woes. Ghetto's spring up in various areas - those in authority glad to add to their illegit revenue generation than ensuring provision of necessities. Playing Godfather to these criminal-breeding centres. And turning a bling eye to the travails of Karachi's leading humanitarian: Mr Edhi. The ingratitude of the people of Karachi is disgusting. Public outrage might be asking a bit too much from the politically, socially, mentally and morally apathetic denizens of Karachi, but not even a passive protest? It's the same people who have set government buildings on fire because of the governments inability to apprehend those who bomb mosques, kill at will and have turned Karachi into the City of Untimely Deaths. The same people who pelted the police with stones and burned a bus, because rash driving by the driver resulted in the death of one of their colleagues from the University. The very same people who mutilated a department in Karachi University because some of the students did a presentation on homosexuals, also giving a good thrashing to those who dared transgress the limits set by the religiously conscientious. Why then, no demonstrations to protest the burning of Edhi centres? Do the people not realize the debt that they owe to Mr Edhi? 40 years, or maybe more, of complete dedication. A self-made man, he has made a million lives in the process. Why begrudge his riches? During casual conversations, I was told that Edhi would smuggle drugs in his ambulances - adding to his perosnal wealth under the cover of humanitarian add. To a judgemental mind, he would be the worst of hypocrites. My pseudo-religious aunt wants him to improve on what he's doing instead of expanding his sphere of influence. All the elders had some plan or the other to give, which could make Edhi's work truly great. None ever ventured farther than be the arm-chair activists that the nation seems to be full off. And they will be the first one to call Edhi's ambulance or shout out his name in the case of the smallest of emergency. Inspite of the disregard that they have for his work, they expect him to be always to their service. Why has Edhi amassed the world's largest volunteer ambulance service but to serve the disgruntled citizens of Karachi. You, dear reader, can decide who's the fucking hypocrite. And now, excuse me, for I need to call Edhi's helpline lest my father die choking on the pretzel.