Celebrity Haji

An uncle of mine is so much MashAllah blessed by Allah that he goes for Haj pilgrimage every year. In regard to his yearly Haj he has been made the Ameer of the group. This time our famous film actress Reema accompanied his group. She went with her father.

We always make fun about our film actors and actresses, I thought of writing about something which was closely observed  by my uncle, aunt and a cousin of mine during their 21 days trip with her. Before I continue, please note that whatever I am going to write is the written translation of what my uncle told me when I went to meet him yesterday. There would be no word of exaggeration and no personal comments on the celebrity.

Upon asking my uncle “How was your Haj with Reema this year” he initially laughed. He said every single person is asking me this question. He said Reema was not at all like the person that we think she is. He said she was very decent throughout the visit. Her way of talking did not for once showed any arrogance. Her behavior did not reflect that she is a celebrity. Keeping aside the rituals of Haj, she was very polite and well-mannered when all the group members used to sit and eat together. He also told that her father was of very kind nature and she used to drag her father for every Ibaadut whether be it namaz, tawaf or any other ritual of Haj.

I was so much amazed when I heard all this. And yesterday I decided to write about it. We keep on making fun of these people, but there is other side of the picture too. I pray that Allah gives her guidance and make this Haj a benchmark for the guidance.

Also, Reema said to my uncle that “next year Meera will go for Haj because she copies me in everything”.

Lets see..!!!

ROAD TO BALAWAL HOUSE

Eid is celebrated by all hearts and minds in Pakistan and everyone has its own way of celebrating it. We usually have a get together and then we go and meet each house separately. One of my aunt lives next to Balawal House and we went to her place just like we used to go every Eid. But this time it was a unique experience.

I was accompanying my father, mother and another aunt of mine. I was driving the car and the two fine women were sitting at the back. As I turn right on to my Aunt’s street I saw the street closed with a pole barrier. There were two policemen and two other people sitting in shalwar kameez. One of the policemen approached us and asked “where do you want to go”, I simply answered him. The gentle policeman lifted the pole barrier and asked us to move ahead — probably he would have seen two ladies sitting at the back. As I accelerated my car little bit, the man in shalwar kameez came anxiously and pulled the barrier down and he started asking me questions that completely made me feel retarded.  This guys tone was very harsh and rude. He first asked “where do you want to go” Then he asked “why do you want to go” and then a stupid question he asked “will you go inside”. We got so much annoyed by his attitude. After giving all answers to his stupid questions the guy started inspecting my car, even though he saw the ladies. After glimpse of checking he asked us to move ahead.

The Balawal House which was given the state of Presidency is under construction. The house next door to Balawal House has been also acquired and a 50 feet deep hole has been dug. I dont know what might the reason be or what are they planning to build over there but the hole is there. As you enter the street you will witness the machinery and vehicles standing over there. And since it’s the Presidency, all this work is on government expenditure.

So all of you who might read, PAY YOUR TAXES

Traffic Policeman – a good experience and a thought

Ever been stopped by a traffic policemen? I hope many of us have one or more time been stopped by a traffic policemen. They stop sometimes for a genuine reason i.e. violating the law and sometimes for the sake of getting money out of the driver. And for all those who dont know, traffic policemen are not authorized to search your car. Next time if any traffic police officer tries to search your car you have the right to speak and ask for justification. Similarly, ordinary police is not authorized to ask for your license.

Anyway, I feel that the traffic controlling system is gradually getting better. This is not an assumption, but something that I have experienced a few times by now.

Firstly, I was using a cellphone while driving on a busy Korangi road when suddenly two traffic policemen came on my side and asked me to pull over. As i stopped one of the policemen came and sat on the passenger seat. He was very, very polite in his tone which really impressed me. He asked for my car documents and license, I handed him my documents but since I had no driving license I apologized for it.

He opened his challan book and showed me the list of charges that are applicable on all law violations. As I broke two of them (first talking on the phone while driving and the other for not carrying my license) he summed and said Rs. 800 is your total, Rs. 500 for using mobile while driving and Rs. 300 for not having your license.

He offered me a deal, he said either you pay half of the total amount now at the booth or else we will have your car documents submitted at this booth and you pay the penalty. I said it clearly that I should pay for breaching the law because I knew the amount I will pay will directly go to their pockets and I was not in a mood to bribe them.

After my refusal to pay right away his tone remained the same. After my multiple refusals he asked me straight how much amount would you be able to pay easily. I replied I dont mind paying the total amount, obviously I was at fault and I was not in a situation to make a deal. He asked couple of times more and by the end of the discussion he said I understand the economic situation of the country are not so good and I should not penalize you harsh. He handed me Rs. 100 challan and took the car papers. As he went out he said “Not all policemen are same, remember me in your prayers”.

Whatever the officer did, it was his good intentions. But if we think it the other way I feel that somehow or the other I have taken Rs. 700 out of the total collection. These Rs. 700 could have added some value even if it’s just the cost of one uniform of a traffic police officer. Whenever I think of him I always praise him and remember him with good words.

We always blame the policemen for taking bribes and we always compare our policemen with other countries. I ask you, If you were getting Rs. 6,000 per month as your salary, would you have not thought of another source of income? You would have, during these times I bet you would have. And in other countries police is one of the highest paid jobs that is why they work with great determination and courage because they know they will be given reward. In our country; we dont reward them, we award them — when they lose their lives while on duty.

I dont blame our police for taking bribe, I blame the system. If we can divide so much of our budget just for one thing (Defense) then we should stop expecting anything from the rest of the sectors. As the saying goes “Dont hate the criminal – Hate the crime” (Meant for exceptions).

Increase their salaries and benefits, give them authority, provide them with better equipment and then see miracles.

Institute of Business Management — The Downfall

 

 

 

 

 

I am writing this article with great grievance. This article is not at all meant to degrade the Institute, but to make the educators realize that their approach towards the education system at the Institute is detrimental for the current students.

I am an IoBM graduate and it really hurts me to see the Institute going down every year. I joined IoBM in the year 2002, during those years there were only two blocks (buildings). There was no Students Activity Centre, there was no Examination building, Mosque was half of its present area, there were no cameras installed, less security checks and a lot other things that didnt exist during those times. Contrary to this there were better teachers, students were more serious towards study, less cheating cases, ease of registration, etc.

For all the things that I have mentioned above, I will blame no one except the Board which includes Mr. Shah Jehan Karim, Mr. Talib Karim and Ms. Sabina Mohsin. It is because of their short-sighted vision they couldnt achieve horizon. They went upwards during their first years but couldnt sustain, then comes the downfall against the Institutes like Szabist, Iqra University, Muhammad Ali Jinnah University and Lahore School of Economics.

In my opinion, following are the reasons behind the downfall of the Institute.:

Commercial Mindedness:

An Institute can never be successful if the motive behind is to make. A good example is of The City School and now IoBM. The Board claims the IoBM business as Non-Profit Organization, but my friends Non-Profit Organization does not at all means that there is no profit. My accounting friends would agree to this point that when making Profit & Loss, Non-Profit Organizations use the term surplus instead of profit. The profit still exists and it is distributed among the owners. Believe it or not I saw tremendous change in the “family’s” attire, arrogance, protocol, approach and lastly their cars. How many of you would believe that Director Academics used to have a small car? It is justified to uplift and keep up your profile, but it is not at all justified to fill your pockets at the cost of students’ future.

Quality of Education:

Quality of education is a principle responsibility of any Institute. Quality does not comes from qualification, it comes from competence, dedication, passion and determination. The excellence in education cannot be achieved by hiring cheap teachers. Low cost teachers with none of the above qualitative variables will make the students Lakeer ka Fakeer, which is not the aim of any Institute. Invest in your teachers and groom them. Once the Dean of IoBM told his story of hiring a teacher: Dean called one of his known student for some economics course. After discussing the details of the course, Dean’s student asked how much will the Institute pay as salary? Dean with embarrassment quoted Rs. 40,000, the student smiled and said sorry Sir, I am earning much more than this. Dean concluded by saying that IoBM doesnt pay good at all and I have confirmed this with many teachers who used to and are currently teaching over there.

Out of Focus Approach:

I did my Intermediate from Commecs college in 2002. The college was famous for Commerce students as it was founded by old students of Government Commerce College (a reputable college of that time). Commecs was famous for its strictness and affiliation with Institute of Business Administration. One year after I passed out, they started diversifying, which I believe was the turning point. They started Engineering and Computer Sciences, something they were not holding any ability. The downfall came hurt the overall image of the College.

Same happened with IoBM. They started good with BBA and MBA, but as said above, when the money started to flow someone suggested to diversify. Need not to mention, the downfall started. If you are not focussed how can you be successful? Teachers of IoBM taught us by examples.

Criteria of a Good Institute:

If you ever get a chance to read the catalogue of IoBM you will see on what basis they claim their institute to be better than other Institutes. I have attended three convocations and in each convocation either Mr. Talib Karim or Mr. Shah Jehan Karim differentiated their Institute with land area, infrastructure, number of buildings, number of students, activity centre, etc.

This is not the criteria, criteria of a good Institute should be foreign affiliations, graduates working in the industry, published papers by the students and teachers, qualified faculty but nothing exist at IoBM now.

Conclusion:

Some of you people may not agree to what I have written about the Institute, but believe me whatever I have written above are just my feelings. I stayed at the Institute for 5 long years, I feel the sense of belonging. I have written to make them realize, not to humiliate someone. If by any means someone gets offended then I AM SORRY.

Security at Jinnah International Airport

The prevailing situation in our country has been very damaging lately and the entire country is on high alert with greater emphasis on metro cities like Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar , etc.

Keeping all the things in mind, I was so much shocked and surprised when I experienced the security measures at the Jinnah Airport yesterday. We were four people in one car and we had to drop two people at the international departure area. We were first stopped by an illiterate policemen just few metres before the civil aviation check post. All he asked for was driving license (something he is not authorized to ask).

Fortunate for us he gave us clearance to move ahead. Then we came across just “a” civil aviation security staff who looked very stiff and well equipped as he had one AK-47 tied to his body and a bullet proof jacket. He opened the door of the front passenger seat, greeted us politely checked the dashboard (dont know why) and asked us to go ahead. All four of us in the car looked at each other and asked one same question “What was that?”

I remember the security that was positioned at the airport when Chief Justice came to Karachi and I also know the state of security measures that were put in order when Benazir Bhutto came to Karachi.

When at times the government or the concern authorities are able to secure the airport for just one so-called important person, why cant they give security to the civilians. Jinnah International airport is the largest and I believe the busiest airport of Pakistan. There are great number of civilians present at one point of time. If God forbid anything happens who will be held responsible? The government, the civil aviation or the civilians?

One Conference..One Speaker…True Motivation

To all the people out there who might have a look at this page, this is the first ever post on my first ever Blog. The entire thing of starting a blog came when I randomly attended a conference organized by Zumbeel.

I work for Apna Karachi FM-107 and by far had no connection with Zumbeel people. Just out of luck or what my name was recommended as we were the media partner of the event. Although I was feeling very ridiculous about going to the conference on Saturday but since the C.E.O. wanted to join the event I had to attend it anyway.

Initially I felt completely left out when the event started because an MBA has no correlation with an Engineer, precisely a Telecom Engineer. As event passed by the speakers became relevant to me, Mr. Saleem from Hire Labs, Mr. Adil from Symmetry and Mr. Faisal Qureshi from Personality Quotient.

The last speaker was very influential and it is because of his motivational  speech I decided to start up my blog.

I pray that I become a regular blogger and I pray that I achieve what I really want to achieve through my blogs.

Mr. Faisal Qureshi: The challenge has been achieved. One Blog has started and I hope others will start soon.

Thanks