Thursday, October 21, 2004
A.W.O.L
An absence of exactly 10 days – how does one go about explaining that? One could start by admitting that one is a champion laggard, given to procrastination, and an aspiring hibernator. Having said that I think the culprit may, this time, be let off the hook because he has a few plausible excuses. Chief among them is the fact that the home PC decided to get into Ramadan spirit, and invited a few worms and viruses over to spend Ramadan with us. As was to be expected the guests made most of the invitation, and made themselves comfortable in the CPU. The CPU thus had to be delivered to ICU, where the guests were rather unceremoniously expelled from the ravaged CPU. Unfortunately, yours truly and family were paid a visit by the less tech-savvy, but equally infectious relatives of the CPU’s viral guests. These guests continue to exploit our hospitality, resulting in one’s prolonged absence from Blogistan. If it is any consolation, one cannot be accused of forgetting about Blogistan even for a while, and one must actually be commended for periodically checking in on what was happening in knicqland from one's office.
10 days is a long time, and a lot has transpired in these 240 hours. The holy month of Ramadan, the month of blessings, has arrived. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and this is the month of fasting for Muslims world over. The people, instead of practicing restraint in indulgence (Thank you for the concept, Felicity) have gone the exact opposite way – as they do every year. There is more eating than usual, more unnecessary spending, more rash driving (please see da Momma’s detailed account of Ramadan’s bearings on driving in my country), and more of everything that ought to be brought under control in essence. It is ironic. People have made Ramadan an excuse to propagate exactly what they were to practice shunning in this month. The least difficult, and the most symbolic requirement of this month of fasting is made into the most important and often the only point of fasting i.e. Not eating or drinking from before sunrise until sunset. At least, our Arab brethren have got one thing right. I have found them to be more forgiving, and more consciously seeking Allah’s pleasure by being more hospitable and more charitable. My company’s M.D agreed to remove the work ban they had put on one of my colleagues only last month – just because this is Ramadan and he would like to be nice and charitable and take “Ajr” / reward for his deed. By comparison we in Pakistan spend the whole month trying to ensure we manage the five prayers on time, finish the Quran’s recitation, and manage the eating and non-eating times for optimal results. Nothing wrong in any of the above, but the three are not the only points of Ramadan. We seem to have over-looked that aspect.
The other historic event to take place in the last ten days, actually on the first of those ten days is that the haunjoe kid, Talhah, has started school. 11th October, as the kvetcher celebrated her arrival in this world, Talhah went about haunjoeing his first day in school. It was a difficult decision, choosing a school for him. We wanted one of the top English Medium schools, which would lay emphasis on Islamic teachings, Arabic, and Urdu. Understandably, this is a combination not easily found. There are lots of English medium schools here, most of them lay emphasis on Islamic teachings, all of them teach Arabic, and very few offer Urdu. We settled for an Arab school that has American Muslims for English teachers, follows Cambridge curriculum, and does not offer Urdu. It is a five minute drive from home, and at this point we thought it was important that he did not have to wake up at 6 in the morning and wait till two or three in the afternoon before he got home. It is kindergarten for God’s sake. By the time he gets into KG II, Insha Allah, we will move him to this Islamic school started and run by British converts to Islam. Hopefully, he will have picked up a little conversational Arabic by that time.
Talhah went to school like an obedient child for the first two day, and we were surprised by how he did not complain of not wanting to go, and did not throw a tantrum at the school gates. He obliged on his third day, amply making up for his first two days’ peace. Then came the weekend, over which he borrowed cold from his sibling, and managed to stay out of school for the next three days. The last two days have been full of tantrums and fits, and we have now asked the school management to transfer him to a section where either the teacher or at least one student speaks Urdu. Waits to be seen if that transfer can be arranged. If not, we might have to consider that British school just now, and then the poor thing will have 2 hours of drive time added to his school time.
Saturday should see us take a decision.
Those folks are two things I would have blogged about in the last ten days, had the pc been home. Should be blogging more often now that the CPU is cured, and I have had my three days of sniffing, and achoo-ing.
¶ 10/21/2004 03:52:00 AM
10 days is a long time, and a lot has transpired in these 240 hours. The holy month of Ramadan, the month of blessings, has arrived. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and this is the month of fasting for Muslims world over. The people, instead of practicing restraint in indulgence (Thank you for the concept, Felicity) have gone the exact opposite way – as they do every year. There is more eating than usual, more unnecessary spending, more rash driving (please see da Momma’s detailed account of Ramadan’s bearings on driving in my country), and more of everything that ought to be brought under control in essence. It is ironic. People have made Ramadan an excuse to propagate exactly what they were to practice shunning in this month. The least difficult, and the most symbolic requirement of this month of fasting is made into the most important and often the only point of fasting i.e. Not eating or drinking from before sunrise until sunset. At least, our Arab brethren have got one thing right. I have found them to be more forgiving, and more consciously seeking Allah’s pleasure by being more hospitable and more charitable. My company’s M.D agreed to remove the work ban they had put on one of my colleagues only last month – just because this is Ramadan and he would like to be nice and charitable and take “Ajr” / reward for his deed. By comparison we in Pakistan spend the whole month trying to ensure we manage the five prayers on time, finish the Quran’s recitation, and manage the eating and non-eating times for optimal results. Nothing wrong in any of the above, but the three are not the only points of Ramadan. We seem to have over-looked that aspect.
The other historic event to take place in the last ten days, actually on the first of those ten days is that the haunjoe kid, Talhah, has started school. 11th October, as the kvetcher celebrated her arrival in this world, Talhah went about haunjoeing his first day in school. It was a difficult decision, choosing a school for him. We wanted one of the top English Medium schools, which would lay emphasis on Islamic teachings, Arabic, and Urdu. Understandably, this is a combination not easily found. There are lots of English medium schools here, most of them lay emphasis on Islamic teachings, all of them teach Arabic, and very few offer Urdu. We settled for an Arab school that has American Muslims for English teachers, follows Cambridge curriculum, and does not offer Urdu. It is a five minute drive from home, and at this point we thought it was important that he did not have to wake up at 6 in the morning and wait till two or three in the afternoon before he got home. It is kindergarten for God’s sake. By the time he gets into KG II, Insha Allah, we will move him to this Islamic school started and run by British converts to Islam. Hopefully, he will have picked up a little conversational Arabic by that time.
Talhah went to school like an obedient child for the first two day, and we were surprised by how he did not complain of not wanting to go, and did not throw a tantrum at the school gates. He obliged on his third day, amply making up for his first two days’ peace. Then came the weekend, over which he borrowed cold from his sibling, and managed to stay out of school for the next three days. The last two days have been full of tantrums and fits, and we have now asked the school management to transfer him to a section where either the teacher or at least one student speaks Urdu. Waits to be seen if that transfer can be arranged. If not, we might have to consider that British school just now, and then the poor thing will have 2 hours of drive time added to his school time.
Saturday should see us take a decision.
Those folks are two things I would have blogged about in the last ten days, had the pc been home. Should be blogging more often now that the CPU is cured, and I have had my three days of sniffing, and achoo-ing.
¶ 10/21/2004 03:52:00 AM
