Cuts Both Ways

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MBZI...
yaar why do i always think of you as the 39th version of 12-head...pliss clarify O wise one...

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People are brutally killed in this city and no one cares about their flesh, blood, skin and families being torn apart.

Who`s going to care about wood being cut down?

I enjoyed the anger + frustration + sarcasm in this piece, and how it connects to our social cosmetics in general.

So true.

``Are there any tree-huggers in our music industry?``

BUT

``Oh, well, my mistake again. Must ... think ... straight. Must ... be ... realistic. Must ... chop ... trees.``

faiza karachi has seen worse days than this and has come out alive and kicking

nfp -- hahaha -- what do u mean -- as in on this site ? well its a bit different from the real world print media -- and a different kind of interaction i suppose -- main reason i think is that my office room has a 24 hour internet connection that doesnt affect my phone line now :) -- whats up with u ? r u freelancing for the news or rejoined them full time?

nooralain -- definitely mixed up -- wow, mixing to completely unrelated posts -- what more next time should i expect? -- didnt u tell me on the other board that u werent going to interact with me -- can we plz keep it that way -- huh -- plz -- huh??? -- no on is baiting u nooralain plz get that -- i asked u a simple question and u overreacted -- and no one is forcing u to say anything so stop getting so hyper -- then, again you can choose to ignore what i have said too, which is what you said u would do -- jesus... what`s with some ppl here !

Hello Paracha Sahib
I emailed your pic to a friend when I first saw it in your ilog; if a pic is worth a thousand words, then your finger can be said to be worth a million:) Now days the finger seems to be our most potent weapon and uncle sam has been getting quite alot of fingers lately.
Anyways, Karachi reminds me of a cancer patient, slowly slowly slowly reaching death:( or is it in remission nowdays?

Thanks Serena hasnot eaten the trees...

# 9
Saminasha,
A finger lickin` good observation. But I hope it is only the finger they`re interested in. ;)

Omer,
Why the sudden DAWNing?

quraishi saab,

and just what the hell are you prattling about???!!! oh, are you going to tell me that most of karachi is socially aware and environmentally conscious? i`m always willing to be corrected on misstatements coming from me, but look at this gem from the responses to Murtaza`s article, quoted by you:

-- but if a pakistani were to post something relevant on something about india he or she would get it -- take the case of this interactor asfand on the board on the article about india`s election voting -- HOW MANY PAKISTANIS do u see interacting with the indians -- because they rather not waste their time trying to deal with the THE INDIANS WHO UNFORTUNATELY TURN INTO A MOB WHEN THEY ARE ALL INTERACTING TOGETHER -- IT SEEMS LIKE THEY HAVE A PACK MENTALITY -- ALL come together and start acting obnoxious -- and nazar hayat sahib there`s a way to call a spade a spade, without insulting people`s antecedents and without presuming fifty things about them ... -- (emphasis mine)

yes, indeed. to be confused and mixed up in one`s writing is definitely cool these days. methinks it seems that one of the esteemed assistant editors of dawn might also need a PR adviser. : ) or is that being confused and mixed up--and personal??? : )

Thank God someone wrote something about whats being done in Karachi. Did anyone saw what they did to the Karsaz Road? In order to widen the road, they cut down all the trees on one side of it. This used to be such a wonderful sight, a road without any pothole with trees lining the entire length on both sides. Why didn`t someone had the sense to uproot them and then plant them at a new location where the expanded road will end?? Don`t tell me it can`t be done, because if these people can bring trees from Interior Sindh and plant them here, i m sure they can move them a few feet!!! Why can`t someone get that its easy to cut down a tree in a matter of minutes, but that tree has taken YEARS to get to this point!!!!

post#3 -- noor -- what the hell are you talking about -- or wait a min -- to be confused and mixed up in one`s writing is to be cool these days, isnt it ?? -- yes samina, by the looks of it she is definitely his PR adviser :)

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DT Letter:

Discovering democracy

Sir: Apropos the news item, ‘Tarar supports democracy’, the article points out that Mr Tarar has exhorted political parties to resist dictatorial rule.

It is strange that the former Pakistani president has suddenly discovered a love for democracy. If he really cared about democracy, he would have resigned in protest on October 12, 1999, the day Nawaz Sharif was overthrown by General Pervez Musharraf. Instead, he remained president till June 20, 2001 until he was kicked out by General Musharraf. Next time Mr Tarar talks about democracy and resisting dictators, I hope someone reminds him of his own hypocrisy.
TAIMUR M KHAN
USA

its a shame, those trees i am sure are as old as this country ...
and they cut them ... for securing some bullshit embassy..wow....
inn logoun key paas aqal naam ki shayad koi cheez hi nahin ...

#5 cyberian
A tree is a tree is a tree. Anywhere and wherever it may be. Apart from this, all else that you have said stands true. And that`s Karachi. And it`s a shame. And there is nothing elitist about this piece. Just strictly and maybe perversly individualist. That`s where I am at after my painful, sweaty, agitated and bruised brushes with Marxism, NSF and the PPP. Quite like yours with the fauj, MQM ... and wait a minute. How come you did not mention the MMA? Reserving any populist hope for them to plant a few new trees in Korangi, Landhi, Malir, Federal B Area, Nagin Chowrangee, Haidery, New Karachi, Ancholi or Lines Area?

I guess if the finger can go up so can this already notorious Cactus Gas stuff.
Is it like Acidity? So what`s the hitch? Now I Really want my eyes on it

downers??? `non, merci!` as cyrano de bergerac said emphatically. life contains enough downers. as of now, only the natural uppers will do (and natural mystics!)

Noor,

Perhaps you might negotiate for some downers? Hmmm?

samina. .

was wondering who was going to come up with that question. the answer is yes, i am. and we are currently negotiating my commission. i don`t quite feel that cheap beer and cheap afghan hash are going to be enough! will keep you posted though!!!

Nadeem,

Also, nice conflation of endangered trees and endangered freedom of expression...its almost as if you middle finger is daring the Pakistani infrastructure to cut it down...(who says liberal arts students can`t read visual metaphors?)

Noor,

Are you Paracha`s press agent? Just wondering...

trashman. . .

message acknowledged! : ) as for cactus gas. . oh should i really spill the beans? cactus gas is one of NfP`s more recent pieces that has not appeared here yet. . .now perhaps the editors of chowk did not consider that the supersized middle finger was vulgar, since they seem to have pulled this out of the vault, but cactus gas. . .now THAT`s vulgar, and more recent!!! the trees in front of the karachi marriot were chopped down ages ago na. . .not that it still isn`t pertinent to talk about it. . .but oh well. ONE more article on karachi, na? and some well-meaning indians are frankly tired of hearing about karachi. go figure. . .will chowk publish cactus gas and offend the lot of us? will we have to wait for months, just as long as it took for this article to appear? do they have the courage to finally piss all of us off? stay tuned. . .same bat channel, same bat station!

*end of sarcasm mode* : )

n~

Will one of Chowk`s writers just moon us already? Can we vote and pick the lucky scribe?

I vote for Urstruly`s!

[[I say cut off the grass, uproot the remaining plants and flowers as well. Make the area really super, dooper secure. ]]

Paracha Saheb,

This cutting and chopping is going on unnoticed in this city for generations, but no one bothers. Some, like you concentrate on the eco-destruction if it is in their area of influence in other words where the Marriot is located or the Sind club or the old Clifton.Atleast some one decries at the harsh treatment meted out to those beautiful broad avenues and boulevards on or on the other side of the divide.I wonder why no one comes to our shabby little homes in Korangi, Landhi, Malir, Federal B Area, Nagin Chowrangee, Haidery, New Karachi, Ancholi or Lines Area. Our young children are being chopped and cut by the mafia which controls the mohalla or the government which promises to take strongest action against the culprits, yet seeks the support if that very mafia to be able to continue ruling us, or the Punjabi SHO sahebs stationed at those areas which need to bedisciplined. Our girls are molested on a daily basis but that is not something which is considered important enough for the IG Saheb and the Sarkar be it the Sarkar of PPP, ML, MQM, or the Bahadur Fauj.

Obaidullah Aleem says- Mera shahr jal raha hai meray log murr rahay hain - and no one listens.

What is this Cactus Gas I keep reading about? There were people talking about it
in Graffiti Christ:2 and now here?
anjaan jee, what of those who are not shocked? Does that mean this photo
is the opposite of `vulgar` to them? For shock read Graffiti Christ I & II. For vulgar watch
CNN. Cheers. And noor, stop calling me kachra admi :) Sohail should do.

#1 nass :-)
Looks like nfp is using his enfant terrible brand image to sell his products.Looks like some day we will see him upursing at us from the billboards in an ad for paracha-cola.

nadeem. . .

basically what it all comes down to is that not all of us rock when it comes to being environmentally conscious, socially aware, etcetera etcetera etcetera *in king of siam accent* i hear things are opening up, and becoming more `progressive` but does that make us free? ah such things are relative anyway. . as is your expressiveness here.

urban centres are rarely ever arcadias. . . .but why add to the sterility of karachi by chopping down trees? really, leave some of the `natural` beauty to be appreciated and admired?

anyway. . .shall we wager on how long that picture will last up here alongside your article??? and yes, do stop smoking and don`t turn to shoes (or chew)

and the finger and a moment of silence in observation of cactus gas!!!!?

n~

One need not be vulgar to be shocking.

Paracha`s big fcuk off! Very graphic. Must ... be ... stoned?