The “GupShup” Culture

i was shocked and apalled to be compared to the peoples of Latin America, Southern Europe, Africa and parts of Asia - god knows being associated with that bunch of losers can`t be good for our image. also bewildered. perhaps you could go into a bit more detail about the cultural similarities in terms of the phenomenon youve labelled as `gup-shup`? ive never really payed much attention to the small-talk that goes on in africa (but then perhaps ive been distracted with more trivial things like war and famine) but im sure you really have a good point there. i mean, dismal leadership, lack of political and democratic development, economic failure, fringe fundamentalism, corruption within the bureaucracy, military hegemony, and even kashmir are clearly all a direct result of the fact that pakistani families take the time out to discuss with each other how their day went. a word to the wise: deconstruction of this sort is fine for some random essay but if you actually believe this stuff i kinda feel sorry for you. there are several layers of meaning embedded within a conversation. simple words only convey a part of it. people with strong relationships cant always discuss matters of global importance, they often just chit-chat because they like each other`s company. i think youll find that very few ``modern and developed`` societies tend to discuss liberty and political reform over breakfast. personally i find that even the most uneducated of individuals in pakistan displays a greater acumen and interest for power politics and foreign relations than your average joe in north america.

Athar you are a good writer. You have picked a seemingly un-important topic and made a great article...linking it to the very roots of our deprivation as a whole. But how long shall we keep on discussing our problems and their causes? It is time we move on to solutions. At least discuss about them. Let us take some practical steps. Whatever we can do, let us do it. Sitting there and discovering problems will do us no good...because 160 million in here are already doing it. We need you here not there.

Dr. Muhammad Akbar Hussain Siddiqui
Siddiqui Observatory, Karachi

#29 by Musannif

Musannif saheb, aap ek-dum sahee farmaate hain!

[ I believe that those days and nights of Gup Shup, were the golden times and we were surrounded by love and peace.]

Alas, we long for those lost lamhe`s of leisurely lounging!

dil dhoondhataa hai, fir wahee furasat ke raat din
baithhe rahe tasawwoor-ye-jaanaa kiye huye

jaadon kee narma dhoop aaur aangan mein let kar
aankhon pe khinch kar tere daaman ke saaye ko
aaundhe pade rahe kabhee karawat liye huye

yaa garmeeyon kee raat jo poorawaaeeyaan chale
thhandee safed chaadaro pe jaage der tak
taaron ko dekhate rahe chhat par pade huye

barfilee sardiyon mein kisee bhee pahaad par
waadee mein gunjatee huyee, khaamoshiyaan soone
aankhon mein bheege bheege se lamhe liye huye

(Song: Mausam)

And this website is perhaps merely an inadequate attempt to recreate those bygone times for many.

Without the ``love and peace`` part!

Because those must be provided on a ``pot luck`` basis.

And we desis are SO miserly!

[These elders of families were the real Stalwarts, the ``Mard-e-Maidan``!]
We got some (in their own minds) ``Mard-e-maidan``s here too. (Note: in my part of Bihar, ``going to maidaan`` is a phrase which refers to the act of answering the morning call of nature!)

[Yes, the elderly of the Gup Shup community could have improved by being more active physically.]
Still holds!

My good friend may not agree with me, because of his personal experiences, and we all have different views based on various circumstances. I believe that those days and nights of Gup Shup, were the golden times and we were surrounded by love and peace.
These elders of families were the real Stalwarts, the ``Mard-e-Maidan``!
Having said that, I do agree that we all can improve and learn from each other. Yes, the elderly of the Gup Shup community could have improved by being more active physically.
Today this wonderful art of Gup Shup is missing, and therefore we find our selves at a loss!
Respectfully,
Musannif.

Instead of spending their valuable god given time in small talk, they should be more focused on Jerry Springer.

Re: # 24
I think she is ...

Re: # 23

fv,

........... i will take your advice and take back my resignation....... but i am certainly not putting any woman on mars - who will fold the laundry on earth ? .......... and besides, they think they belong on venus ........

Re: # 2-and what have you been following..since.then..?

is the writer any relation of a. shiraz and artur shiraz

Dear hamidm:

I am in receipt of the draft of your resignation letter (you say in bottom that you are not thinking clearly as you are under influence of shiraz -- the one in bottle, not the bottled-up one).

There is too much pain, sir, in your voice. You say, ``it has made me realize that the chowk is the ultimate refuge of the lazy, insouciant, shiftless and generally good-for-nothing desi who indulges all day in idle gup-shup and will never amount to much other than a code coolie or a suicide bomber``.

We at Chowk understand how you feel trying to wake up zombies and telling them not to sleep or die. It is tough task and only brave merlot man can do justice.

My humble suggestion is you sit here and increase world gdp. How? Just get two parties to fight and fight, play one moneybag against other; they will invest in mutual fund of jihad a/c. You can eliminate hunger by asking people to only drink alcohol. Eradicating AIDs is your baiyein haath (now, now, I am only saying) ka khel -- keep people here at night engaging in intercourse on Indo-Pak; nothing will happen so nothing will happen. My small request: Instead of putting man on Mars on 2010, please send woman there before that.

Women will make sure that place looks like home, not some stupid planet. Only question is, what type woman you want to send? I think desi woman are perfect. And they like you. See, you say horrible thing like, ``.......... and worse of all are desi women - all they ever seem to do is eat and gossip .......... if it weren`t for their procreative abilities I would say that god wasted a perfectly good rib ............`` and no one complains. Not even in this women`s history month. (Why always woman`s past cupboard is being brought out from skeleton I don`t understand.)

You are lucky man. Forget resignation. You become Chowk mascot. Your logo will be spare rib.

Please do consider offer on platter.

urstruly....

(This written because discussion is about gup-shup, so be thanda...matlab just chill)

hamidm`s posts on this forum are a better read than the article


where have all the flowers gone :(

Re: # 17
You are so funny. Love the Rib comment.
Long time, Hamidm Sahib.

What a totally ridiculous article. A flogging is in order. Smirk

Perhaps the author is not familiar with the gossip mongerings of the Western Societies.

We humans are social animals, and one way we keep our sanity in this crazy world is through communication. Light hearted banter is a good thing.

There is always Jerry Springer for those who miss gup-shup. And Oprah.....

yaar ather bhai, i think you are trying to draw wild sociological conclusions out of gossiping. everyone indulges in smalltalk no matter which culture: girl friends tend to be more into it than your guy friends, professors after a few drinks, acquantances, strangers, random single-serving friends so what? marquez created a literary masterpiece largely derived from the gossips and stories of his grandma that he grew up with. just go easy on these ``inferor race`` statements etc. they are downright disgusting.

cheers.

arthur,

....... i don`t know if you have noticed, but much more harmful than idle ``gup shup`` is the desi pastime of watching the traffic ...... you see all sorts of men perched up on the side of the road just watching the traffic - specially women who dare to venture out ......... in the winter time when they are all wrapped up in their blankets they look like listless vultures too lazy to preen their wings .......... now, some will say that these poor folks are unemployed and have no place to go, but what about the well heeled guys who sit around in the lobby of the mariott or the intercontinental sipping tea and watching the traffic .......... you might say that these guys are indulging in plain old gup-shup, but it is still another example of shiftless natives dong what they do best - nothing ...........

.......... and worse of all are desi women - all they ever seem to do is eat and gossip .......... if it weren`t for their procreative abilities i would say that god wasted a perfectly good rib ............