Somewhere along the line

By Sidra Rizvi

A line is described as a never ending, continuous, straight, one-dimensional figure, that is extending infinitely in both directions. It is for this very reason whenever humans have some important business to attend to, they are asked to form a line.

Driving a car, at the doctors, the check out at the supermarket, all require standing (or sitting) in a line because they never end. If only Euclid knew how popular a line would become in the future, he would have patented its usage and made his descendants very rich indeed.

Let’s take an example which will touch a raw nerve inside everyone who will accidentally read this, ‘paying fees’. Ever experienced the agony of a standing in a line which is barely moving to pay money which will let you sit for an exam you don’t really want to sit for? (oh the cruel cruel irony). If you are amongst the 200 students at Karachi University who pay the fees at the earliest possible time you won’t know what I am talking about. If however you are amongst the 24700 who wait until the last day like me, you will nod your consent.

There was once a time when sitting for an exam was the only thing that struck terror in the hearts of the student body. The preparations, the questions, the grades were enough to cost people a good many nights’ sleep. Nowadays however the exams are nothing compared to what precedes them. The filling out examination forms, writing all the information six times and attaching numerous pictures so that no one can later claim that they forgot their names or what they look like, getting them attested and then: the final and most difficult task of proving worthy to sit for an exam... the submitting of the forms. Who cares if we ever actually get to study for the paper?

If one arrives at the university early in the morning say about 8 o’clock, there’s no need to open a maths book, for just in front of the bank there is a never ending, continuous figure that keeps on extending. What I experience viewing this figure is confusion. I don’t know whether to be amused by the fact that the bank does not even open until 9 or be disheartened that very soon I am going to be another ‘dot’ contributing to it. This line is not straight however. You can see branches of it curving on either side only to be straightened once more by a very stern looking ruler (read female guard). Finally a little after 9 the bank window opens. However more ill usage of poor math is witnessed. For ever 5000 students there is only one accountant. As a result the students who had been standing as early as 8 am hoping that they would be done by 10 are still standing there when the bank closes for the day at 1 pm. The sad part is students miss the very classes they have to appear for, trying to pay the fees.

I am certainly not against standing in a line. I think it’s a very civilized way of doing things. However the trouble starts brewing when the line refuses to move and the civilized ‘dots’ resort to pushing, shoving and poking the people in front blaming them for just existing. I mean sure its scorching hot, and it’s Ramadan, but just think of all the patience you will eventually find lies within you. Since there is no way around it, suck it up.