OF BHAIS AND SHISTERS

By Sidrah Gufran Roghay

Initially, the enormity of the Karachi University campus used to scare me. Many a times I would get late for classes, as I got lost in the similar looking alleys of the Arts lobby. It was one such day, early in the morning, when I decided to wait for my friend who would guide me to class. The lobby was deserted, only the Rangers accompanied me.

Not knowing what to do, I seated myself on a raised platform with a wall to lean on, and took out a magazine that I kept handy for times like these. Fifteen minutes passed and a tall wiry dude joined me on the bench. He was being extremely finicky, and I realized, it was probably my presence that made him twitch, toss and turn so much.

I refused to budge from my place. “I came here first” was my argument. Minutes passed and two more guys joined him. They seemed to be engrossed deep in conversation. I stayed put.

Finally, one of them mustered enough guts to come up to me and say, “Shister, yahan say uth jain. We will get in trouble with our seniors.”

I innocently replied “Why?”.

He uncomfortably shrugged.

I was still discovering the weirdness around this place called KU, so I moved.

Later on I came to know about the famous seat at the even more famous (read notorious) Arts lobby. Rumours are, that the seat belonged to a certain ‘Bhai” and only his followers have the right to sit there.

I remember my surprise at the discovery and I find myself smiling again as I write this post.

The next couple of days I would make it a point to sit on the same bench every day, and enjoy “Bhai log” getting uncomfortable. On being asked to move I would take advantage of being the fairer sex and innocently ask “why?”. We laughed our heads off later.

I stopped because I got bored, but I still wonder what happens at the bench!

Friends in need...

bbc.com

  By Saman Hashmi

July 2010, was a very unfortunate month in the history of Pakistan, when a series of raging floods began and cost thousands of lives and destroyed millions of homes. Thousands left their homes and migrated to various towns and cities.

This time everyone was a bit reluctant to send  monetary aid through government channels. Educational institutions, like universities, have been one of the popular sources of collecting and sending aid to those in need. Amongst them, Karachi University is also one of the names that has always stood for the national cause. The university is trying its best to keep up the spirit of youth and is encouraging them to donate for the welfare of flood victims.

Once again, all the faculties, their staff, and students stand up for the poor flood victims with great zeal. Different campaigns including fund raising, and collection of relief goods for the flood victims are being conducted. University of Karachi has set up a relief camp for the internally displaced persons (IDPs). The Vice Chancellor  has appealed to all the staff and students for generous contribution towards the funds. Dr. Prof. Pirzada Qasim Raza (the VC) himself has donated a generous amount. The official staff  have also donated their two days' salary in the fund. Moreover, various departments are also working day and night for the cause. University has activated Disaster Management Volunteer Corps (KUDMVC) to provide relief goods to flood victims. The first group of KU DMVC visited the interior Sindh with the first consignment of aid last weekend.

bbc.com

Our Mass Communication Department is also trying its best to make a difference, at least in the lives of some people, if not all. An organization of the Mass Communication Department, KUMAK (Kravan of United, Motivated and Ambitious Khabtees) has also started fund raising and have generated quite an amount of goods and money with the combined efforts of other students in the department. A number of other departments are also working hard as volunteers and managing their own campaigns for sendnig aid.

We, the youth and future of our country put all our efforts to support the cause, and will stand whenever our nation calls us, till the very end. Hopefully, we will overcome the loss and will struggle to bring about a prospering and growing Pakistan very soon.

Sufi-ism

By Maimoona Ejaz

Dhabas are a great alternative for students like us, who don’t want to eat fast-food, or go to expensive restaurants everyday.


We are khuar  enough  to walk all the way to one such place in our university, from the deserted department of Mass Communication, in the scorching heat, with no umbrellas!
You guessed it right- Sufi- known to everyone on the campus for its tempting food. It is also a hang-out spot for the students. It is very common to see a lot of friends sitting together having breakfast or lunch.

The food there might not correspond exactly to everyone’s taste, but, do you really think that over hundreds of students would still be eating there every semester since ages if the food was not simply excellent?

When served with garam garam Parathaz and thandi Lassi, Daal Chana (The distinct flavor of lentils combined with spices, make this dish a delight), Keema, Anda fry, Murgh chholay, all taste yummier than the MC.Donald's Bigmac! Biryani is not its specialty but still, some prefer it above the Biryani.com at Maskan. Though, I have never tried Sufi’s Dhoodh-Pati, but my friends say it’s a refreshing treat.

We celebrate birthdays, give farewell treats, celebrate the end of semester- in short, look for bahanas to be at Sufi!

It’s an awesome place to get together and party in order to make our day as memorable as we can. But... those who fear cats…think more than twice before you go, because cats in varieties of colors and patterns are always there to welcome you and of course demand a share of your food!
At Sufi you never eat alone, unless you choose to.

P.S. Be at Sufi before 11.30 am if you want to treat yourself with Parathas!

Talk/date in peace...

By Shumaila Rais Uddin

Ideally, libraries are supposed to be a place for studying in peace, undisturebed. But, the libraries of our dear university, seem to have been built for just the opposite...

Now KU libraries, are used as an open chat room or areas for heated discussions. Whenever students get exhausted and from their excessive "faraghat", the only place which comes in their mind for relaxation and loosening up a bit are libraries. While some of students use libraries for sleeping as well, with their eyes wide open. The reason? Libraries have air-conditioning.

According to hypothetical rules, students are never allow to chit chat in the libraries, but almost all of them still do. If they are not talking they are texting. If not texting, then sleeping, and if not sleeping then dating. God's custodians seldom look into the library, so its a relatively safer place to be able to date in peace.

Half empty or half full?

By Tehmina Qureshi

There is a lot wrong with public sector universities.  There is corruption, politics, inefficient staff and teachers, dilapidated classrooms and campuses... the list could go on and on. Karachi University too, is a victim of most of these diseases, and none the less notorious for it.

Almost everyone I knew discouraged me from studying in University of Karachi when I told them what I wanted to do. They, all, listed all the above mentioned  problems trying their best to dissuade me and proving their point. Since I hadn't experienced being a student yet, all I could do was smile and say, "I know". 

 Now, having been in the middle of all the clashes between student wings of political parties, frustrating indolence of staff, braving teachers who know less than us and give marks according to how bad their day is going; believe it or not, that's the very reason that makes me love Karachi University. Absolutely not because of the things that the loop holed system enables me to get away with (just so you know, I haven't broken one rule so far), but because if these dire problems weren't there I would've been less educated in the things that really matter.

To me the university is a model for all that plagues our country as well. Weak administration, dirty politics and all... Many people who enter the university fall victim to it. And this is the very excuse they give when they, themselves, take advantage through shady deals and "influences". Our laziness in submitting the semester or exam fee on time, not studying, or just being plain lazy is actually fuelled by all of this. A typical Pakistani and Kurian complain sounds something like, "hum kia karen? Yahan ka system hi aisa hay..."

 That is what the university taught me. How to live in a place with so many things wrong with it and yet be able to come out with your integrity intact. You may give excuses about the system, or the people, but ultimately it is your actions that make your life's story, not anyone else's.

People underestimate the potential of University of Karachi... I remember I did too. But after spending almost two years in here, I have, ironically, come to respect it for just what people hate it for. All it's faults. Because they teach me how to recognise the wheat from the chaff, and they have taught me how to live in this big bad world and still be able to look myself in the eye at the end of each day. This is a lesson, I couldn't have learnt in any books, or from sages, but I learnt this studying in Karachi University.

On Art of Political Correctness in Campus

Mohammed Ammar Bin Yaser

Getting admitted to Karachi University as a regular student requires a lot of paper work. You submit papers; you get papers in return. You submit them again and get them back with seals and signatures. None of us are exempted from this excruciating trail of formalities. But the screeds of papers we trade with KU tell us very little about the place. There are things that we learn only by experience.

One such ‘private’ reality of our beloved university is the existence of political parties in campus. It is no secret that every department in the campus has its own share of political cadres, working to further their party’s interest. Here, I’ll shed some light on one particular gang whose fearful presence compels students to be political correct when taking part in various discourses, in class or otherwise. No matter how far you are from the word ‘politcs’, these men will stalk you, and expect you to fit their definition of a ‘proper Pakistani’.

For the benefit of the silent majority who find it difficult to tactfully explain away their friends or classmates of this kind, here are some words of wisdom they won’t find in any booklet or document they received from the university. They are learned only with time.

The first principle of being politically correct is ambiguity - you have to be vague. It’s essential. You should never ever take a clear stand on a radioactive political issue. Your views should be ‘custom-made’ catering to the listener, that is, the person you are talking to.

For example, you meet a scraggily breaded guy in your department, who, you know, belongs to the aforesaid breed. Shift your gear: greet him with an “Assalamualikum” the word should be drenched in an Arabic accent – throaty - the "Ain" should sound distinct and clear from rest of the syllables. It helps!

Try to strike a conversation, if you think he is staying with you for a few moments. You can ask the timing of Zuhr or lament about the brazen dress sense of girls in the department (even in Ramadan!). Obviously, you don’t have to be that direct, but at least make a face that communicates your dislike for them. It works!

Avoid local politics. Go international: dwell on safer grounds like America, Israel, Palestine, and Kashmir. It is recommended that you stir the conversation towards sports or other trivial subjects to play safe.

Our right-wing brothers are mostly unhappy about the state of affairs: the open mingling of the sexes and music. Share their worries; add some concocted anecdotes that help them reaffirm their views, help them prove how countless despicable social evils stem from such immoral trends, but don’t look desperate. That can be counter-productive. That might bring in an invitation to their regular ‘study sessions’ where they teach you how to be spotless and save the world. So don’t get carried away with your “concerns”, keep it light and you will be safe.

Try acting upon these ‘nuskhas’ and Allah will save you from His creepy custodians.

Trust me!

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.