Time to Say Goodbye!

Ammar Bin Yasir

Dear Readers,

The past three months have made me a celebrity of sorts in my mini world – a blogger with a small but regular readership. I can’t thank you people enough for being there. For reading my blog posts regularly (no matter how pathetic they were at times) and taking the trouble to comment on them; for being honest with those comments and helping me improve myself  as a publish writer with your apt encouragement and criticism.  I know I sound like a star cricketer with millions of fans, retiring from the game after an illustrious career. But trust me, for the first time in my life, I can relate to that feeling (sounds like an outrageous overstatement? Just get it over it for the last time!).

I’d like to thank Ms. Sadia Mehmood for coming up with this ingenious idea of letting us do something creative, interesting and stimulating. As a veteran internet user, I knew what a blog is, but never had any idea how it works and the fun behind it. Maam, thank you for making the course a fun-ride. Tehmina, our editor and administrator, it was your magic management that kept our blog miles away from all sorts of gisch-pich. You’ve been a wonderful team leader and manager. We are proud of you. To all my team members: Shumaila, Saman, Maimoona, Aden Atiya, Gufran, Sidra, Ayesha and mommy – Tehmina, I’d like to say that although it would be immodest to claim it so openly but deep inside we know that we are the best!!  

Good Bye!

NOTE: This is the last post of Chooran Chutny. Thank you all, for your time and feedback. We are surely wiser, then when we began three months ago, and hope that we formed a tiny bit of your lives that you are going to miss. Adios!

 Chooran Chutny Team

The longer you wait, the worse it gets

Ayesha Ahmad

Woohoo! This one last post and then none to worry about. Yes! I am finally and thankfully done and over with, with this assignment!

This very thought fills me with a gust of triumph and makes me heave a deep, deep sigh of relief.

Now this post, which I am currently trying to work on, was actually due like a week back. Why did I fail to submit it on time then, you ask?

Well, it is not as if I am incapable of writing down my ideas in a compelling and a clear manner nor is it that I do not have anything interesting to say. In fact, I have efficiently managed to produce a couple of fine pieces (at least that is what the appreciative feedback under those pieces convey to me). The only factor which keeps making me fall behind is my awful habit of putting off work beyond the due date. You got that exactly right-- I am a procrastinator. Big time!

It is solely because of this terrible procrastination that : (1) I could not make it to History's terminal examination last year (imagine the height of carelessness!); (2) I do not give in my assignments on time and end up losing marks which could have been easily attained; (3) I do not study for mids and then have to sit for an extra hour during the finals for a makeup; (4) I still have no idea about what to study for the exam in which I have to re-appear although I have only twenty days left until the exams start; (5) the moderator/ 'bossy' team leader of this blog assignment is furious at me and would have kicked me out of the 'strong and supportive' ( as quoted by Saman Hashmi in her blog "My blogging experience") team long time back if I were not one of her beloved friends.

Although I have become familiar with this flaw in my personality, I still make no such efforts to overcome it. I say so because even this very post almost did not get written.

Just when I was about to begin writing, I thought of looking up for a quote to make the introduction have a good hook and the 'like' tab on one of the quotes pages led me to Facebook, the much addictive networking site. I soon found myself stalking my friends' profiles, because of their weird yet appealing status and profile pictures, only to find out that I have already wasted more than an hour as time simply vanishes into thin air while facebooking. From there I landed on to Tribune and the things which I never bothered giving heed to started grabbing my attention like Afridi buying a cattle farm and the cases of Dengue fever in Pakistan to name a few.

The realization that another hour of delay might contribute in the rejection of this post struck me like a gush of cold wind when I received Tehmina's( the team leader) text message asking me if I had sent my post to her.

And now here I am trying to collect all my thought and expressing them in an intelligible fashion although I had almost started at 3 and it is 7 already!

Mr. Edward Young, you were so right! Procrastination is indeed the thief of time.

The Wait-mile

Maimoona Ejaz

Long gaps between classes in university can turn out to be dreadful. The entire library is, somehow coincidentally, always full when you have to wait for hours for a class and your only options involve either sitting in the scorching heat or in a small common room with an out-of-order air conditioner and a flickering tube-light. The only thing you are left to do for the remaining half of the day while you wait for your next class, is unwillingly be in the company of gossiping peers and over hearing their exaggerated stories.

Such breaks can be particularly terrible for students who are new to a specific place, don’t have anyone to talk to and can’t seem to fit into the scenario. They know that they have to wait for the class and no matter how long the wait, for the time being they have to sit alone, staring at others pass by, with their face in their hands trying not to fall asleep.

Some students, however, take their gaps for granted. It’s the only time of the day in university when they don’t have to study, can have a bite or two and can get their mind off the burden of their regular classes and workload.

The other groups of students who can’t be missed out are the nerds. They’ll study for a test all day and all night, during their breaks (whether they range from one hour to four hours) and still say that they won’t pass.  The worst part of the day for the nerds and the best for the anti-nerd-non-serious group is, when the teacher who was conducting the test doesn’t show up. All the efforts of the hard-working students go down the drain within split seconds while the others rejoice.

Security issues of cities in Pakistan are generally a major cause of these gaps as well. Students keep on waiting for their teacher to arrive and the teacher doesn’t tell the students as they themselves are uncertain whether they will be able to make it or not.

Gaps between classes can be rather unpredictable and one can only feel its true essence and pain when one experiences it. To be on the safe side, a favorite book or a newspaper or even a music player should be kept in the bag at all times. Who knows when you might need it? If not, then you are always welcome to sit and look around!

Operation Clean-up

Tehmina Qureshi

 It was ten-thirty at night when I received a text from Ahsan Bhai yesterday, to bring a sponge and detergent  today.  He wanted everyone to contribute and have the annual "operation clean-up" (no pun  intended) in the department. 

For our readers who haven't seen the department, let me describe it a little for you. The department is two years old, has a nice cone shaped cap of blue glass on the top that impresses all the new comers. One enters a big atrium that has corridoors on either side, and the back door straight up front. The atrium has black couches in its remotest corners and a few benches that keep moving inside and out the back. The atrium is always a buzzing with activity and also shelters the IDPs of other departments which ironically do not allow students to sit there if they don't have classes. So everyone turns up here, at Mass Communication, to eat, get Photostats, sit, talk or smoke.

So I was telling you about the Operation Clean-up. The department had gotten especially dirty lately. Hence, Ahsan Bhai, was badgering us all to clean out the department bit by bit this whole week.  Once everyone gathered in the morning and had their fixes of the bad tea that is sold at our little canteen, sponges, buckets, detergents, brooms were brought out, and a few of us attacked the Paan, tea and shoe stains on the pillars. While some were busy scrubbing the grime off the pillars others thought of removing the cobwebs that hung above them. My friend Sidra Gufran had brought a pink feathery duster which looked really cute when she climbed her little-self onto a chair to wipe the cobwebs off, but it did only that. The cobwebs were as resilient as the students who were cleaning them, and swayed this way and that but mostly stayed in their places.

 Seeing all the ruckus that was being created and how everyone had taken over hos job, the janitor thought of bringing the water hose inside. Once he did that, he thought of spraying the walls with it to get it off the cobwebs too. To be honest we were surprised at his efficiency, but then we figured out he was probably thinking of the week's holiday that he would get once this gets done.

 The water hose was the turning point of the whole operation. The water made it expand laterally and charged everyone into washing every bit of the atrium. Walls, corners, windows, floor, stairs was hosed off by Suleman, Fahad, me, and the janitor. While Fahad and I fought for the hose, Suleman provided the sound effects to match the barrage of water coming out from it. Every lizard that came out of the corners was chased till it ran out of the department or beaten with brooms.

 The IDPs and people not from the department came in to witness this spectacle and stood right in the middle of the atrium to take our pictures. It took a couple of sprays on their shoes to make them understand that they are getting in the way of our project-of-the-year. Our friends who were content with only watching, got themselves complimentary sprays of water on their clothes as well. Our Photostat man on the other hand, watched all this in absolute terror.

After all the water was wiped off, and the confused IDPs were able to walk to the canteen again, and things normalised a bit, somebody piped up, "Aaj to bohot maza aaya! Ab agla safai din aglay mahinay!". Then we went to the famous Sufi and stuffed ourselves with food. Cleaning had tidied up our appetites too!

Hurrah for student week

By Sidra Rizvi

I had been waiting for the student week to begin ever since the semester started. Not that I was interested in the events it offered; I was more excited about the class timings. As per notice, all classes were supposed to be over at 11. And since usually I have to wait till 4 o clock to go home I looked forward to this week more than anyone else.

So finally on the 25^th of October student week officially commenced. Different departments held different events to attract students. Some organized ‘melas’, some had food stalls while others made use of a microphone (or is it a megaphone?)to speak out some wise words to students who otherwise ignore them.

                                                                                                                

And then there was the department of Mass Communication. In its defence two of its three planned events were cancelled. Still not to be left behind, the over zealous Mass Communicators held celebrations like cheap day, cultural day and the not so famous blue day.

People were supposed to display their best cheapest look; however majority opted to look pretty instead. And some looked just the same. Credit goes to the first year students who went really creative with their costumes which were ingenious to say the least.

The drama festival was the planned event that went really well. The chief guest was Mr Qazi Wajid along with Mr Qasim Jalali. Clips from an old drama ‘Ba Adab Ba Mulazheza’ were played and then these two personalities talked about their experienced during this drama. Some questions were raised over the current dramas being played on air and them being no match for the old dramas.

The blue day was just a simple day where everybody had to wear blue. Some rebellious souls chose not to follow it and wore yellow instead. They were all generously forgiven for this offence and since they were in yellow, their ‘mayoon’ ceremony was held in advance. Students belonging to God knows which century sang old wedding songs, while the younger generation trying to keep up just clapped.

The cultural day started with students dressed up in various cultural dresses. Some were Sindhis, some were Punjabis and there were some Somalians too. Some students then all belonging to different cultures then sat in the middle of the department and peacefully began playing ‘carom’ and ‘ludo’. The wide variety of cultures mixed together left one wondering how great it would be if this country with all its colourful cultures too would unite and work (or play) together.

As quietly as it had arrived the student week died away into oblivion and classes once more were scheduled to take place regularly.

Dear Chooran

 Sidra Gufran

I am bored of writing about the university, I know it is our beat, but let's face it, it's been over done to the core. So, I thought for a change, I would write about something that would benefit mankind in general (read: my class fellows, juniors and some seniors).

We've been doing this assignment for over two months but nothing has been said in class about basic blogging ethics. Or, if there was then, I was probably taking a pleasure stroll in my very own lala land.

A follower of this blog, once brought me at the edge of my nerves by instigating and re-instigating me to reply to his comments, in the name of “basic blogging ethics”. I ended up fighting with him. Follower one, Sidrah zero. But thank you follower, because you made me explore a couple of links on blogging ethics since I belong to the Google world. So, yes, reading a couple of links on the topic automatically makes me an expert who can write a blog on it.

I also like to consider myself a journalist, so I reserve this post to journalistic blogging. The Society for Professional Journalists relates in its rule book “responsible bloggers should recognize that they are publishing their work publicly, and therefore, have certain ethical obligation to their readers, the people they write about and the society in general”.

Credibility is a must for blogging. This is one organisational structure where you are your own gate-keeper. Check and recheck your facts before you publish it. Your published work is like carving on stone. So never delete your post. What you've have posted is there to stay, and that it is why it is a good idea to think and rethink before you hit the publish button.

Do not lie about your identity, misquote a fact, rephrase a fact as an opinion or plagiarise it. It is true that the more eyeballs your content manages to roll, the more comments and followers you attract, but this is where you draw a line. Ethical journalism is ideally what we all are here to do.

Anonymity raises questions. So remain transparent about your identity. Own what you have written, and if a follower points out a mistake, accept graciously. The followers your blog attracts are basically like minded people who share similar perspectives gathered all together on a platform. Therefore do not disappoint them. Actively engage in comments and use this space to interact.

PS. With this one last post Chooran Chutney comes to an end. Followers and commentors, thank you for making this little venture a success. Chooran, you were a good candy. Ciao ragazzi.