Cricket Fever

Today, I became infected, don't worry, I'm not ill. I became perhaps the newest victim of a phenomenon, which I, as well as many, call Cricket fever. It began last Sunday when I was watching the Pakistan vs India game, which they played in Sri Lanka for the World T20 Tournament. As an American, I grew up watching and playing Baseball, it was the first sport I was into until I reached my teens, when I got into Basketball, and then later on American Football. When I was younger I had come to Pakistan to visit family, and the one constant throughout the years, which I saw during all my visits here was the sight of children playing Cricket on the streets. I even played a couple of times, not knowing the rules, I just knew that I had to hit the ball. I remember the first time I played, I must've been 8 years old, and the bowler sent a ball my way, and I thought to myself, how do I hit this ball, its bouncing off the ground! Then, without thinking, I hit the ball, in a way that came naturally, given the position of the ball, which was to swing the ball upward in a vertical motion, as opposed to a horizontal strike, as you would in baseball.

I would venture to guess that most Americans don't know anything about cricket, except that its not a national sport in the United States. The British refer to cricket as "a gentleman's sport." The rules of cricket, without going into too much detail, as I understand them are as follows:

You have two wickets, one behind where the batsman stands, and one where the bowler (the equivalent to what would be a pitcher in baseball) bowls (pitches) from. The objective of the game is to gain runs, so the batsman, after hitting the ball will run from wicket to wicket, and each time he touches a wicket, the team gains a run. In baseball, if a team gets 3 outs, the other team gets to bat - in cricket, its about the same, except, there are 10 outs. In baseball you can get out by striking out, a fielder on the opposing team catching a ball knocked into the air, or if the ball reaches the in-fielder at a base before the runner reaches it. In Cricket, a batsman can get out if the bowler bowls the ball and hits the wicket behind the batsman, if a hit ball is caught, or if, while the batsman is running between wickets, a fielder or bowler from the opposing team hits the wicket the batsman is running to with the ball. Another different between Cricket and Baseball, is that in Baseball there are 9 innings (when the teams switch positions from batting to fielding), and in Cricket, there are only two. Team A will start batting to set the target number of runs, and after all the overs are complete, or if the team loses all of their wickets before the overs are complete, Team B takes over to bat, while Team A fields. When Team B goes to bat, they must reach the target set by Team A in order to win the game.  I may have left a few things out, but this is the general idea. I won't go into "overs" because that varies from tournament to tournament, and quite honestly, I'm a little lacking when it comes to knowing those specifics.

In Pakistan, everyone's crazy about cricket. This is for two reasons:

1. Unlike the United States, where you have Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, and American Football, Pakistan only has one national sport- Cricket.

2. With all the adverse things happening in the country - terrorism, extortion, robberies, target killings, etc., Cricket is seen as a welcome distraction to take peoples' minds off these unfortunate realities which exist in everyday life for the average Pakistani.

At the Ad Agency where I work, there are a couple of Hindus working there, and today, I saw one of them cheering for Pakistan's Cricket team in their match against Australia. It doesn't matter if you're Sindhi, Balochi, Pathan, Punjabi, Muhajir, Parsi, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, extremist, moderate, or liberal, Cricket is a unifying force in Pakistan, and everyone's eyes are glued to the screen when Team Pakistan is playing.

So today, Pakistan defeated Australia (technically yesterday, since it's now passed midnight, Pakistan time), on Thursday, Pakistan will play Sri Lanka. I have to admit, I'm pretty excited about this. Let's see what happens.

Stay tuned... to be continued

UPDATE

When I first started writing this blog, I had set a lofty goal, to post a blog entry every night. After taking three days off from writing this blog, I reached a conclusion: I can't do this everyday. I'm going to start writing this only once a week, or twice if something major happens in terms of developments in Pakistan that I want to blog about. The reality is, my work schedule is never regular, sometimes I get home from work by 7 - 7:30, and sometimes I get home much later. There are only so many hours in the day, and after working all day, working out afterwards and dinner, there's usually not a lot of time left. So every Saturday, I'll post something starting this Saturday, October 6th. I also plan on starting another blog which will have more of a marketing and advertising feel to it, I will post the link on this blog as well as post it on Facebook.

Stay tuned...

Pakistan - the Other Side of the Coin

So, what do you think of when you hear "Pakistan"?

a) a country next to India
b) the 6th most populous country in the world 
c) a terrorist state?

If you picked c, then you'd probably be like most people in the developed world.  Pakistanis are very segmented, religiously, economically, socially, and politically. There's no one paradigm which fits all Pakistanis. If you've read my previous blog entries, or if you can point to Pakistan on a map, then you probably already have a general idea about the economic segmentation.

Within Pakistan, reside Parsees, Muslims, Christians, and Hindus. Also within Pakistan are liberals, moderates, and extremists. There are many Muslims in the country who are very religious and non violent, and then there are many that aren't religious at all who kill and steal. There are even a number of middle class and affluent youth who drink and go to underground parties.

As in the United States, the majority of people here are followers rather than leaders, and unfortunately, it often happens that they follow the wrong crowd. Because of the disparity between the rich and the poor, not to mention poor economic conditions including hyper inflation and unemployment, the number of "have nots" is growing by the day. This group of people is easily influenced, and are ready to release their frustration in any outlet which becomes available to them. By the way, this isn't limited just to Pakistan, this phenomenon is also developing in Europe and the United States as we speak, with hate groups such as the EDL (English Defense League) and right wing Evangelical preachers such as Terry Jones.

I have coined the term "extremist opportunists" to describe those religious leaders who prey on the dissatisfied and motivate them to commit acts of violence, while they stay back safe and sound, and collect money from foreign and local interest groups. The harsh reality is, in most situations, there is a beneficiary, and conflict is no different. In wars, weapons manufacturers make a killing, figuratively and literally. Naturally, there are other parties as well.

Its easy to condemn an entire nation for the heinous acts of a few, or even a religion for that matter. Its much harder to take time and try and understand the entire picture, or at least get to know some of the people you're condemning. But that's too hard, right? We, the people of today, are used to taking the easy way out, we're just ready to believe whatever is spoon fed to us. Humanity must evolve if we are to live together in harmony. If we allow propaganda to control our lives, then we'll never get to know one another, and as long as we don't know each other, we'll never understand each other. One constant in human psychology which has stayed with us over centuries, perhaps millennia, is that we always fear that which we don't understand.

Stay tuned...to be continued

Limited Possibilities

When I first thought about writing a blog, I thought, man this is going to be easy. Now its the fifth day of posting on this blog, and I'm already experiencing writer's block. In life I've found everything to seem either effortless or impossible until I've tried doing it. Only after trying do you discover how much effort is required for something which is seemingly effortless, or how easy that thing was which you believed to be impossible. I dedicate tonight's blog entry to limited possibilities.

Today, I saw something interesting, although to the typical Pakistani, this would probably be dismissed as something which is commonplace.  I was driving and I saw a biker with his foot on a rickshaw. Of course to me, this seemed kind of strange, I kept wondering, why does that guy have his foot on that rickshaw, doesn't the rickshaw driver mind? As it turns out, the rickshaw was out of gas and the biker was offering the rickshaw driver some assistance. In most large cities I've been to, everyone is always rushing around trying to get to where they need or want to be. This biker actually delayed his trip to wherever he was going to help out a total stranger, or perhaps he was in no rush at all. Nonetheless, it was a gesture of goodwill, and it was something nice to see.

Many Karachiites, including one of my uncles, are very pessimistic about the future of Pakistan. Last weekend's "Project Clean for Peace," and this good samaritan I saw today, for me, is evidence that there are good people out there who care about their fellow man, and who are willing to do something about it. I'm sure a lot of people don't know this, and neither did I before coming here, but Pakistan has one of the largest copper reserves on the planet. That's not all, Pakistan also has large amounts of natural gas, gold, coal and oil. What's holding Pakistan back? The answer to this question can be summarized in two words, greed and corruption.

The way I see it, there are three possibilities for Pakistan's future, the first one is: If corruption can be curbed, and if enough good people work together, Pakistan has the potential of being one of the richest countries on the planet. By pooling thought, resources, and sweat, even if this is done by a minority rather than a majority, a group of conscientious and concerned people can bring about radical social as well as economic change. The United States wasn't always a welcoming place for non whites, there were individuals who took upon themselves a responsibility to make a change, and they did, some of them lost their lives in that pursuit. The way they dedicated themselves to the task was to forget about their wants and their needs and instead, focused on a collective goal. They didn't think about the short-term, they thought about the long-haul. This is a line of thinking that many Pakistanis will have to break themselves of.

Possibility two: No one does anything, and Pakistan's security situation can continue to deteriorate, to the point of absolute lawlessness. All those abundant resources which can bring Pakistan into a golden era of economic and social prosperity may be left in the soil forever. Scores of innocent lives will be lost in the battle for control of the cities which will rage on between the various mafia entities. The Pakistani government will leave Pakistan with their pockets full of cash and will be living abroad in luxury and comfort along with their families, who, later, will start some kind of social movement under a humanitarian guise to return order to Pakistan. They will be lauded as heroes and will return to Pakistan to do it all over again.

Possibility three: Again, no one does anything, Pakistan's security situation continues to deteriorate, to the point of lawlessness, massive killings and robberies, and in the commotion, extremist opportunists take over. There's no need to go further into this potential scenario, whether you're American or Pakistani, you know what happens next.

So, there you have it, three potential outcomes. Which one will come to fruition, that only the people of Pakistan can decide. Will Pakistan stand united and do something to change its state of affairs for the better, or will it fall divided?

Stay tuned... to be continued

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Someone asked me today, "do you miss home"? Yes, of course I do, I said. Interestingly enough, there's not much I miss about home, my family, my friends, Jackson's Java Coffee House- the people and the Earl Grey, my PS3 and a few other things I left behind, and of course the general security there. All the other things there are to life, I can pretty much do anywhere.  Looking for new places to eat, going to watch a movie, going for a long drive... well, technically in Karachi its generally not considered safe to drive around aimlessly, still I do a bit of that too.  I love driving. In the United States, I've driven from one coast to the other, from Charlotte, NC to Los Angeles, CA. I've driven to Chicago more times than I can remember, and most of the time, I went alone.  I've covered maybe 60% of the United States driving.

Come to think of it, I miss the security in the United States the most. The US in general is a pretty safe place. You just have to use your street smarts a bit more if you're in an unfamiliar area, a poor side of town, or a rest area. Here, my family's very protective of me, and I've been told to avoid certain areas. The perception here is that every area is unsafe. If you go to Nazimabad and ask someone there about Gulshan, they'll say its unsafe. If you go to Gulistan e Jauhar and ask someone there about Mohammed Ali Society, they'll say its unsafe. However, if you ask someone about their own area, they'll say its safe. Fortunately for me, I stay in a part of Karachi that everyone says is safe.

Is anywhere in Karachi safe? My mother calls me almost on a daily basis, and sometimes she calls me when I'm driving. The first thing she'll say to me is "are you driving"? If I reply in the affirmative, she'll scold me for at least 2 minutes about how its unsafe to drive and talk on the phone, not for driving while talking for road safety  (I use a handsfree set when I'm driving by the way), but because someone may steal my phone. She may also take the time to scold me about being out of the house when there are "booray haalat," or a bad situation in the city, the day after something happens. Still, you can't be mad at a mother for worrying about her only son in a place which is regarded as being in the top 5 of most dangerous countries in the world.

Karachi by many has been described as a ticking time bomb which can go off at any moment. Based on my experiences here so far, and from what I've observed on the news, this analogy seems to hold true. Still, it doesn't matter where you are, at any time, there may be random firing, target killings, a bomb blast, or other random acts of violence irrespective of locality. That which ultimately determines your safety or peril is being in the right place at the right time, or the wrong place at the wrong time. I can't stay at home all the time in fear of something bad randomly happening, if I did, I wouldn't go to work or do anything for that matter. I probably wouldn't even be able to continue this blog because I'd have nothing to talk about. Living here, you just have to keep your eyes open, hope for the best, expect the worst, and keep it moving.

Stay tuned...to be continued

Foodistan

One of my friends has requested that I write a blog entry about the food I've experienced in Karachi so far, so I dedicate this entry to food.  I love food, all kinds, although I'm a pretty picky eater.  They say Virgo's are the pickiest of the zodiac when it comes to food, and I beg to differ.  Since I came to Karachi, I've had the pleasure of sampling a broad array of food.  My first experience eating out was at the ever famous BBQ Tonight. This is a place I had heard about from many people, who were raving about how great it was, and naturally, I wanted to try it. After having it, everyone wanted to treat me to BBQ tonight, and by the 5th time, I had sampled virtually everything on the menu.  As most things, it was great the first time, and somehow lacking thereafter.  The most enjoyable experience I've had so far was a small Chinese restaurant called Yuan Tung (pronounced yong tong), which if you ever go and if you like fish, you must try the red crispy fish- its absolutely to die for.

To date, the following are restaurants which I've visited:


1. Gourmet Burgers
2. Roasters
3. Fuscia
4. Butlers
5. Pompeii
6. Yuan Tung
7. Ginsoy
8. Chairman Mao
9. BBQ Tonight
10. Xanders
11. Gloria Jeans
12. Gunsmoke
13. Taco Elpaso
14. Laal Qila
15. Urban Grill
16. Kava
17. Big Thick Burgers
18. 14th Street Pizza
19. Espresso
20. Ciao
21. Hardees
22.  Suzy Wong
23. Dynasty
24. Cafe Alanto
25. Iceberg
26. Shawarma Stand off Kh e Sehar
27. Hanifia
28. Tandoori Hut
29. Karachi Broast
30. Chilis
31. Kaybees
32. Snack Attack
33. Jamil's
34. A ONE
35. Red Chilis
36. California Pizza
37. Village
38. McDonalds
39. Pizza Hut
40. KFC
41. Dunkin Donuts
42. 14th Street Pizza
43. Domino's
44. Cha Cha Jee's
45. Burger Inc.
46. OPTP
47. CHIPS
48. Mahi Seafood
49. Subway
50. Chinatown
51. Jade Garden
52. Arizona Grill
53. Ideal Cafe
54. Biryani of the Seas
& some others I can't remember

My favorites on this list are: Burger Inc., Yuan Tung, Hanifia's, Ginsoy, Chairman Mao, 14th Street Pizza, Kava, Xander's, Iceberg, Chilis, and the Shawarma Stand off Khayaban e Sehar.  14th Street Pizza has the best pizza I've ever had when compared to Chicago or New York. Ginsoy and Chairman Mao have great Chinese food, but Yuan Tung is second to none.  Burger Inc. is a fairly new place in Karachi, its located in Badar Commercial, off 26th street, and has imported fries from England, and great burgers.  Kava is one of the best restaurants I've been to, it has larger servings than Roasters, and about the same price. Xander's is a great place for ambiance, the servings aren't that great, but the quality and service is amazing.  For any American reading this, unless you're a fan of frozen yogurt, ice cream in Pakistan generally leaves far to be desired for the taste buds of an average ice cream loving westerner.  If you try any of the local variety and are thoroughly disappointed, try Iceberg in Saddar, I recommend the chocolate and vanilla mix, its superb!  If you're on a budget, then Chilis is the place to go, and if you're hungry, you can get a chicken tikka, paratha, a roll, and a drink for about Rs. 230 (or about $2.50).  Also in the inexpensive price range is a shawarma stand off Khayaban e Sehar in Defence Phase 6, where you can get a world class shawarma for about Rs. 100 (or about $1).

Pakistan's food definitely ranks high on my list of reasons to stay in Pakistan. When I say that a place is the best place for something, I mean its the best place I've gone to anywhere in the world where I've been. Its so good that I can't even decide which is number one.

Stay tuned...the story continues
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Holy New Holiday Batman!

I'm not sure how many Americans keep up with international news, I know its not a huge percentage, but even the ones who do, I wonder if you guys have heard of a holiday which was invented this year on Friday, September 21, 2012 in Pakistan.  Its called "ishq-e-Rasool" day, which literally means "love for the Prophet" day. Naturally, since Pakistan is a nation which comprises of 97% Muslims, they would be talking about the Prophet Muhammad. This was done in response to a satirical movie about Muslims created in Hollywood, which portrayed the Prophet Muhammad in a very derogatory way, inflaming Muslims all over the world, many of which took to the streets to protest. This part is easy to understand, its simple cause and effect.  What happened during the protests, however, defies all logic. Some movie theaters in Pakistan were set ablaze, property was vandalized, and people were killed.

It was truly a dark and sad day for Pakistan, and for all of humanity, knowing that these acts of mayhem were perpetrated by those who took to the streets to protest something which they deemed as unjust.  What a sad irony it is that those who seek justice end up being unjust in their pursuit of justice.

On that day, I drove all over Defence and Clifton, not such a good idea looking at it in retrospect, but I actually got to see a lot of the protests starting off firsthand.  Its interesting, I've been to many protests all over the United States for various civil rights issues, and I never knew the protest culture could be so different in another place.  In the United States, when I've gone for protests, its usually one venue, starting at a definite time, and everyone who wants to protest only congregates in that area.  Here, I saw about 5 different mobs protesting, each with their own speakers and audiences in different parts of town.

On Saturday morning I ventured out to take care of a few errands, which I couldn't do the day before because the entire city was shut down.  So, I headed out, and it was as if the craziness that gripped the city the day before hadn't even happened.  Everything was running as if its business as usual.

On Sunday, there was a series of peace rallies all over Pakistan, branded as "Project Clean For Peace," organized by Transparency International and Go Green Pakistan.  The aim of this activity was to clean up a certain part of town affected by the protests, and beautify it in the name of peace.  This event started with a single tweet from an individual activist, and resulted in a nationwide campaign.  Even after all that I had seen and heard about on Friday, seeing people like this come together gave me a glimmer of hope.  Even in a country that has been plagued by violence, ignorance, and corruption, there are still people out there who are striving to make Pakistan into a better place.  They have many obstacles in their path to achieving this, and its a matter of them versus feudal lords, corrupt politicians, corrupt infrastructure, criminals, crooked politicians, and religious extremists.

As grim as that may seem, I still believe this place can become better, and it will.  Every greedy man wants what the other has, and therefore collective greed is ultimately self defeating.  Virtuous people want for others what they want for themselves, and therefore collective virtue is self sustaining.  If all the individuals within this country who are concerned and dedicated to making Pakistan into a better place come together, then these other guys don't stand a chance.

Stay tuned...the story continues

Follow @adam_azad

Beginning The Journey

I feel it only appropriate, given that this is my first blog entry, to introduce myself in a concise, yet effective way.

 I was born in Karachi, but raised in the United States.  I'm currently working as a strategic marketing manager at a top ad agency in Karachi.  I came to Karachi from the United States and decided to try my luck here, and also to experience life in a third world country.

So, why now, why start a blog? That has to be one question that every blogger (who has their own blog) has asked themselves before writing their first blog entry.  The truth is, life in this part of the world is still generally unknown to the average, well, objectively, I wouldn't want to generalize and say "westerner," so I'll say American.  Although, it would be reasonable to hypothesize that most westerners would fall into the same category.

This city, Karachi, is the most amazing place I've ever seen in my life.  The last time I came here was about 15 years ago.  On my way to my family's house from the airport, I was just observing the surroundings to see if I could recognize just one thing from my last trip.  Nothing, not one inch of Karachi looked the same.  I was happy to see so much development compared to the last time I came.  Port Grand, Dolmen Mall in Clifton, Khadda Market, Forum, Boat Basin, Tariq Road, and many other places make Karachi the only city in its class.

Karachi has a population of close to 20M people.  There are various classes of people, similar to other countries, and its very segmented.  To sum it up, you have very poor people, poor people, not so poor people, ok to do people, well to do people, very well to do people, and extremely well to do people.  I may have left one or two out of the mix, but that's it, more or less.  People live in slums (kachee abaadi), apartments, penthouses, houses, and mansions.  Any American will recognize the international chains in Pakistan such as McDonald's, KFC (well, not for much longer), Pizza Hut, Domino's, and Hardee's.  I think back to my school days and remember my first experience witnessing peoples' perceptions about Pakistan.  Some girl asked me, "do you live in a house there"? A boy asked me, "do they have cars there"?

Naturally, with a population this size, space can become a crucial issue. One very important area of space, which any person who hopes to navigate the streets of Karachi behind the steering wheel of a car, will find this out very shortly in their first drive.  Driving in the US was easier with a blindfold than it is to drive in Karachi.  One thing is for certain, however, and that is if a person successfully masters the art of driving in this city, he/she is fit to drive anywhere in the world.

In a city where anything can happen at anytime, one must all ways be on their toes.  This is the city of the tough. Its dog eat dog, and only the strong survive.  It's a representation of darwinism at its finest.  This is the place where bombs explode, political parties run the streets like mafias, and cops run from danger - they even get out of your way on the road if you honk at them.  Even after all this, its business as usual.  Karachi is the city where there are protests on the street, the protests get violent, various places are vandalized, and people are killed.  Then, the next day, everything is as it was the day before.   Everyone still goes to work, out for shopping, to have a meal, to watch a movie, etc.  Karachi pauses, but never stops.

After all this, why would I stay in Karachi and not return to the United States?  That's something I was thinking about on September 20th, when scores of foreign nationals were leaving on flight after flight outside of Pakistan, and after reading two warning emails from the United States Consulate's office.  First, its challenging, and I enjoy a challenge.  Secondly, Karachi is full of life and full of promise. In my 9 months here, I've seen a lot of new restaurants opening, new shopping areas being built, more houses being built, and new commercial areas emerging.  Third, I've met great people here, who are generous, kind, loyal, intelligent, and innovative.  Fourth, THE FOOD.  To date, I've been to over 50 restaurants in Karachi, and although not every experience was ideal, I don't regret most of them.  Finally, and perhaps the most important reason, living here will enable me to perceive things in ways I've never done before, some of which I've already experienced.

So, with all these crazy things going on, violent protests, killing, robberies, etc., do I get scared?  Of course I feel scared, for a little while at least.  You get used to it, you have to, there's no choice, except leave or commit suicide.  Even when a person suffers the most devastating loss, they have no choice but to continue breathing and move on.  That's exactly what you do in Karachi, shrug it off, continue breathing, and move on.

Stay tuned as the story continues...