meethapani

Living With Honour   In a time when expediency often takes precedence over morality, we overlook how much or our daily activity is based on trust.  A simple act like driving on the road is based on assurance that the  driver will not drive into one’s car. We assume the doctor we visit has not lied about his specialization degree. From childhood, trust is a cornerstone of our lives. A child has to trust his parents, later his teachers and his friends, the authors of books, and pilot of a plane. One cannot function without the basis of trust. Yet trust is also a complex nuanced relationship the importance of which needs to be constantly reinforced. Erik Erikson, the developmental psychologist, marks eight stages of life that pivot around certain fundamental conflicts starting with Trust vs Mistrust and ending with Integrity vs Despair. The first stage requires trusting others, but is gradually internalized: at some stage in our lives, we become aware of the need f...

Celebrating the Old Pakistan  Shall we remember? Shall we forget? Shall we look to the future? Shall we bring along the past? They tell us we need a new Pakistan. Pakistan began with fear and faith. We still live in fear and faith. Before and during partition it was the anxiety of being marginalized after the withdrawal of the British Rule. That fear turned into a movement for a separate homeland that was achieved in 1947. Today we live in a fear of our own making – corruption, inequality, poverty, to which has been added violent extremism.  Fear is not necessarily a bad thing: used as a positive force, it heightens awareness, gives energy, makes one ready for obstacles. It gives focus and is a great survival tool. Karachi which was known as a city of peaceful trade, has become an anxious negotiated city.  Business persons negotiate with mafias, cars negotiate with buses and motorbikes. Citizens are forced to negotiate with other citizens over access to wa...