Three Tales by One Traveller: Tale Two

COURAGE

The second tale is about my time at University Institute of Information Technology, UIIT. It is IT school of Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, a place which specializes in knowledge about agriculture. Yet, I stayed at this place for around 28 months. And the time I have been here has been a fascinating experience.

UIIT, It Keeps Moving with Strength

This place manages and takes care of academic careers of approximately 1800 IT students at any given time. The place is anything but elite and s very low on this list of priorities of the university under which it operates as it is not directly related to agriculture. Most of the students in this institute get admission solely based on the marks they scored in the previous degree they achieved. It is an exciting boiling pot of different ethnic, economic and regional backgrounds that represent Pakistan. The institute is very far on radar screen of the university which never likes to be bothered about career growth of the students. More than half of the students can't even afford the fees they pay let alone have a PC, Laptop or any other facility needed on their own. The children whom this institute caters are in several cases as far from computer science and IT as a camel can be from north pole. And yet this institute send approximately 500 students every year in market. Many of these students get settled in one year. How does this happen?

I understood here that the biggest weapon a courageous human can wield in facing the world is perhaps not the skill, it is perhaps not the knowledge as well...It is the courage. The people I interacted with at UIIT, administration, faculty, students may never know this. In their daily lives, demeanor, appearance, they are just ordinary folks...nothing extraordinary, worried, tense, underestimating themselves, under equipped, complaining, facing official politics everyday...a typical Pakistani of 2011. But they posses something they don't know how to value...perhaps they even don't know they have it in several cases. They are courageous to face this life everyday and get something positive out of it.

During these two and half years, we did several great things together at UIIT. We together completed a couple of successful MS sessions envy of the whole computing community of our metropolis. Our undergraduate students excelled under guidance of their teachers. They won jobs while competing against the graduated of most established and resourceful institutions. They started getting admissions in much better institutions nationally and internationally in higher academic programs. The institute is now well known in the community. People now feel no hesitation being part of this hot boiling pot whether as professional academicians or students. The institute has did it on its own. No one has come to its help. It is only the courage of people who make UIIT, faculty, students, administration who make all of this possible. They have a lot of issues. There is undeniable element of politics. They have their own grudges...withe each other and with the outside world. They may not be as expressive as many others. But still, they form a machine that continues wheeling forward delivering a lot what it was supposed to deliver. It is not perfect no doubt, far from it....but it is very impressive.

This story is not a story of an individual. There are no heroes here. This is not my story either. Unfortunately, I could not deliver any miracles while I stayed here. I was a non entity while being here. The story of UIIT will only have a fading memory of me...an easily forgettable one. This is the story of all the people who make UIIT, made UIIT or will make UIIT. These are mortals with courage. This is their story. The story of people like Dr. Nawazish Naveed, Sheeraz Akram, Muhammad Nazir, Malik Nadeem, Nasir Minhas, Saqib Majeed, Shafique, Nasir, Abdur Rehman, Azeem Abbas, AD, DD, Basit, Safdar Abbas, Mushaad Gillani, Director, students...so many students, Such a large Staff, Faculty....there are thousands, I cant even name all. They are different people. Many amongst them  may not go along fine withe each other in many cases. They may be not happy withe each other on several things. But at the end of the day, these faculty members, services people, staff, students, at the twilight of their lives may be sitting somewhere someday and they may suddenly realize....whoa..we did something wonderful together when we were at UIIT. "We did it together".

They are different people. I dedicate this story to these people. As I leave UIIT, I salute their courage to stand proud always. UIIT is waiting for its time and moving towards it. IT lives on its strength. To the people who make up UIIT, I am proud to be part of all of your lives. This is my second tale as I sign off duty at this wonderful place. Be blessed.

Rauf Khalid: A spark who never could become a flame....rest in peace

Many of us do remember Rauf Khalid as the brain behind "Angaar Waadi", a master piece of Pakistani drama history....some like myself also remember him as owner of "Laaj", the worst disappointment of a film that conscious cinema goers could expect out of a genius like him. Unfortunately, the impaired genius went to his heavenly abode when Mr. Rauf Khalid died in a car accident yesterday.

May you always be allowed to dream

He was amongst the very few left in Pakistani mainstream media (the others being peerzadas) in my opinion who not only claimed to know the intricacies of modern and classical performing arts...They actually knew and mastered it. When he produced the epic "Angaar Wadi" in 90s, the TV drama in Pakistan was passing through one of its worst phases. We used to see old dramas of PTV and wonder if any such creativity ever come back. But then came a few surprises...Alpha Bravo Charlie, Duaan and Angaar Wadi...and we the nation were happy like a child...folks like Aasher Azeem, Shoaib Mnasoor and Rauf Khalid became our icons instantly.

But he was a tormented genius. Always thinking to come up with a commercial success which forsakes formula and trodden path. The result was obvious as has always been. His maiden film created an immense hype but became an even bigger disappointment. He never looked back in those alleys again.

A very cultured, polished and kind man. A man of principals and unbiased nature (very uncommon among the Pakistani fraternity these days). He was a blessed person who saw the height of his professionalism with dignity in a very short life, earned a lot of love and respect and actually gave Pakistan a lot to be proud of. Rest in Peace Rauf Khalid

Three Tales by One Traveller: Tale One

SUPPORT

The life is never easy. That we all know but it is even more difficult for those who are bent on making it less easier for themselves. I was the one who always shied away from the most obvious paths (they may not be the easiest but undoubtedly were the most obvious). Consequently, I have tasted quite a fair share of disappointments in my life. And I can't claim to be the all conquering hero of fantasy land who takes all these disappointments in his stride and continues moving towards the ultimate aim. I must confess...I was quite a broken man when I joined National University, FAST. And a quite hopeless broken man on it...so life was tough as they say.

and it will live on....always a survivor

But then we don't know what fate has in store for us. I tried my level best not to enter this campus which was like a horrible dream for folks like us who shied away from hard work. It was elite, it was focused, it zeroed in on rewarding only hard work, it was proud.....it was not for me.

But again the fate brought me here. And I toiled here like I never did before. I learned and succeeded in realizing many of my dreams here. I eventually passed out from this wonderful place completing my doctorate studies. I was given due recognition, respect and sense of self esteem. But those are not the things this blog is about. This blog is about my lessons that I learned about what "support" actually means.

Here, I learned what it means to be a true teacher. There were teachers who left options abroad to come here and teach us the way anyone can imagine the best teacher in the world to deliver. They never expected anything from us in return. That was the support for me. Here I got my mentors. The ones who understood me, realized me, nurtured me and taught me. They not only taught me what I paid to the university for, they also taught me the real essence of being human. They taught me qualities like dedication, commitment, honesty, dignity and honor. They taught me to shape me as a human. They protected me. I can never forget those who sacrificed their nights for my mornings. That was the support for me. I am indebted for that to my mentors like Dr. Aftab Maroof, Dr. Anwar M. Mirza, Dr. Rauf Baig and many others. That was support for me.

And then there were friends. The folks who helped me when I was desolate. The ones who stood with me when I was standing alone. Who made me work. And who worked with me on my work. Who helped me getting my first job. Who helped me getting my first algorithm understand. Who laughed with me and wept with me. That was support for me. People whose number I cant count but some among them include Dr. Arfan Jaffar, Dr. Ayyaz Hussain, Dr. Amjad Iqbal, Dr. Abdul Basit, Dr. Sajid Anwar, Muhammad Nazir, Naveed Iqbal, Dr. Hassan Mujtaba, Dr. Abdul Rauf and countless others. That was a support for me.

And yes....the university taught me that ultimately, it is fun to work hard....it pays when you need the most. That was the support for me. My lessons in support were learned. Support is not to hide your crimes. Support is not to close your eyes on every negative that your friend commits. Support is not the omission and commission. Support is the strength that you give to a person to become a "human" worthy of its existence. I am proud to be FASTian to have learned this lesson.

اک سفر تمام ہوا....اک حیات باقی ہے....If only I could Tell You

کیونکہ اب میں بھولنے لگا ہوں

وقت کی ایک اپنی رفتار اور اپنا رنگ ہوتا ہے.زندگی کے ساتھ چلتے چلتے کئی سنگ میل اے اور گزر گئے. وقت نے ان میں سے کئی پر اپنی گرد اسس طرح سے چھوڑ دی ہے کہ اب خود بھی پہچاننا مشکل ہونے لگا ہے. شاید وقت نے اپنے اثرات ہم پر چھوڑنا آخر کار شروع کر دیے. اور میں شاید خوش قسمت بھی ہوں کہ ان اثرات کا ادراک ہونا بھی شروع ہو گیا ہے. آج جب ایک بار پھر حکم سفر جاری ہونے لگا اہے تو سوچا کہ کچھ تصویر بتاں، کچھ حسینوں کے خطوط اپنے ماضی کی پٹاری سے نکللوں. کچھ مشفقین، کچھ دوست، کچھ خوشیاں اور کچھ رنج ، جو مل کر وہ سب کچھ بناتے ہیں جو میں آج ہوں یا کل ہوں گا. یہ یادیں کسی اور کی نہیں بلکہ میرا اپنا عکس ہیں. گزرتے وقت کی دھندلی پرچھائیوں میں اپنے عکس کو پہچاننے کی ایک کمزور سی کوشش. کیونکہ اب میں بھولنے لگا ہوں. وقت مجھ سے آگے بڑھنے لگا ہے

So I am going to start a three part series. "Three tales by one Traveler". This series has three themes; Support, Courage and Hope. This series will chronicle two of my past journeys; One through FAST National University, One Through UIIT at Arid Agriculture University and an upcoming Journey; through Foundation University. During this upcoming journey through the hazy alleys of my past and my future, I shall attempt to chronicle the events that made me what I am and the events that I hope will make me what I shall be tomorrow.

So let the journey begin with a melody from Yanni, "If I could only tell you". Because

تمام عمر وہی قصّہ سفر کہنا

 کہ آ سکا نہ ہمیں اپنے گھر کو گھر کہنا