While travelling through different areas of Pakistan’s southern Punjab, I always used to look at the dark smoke coming out of the pervasive kiln chimneys and blame it for polluting our environment. While that is true, I also ended up learning the fact that the anything that tends to be strong, powerful and determined has to go through some tough time in order to withstand any hardship just like the bricks. Burning gives them beauty, strength, power and strength.
The human story isn’t different and so is the nation’s. We assert to be powerful, independent and helping but without the nature of being burnt, without sufferings. Success doesn’t demand shortcuts. We raise a charity fund, we take it in as our portion to the betterment of country. Sitting in our study, we tear twenty pages while preparing our patriotic speech for some upcoming sermon, practice it in front of the mirror and successfully deliver it, wow!
We are too much patriotic. We conduct a seminar on women’s rights, child’s labor, rape cases, poverty campaigns, and education awareness, the revelation is we are in state of inertia. Why? Because we lack something that we don’t want to concede. I am not saying these are wrong doings neither I am condemning the efforts. It’s just the pain that speaks and writes when I see my country dooming from several years and the people here being suffered because of the fellow countrymen.
You say you love your country, then why didn’t you throw a chocolate wrapper in a dustbin? Because you’d to take a long walk? You say you support women’s rights, then why a girl in your neighborhood gets frightened while passing through a street? You say you condemn child labor and the very next minute you order a 11 year old maid to bring a glass of water for you. You said in your speech that you can sacrifice your life for this country but you can’t save anyone’s life on a road accident because your contribution might create problem for you.
You promised to feed poor so that hunger and thirst wouldn’t remain a dilemma of the time but you walk by a bare-footed child in a scorching sunlight, wearing sunglasses, a hat, and a chilled “Energy Drink” in hand without noticing the poor soul?
These things might seem ordinary but are the roots of the tree where autumn doesn’t consent flowers to blossom and fresh wind to blow. The tree is our country Pakistan, and the reason of autumn are us. Our feelings are not true and the word “loyalty” has become a décor of our so called inspirational, successful speeches of patriotism. We mock a person who talks of kindness. We forget what we claim. We are the most rapidly changing creatures of our mindsets.
A fifty nine minutes episode of your favorite TV show wouldn’t make you a true citizen. A well prepared sermon cannot make the words happen, advising someone to respect elders wouldn’t make a difference unless you abide by it yourself. The keyword is “act”. So act!
In the kiln of this country, I’ve seen true people like the Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Abdul Sitar Edhi and a young patriotic, Noreena Shams but the smoke of their qualms flew away in the spotless atmosphere of this country because both the brick and atmosphere knows the meaning of sacrifice, the former has learnt to burn, augment and the latter to absorb the abundant filth for “there will be more smiles when the smoke clears.”