Ode to the month of May

So as an active member of the Desi Diaspora I had the pleasure of being born in Marion County, Indiana just outside the bustling city of Indianapolis. The state of Indiana (and if you don’t know which country I am talking about, scram) is founded on agrarian roots. I remember that my family and I, along with some close family friends went picking for apples in an orchid. I spent most of my time trying to consume the sole apple I picked from a tree. Everyone else loaded up their baskets and tried to make the most of the 1 dollar entry fee, go figure.

Fast forward 20 years later and I am in the city of Karachi, the place of my parent’s birth. This port city overlooking the Arabian Sea is home to a varied cast of characters. The locals are always eager to move forward and make it the unspoken 6th province known as the United Arab Emirates. It’s no wonder that this jewel of the east has placed a mock up of its flagship airline right in the heart of Karachi’s shopping district. If you can shop here you can most certainly shop in Dubai, which is if you have anything left over after buying the god damned plane tickets.

GF and I are getting married in a private ceremony hosted by her family. The actual legal mumbo jumbo will be handled by the local Masajid’s Imam (I appreciate B.H.O.’s executive order that released the detainees at Guantanamo Bay). Any who, this is but a brief glance into my personal life, which is just a microcosm in the scheme of things.

Karachi has the tendency of erupting into violence (thanks to nefarious miscreants this holds true for the entire nation as well). I’ve spoken many times about this phenomenon and so have various government officials. “The Friends of Pakistan” initiative certainly can make a difference as it will increase accountability of how government funds are spent. The biggest challenge to tackle is the nuisance of begging. These people are without a doubt parasites leeching of the hard work of the society which contains them. They go on to procreate and produce more beggars. NGOs and various social welfare organizations try to remedy this predicament by offering free education to poverty stricken communities. People belonging to such areas do indeed try to help themselves by moving into major metropolises such as Rawilpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, and Peshawar (staging ground for the Jihad against the rooskies). They then organize themselves into Kutchi bastis, meaning raw communities or shanty towns.

My maid is based in such a town. Of course when she shows up to our front door she is well dressed and ready to wipe the decks. A closer look at how these shanty towns operate reveals some startling facts. For one they are plugged into the electric grid by hook and crook. Then they also tap into the district’s water supply for the usual purposes god knows how the deal with the raw sewage, Mohenjo Darro anyone?

They manage to satisfy their two remaining needs bread and clothing like the rest of us do. Naan sells for five rupees and a new pair of cotton shalwar kameez starts at 250 rupees. Of course they get no love from mainstream society who suffers from their parasitic ways. Pucki bastis which are registered with the civic center, the hub of Karachi’s city government, consistently get screwed over thanks to corrupt politicians and an over bloated bureaucracy. When the voiceless are tired of making prayers to Sami or Basit they hope to God that Allah is watching as they descend into chaos. I bring you the violent overthrow of reason, I bring you barra May a day that will be remembered for some time to come:

Here's what the poor people have to say

And here is what the not so poor people have to say:
The Klingons
The Hirogens

Of course the month of May also translates as sunshine if you found true love. There is also Cinco de Mayo, the latest Star Trek cinematic experience is poised to re-launch the franchise come May 8th, then we have the May flower (I so love being a pilgrim) and maybe you could think of some happy thoughts as we blend into the month of May. Me? I gotta finish up a project before my Dean beats the crap out of me.

MAINTAINING COM SILENCE OVER AND OUT.

UPDATE: The reviews are in...