And Yet I am Jobless

It is said that there is no alternative to experience. I did not agree with that until I learned it the hard way. After years of futile efforts and false hopes, I did not get a job or a scholarship.  As far as I can remember, I have applied and been rejected for about 20 scholarships. Moreover, I have been declined the same number of jobs over the past few years. So I feel confident that in this physical universe that we inhabit, if there is one person qualified enough to comment on the state of employment that should be me. Now that all other options are exhausted, I thought of putting up my case before you people and you should decide why I could not get anything despite all my efforts? Here is my resume. Read it and then decide.

Merchant of Virus

Two kids were playing with their football. The others were on the see-saw. And there in the corner, three kids were fighting with each other on the slide. Some were playing hide and seek. And there were others playing cricket and handball and other games. The park was crowded on a Sunday evening as most of the kids came there to enjoy their one day of leisure. And there in the shades of the tree in the corner, a silhouette of a man, standing, holding a box in his hands. His eyes were scanning the entire park, children and parents busy in different sports. He was not interested in sports. He was more interested in what was going to happen to all those people. Yes something terrible. In 3 days!

Future of the Future

          “My kid is going to be the most famous doctor in the country”, my mother used to say every morning when she would send me to school. “I do not want to be a doctor. I want to sleep and play.” I would invariably reply. This is the common scene in almost every home of our country. Thankfully, wish of every mother is not fulfilled otherwise it would have become impossible for doctors to find any patients to treat. And after completing my education, I am not a doctor but I am happy with my profession and am passionate about my job. 

A Tale of Two Friends

Once upon a time Truth and Falsehood met each other on the road. “Good afternoon”, said Truth “Good afternoon”, returned Falsehood. “And how are you doing these days?” asked Falsehood. “Not very well at all, I ‘m afraid”, sighed Truth, “Times are tough for a fellow like me, you know”. “Yes I can see that”, said Falsehood glancing up and down at Truth ragged clothes, “You look like you haven’t had a bite to eat in quite some time.”

Guest Post

This week I could not update my blog as I have written a guest post for a friend's blog Madhulika Speaks. You can read it here if you want to. Have a nice week.

Research Publication

It is required for a Ph.D candidate to have at least one research publication before he/she is awarded the degree. After spending so many years and still having no publication, I tried to be smart and publish something. Unfortunately, there are people still wiser than me and hence, I couldn't publish anything. Panicked, I tried something else. I sent it to a journal which didn't exist. And viola! it was published. On Facebook. Some of my facebook friends have seen it already but for those who have not, I am publishing it on Blogger. Enjoy.

The Way You Make Me Feel

So this was it. The moment of break up. Between me and her. Those of you who are or have been in some kind of relationship in your lives will know what it feels like. If I say it hurts, it will be an understatement. The heartache, the emptiness, the rage. It is like a complete black out in one’s life. In fact, it is like you no more want her to be alive. And I am sure she will be feeling the same but since she does not have a blog so we will never know. So the moment arrived for us after what I feel like decades of relationship.

Criminal Genes and the Human Genome

In the movie, Minority Report, the PreCrime Police prevent crimes and arrest people before they commit the crime. It sounds incredible and almost impossible that it would ever happen in the real world. But rethink. It is very much possible and may be put into routine use in the very near future albeit the technology to prevent crime will be entirely different from that of the movie, which relied upon the knowledge of psychics. In real world, we will be using our very own DNA as the basis for all this process.

If Time Machine Were Invented

I sat down to gather my thoughts on the question that given an opportunity whether I would like to travel back in time or ahead while watching the news on BBC World. There was a news item, which sent shivers through my spine. Six white policemen in South Africa were shown mercilessly beating a black helpless boy and at the same time unleashing their dogs on him. I could not stand the sight when I saw the dogs attacking and dragging the already bruised boy. I turned off the TV in disgust.

New Anarkali – the Love Story Continues

Love stories are as old as the human race. Every part and every culture on the planet has some epic tales about these. Here in the sub-continent, we have many tales of love and betrayal but no other tale attracts as much attention and heartache as the story of Anarkali and the Prince Salim. Almost 4 centuries ago, King Akbar the Great was on the throne of the Kingdom of India. Prince Salim was his son and hence, the Crown Prince. He fell in love with one of the chamber-maids, Anarkali.  But the King did not approve of their love. The Prince was adamant and he even rebelled and a war was fought between the father and son. Anarkali was house arrested and the Prince surrendered on the condition that the life of Anarkali would be saved. The King, according to some accounts, set free and exiled her, while some says she was killed. Nobody knows for sure the real story. And some even challenge the whole story as untrue. But never the less, it is been told for centuries now and we in Lahore even have a bazaar, probably the busiest bazaar of the city, named after her, the Anarkali Bazaar. And then it has extended to form a new bazaar, New Anarkali. But imagine if this love story takes place in the modern setting, in this age of modern technology? Here, I tried to portray a scene from this epic tale.