The Pakistani Spectator

A Medical Doctor by profession I was born and raised in Jhang, Punjab. I have graduated from Aga Khan University and am now in the process of pursuing my post graduate training in the field of medicine. I have been blogging since May 2003. I maintain my presence at my original weblog ‘Crow’s Nest…‘ and at collective but now redundant portal from university times ‘Male Hostel: Unhindered Madness.‘ Like all my Pakistani brethren I am overwhelmingly interested in the political nuisance around me. Both the social and physical health of my nation are my concerns.

Could you tell us what made you decide to blog, and what was the inspiration behind it?
I started blogging as an experiment in learning the internet.It has become an experiment in self expression, since then. During the initial periods I received generous help and advice from my good friend and brother in arms Uzer Sherdil Khan. I got to read other blogs from authors around the world and found them to be useful in any sort of expression ranging from personal to political.

What do you think sets Your blog apart from other blogs?
Although I don’t see my blog as any different from the rest that are out there yet I think it is set apart from the rest by the fact that It is an expression of personal thoughts.

Do you feel that you continue to grow in your writing the longer you write? Why is that important to you?
Yes writing is addictive, indeed. But there are too many types of writing styles that I have to confront. From the general day to day communiqué to professional writing. Writing for a blog is completely different from the rest. It is more heartfelt yet has to be factually correct and at the same time brief.

What do you do in order to keep up your communication with other bloggers?
I hardly communicate with anyone outside my close circle of friends. But when I do get time I like to leave comments on their blogs.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?
I am still looking for success in my life. I think success is a subjective phenomenon that keeps on getting out of reach as you keep on achieving smaller goals. Its more like a carrot and a stick thing. I keep running for what I think I need the most and the bars keep on rising. Therefore I believe that the thrill in chasing the goals is the essence of life.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?
There are many and can not be recounted here. I have always adhered to (or tried at least) the Sufi saying, “This too shall pass’.

Urdu Blogs have got huge potential, when do you think they will really take on the online horizon in Pakistan?
I think it all depends on how fast Urdu interface is developed and integrated in the main blogging platforms. As for example I have tried to convert my blog into bilingual but with little success just because I find the process of integration very tedious.

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?
Spain,
Japan,
Saudi Arabia.
There are many more but I think these are the three top destinations.

What is your favorite book and why?
On a professional level I mostly get to read medical writing which is dry and not interesting to general readers.

For pleasure I like to read non-fiction and sometimes poetry. I value biographies a lot and try and read any that I can lay my hand on. There can’t be one single book that I like. But at the same time I have found Quran to be all in one comprehensive book.

What is your favorite meal, dress, and sport?
I do not have any special tastes in cuisines. Anything will do as long as it is halal. My favourite dress has always remained our traditional regional dress. In sports I can watch anything but field hockey is one of my favourites and of late American football has really interested me. I like to play squash or swim. But I wish I could get an opportunity to play field hockey.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?
Depends on the person.

Do you think Pakistani politicians could benefit from the social networks and things like twitter?
I think internet penetration into our voter community is scarce and therefore there can be no immediate benefits that present day politicians can derive. But they can always invest in the future since teenagers who have greater access to internet today will be the opinionated voting lot tomorrow.

Whose Future is brighter in Pakistan; English blogs or Urdu Blogs?
If I had to place my bet I would say English blogs. Urdu is loosing its effect as a language and English is replacing it very fast. Unless Urdu makes a comeback in our society the future of Urdu blogs is bleak.

How Pakistani bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?
It takes sweat and effort to earn money. There are no short cuts to it. But a clever use of advertisements can be beneficial. To my mind if a Pakistani company with Pakistani outlook can venture into the advertisement business for blogs it can be a huge success. Such a company could provide ads from Pakistan to Pakistani blogs so that the viewers can actually find them useful. Google ad service has failed because the ad service they provide is irrelevant to most of the Pakistani visitors. Similarly the revenue generation opportunities for average or below average Pakistani blogs are limited because they get small share of the big pie.

Do you think Pakistani bloggers tend to remain somewhat self-centered and really don’t go out of their shells? Is it the oriental style of blogging, or they are still unsure about it?
One reason that comes to mind is the lack of those Pakistani bloggers who are in professional fields. Most of our blogging community was initially very young people who were not professionally active but that is changing pretty quickly and opinion blogs about many aspects of life are emerging fast. But to some extent our bloggers have to dedicate time for regional politics. We Pakistanis are really active politically. Community blogs are paving the way for helping Pakistani bloggers break out into the vast ocean.

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
If it is true then it is a thing of past. Now most blogging platforms are so integrated with tweaking forums and the rest that it hardly requires anytime on a bloggers part to manage his/her blog. I don’t think that this is true.

Does it pain you or proud you that we have made a history by electing a uniform general as our president?
Don’t even get me started on this, please. I am against all military intervention in politics of a country. Unluckily our nation is still clinging onto the past model of governance where one single person was the ruler and the supreme commander of the forces. Democratic systems in societies have developed to segregate jobs of national importance so that everyone puts in his/her share.

Do you think this whole emphasis on blogs and whatever online is a significant indicator to show that the web, the social web, is becoming a very important social force?
Web is the hub of information and human beings slave to information. Just like media anything on the web has profound effect on the psyche of the consumer. It has both merits and demerits. I think that web has become a strong social force but has also served to deteriorate our day to day communication skills. We need to educate our young people about good and bad and then leave the choice to them.

What do you think where the Pakistani blogosphere is right now?
I think it is exactly where our society in general is. Our society is politically active and that is mirrored in the developed political blogosphere. Just as the American blogosphere has become a corporate tool. But in many aspects I think we need to improve. Generally speaking we need to improve the quality of discussions on our forums.

Who are your top five favourite bloggers in Pakistan?
Most of my favourites have given up on blogging and are not active anymore. But if I have to say Pakistani bloggers and not bloggers in Pakistan who are blogging actively then,

Hasnain Akram at http://hakram.blogspot.com/

Uzer Sherdil Khan at http://uzer.org/

Usman Tanveer at http://usmantm.blogspot.com/

Zakaria Ajmal at http://www.zackvision.com/weblog/

iFaqeer at http://blog.ifaqeer.com/

There are many more that I frequent occasionally.

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger in Pakistani blogosphere?
No not really.

What is the future of blogging in Pakistan?
Directly proportional to the future of blogs elsewhere in the world.

In political respect, can we say blogging is a ‘democracy of message’?
Yes, we can.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?
It does not take out any time from my personal or professional life if that is what you mean. I keep all three separate and in their own respective places.

What are your future plans?
Find a decent place to complete my post graduate training.

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?
Try and construct valid and logical arguments. Think beyond politics and entertainment as these are not the only two things in life. Be constructive and think about the future.

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