I have a question.
Can a person get through life without asking any questions?
Sometimes I think I was born to question. I was born to doubt and maybe not in a very good way. Yesterday, I was talking to Hassan. He’s my only friend who even when I am not depressed, which is rare, is trying to cheer me up. So he was on his usual ‘don’t doubt yourself’ track. I told him that I want to doubt because it’s the only thing that guarantees an education. He said a person should doubt only to become certain of something.
How do you know that? How do you know you can be certain of something unless you question it?
I sometimes think that InshaAllah, on the day of judgment, Allah forgives me and admits me to Heaven…I will only ask that I be allowed to sit with Him and ask him all the questions that I possibly can. Given the multitude of questions I have, I think an eternity will be enough.
A couple of days back, we were recording one of our current affairs program and I was asked to participate in it. The program features various political parties and the audience is allowed to ask questions. In this particular episode, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Ch. Shujaat Hussain was present with his party members. During the show, the head of Public Complaints Department was asked a question regarding internal accountability system. In reply, he made this statement.
‘A political party should not be confused with a disciplinary force’.
Now, this sounded absurd to me and I got up and questioned him, that for all political parties in all parts of the world, the common objective is to bring about reforms for the betterment of the nation. And in my opinion, discipline and reform mean the same thing…just that discipline sounds a little harsh. How can a party represented by a former prime minister make such a statement whereby they consider themselves absolved of the first and foremost duty of any political party? No wonder Army considers itself entitled to bringing about some iota of discipline in the country.
This obviously didn’t go too well with the person I had put the question to. I guess all questions are not good enough to be asked.
Yesterday, Yasir sahib, whom I mentioned sometime back in my blogs, and I sat down to analyze videos of the Pakistani Band’ Strings’. Yasir is currently engaged in producing a Documentary on the phenomenal success of Strings. I believe Strings to be the most prolific band in Pakistan. They made their impact when people didn’t even know Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. They were the first Pakistani band to have their song aired on MTV, the first to have their song featured on the sound track of a major Hollywood Production—Spiderman II. And they haven’t burned out. it was interesting exploring the little nooks and corners of each video, analyzing the concept and editing procedures. I wish I can do this more often. Questioning and exploring creativity is more stimulating than anything else.