Khate-e-Ra’ana - calligraphy script invented by Ibn-e-Kaleem

This article appeared in weekly Friday Times

In the past few decades, perhaps no calligrapher has created more waves in the field of calligraphy than Ibn-e-Kaleem – the inventor of new script Khate-e-Ra’ana, which literally means beautiful. Ibn-e-Kaleem already stands above the streams of calligraphers who have come before him. 

Today he works in his father’s studio where he grew up. Experimenting with the styles of Nastaleeq, Kufi, Riqa, Diwani and Naqash, he is churning out master pieces and achieving greater recognition by the day.

While to the layman, all calligraphy may look alike, it is a fine and highly developed art with its own rules and manners. The trained eye can pick up detectable differences between the work of a professional and an armature. But the difference is more than merely the shapes of letters even though some are obviously round while others oval, some upright and some slanted, some bold and yet some light.

To come up with a whole new script is a giant task. It involves designing the form of each letter and laying it down in exact proportions and measurements in terms of qat – the square dot of the pen. That is exactly what Ibn-e-Kaleem has done. Khate-e-Ra’ana is distinct and like no other script in existence.

To understand the magnitude of this discovery, it is important to remember that after creation of ‘Nastaleeq’ by Mir Ali Sultan Tabreezi around 1400 in Persia, no script of Urdu, Persian or Arabic, has ever been invented, with the exception of Mirza Muhammad Hussain who developed the running the running hand version of Nastaleeq called Shakistan in 1616 and Mirza Sultan in Heart who came up with a similar style called Shaffiah in the middle of the seventeenth century. Ibn-e-Kaleem stands alone in the feat.

Throughout Islamic history, calligraphy has been most cherished of the fine arts. It forms the basis of our cultural heritage. It is such a deep source of aesthetic pleasure that it has been used on every occasion and on every artifact; coins and swords, guns and cannons, buildings and graveyards headstones, royal ordinances and even on bed spreads. Muslim rulers have been great admirers and patrons of the ancient art.

Pakistan has produced great calligraphers such as Taj Zareen Raqam, Hafiz Sadeedi, Syed Anwar Hussain Nafees Raqam, Sadeqain, and Ahsan Kamal. Now the work of Ibn-e-Kaleem – Khataat-e-Haft Qalam (master of the seven pens) – has earned him a place in the history of penmanship.

How did he find his métier? Ibn-e-Kaleem, whose real name is Hafiz Mohammad Iqbal Ahsan, was born with a pen in his hand in 1946 in Langha family of Multan. His father Muhammad Khan Kaleem Raqam was an accomplished calligrapher and a founder of a Calligraphy School in Multan while his great grandfather Mulana Qaimuddin Khan Langha was also a renowned master of the art, one of whose master pieces is the Holy Quran on display in the National Museum of Karachi. His son Hamid Iqbal too is a celebrated calligrapher.

Given the linage, iIt is not surprising to see why Ibn-e-Kaleem it is not surprising to see why Ibn-e-Kaleem felt the urge to create a new style of calligraphy, one that reflects his modern mind and sensibilities. And so he came up with a vigorous, jerky, angular, coiling, wriggling and harshly curveting script far removed from the mellifluous and sweetly flowing Nastaleeq we are so familiar with.

Ibn-e-Kalem has held exhibitions of his work in Multan, Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi and Delhi where his work has been loudly acclaimed. He has won the King Khalid Medal for calligraphy the International Commission for the Preservation of Islamic Heritage in Turkey has conferred upon him the title of Nadir ul Qalam. 

Today, Ibn-e-Kaleem is not only practicing artist but a devoted promoter of the art. He is also actively promoting the understanding of calligraphy among the masses. He has trained thousands of youth including foreign students. He has written three books on the history of the art and many takhtais (tablets) on the mechanics of calligraphy. His book Murraaqa-e-Ra’anae is a huge album in which he has printed variety of his writings showing endless possibilities of his new script. It is the most sumptuous book of the kind published in Pakistan. 

Besides reproducing Quranic verses, Ibn-e-Kaleem has also designed beautiful compositions in the form of in the form of circular, oval and oblong panels. His circular signs are specially striking and the 99 names of Allah Karim written in the form of large modulations with intricate borders are a great achievement. One of his famous canvases displays verses of Sura Al Rehman. But perhaps his most awesome work is in the mosque of Multan Cantonment Railways Station where he has filled the walls with the 99 names of Allah Almighty as well as verses from holy Quran.

Related: Art for Allah

Ibn-e-Kaleem
Hassan Parwana Road, Multan
Tel: 061 4510545
Cell:  0321 7322630

Indigenous Construction Material

This article appeared in monthly Techno Biz Magazine Sep-Oct 2010 issue

We are very familiar with straw and mud. Explore the countryside and you will see dried stalks of threshed grains, especially wheat and rice everywhere. Straw is used as a fodder, for covering floors, and thatching roofs, and in weaving mats, screens, baskets, ornaments, hats, fans and more. You can also see mud houses dotting the countryside landscape.

Building homes and other living structures with straw is also tradition dating as back as to the start of civilization. Since prehistory, human beings are using straw as a construction material. The incorporation of machine compressed bales seems to have started in early last century though. Compressed straw bales are being used like bricks in the buildings.

Having grown up in the rural Punjab myself (I come from a rustic village situated on the bank of River Jhelum where it passes along the foot of the Salt Range), straw and mud have a special place rooted deep in to my cultural perceptions and this personal bond encourages a more intimate relationship between the straw and me.

Earlier we have discussed how mud engineering is reviving in Pakistan. Thanks to Dr. Norbert Pintsch and his mud housing projects that focus on architecture constructed of mud brick, rammed earth, compressed earth block and other methods of earthen construction. The proliferation of concept to use mud and improved techniques in order to raise the level of living in the population was discussed here on these pages some time ago. Now we have a look at straw as indigenous construction material.

Straw engineering has been introduced (I say re-introduced) in Pakistan after the devastating earthquake of 2005. Remember MW 7.6 quake that killed an estimated 100,000 people, razed over 780,000 buildings and rendered more than 3.5 million homeless mainly due to poorly constructed buildings in the area. Some 11 straw bale houses have been built in earthquake hit areas of Pakistan. A project to compress straw into bales is also working in village Jabbori – a heaven like village on the bank of River Siran in district Mansehra that suffered severe damage and loss of life in the 2005 earthquake. The awareness about the straw engineering and appropriate technology is growing fast.

What is more, Builders Without Borders (BWB) - an international network of ecological builders who form partnerships with communities and organizations around the world to create affordable housing from local materials and to work together for a sustainable future - believe the solution to homelessness is not merely housing, but training of local population to make houses for them. With the help of non-profit groups, BWB is offering help in the form of educational materials and has donated books and training materials for use at local level.

Renowned engineer Darcey Donovan is the spirit behind the concept of promoting straw engineering in Pakistan. Donovan has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno, and is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer practicing since 1986. She is very keenly working to see straw engineering takes off in the earthquake affected areas in northern Pakistan.

There are many reasons to use straw as a building material. Close examination of eco-architect Laurie Baker’s straw buildings reveals that “using natural materials and showing them off will lead to a greener building. Such strategies reduce the use of energy-guzzling materials such as cement, steel, aluminum and glass.” Straw engineering is earthquake resistant, consumes less energy and produces lesser emission. Straw (wheat, rice) is locally available in abundance.

Straw is economical, practical, functional and attractive alternative. It is easy to work with. Straw is especially useful in hot climates like we have in Pakistan and in earthquake prone areas. Straw is a natural material that is found everywhere, especially where other building materials such as bricks, stone or wood are scarce due to affordability and or availability.

Straw engineering is a construction method that uses compressed straw bales as structural elements, building insulation, or both. There are two major types of construction with compressed straw bales: load bearing and non load bearing. A pillar and beam framework that supports the basic structure of the building, with the compressed bales of straw used like normal bricks, is the most common non-load bearing method. On the other hand there are many load- bearing compressed straw bale buildings that are standing just fine. It is estimated that “the method and materials (mud, straw) can produce buildings at half the cost of conventional earthquake-resistant buildings in Pakistan.

Some unfounded myths say that that straw building have a greater risk for fire, can be easily infested by pests and straw gets wet and ultimately decompose? Empirical observations and laboratory tests show that this is not true. Canadian and American materials laboratories have found that “the straw bale structure wall has proven to be exceptionally resistant to fire.” What is more, walls can be mud plastered as early as possible to increase their fire resistance. Similarly, pests are more of an imagined concern than a real threat. Once the walls are properly mud plastered or sided, there is no way for bugs or rodents to get into the bales.

Moisture threats can be handled easily with proper design and construction methods. So long as the dry compressed bales are installed and are properly sealed with the plaster and protected from water infiltration, they will perform well. With proper construction techniques, water will not enter the building thus making decomposition impossible. Rice straw, in particular, has a high silica content which increases its resistance to decay.

Focus of straw engineering is on architecture with the help of compressed straw bales, rammed earth, compressed mud blocks and other earthen construction materials. The proliferation of concept to use straw and appropriate technology in order to improve the quality of life is a very welcome idea and we in Pakistan need that. This can go a long way not only in the form of changing the look of population centers, rural as well as urban, but also in solving environmental problems related to use of energy and other finite resources. We already have convincing engineering evidence that straw buildings are safe and sound to start.

After the flood

This article appeared in daily the Nation, October 03, 2010 issue

After wreaking havoc across the country, the flood waters have slowly surged south along the Indus River, leaving the survivors with numerous daunting issues. According to raw estimates, the worst flood in the history of the country killed more than 1,750 people, forced out at least 10 million people from their homes and caused over $43 billion in damage. The tour of sodden districts highlights more loses and more worries.

Flood began in July. The swollen waters then poured across the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province in the northwest before flowing south into Punjab and Sindh. It is feared that flood may have dangerous long term effects on the stability of the country.

No government could cope well with such a large scale catastrophe, and Pakistan’s is unusually incapable due to lack of will, skills, resources and most of all state of unpreparedness for managing any disaster brought by humans and or nature. There is no single authority working in the country that focuses on disaster management. The National Disaster Management Authority was established in 2007 under the National Disaster Management Ordinance to deal with all aspects of natural as well as human disasters from preparedness and mitigation to recovery and rehabilitation. Disaster management authorities at provincial and district levels were to be established under the ordinance so that disaster management systems could be brought into mainstream planning process. Ironically, three years have passed but this has not happened so far. Punjab government is still thinking that in the presence of existing Relief and Crises Management Department and now also 1122, Punjab province does not need The National Disaster Management Authority in the first place. Absence of any uniform system for planning and preparing to fight any disaster results into poor response. That in return increases sufferings of the effected people.

The sufferings of people of this country are already a great deal worse. Economic growth has plunged down from an annual average of 7% in the mid 2000s to 4.4% last year. Unemployment is estimated to have risen to over 15%, and inflation, currently 13%, and the proportion of people living below the poverty line has fallen from 34.5% to 17%, according to the World Bank. The flood 2010 has made matters much worse.

It is hard to categories but scouting reveals that predominantly small farmers with little holdings and unskilled laborers who work on daily bases to earn their living are most severely affected. Inherently, poor are among the most vulnerable segment of population and almost all live below or just above the national poverty line. More than 60 percent lost immediate access to their primary livelihood and are faced with a drop in their already low income by more than half. Political analysts think that the significant increase in food prices in flood affected areas (and exultantly elsewhere also) is giving it a more dangerous twist.

After the flood, the real danger is to the stability of the country and if not managed efficiently, it may pop up once the first phase of the flood crisis is over. Human beings can accept immediate hardship, but are less able to withstand prolonged hunger, homelessness and helplessness. With no immediate respite in sight, the stalemate could lead to destabilize the country in the times to come and can aggravate the already deep regional security fissures. Life of people who have been displaced and are forced to live in camps established by the government or under makeshift arrangements on their own is very hard. Slow management of the disaster and sluggish relief efforts are adding to their hardships. This has added to the distrust that many people already feel for their governments. “The people say this (flood) was an act of God,” Salman Taseer the governor Punjab, rightly said in an interview after reassuring the crowd, “But what comes now, they say, is the act of man. If we don’t deliver, they will not forgive us.”

People already confronted with severe economic and security problems, may not survive the large scale social upheaval and long term hardship from the floods. What is more, political leaders who are responsible to deliver seem to have become absorbed in scoring points and squabbling. Intense tussles for power seem to be brewing beneath the political sparring, giving birth to rumors, which have added to the disillusionment of many people.

At the same time, the threat from the militant groups continues. Militants, heartless as they are, are continuing to pursue their agenda to destabilize the country by killing innocent people (remember bomb attacks against a religious processions in Punjab and Baluchistan that killed scores of people) right when the flood emergency was at its peak).

Having lost what all they had, the victims of recent floods are now destitute. People of Pakistan are very resilient and they have always been sacrificing on one pretext or the other but they have a limit. Crossing the limit may cause even worst tumult. Anyone listening in the din?

Related: Flood and livestock

Greeting cards

This article appeared in daily the Nation, September 26, 2010 issue

The sense of insecurity, financial, social or personal, has blemished the traditional joy and excitement associated with Eid ul Fitr this year. The series of terror attacks, skyrocketing inflation and catastrophic caused by flood 2010 has changed the cultural landscape altogether. Result: Like many cultural hallmarks of festive days, the old tradition of buying greeting cards and sending them to friends and family member.

Exchange of greeting cards plays an important role in display of love, affection, emotions and nearness. It has been an established tradition to send greetings on Eid days as well as on occasions like birthdays, marriages, charismas, New Year, on passing exams just to name a few.

Personally speaking, I miss greeting cards very much. A greeting card delivered by a postman, with its lines of handwriting, loops and angles that give a reflection of personality and, perhaps, secrets tucked inside. Waiting for the postman to receive a card from someone special is old fashioned I still cherish opening envelops, reading, and reading them again. There is a romance in writing and receiving greeting cards. Sadly, I didn’t get any this time.

The messages printed on the greeting cards are poetic, passionate, persuasive and very comforting. They are some time sentimental, silly, sweet, sensitive, religious and sometime historic. The cards meet the requirements of all the conceivable situations in the human relationship. There are in endless varieties, designs, shapes and sizes from simple messages like ‘I wish you were here with me on this Eid’ to such questions as ‘I often wonder what made us fall in love’ and more.

With rather longer prelude, endeavour here is to look into cause of the slow death of this beautiful cultural tradition and related print industry. Before the prevailing depression in collective mood due to security threats and economic crunch, the cultural custom of sending greetings gave way to the Internet users when they started exchanging e-greetings through the Internet and cell phones. Now Hundreds of sites offering free e-greeting cards have come up on the Internet and they all are innovatively competing with each other to attract the every growing users’ base.

Internet has become an inseparable part of everyday life everywhere in the world. Their usage is exponentially growing (thanks to the near pure competition). What is surprising is that the Internet has taken over old cultural tradition like sending and receiving greeting cards.

Over the years, innovative trend of e-greeting has brought many radical changes in the designs, colour and themes of the e-cards but the initial significance of this tradition remained the same. What started as a data transferring device has come a long way and has become multifunctional – sending and reviving e-cards being one of the most popular functions. It is simple. Process takes only a few seconds, and it is trendier, it is cool. That is why millions of e-cards conveying greetings are already flying through the cyber space from one computer to another.

"I used to send so many greeting cards to my friends and family members through snail mail on every Eid in the past. Now I am sending and receiving greetings through my cell phone," emails Zaheer Hassan, IT professional who has migrated to Australia only about two months ago. His parents are in Pakistan and in laws in UAE, "I am saving lot of money and hassle."

Eid card sellers, publishers and distributors are losing profit. Umar Kahn, one of the established greeting card sellers in Multan says, "As usual we had ordered and stocked cards to meet the needs of consumers. We removed books and magazines to make place for the cards display. But this year there were very few customers. We are only losing profit but imagine the publishers who have to lift back all unsold cards. The increasing traffic on cell phones is service providers' gain and loss for the card publishers it seems.”

"Some other things that are sustaining the greeting card printing industry are increase in population and new entrants in the industry," says marketing executive Nadeem Moeen. "New entrants who come with new ideas and hopes are still there in any business despite the visible slum," he adds.

The greeting card printers and importers have been in business for quite some time. Early greeting cards are some of the most beautiful cards ever printed. Publishers competing for sales, printed cards using intricate embossing techniques, high quality art work, superior inks, expensive lithographic processes and even novelty additions such as glitter, ribbons, silk, music and feathers. With the proliferation of computers and cell phones, they have to look for other innovations may be.

In Pakistan, Internet users’ base has grown exponentially over past years. Similarly, cell phones have become ubiquitous and most of the population is equipped with cell phones, some with enhancements such as camera capabilities depending upon affordability and coverage of the area by cell service providers. Pervasiveness and the particularities of its usage are leading to developing online culture, in this context, on the coast of greeting cards printing industry. "I can see the time when greeting cards will only be found with collectors or only businesses and organizations will be the only users," wistfully says Umar Khan.

At least for the near future, I do not expect personal mail habits of the older segment of the society to change," says Dr. Muhammad Anwar, a sociologist and a card collector. Dr. Anwar has maliciously filed all the cards he had received in life, “Greeting cards in print are a traditional form of expressing one's emotions. On the other hand, the idea of e-greetings is undeniably relevant today, and it is intriguing. Trend has to change one day, adds Dr. Anwar.

Caption: Scan image of eid greeting card that was pasted by my friend Jalal Hamid Bhatti on the notice board of our platoon [Khalid - 4, 55 PMA] in Pakistan Military Academy  in 1975.

Art for Allah

This article appeared in daily the Nation, September 19, 2010 issue

Fine combination of traditional, abstract and contemporary arts

If the artists looked like their work, Hamid Iqbal would be instantly recognizable. Standing in the classroom in an institute of calligraphy, on the whiteboard with pen in his hand, in front of enthralled audience writing syllables, words and groups of words in different scripts, one after the other, in Nastaliq, Naskh, Sulus, Koofi, Diwani, his every performance was so perfect that it was painful to see them wiped off the board.

Throughout the Islamic history calligraphy has been the most honored of the fine arts. It forms the basis of our religious as well as cultural heritage. Calligraphy is such a deep source of aesthetic pleasure that it has been used at every occasion and on every article: coins and swords, guns and cannons, buildings and graveyard head-stones, royal ordinances, and even on the bed spreads. Muslim rulers have been the great admirers and patron of this ancient art.

Pakistan has produced great calligraphers like Taj Zarrien Raqam, Hafiz Sadeedi, Syed Anwar Hussain Nafees Raqam, Sadquain, Gulgee, and Hamid`s own father Ibne-Kaleem (Khattat Haft Qalam, Inventor of a new writing script "Khate Raana") and now Hamid Iqbal himself.

"I draw the inspiration from my father who has taught me to hold the pen, since I was a child. I started on the "takhtee" – useful but forgotten tool in this modern age - and now I write on everything from canvas to skins and also in digital formats,” says Hamid Iqbal. My experiments with forms and colors may have changed but my central urge remains unchanged,” he adds.

Hamid Iqbal was born in the family of Calligraphers in 1974. His father Hafiz Muhammad Iqbal commonly known as Ibn-e-Kaleem is a writer, an accomplished calligrapher and founder of new script "Khat-e-Raana." His grandfather Muhammad Hassan Khan Kaleem Raqam was renowned calligrapher and founder of Dabistan Faroogh-e-Khattati in Multan. His great grandfather Maulana Qaim-u-Din Khan Langah was also a celebrated Master of Art, one of whose masterpieces is Holy Qur’an now on display in the National Museum Karachi. No wonder Hamid Iqbal picked up different traditional as well as modern styles of calligraphy at an early age.

Hamid Iqbal has held various combined exhibitions of his work in different cities where his work has been loudly acclaimed. He has won many coveted prizes in National Calligraphy Competition held in the country. Has had been selected as a" Man of the year1998” by American Biography Institute (USA).

Hamid Iqbal is not only an artist but also a devoted and dedicated promoter of the fine art. He is regularly teaching in an art institute of fine arts and calligraphy and holds functions at his own studio to create awareness of the art among the people. He has taught a large number of talented young students interested in the art of calligraphy. He has also written three books about the techniques to improve the handwriting showing patterns and measurements of different styles.

Hamid Iqbal says, "Besides writing straight lines of Qur’anic and or poetic verses, he has designed beautiful compositions in the forms of circular, oval and oblong panels. The recent work of Hamid Iqbal is Al-Asma-ul-Husna (the names of Allah) rich digital format.

Hamid Iqbal has chosen Calligraphy as a career. He says the work of calligraphers should be coordinated, promoted and sponsored at national level. This noble art should be introduced as a separate subject in institutions like College of Home Economics and National College of Arts. The work of senior artists, this visible record of our heritage that shall always remain a beacon of guidance for the like minded new comers, should be preserved.

Related: 

Khate-e-Ra’ana - calligraphy script invented by Ibn-e-Kaleem

                
Contact:

Hamid Iqbal

hamidsart@gmail.com

Phone numbers:
Land line: 061-6014668
Cell: 0300 -633 7467

Where will the aimals go?

This article appeared in daily the Nation, September 11, 2010 issue

Roaming around anywhere in rural Pakistan where floodwater has receded reveals the effects of flood 2010 on human as well as animals. The bloated corpses of buffalos, cows, donkeys and goats can be seen at many places in flood hit areas. Many of the surviving animals are seen suffering from lameness, fever, muscle contractions or swelling of shoulder, chest, back, neck or throat, foot rot and more.

One wonders where the animals would stand on the scale of importance when so many human lives are at stake. The fact is that the survival of the livestock is crucial to the survival of human beings, particularly so in agrarian society like ours.

Livestock is vital for the Pakistan’s agricultural economy and fabric of rural society. Livestock makes up 52.2 percent of the agriculture value and 11.3 percent of the national Gross Domestic Product. The value of livestock is 6.1 percent more than the combined value of major and minor crops, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock. In addition to providing mutton and dairy products, Livestock is one of the major sources of raw material for different industrial sectors of the country including hides to leather sector, animal bones for preparation of crockery and animal blood for preparation of chicken feed to name just a few. Animals are also extensively used for transportation and cultivation.

As a consequence of the large scale extinction of livestock by the devastating floods this year (as per one estimate some 5 million animals were either killed or swept away by the rising tides in Sindh alone whereas another 5 million in other parts of the country), the industrial activities in the country are likely to suffer a major setback and they would have to rely on import of raw material.

Similarly, many who live in the flood prone rural areas rely on animal farming, large and small as per the capacity of the holdings, to make a living and support their families. Depletion of the livestock during the current floods in the country has deprived millions of people from their sources of revenue.

“My betal specie goat was all that I had. Goat was expected to deliver two lambs next month. I was planning to sell one of the lambs to raise money to repair the roof of my house that is leaking since last year and keep another for selling on the eve of Eid ul Azha next year. Selling milk would have been enough for me to live a comfortable life,” narrated Fateh Shahi, an old lady living in a mud and straw hut on the outskirts of village Mirkhan on the bank of Chenab. “I have lost my goat in the flood,” she added with tears in her eyes. Water had entered in Mirkhan during the month long floods that have destroyed homes and marooned people and animals.

Gulzar is a village shepherd. Personally, he does not own any animal. People of village Karyanwala give their goats to Gulzar everyday for grazing. Gulzar takes the herd out early morning and brings them back by sun set when owners collect their animals and keep them at home for night till Gulzar takes them out again next morning. This is a wonderful model of small scale animal farming common in rural areas. Gulzar gets the compensation for his work and people can keep their animals. This system allows everyone in the village to keep animals (mostly goats, cows and buffalos) for fresh milk and as a source of additional income.

“These animals are very important for us,” said, Gulzar Ahmed, while standing in the middle of his herd of goats that he had shifted from village Karyanwala on the Bank of Chenab to the safety on the bank of Rasul-Qadarabad Link Canal. Problem with goats is that they fall sick on wet ground what to talk of grazing. There are no veterinary doctors in our area and I have nowhere to graze and feed them. I am waiting when I will be able to go back to village and normal life.

Hundreds of thousands of cattle have drowned in the floods and the surviving animals are starving. Deaths due to drowning during the floods, deaths after the floods due to disease and hunger caused by loss of animal feeds has exacerbated the livestock related problems which are quite serious even under normal conditions. This loss of animals is expected to be higher after the ground data comes in. It is also feared that animal feed will not be easily accessible for at least six months, which could result in widespread starvation.

Why would anyone want to live in a place that is visibly exposed to floods every year?

UN's International Strategy for Disaster Reduction remarks, “Communities should have been kept away from flood-exposed river banks in Pakistan. If people had not settled on the river banks, definitely the disaster would have been less, because that is the main cause of the disaster.”

Some analysts have also attributed the current flood disaster to unregulated construction and development on river banks. They think that widespread build up and construction along the river banks and even on dried up riverbeds across the country had blocked the natural course of the rivers. Some others point out that fragility of natural environment in upstream areas of Indus river basin has exacerbated conditions of vulnerability. Pakistan has been left with only 4 percent forest and vegetative cover, in contrast to the required 25 percent, thereby experiencing an intense and uninterrupted discharge of water, especially during monsoon seasons. This coupled with increasing snowmelt in the Himalayan glaciers has intensified flood risks.

Given the local context, “it may never be possible to displace indigenous people from where they are living since generations, says Dr. Hamid Ghani Anjum. “What seems wise is that these areas may be made safer for them to live on,” he adds.

For ages, the Indus River has been a lifeline for the land we call home. The Indus has its source in Tibet. From there, it skirts China, heads into India then enters Pakistan south of the Karakoram Range before starting its long journey — some 1,976 miles — through the heart of the country into the Arabian Sea near Karachi. People and their animals have been happily living all along the banks of Indus and its tributaries since the Bronze Age, when the region was home to the thriving Indus Valley Civilization. Even now Indus Basin is called the breadbasket of Pakistan.

“There should be permanent protective embankments to check and regulate water in flood seasons,” says Dr. Anjum. Sadly, the empirical observations show that embankments, where they were present, did not stand in the face of current floods. “After the flood warning, the villagers had brought their animals on the protective band and at night the flood washed away the whole band along with the animals, thanks to the quality of construction,” tells Qasim Ali a volunteer who had visited flooded areas in Sindh during August.

This social segment living in the flood risk areas cannot be expected to make safe arrangements for themselves and their animals on priority. Need is to release the pressures upon them by providing sustainable rehabilitation and safer environment for future.


Related: Flood 2010

Flood 2010 - Cycle of vulnerabilities

This article appeared in daily the Nation, September 5, 2010 issue

When rivers were raging and floodwater was submerging more areas down the country, I was in my village situated in the beautiful basin (called Bela) of River Jhelum about three kilometers downstream from Rasul Barrage. Most of the green swathe in Bela, where I remember looking for ladybirds as my earliest memories in life, is under flood water. Our location makes us vulnerable to floods more than anyone else.

People living in basin areas are familiar with floods that usually occur in late summer (July to September) when the Subcontinent gets heavy monsoon rains. In the upper to mid reaches of the Basin, it is generally the tributaries like Jhelum and Chenab rivers, which are the cause of flooding rather than the Indus River itself. The monsoon low depression that causes intense rain develops either in the Arabian Sea or the Bay of Bengal. Major flooding is generally associated with the depression from the bay of Bengal moving across India in west/north‐westerly direction and then turning north at the border with Pakistan.

Indus river basin, one of the largest river basins in Asia, covers approximately 70 percent of the country’s area. The largest river in the Basin is the Indus River with Chenab, Jhelum, Kabul, Ravi and Sutlaj rivers as its major tributaries.

Pakistan flood 2010, “probably the biggest emergency on the planet today,'' as UNICEF rightly puts it, has placed most of the Basin areas under water, killing many and displacing and destroying the livelihoods of millions. Flood also contains the germ of many others issues like starvation, epidemics, climate change, and violence, to name just a few. This suffering manifests itself in ways that raw statistics just cannot measure.

As always in floods of this magnitude, it is people living along rivers banks and in the foot of hills who are vulnerable and tend to suffer the most – both in the immediate disaster and in the long, uncertain aftermath. It is in this milieu that I talked to the spirited people in Bela of River Jhelum and tried to look into their fears and aspirations.

The influence of the development process on vulnerability to disasters is now well established. Lack of proper infrastructure and having no choices increases vulnerability of people to disasters. Those who are not on the priority list - if there is any list in the first place - of the governments and or are already at an economic disadvantage tend to be more likely to suffer during disasters like current floods. And it is not just due to poverty. “We are locked in a cycle of vulnerability simply because we happen to be living in Bela. Because we are vulnerable, we are at great risk in the face of a natural hazard like current floods. Because we suffer greater losses from a flood, we become even poorer, more vulnerable, and are at an even greater risk of another flood next year,” says Tassadaq Abbas, a contractor who do a business of excavating sand from Bela area and taking it to nearby towns. No one has ever bothered to visit us what to talk of taking any protective measures against floods and doing anything for us. We are at our own and think that there is no government for us,” Tassadaq, whose sand business is closed for many months even after waters recedes, adds.

All the evidence points to a steep and continuing rise in loss of lives and properties from floods since the 1950s and there is general consensus among trend watcher and experts that the frequency and magnitude of floods disasters is on the rise. The rise increases people’s vulnerability. What is more, economic and political environment of the country makes people even more vulnerable. This is most apparent in the economic pressures that force many of the poor to live in cheap but dangerous locations such as basins, even flood plains and unstable hillsides but there are many less visible underlying factors – social and political as well as economic – that affect people’s ability to protect themselves against disasters or to recover from them.

Mahmood Raja, my former class fellow and now a progressive farmer on the River Jhelum bank says, “Earlier floods used to be a yearly phenomenon in Bela. Flooding stopped after the construction of Mangla Dam upstream on River Jhelum and diversion of River Jhelum water to River Chenab (through Rasul-Qadarabad Link Canal). But in 1992, everything we had built was washed away. Now again the water has taken away everything we had.” Blame it on climate change, poor infrastructure, and lack of early warning system or in general lack of any proper disaster management system in the country, Mahmood, who has lost a prize winning bull in addition to ready for market maze fodder crop on the first when River Jhelum swelled out of its banks this year, and all those who are living in river basins are once again vulnerable to floods every year.

Flood 2010 has wiped out the asset base of people living in basins and they face a future where they have to re-build homes, clear debris covered land, re-equip agri businesses and add livestock and more. Given the estimates, anyone can see that the country is likely to lose at least this year's production, and may see food production levels lowered for the next few years because of the combined effects of soil erosion, destroyed irrigation systems, and contaminated soil. “New cycle of vulnerability has just started,” says Tassadaq.

In addition to the loss of life and property and the challenges, the current flood is testing the resilience and capacity of Pakistan and its people to overcome catastrophes. Nadir, another farmer from village Khewa, further downstream on the bank of River Jhelum, who lives and works closer to the River bank says, “It is difficult to move lock stock and barrel after we get fresh warning. Where can we take our live stocks and how can we feed them away from own land,” says nadir who, these days, keeps his important household on a tractor trolley in ready to move position. “So far the water has stayed 500 meters away from my home. We try to hold till the last moment but we have to move in case the situation worsens,” adds Nadir. 

The situation gets worst when the nations don’t have a capacity to withstand disasters (material and human resources that aid in the prevention and effective response to disasters). This includes the resources and skills people possess, can develop, mobilize or have access to which allow them to have more control over shaping their future. It is the ability of the nation to deal with hazards effectively. 

More rain and more floods may be on the way. But when the floodwaters retreat to the river beds, what is next for people living in river basins of Pakistan? It is hard to identify but one thing is sure; we need to build capacities to get people out of circle of vulnerability.

Related: Flood 2010

Why telecommuting trend is not picking up

This article appeared in daily the Nation, August 29, 2010 issue

Advances in information and collaborative technologies have recently resulted in changes in work practices. Emerging technological phenomenon called telecommuting (or telework) is changing focus from physical presence at the primary work site to what an employee can deliver. While the concept of telecommuting has been in existence for some time, the technological tools available today are making it possible to practice it more productively. The trend has steadily grown over the past two decades in the developed world.

Elsewhere, “Businesses that let 100 employees work half of their time from home can save more than $1 million a year’ according to Telework Research Network's (TRN) latest study of telework programs and their benefits. This alone is one big incentives for local businesses to take advantage of the telecommuting work model.

The local job market has traditionally been tight. It is tough for employable workforce to find regular jobs what to talk of telecommuting. This trend has yet not started to pick up in corporate Pakistan. It is in this context that the telecommuting phenomenon is viewed here.

What is telecommuting? This is a work practice made possible by use of telecommunication and collaborative technologies to facilitate work at a site away from the traditional office location and environment. As per Wikipadia, Telecommuting is a term coined by Jack Nilles to describe a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in work place and time (within certain limits). In other words a set up in which the daily commute to a central place of work has been replaced by telecommunication links. The focus is that "work is something you do, not something you travel to". A successful telecommuting program requires a management style, which is based on results and not on close scrutiny of incumbents."

Let me hasten to add that telecommuting is not only for computing related fields as it wrongly perceived sometime. Even a semester living in Shah Di Khoi and stitching shirts for a foreign-based concern can be telecommuter rather than a contractual worker. Also there is a difference between freelancing, contract work and telecommuting.

The availability of bandwidth and fast Internet connections, social methodologies for balancing work control and work freedom, the perceived values and economies in telecommuting, the opportunities and need for working collaboratively are some of the factors that should be considered to view possibilities of the telecommuting picking up in our country.

Pakistan so far is a less connected country. Despite all whirls we are going through, majority of the areas are still without Internet coverage. Teledensity has increased but is far from being adequate. Corporate Pakistan has not yet embraced IT, exceptions (some of them very good) notwithstanding. No effects can be seen on ground or in term of revenues in the account books. What has been achieved by Pakistan IT industry and some end user futuristic concerns so far is nothing more than a scratch on the surface. Reasons are many: Resistance to change and lack of trust in technical solutions for business processes that has diverted IT employment from raising productivity by revolutionizing production methods and techniques and taping human resource potentials through cooperation and collaboration; tasks what IT is best at.

Moreover, the latest technologies have not been made use of due to lack of a standard business culture of strategic thinking and planning. These factors are inimical to the long-term investment in time and resources needed for IT to develop and deliver.

Another impediment that seems standing in the way of telecommuting picking up in Pakistan is societal rather than technological. In a number of ways corporate sector seems to have distrust in IT solution what to talk of shared ones. Dr. Professor Manzoor Ahmed, an international marketing expert, opines, "The generation at the helms of business affairs, mostly family run, thinks that what has been working for them in the past is good enough. They hesitate to take new incentives into the untested area. The strength of this social impulse reins back the widespread IT employment in any area." Other limitations with the flexible trend are poor or lack of necessary infrastructure, illiteracy, slow speed or non availability of Internet access or things like electric shutdowns."

Let us have a look at the users' base. The majority of the online community in our country is of medium users. This group includes everyone from those ‘whiz kids’ with ambitions and degrees from IT institutions and international certifications to self-taught - experienced professionals in their own respective fields -- who have learnt to use the IT facilities at their own later in life. These users can perceive the modern technologies as a great leveler to work and make their lives better. But they do not find very many openings when it comes to putting their skills and experience to work on ground.

As of today, no university in Pakistan is teaching telecommunication courses to its business students. Higher Education Commission should ensure this subject to be included for business programs as is being done in reputed business schools abroad. This will empower young graduate from local universities to take telecommuting opportunities abroad now and in local market when they come up in future.

Pakistan has a world-class workforce (I am not being ethnocentric here). Local businesses should plan to plunge in to telecommuting boldly. They already have opportunities of learning from the successful experiences in the developed countries by closely examining the work methodologies being implemented with success and at much lower costs. Before that, the public sector should focus on improving infrastructure and ensuring uninterrupted supply of bandwidth, electricity and telephone everywhere. The potential employees should start learning and be ready to take up the openings when they come by. Meanwhile, all stakeholders should take extensive confidence building measures in the employment of information technology.

Hopes are that demand driven telecommunication will pick up here and Pakistan corporate sector will become telecommuting friendly. One wishes to see it happen as soon as possible. This has not started happening as yet though.

Related: Remote Reserve

Shared applications

This article appeared in daily the Nation, August 22, 2010 issue

The advent of shared applications is a new way to meet some or almost all aspects of information technology (IT) needs. Concept of application service provision has come a long way since it first came on the scene in the late 1990s. Hi-tech developments and changes at a fast rate are moving towards convergence of the software, information, technology carriers, and computer engineering. Result: IT structural designs are shifting from desktop and mainframe environments towards Internet based structures. Similarly, software applications are altering from made to order and separately owned solutions towards pre-packaged and Web based solutions. It is in this context that ASP business model is getting more interest as a hot trend.

IT business model that offers end users – small and large businesses, government organizations, non-profits, and membership organizations even individuals -- an access to applications and services over the Internet is known as application service provider (ASP - not to be mixed with Active Server Pages. It also is an abbreviation of as soon as possible). It is sometime called software-as-a-service, on-demand computing, apps-on-tap or utility computing.

Typically, the applications are deployed by a third party that hosts, manages, updates software based service and solutions and distributes to clients from a central location. XML and HTML processes allow thee clients to interact with the software. Sometime, ASP also rent out the server hardware and the network. What is more, many ASPs, particularly enterprise ASPs, have now started offering on site solutions in which the relevant hardware, software and function remain on the customer's site.

Hewlett-Packard and Qwest are among the pioneers for providing application services. Microsoft also allows some companies to offer its Back Office products, including SQL Server, Exchange and Windows NT Server on a rental, pay-as-you-use basis.

Some larger corporations like Accenture have established their own in house application service, moving applications from personal computers and housing them on a kind of server that is meant to handle the client workstation on ‘as required’ bases. This helps a business to keep the central control over application usage. In some way, this is like what used to be before the arrival of computers.

Services provided by ASPs can be grouped in different categories. As per International Data Corp, they are commercial enterprise applications (customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, e-commerce, data warehousing and programs to support vertical industries), collaborative applications (programs that enable internal operations such as e-mail, groupware, document creation and management messaging) and applications for personal use (games, entertainment software, home-office applications and any other software).

Broadly speaking, there are four major types of ASP business: A special function ASP that offers a single application, such as banking service like control of remittance or loan management; An ASP delivering a solution package for a similar customers type, such as a hospital management; A project ASP that give a mixed group of solutions; and an area based ASP that caters to the IT needs of businesses within a specific area. In addition, some large firms like IBM are using ASP methodology as a specific business model that supports specialized clientele. According to ASPnews.com, “ASPs are grouped into five subcategories: Enterprise ASPs -- deliver high-end business applications. Local or regional ASPs -- supply wide variety of application services for smaller businesses in a local area. Specialist ASPs -- provide applications for a specific need, such as Web site services or human resources. Vertical Market ASPs -- provide support to a specific industry. Volume Business ASPs supply general small and medium-sized businesses with pre-packaged application services in volume.”

The main advantage of ASP is that the clients do not have to bear the upfront capital costs of the hardware and software. They can pay like electricity and or PTCL landlines on a pay per use or yearly license basis. The interest that ASPs have generated, elsewhere at least, does not come only from economy of investment, but from qualitative considerations as well. Using the best applications available, faster than in house deployment are some others benefits. Businesses, though an ASP, can change their operational characteristics, placing less emphasis on IT operations and development, and more on core business operations and growth through the productive use of IT.

The ASP phenomenon is poised to make a central surge on the application market for the years to come. The ASP model can be extremely tempting to any cost conscious businesses but scouting reveals that the ASPs around the world so far are targeting small and medium businesses and start ups, which otherwise may not afford high end and costly applications; selling their software and enabling end users to avail the utility they need at inexpensive price. Small and medium businesses can rely on ASPs and can start using the Web as a business tool rather than a communications tool. The target market for ASPs is much larger in developed countries than in more developed countries. Economic conditions and desire to have a competitive edge are likely forces to accelerate adoption, anxieties associated with exercising control over the business processes notwithstanding.

ASP model is one of the economical behind the scenes business methodologies that the Web has made possible and it is working very successfully in more connected world. Many industry analysts see ASPs becoming a big business. ASP concept is ideal for countries like Pakistan. The impact of any such development may be seismic here.

The concept of ASP is still new in Pakistan. “Despite all the whirl we are going through, corporate Pakistan have not yet embraced IT, hence no effects can be seen on ground or in term of revenues in the account books. Affordable services offered by ASPs might help change this scenario. News is that some local companies are already working to establish ASP business in Pakistan in collaboration with foreign counterparts. “When ASPs come in operation and results are noticed, people will start buying ASP solutions, for automating manufacturing and marketing processes, instead of costly software solutions. Businesses have to realize that it is like anything else they do on a subscription basis. Major thing any potential ASP need is to build confidence and develop trust,” says Ibrahim Khan, a call centre developer.

Naveed Mehdi, another developer says, “Like Internet Services Providers (ISPs), we are so familiar with, ASPs have to make applications available to multiple users at a time, the more subscribers they will have, the lower the lease rates will drop. Difficulty is that no one wants to take the initiative. Everyone wants to see what others do and how. Which is why we are far behind in making innovative use of the technology available?”

ISPs are most suited to transform themselves into ASPs. “Today's ISPs are ASPs of tomorrow,” believes Mehdi. The only thing they can do before that is to become dependable. Which application they should offer: Customer relationship management applications, enterprise resource planning applications, banking and credit card transactions, hospital management or simple email management? It depends on the market demand. ASPs have to carry out diligent research and interact with potential users to carve out niche areas for themselves. Though, initially small and medium businesses seem the most likely users of ASP, in Pakistan, larger organisations could also convert to this method and cut IT costs. Ironically, when various ISPs were contacted for finding out about any possible future plans for the purpose of this article, the answers were not very encouraging. No one revealed that they have any plans to expand as ASP.

This is a significant opportunity for Pakistan. ASPs could enable the Pakistani software industry’s transition into a larger role as a global leader in mainstream. Ibrahim says, “We have already missed so many opportunities (like business process outsourcing and back office operations) in IT sector, we should not miss this one. Stakeholders should focus on measures to stay competitive. Necessary talent is there and many companies are doing a good job in individual capacity.”

What would constitute a world class ASP business? Local companies planning to plunge in to this sector have the opportunity of learning from the successful experiences in the developed countries by closely examining he standards being implemented and the demands made by the end users companies. Because everything cannot be mirrored in local corporate sector, therefore, they should carry out thorough indigenous research and interact with their potential customers. Interested IT firms should help small and large commercial enterprises to identify their IT needs in term of economic profits and then offer the solutions. Stakeholders should take extensive confidence building measures in this field.

Hopes are that demand driven ASP business will pick up here. One wishes to see it happen as soon as possible.

Why register?

This article appeared in daily the Nation, August 8, 2010 issue

In the first place, why do I register at different Websites on the Internet, and you should too? To stay tapped in what is happening in the cyber world and also what is not and to do some more things. Internet users want to access Websites to browse, posts their own random or focused thoughts in weblogs, subscribe to a couple of USENET newsgroups of interest, avail of required services on offer, posts resume on a job or may be bio on matrimonial services sites, shops online or simply use Web based email services. What all users have to do is register and cough up some personal information in the process. Not a big deal!

Big deal is that personal information spread fast on the Internet. Result: email Inbox privacy that is one of today's most sensitive and intricate issues affecting nearly everyone – individuals, businesses and Internet systems alike. Clued-up users who are in know of the matters want to protect their email inboxes though beginners or those who have lots of free time on hand usually do not care until later. Majority of the Websites first ask users to register and give some personally identifiable information including email address so that they can reach out potential customers and people with particular interests. "Over 90 percent Websites ask visitors to register," as per an estimate, for those 'great benefits' -- full use of the Website, membership to certain services or communities, subscription to newsletters and alerts and more.

On the Internet, there are so many novel ways to harvest email addresses and other personal information; sometime automatically without the knowledge or consent of users through cookies (elements of data that a Website can send to browsers, which may then store it on systems. Browsers can be set to receive a cookie, or otherwise), bugs built in some software or other more offensive ways. A report says "the use of concealed bugs to collect information about online visitors has proliferated dramatically in recent years."

Some time it happens that a surfers search for any specific information they need and when click the most probable looking link in the search results, instead of opening the Webpage containing required information, they are confronted with multi step online registration form to complete before they can get onto what they want. But the simplest and 'legal' way to collect information is through voluntary registration. In the process users are required to provide their identity information -- name, street address, telephone number, email, gender, interest areas, birthday, profession and employment status, purchasing capacities and income.

Ilyas Baig, a Pakistani student in America pointed out to an interesting old case on the Internet to prove what length Websites can go to collect personal information: "Those who are using the Internet since late 1990s may remember when a company offered that it will be giving free personal computers to 10,000 people who gave detailed personal information. A question was (and is) that how can a demographic that does not own a computer and presumably is not online, be a target for e-marketing? The answer even then was that savvy surfers will not give personal information online for free computers." But what business could do to know the users? E-marketers zeal to collect personal information is the same if it has not aggravated more.

What do the businesses do with the personal information? "Undifferentiated market segment of today global market is worth next to nothing from marketing point of view. Therefore businesses collect demographic and personal information to prepare their marketing strategies and improve promotional efforts," says marketing expert Dr. Idrees Malik, "that allows businesses to analyze site usage and provide products, services and features that most likely meet targeted segment's demand, and to customize service to make users' online experience as per their expectations and to send marketing or promotional materials through emails and or targeted banners."

Given growing privacy concerns and every one's dislike to unsolicited commercial emails (a.k.a. spam), Websites now give various options on the online registration forms but more often users fail to pay attention to obscure clauses discussing how their personal information including email address will be used. Majority of the Internet users do not read the privacy policies, terms of service and disclaimers of Websites while registering there in a hurry and just proceeded to hit on "I agree" button without going through legal looking lengthy documents. Or users do not pay attention to consequences while opting in or out by checking boxes that authorize the Websites to send emails or worst still share their email addresses with third parties. Sher Zaman says, "this approach means spam me, I asked for it."

Opt-in approach means that users explicitly agree, upfront, to have their personal information used in a specified manner and or share it with others when such use or disclosure to third parties is related to the purpose for which the information was collected. And opt-out is to withhold information from the mass lists; "it is a statement by users that they are not willing to receive sales and marketing communications."

The proclamation like "we will not sell, share, or rent this information to others" is not sufficient. There out to be simple and standard criteria for an opt-out schemes to provide effective protection. This so far is lacking. While writing this, I ‘took the trouble’ of going through Google's terms of use. Part of it reads, "As a condition to using the Service, you agree to the terms of the Gmail Privacy Policy as it may be updated from time to time. Google understands that privacy is important to you. You do, however, agree that Google may monitor, edit or disclose your personal information, including the content of your emails, if required to do so in order to comply with any valid legal process or governmental request (such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute, or court order), or as otherwise provided in these Terms of Use and the Gmail Privacy Policy. Personal information collected by Google may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Google Inc. or its agents maintain facilities. By using Gmail, you consent to any such transfer of information outside of your country." What is more, "As consideration for using the Service, you agree and understand that Google will display ads and other information adjacent to and related to the content of your email."

Some of the sites provide users with the opportunity to alter their registered information so that they no longer receive unwanted email communications. The provisions of changing profile or preferences are usually hard to find particularly for less tech savvy users. Some Internet users who have experienced say that changing preferences have little effect on the amount of commercial emails received, because once an email address is out, there is little anyone can do about it. "I tried changing my email addresses on couple of sites, and now I am getting emails on old as well as new address," says Sher Zaman, a techie. Does this make the Internet a public bulletin board where anything revealed is every one's business?

The users should be careful how and where to register. That is the only choice that remains with the users, I think.