Basant in Lahore

by Yasser Latif Hamdani February 16, 2003 14:40

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Lahore Lahore Hai!

Why Lahore is better than every other city on EarthBill Oreilly, that hawkish blabbermouth host of
the ’Oreilly Factor’
aired on the not so fair and balanced ’Fox News’, once arrogantly
exclaimed ’Who would wanna go to Lahore for vacation’. Obviously he hasn’t been to Lahore on
the Basant Night for had he been there, he would know that any person with half a brain would
prefer Lahore to that artificial paradise, the entertainment capital of the west ’Las Vegas’. Had he
looked up in the sky on the brightly Basant night in Lahore, he would have awed at the bright
colors of Pakistan, all the lights of the West would have paled in comparison, and he forever
would have been the devoted slave of the superior Pakistani culture. Had he been to Yusuf Sali’s
Haveli and danced all night with the most beautiful women under the sky he would have
denounced his own notions of white racial supremacy and would have been sung hymns in the
praise of the East.
The ancient land of Indus, aka Islamic Republic of Pakistan, has been celebrating Basant for over
3000 years. Religions, invaders and rulers have come and gone, but the people of Indus, the
stock that is proudly known as Pakistani in the modern world, have never stopped celebrating
Basant. The Mullahs, the same Mullahs who were once the greatest enemies of our Republic’s
founding in 1947, have tried in vain to convince the people of Pakistan that to celebrate Basant is
some how un-Pakistani, because no precedent is found in Islamic (read Arab) History. No doubt
Pakistanis are very conscious of their Muslim identity and rightly so, but their identity is only part
Muslim, they are also the harbingers of an ancient civilization, a civilization which is older than the
civilizations of those who call themselves civilized. This ancient land of Indus was exclusively
home to the Indus Valley civilization, the most advanced civilization of its time. The verdict of the
Pakistani people is overwhelmingly in favor of Basant, a tradition that is almost as ancient as the
land itself.
Legend has it that there was once a Raja called Basant who ruled over the ancient land of Indus.
One year when there was drought, he cancelled all the taxes on his people, and then the people
celebrated Basant every year at the arrival of Spring... But now there is another legend.. there is
a new rajah, and he lives amongst the Lahoris in modern day lahore. His name is Yusuf Sali, and
every year he holds the number one social event of the year where everyone congregates to pay
homage to the most ingenious party host the city has ever seen. And that is why we celebrate
Basant.
Yusuf Sallahuddin’s party is by all means the most exhilirating
experience and by all accounts the must-attend party where the whos who of the world are
invited. Allama Iqbal’s grandson, and a scion of a family considered a stalwart in the Pakistan
Movement, Yusuf Sallahuddin is an extremely cultured and highly educated man. His 17th
Century Mughal Style Haveli is located in the center of ’Shahi Mahala’ or the ’Heera Mandi’
perhaps the most cultural red light district in the entire world. As always the most good looking
celebrities went to his party... and these celebrities were not just Pakistanis... It was a pleasant
surprise to see some of the biggest names of Indian Music industry in attendance there. Ofcourse
there were all the major politicians, though the regular feature, Imran Khan wasn’t seen there.
The surprise of this Basant however was the bash arranged by Pakistan Muslim League Q, the
ruling party. Atleast the "ruling" party is good for something, for the dance floor there was perhaps
the most happening in all of Lahore. Those who were not over awed by the ’celebrities’ had a
much better time at this party.
Though it is viewed as more of a local event, Basant is perhaps the
one truly national festival Pakistan has which has nothing to do with
religion. Lahore is undoubtedly the hub of all activity, but on
Basant Day, from Karachi to Peshawar the entire country celebrated as one. Perhaps the fact
that it fell in a week in which also saw Eid, the Hajj the start of the World Cup and finally the
Valentines Day made it even more significant. Government sponsorship for the Jashn-e-Baharan
definitely was a plus. Pakistan’s loss against Australia was one serious party pooper though.
Pakistan unfortunately has faced a lot of malicious propaganda
initiated by certain hawkish Indians in the west. It is a much
maligned country, which is viewed unfairly as a volatile Islamic
country and as the ’new epicentre’ of Global terrorism. The truth is
totally different. Pakistan is today witnessing an era of
unprecedented stability and prosperity. Spending is high and the
economy is booming. Democracy, albeit controlled democracy, has been restored, and Pakistanis
have a lot to be thankful about. After all that is what Jashne Baharan, and Basant are all about ie
happiness, peace, and celebration of all that is good in life.
Long Live Basant
Long Live Pakistan.

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#101 sr56 February 15, 2007 10:03

The writer forgot to mention the death rate that incurs due to `DOR` in the basant season!

#100 may May 10, 2006 09:16

Re: # 114
i totally agree.Basant shudn`t b glorified like that.i don`t like basant myself fr the
same reson but the charm of LAHORE doesn`t fade away if basant is out of the
scene.Lahore still has n will always hav a special place in my heart n it still is the
best city of the world to me.n come on lets face it-there is more to Lahore than just
basant (food street?)

#99 Foxbat December 05, 2005 01:24

Long Live Lahore, its Pimps, The Whores, the Diamond Market and all chaloo women, who think
they can embarass Mr. Jinnah for crossing over into Pakistan in a airplane, instead of being with
HIS constituents and fellow moslems. I remember going to Lahore so many times, but going to
Lahore in 2003/2004 reminded me the way they plundered, pillaged the whole country to set -up
a sexual heaven for themselves called Lahore. After all Lahore deserves to be called the SEX
CAPITAL OF PAKISTAN.

#98 SirHumanoid February 18, 2004 21:26

Products of cultures like this writer forget the fact that Basant not only honouring a blasphemer is
a festial in which money which could otherwise have been spent on philanthropic works is wasted
on kite flying...
MacDonald`s, Coca-Cola and Pizza Hut while doling out rupees to fund such
extravagant affairs wouldn`t be caught dead donating that money to such
worthwhile causes as the Edhi foundation, the Ansar Burney foundation e.t.c...
Unfortunately, the demise of the Ummah came about when such `cultural`
representations such as this Basant festival came into play, and Muslims instead of
identifying themselves as part of a universal brotherhood, started identifying
themselves with paganistic, non-Islamic rituals and started taking pride in them and
shamefully being proud of something which was something to be ashamed of...
Some argue that Heera Mandi is part of the Lahore culture...Should that be
something that Lahoris be proud of? Is that something that they shoudl celebrate as
a `day of prostitutes` to honor the whores that occupy a section of the city...After
all, that too is culture...
Unfortunately, shame has left us...We are proud of what we should be ashamed of
and ashamed of what we should be proud of...
Is it any wonder that the Lahori culture would breed such a writer that would
expound the virtues of decadence? Or would Lahore produce writers who would
convey to readers the importance of what is important...

#97 lunatic November 23, 2003 07:18

I eulogizing Basant so gloriously, has it even occured to the author of this article,
how many innocent people are killed every year by this deadly monster? Just think
about the infant whose throat gets slit open by the ``door`` while riding home on a
motorbike with his family. Basant to me is just another painful manifestation of the
collective apathy that has come to define a totally barbaric socity that we are.
If this post seems harsh to you, imagine an innocent kid in your own family being
killed by the deadly ``door``, before retorting.

#96 FarooqA March 03, 2003 11:34

I wish the life of an ordinary man in Pakistan was half as beautiful as the basant night, still around
40 per cent of the people live below poverty line, only the moneyed elite class has the access to
basic needs of life ie health and education. Social and economic justice is beyond the reach of
the masses. Yes basant is a good festival but you should not let it make you oblivious of the stark
realities of life in Pakistan. By the way do you (writer) belong to the same previliged class that
gathers on the roof top of Sali`s haveli every basant.

#95 TripleM February 24, 2003 10:11

Comment removed by moderator because it did not meet one or more of the Chowk Interact
Guidelines.

#94 rsridhar February 23, 2003 08:19

re:#109 by ahmadzai
You are living in a fool`s paradise if you believe Pakistan has stopped supporting
terrorists. Modi, LK Advani are not terrorists but political opportunists who take
advantage of anti-muslim feelings in India today to garner votes. I am not saying
they are right but that is how politicians have always been.
But then, you should be more worried about your own jehadi countrymen and where
your country is going (read Sehbai`s article in SAtribune to know how your country
is drifting rudderless). Modi, LK Advani should be least of your worries.
As long as terrorists are being trained in madrassas in Pakistan,as long as they are
going around causing trouble in other countries, Pak will continue to be a viewed as
a haven for terrorists. Need i post URLs to a large number of articles coming out of
various newspapers decrying Pak`s support of terrorism?
http://www.worldandi.com/public/2001/December/jihad.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1617541.stm
http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=3936
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/terroristre port000430.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,2763,894408,00. html
How Pakistan became a source of islamic fundamentalism? Url:
http://www.globalpolicy.org/wtc/fundamentalism/2001/1023so wfun.htm
Pakistan-North Korea Axis: http://www.pakistan-
facts.com/staticpages/index.php/20030111 164804284
Pakistan`s Kashmiri terrorists: Url: http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?
StoryID=22122001-021209-4151r
Pakistan as Al-Qaida sanctuary: http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=17062002-
043525-4513r
Jim Hoagland`s article: An ally`s terrorism:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&
node=&contentId=A61531-2001Oct3¬Found=true
Excerpts from the above article:
``Washington knows full well that Pakistan actively supports Jaish-e-Muhammed
and other guerrilla organizations that see terror as the only effective tool they have
against India. Members of these groups freely tell Western journalists that they
have trained in camps in Afghanistan run by Pakistani intelligence services and then
been deployed into Kashmir. These terrorists are creatures of Musharraf and the
Taliban and soulmates of Osama bin Laden.``
Finally, the recent article about Seymour Hersh`s interview on Pakistan with Jane
Wallace- Url: http://www.sulekha.com/redirectnh.asp?cid=296778
Excerpts:
1. ``SY HERSH: Saudi`s put a lot of money into Pakistan to religious aspects. I`m
not saying the Saudi`s necessarily-- the Saudi government knows that the money
they`re putting in is ending up supplying the forces that are in contact with our
forces in the northern territories. But the fact is the Saudi`s are still a supplier of a
great deal of funds to Pakistan. We`ve got a country that`s teetering on the edge,
we don`t want Pakistan to go Islamic. We don`t want the weapons to get out of
control.``
2. `` JANE WALLACE: How exactly did the Pakistanis acquire nukes?
SY HERSH: They stole the technology from Europe-- to-- basically-- they used
enriched uranium, Enriched uranium makes as perfectly a good a bomb as
plutonium without a big nuclear reactor that anybody can see and-- and get
intelligence on. They began turning out warheads. We now know I-- as they say, we
estimate up to 40-- and that`s just a rough guess. ``
3. ``JANE WALLACE: If we were really going after the people who sponsored al
Qaeda, wouldn`t we be bombing Pakistan?
SY HERSH: Well, it`d be attacking Pakistan is not like attacking Afghanistan, or
Iraq. They have an air force. They have nuclear weapons, of course. They have a--
very strong powerful Army. We`re not gonna attack Pakistan. That would be-- that
would be an impossible chore. If you said to me, ``Are we better off in Pakistan or
in Iraq in terms of beating terrorism?`` I would say to you-- if you`d asked me that
question, I would say, ``No question. Let`s forget about Iraq and let`s focus on
Pakistan and start doing-- the money we`re gonna spend if we go to war there,
even in moving troops, if we tried to use some of that money in-- in positive ways in
Pakistan, we might be able to accomplish more than we are right now.``
JANE WALLACE: The picture you are painting here is that we`re dealing with the
devil.
SY HERSH: It`s not a perfect world``.
Sorry for this long post. I hope, after reading the Urls i have posted, you would
revise your opinion.
We were talking about cultural similarities. You diverted this topic to terrorism. I
hope i have given you a befitting reply. If you have awakened out of your
marijuana-induced hypnotoc state, you will realise that Indians and Pakis have
much in common (culturally) but terrorism is not one of them.
Sridhar

#93 Tipu February 21, 2003 11:00

Comment removed by moderator because it did not meet one or more of the Chowk Interact
Guidelines.

#92 Ahmadzai February 21, 2003 06:32

#108 by m_souza
`` Most of the pakis can look in the mirror..and see their shakal close their eyes and
ask them selves seriously... ``
Perhaps Pakis looked like Indians before, but not anymore.
Pakis made a U-turn from supporting extremism towards moderation. Indians,
under the dynamic leadership of Advanees and Modees, have made a U-Turn from
moderation to extremism.
The only person who may find his mirror image in Advanee and Modi would be OBL.
Both draw their strengths from communalism and hatred. If OBL blew the symbol of
American capitalism down in New York, Advanee has done exactly the same before
him - razing to the ground the symbol of secularism in India (Hindu-Muslim unity
through destruction of Babri Mosque).
I hate to draw the parallels, but at least you you can rest delighted now that some
Arabs have begun to look exactly like some Indians.
;-)

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