The trip to Islamabad, en route GIKI, KPK

Good day to all,

So I am posting after a year now. Things have changed a lot lately. Everything, and everyone has changed. It's really amazing how time flies by and take all your good moments, preserving it as a memory. A crystal-clear, glass-like memory that you would love to walk into, but that which grows shadier as the time passes.

Back in Fall 2012, I was lucky enough to go on a trip to Ghulam Ishaque Khan Institute of Engineering with a couple of really good university friends. And it happened all of a sudden. One moment we were comfortably sitting, waiting for a no-traffic-because-everyone-has-left trip home, next we were cornered by our Corporate Manager, being conveniently coaxed into undertaking this trip. And we were easily influenced.

What followed was a series of bull fights back home with a constant fluctuation between "going" and "not going" status. In the conservative society of Pakistan, it is highly improbable for girls to roam about the country without a male family member at hand. In the middle of chaotic tears, anger and frustration, a miracle happened. The families gave in. The trip had to happen. The exhilarating joy that bubbled in all of us had no boundaries.

The bags were packed as lightly as possible. The goodbyes were said. We gathered at the friend's abode who lived nearest to the airport. And then we all got heavily constipated when things began to fall apart. The dues had not been cleared. The tickets had been purchased on friendly credit. Without satisfying the credit, it would be meaningless to board this trip. At the very last moment, a post-dated check saved the day. For the first time in a couple of days, we were all joking, laughing, discussing exactly how each of us felt we'd be tugging our luggage home in a few hours. The flight to Islamabad took about 2 hours. Sadly, we were all seated separately. The flight was rather uneventful.

The next hurdle was to reach the hotel. Grabbing a taxi was easy but their fares, unnecessarily high. It was too late before we realized the airport was a small one, and the tariffs outside the realm of the airport would be acceptable. We reached the hotel, everyone still in absolute disbelief that we were four friends, miles away from home, and we were actually together! For the next 24 hours, we were treated to a life of absolute bachelorhood - each of us laid sprawled on the floor and on the beds, none bothered by the fact that there were 2 men and 2 women in the room. We had been besties, and we knew we could trust each other. The television was on, and on high volume. We had taken a tablet laptop and portable internet USB with us, so Facebook and Mails and everything else on the online world was within reach. We felt hungry, we got up and left the hotel for a dinner in a nearby restaurant, no worries, no scurries. Things were like - a real worthy bachelor life..!

We all slept late that night - males in a separate room, females in another. As long as we were awake, the show went on, pictures were clicked, fun made of everything. Life was blissful. But the next day wasn't so.

In the morning, all four of us gathered again, this time to tackle the issue of breakfast. Again, we took a few necessities and left the hotel, searching for the traditional Pakistani "halwa puri" breakfast. We walked, and walked, inquiring about a breakfast restaurant. We might have walked a kilometer before we spotted what we were looking for. The breakfast was amazing. Even today, all four of us remember the taste and the texture of food - it was simply amazingly soft and tasteful! The trip back was a short one - and it was then that we realized we had gone in a circle! The restaurant was just a couple of meters away!

A couple of moments later, the news broke on us. We had to catch a bus to Ghulam Ishaque Khan Institute of Engineering in a couple of hours. The bachelorhood was suddenly interrupted and effectively over. We rushed through the changing and the packing. Just as we were waiting for the green signal from our Event Coordinator, we were informed - the dues were still not cleared. And we effectively had no cash to carry on with the trip. Most of us were on extremely tight budgets, already ruined by the last day's party. We looked at each other, worried. Were we stuck?

* To be continued *

Peace :)

Why the Pakistani Transport system does not upgrade?

Greetings!

Today, after an exceptionally long time though, I would like to share a personal image shot by my cellphone during my adventurous trips in public transport. What makes it even more exciting is that it does not focus on the bus. In fact, the image is focused on the bus' windscreen. Check out the following images:

I hope everyone can spot that bullet hole easily. I myself had no problems in identifying it. Yet, that is the perfect explanation of why in the name of God will the Pakistani Public Transport system never upgrade. The reason is simply that some improvements are just not welcomed by the public. Two days following a thorough renovation, the city is likely to be struck by some political instability where the young outrageous individuals would relentlessly proceed to target these over-depreciated beauties, some even ending up in flames.

Change - not as easy as the word sounds. The current developments in Pakistan since my last blog has been simply enormous. If work grants me the time, I'd love to be back here to discuss some of these which are on my mind. Till  then,

Peace.

Wars need not only be fought with weapons

Greetings!!

As recently as yesterday, we had an interactive class where we (the coach and students) discussed about how countries fight, how countries can employ what all treacherous strategies to annihilate the existence of their enemies from face of the map. Suprisingly, the strategies all seemed to be in practice already by a handful of so called powers in the world.

However, notably, every strategy we discussed regarding destroying the other nation significantly involved inflicting severe damages on the favored country too. If ten damages were incurred on the foe, it inevitably involved getting five damages on self too. In the end, we saw both the countries were dissolved - the one under attack a little earlier than the attacker. Nevertheless, none benefited or survived.

One of the strategies included mutating the foes' culture and confusing them regarding their own beliefs. Once this happens, a broad division will be created within the smaller strong and sustainable units comprising the society - the family institutions. When the families will not be able to converge on any opinion, the divide will worsen causing the split up of the only units which are the building blocks of any society. This will inevitably result in the degeneration of the society, bringing the ultimate downfall on them.

What i witnessed today morning during my public transport trip to the university was utterly shocking. The bus i boarded had an LCD fixed towards the front of the bus, right over the heads of the women. Though initially i was impressed with its existence in a bus, the idea looked all the more pathetic and nauseatic when moments later, typical bollywood 'rain-oriented' songs started playing along with their absurd videos that make the censor board look futile. Suprisingly, no one minded the playing of such explicit stuff in someplace as public as buses! Is our nation already dead? No one bothered to get such atrocity shut down. It was one of the worst things i witnessed in my country. Food for thought: What can be more heartbreaking than having a bunch of stratified people with dead conscience flogging a country that was allegedly brought into existence for the sole purpose of cherishing the wisdom embedded in our religion? Have we lost the war already?

Peace.

Robot with feelings

Greetings!!

Recently, i watched a bollywood movie by the name of Robot starring two of the legendary bollywood artists, Rajnikant & Ashwariya. With the rotten bollywood masala integrated in the movie to an unbearable level, i was lucky to see only the core 10minutes of the movie which held the entire crux of the story.

The part i viewed involved the hero Rajnikant dictating emotions to the robotic Rajnikant. Presumably emotions was the only thing the robot lacked to be qualified as safe for the public. After endless efforts on behalf of the hero, the robot developed feelings. This was where the bollywood masala stepped in with the robot falling in love with the heroine of the movie Ashwariya. The rest is what i can declare as a known expected mystery no one in their right minds would waste time pondering about.

Though not remotely a positive experience, the movie made me realize emotions is the only thing that keeps the humans apart from machines and makes pieces of metals subservient to flesh and bones. If machines can be taught to feel, humans can never tolerate these inventions and would instead spend time devising ways to destroy these inventions.

The movie though exclusively drama material with no reality attached, existing for the sole purpose of providing entertainment, subconciously has a rather thoughtful element attached with it. If robots developed feelings, i wonder how many individuals will then be convicted for brutality against machines!!!

Peace.

Fairness-Madness

Greetings!!


The race for innovations and for gaining fair skins might never end. These days, however, men have also fallen prey to this madness. What was earlier considered, "Strong, Dark and Handsome" has now been replaced with "Fair and Lovely"!!

This image shows our beloved cricket star Mr. Shahid Khan Afridi. This ad has been showcased on a number of billboards across the country. Evidently, the advertisers of Fair and Lovely men's range of products have tried to extend an impression that Mr. Shahid Khan Afridi actually uses the product himself which is why he is all fair and radiant.


I am at a complete loss to understand how fair can fair, good-looking pathans get, even with the use of such creams! Mr. Shahid Khan Afridi, being a pathan, is pretty fair by default. This ad actually makes me question the capability of this cream - if it works only on fair men, then it is useless for the dark, under confident individuals ashamed of their skin colors.


For a fact, the madness for fair skins have developed looking at the starchy western beauties, even though the dark women and men seem to have more attraction. A need for whitening products have been created by advertisers by building on the hypnosis that "white is beautiful". I believe people have been misled into believing so, since the saying has forever been, "Black is beautiful"


We have been designed by the Almighty in the best of architectures. Aiming to change something in ourselves is like challenging the perfection of the Almighty. We need to realize we are annoying our Creator when we act foolishly trying to alter our features.


Peace.

Quote

Greetings!!


"I Have Not Failed, I've Just Found 10,000 Ways That Wont Work" - Thomas Edison (1874-1931)


If this is the spirit people live with, it will undoubtedly turn despair into experience.


Anything said further about quotes will ruin their meaning.


Peace.

"Cool Boy With Handsomes"

Greetings!!


No, this is not my grammar. I haven't lost my brains anywhere. The title is merely a statement I read during my morning travels written on the back of a car. Weird, but true. This statement gives an eerie "gay-ish" feeling, even though in the conservative Pakistani culture, such freedom is nowhere entertained. In their smart attempt to pose "cool", some naive people also end up writing nonsense on themselves under the pretense that they hit a jackpot!


Car painting, and more recently wall painting, has been the illiterate's futile attempt to pose sophistication. People often print catchy phrases in similar liquidy font in order to distinguish their cars from other "ordinary" cars. Though not very attractive, such car painting is given a special status here in Pakistan.


Though admittedly, not all car paintings are a series of senseless words. At times, the phrases are indeed adorable. A long time back I read a phrase, and because of its beauty, I still happen to remember it:

"I don't drive fast, I fly slow"

This phrase has truly touched my heart. Being quite a racer myself, I find this phrase close to myself.

Peace.

Bumped

Greetings!!


Today, on my way back home from university by public transport in the peak hours of the day, I was excessively exasperated when the driver refused to drive any faster than 40km/hr and repeatedly braked horrendously, sending commuters thrown to the front of the vehicle. Tired with the day at the university, and unexplainably upset with some occurrences, I mused myself for sometime by envisioning a road accident, probably caused by a brake-failure. I imagined the windscreen shattered into a million pieces thrown towards the inside. I imagined screams, despair, pain and blood. I stopped for a minute and realized I was imagining depressive images which were not at all good for the brain. I immediately diverted my mind to other things like the newly paved roads and the cars that overtake so close to the gigantic vehicle that an accident not occurring is purely by luck! Through the rest of the journey, I had forgotten my imagination.


With only about 3kms left till my drop-point, the bus stopped at one of the bus stops for the driver's sip of life. Everyone was waiting for the driver to get back to his job when a horrific jerk sent all the commuters toppling over one another. My first instinct said the driver had released the clutch while the gear was not neutral. However, almost immediately, I was confirmed this was not the case. Everyone seemed suddenly worried gawking at the back of the bus. Following their stares, I found out the jerk had resulted from another bus bumping in from behind. Taken aback, I remembered my imagination. I immediately repented for imagining disaster and quickly thanked the Almighty that my vision was not completely true.


Sometimes, what one thinks and thinks really hard, does become the reality. One should be careful even with their thoughts because even though they are not audible, they can become reality.


Peace.

The Dreadful Night

Greetings!!


I can still remember that dreadful night in the beginning of this year. It was the semester break from the university. As it is with college and university students, a break of even two consecutive days is sufficient to disrupt our daily schedules. It had been almost a week since the university was off and my schedule was badly disrupted. It was just another one of those troubled nights when I found it hard to sleep even though the time was considerably past midnight. My eyes were forcefully shut, trying to make my active mind go to sleep. I felt my cellphone vibrate suddenly on my side. It was not the normal time for me receiving messages and I was surprised who would be messaging me at such a time at night.


Opening my eyes with difficulty while shielding them from the seemingly blinding light of the cellphone, my curiosity peaked when it turned out to be an exclusively "day" friend's message. However, only three words constituted that message, yet they were so unbelievable and frightening, I can still remember the shiver than ran up my spine when I read that message.


The three deadly words were, "My dad expired". I thought I maybe misread the message. I read it again, at a complete loss to contemplate it. I read it again, feeling the sinking sensations of the reality while still trying hard not to understand the direct meaning. I thought it might be a bad joke - a really bad joke to be pulled at such a time. Knowing this person, I knew he would never deliver such a bad joke. Fighting the impulse to write swear words in reply and rebuke him for such a pathetic message, I shut the message and went back to my futile attempts to sleep which were now distinctly more feeble. Through shut eyes and darkness, I could see the message emblazoned on the inner side of my eye-lids, burning into my eyeballs. A few long seconds passed by the same way. The next minute, I had rolled over to my cellphone, weirdly breathless, eyes wide open in spite of the light penetrating my dilated pupils, typing out my apologies at the loss while still praying he would reply back with a laugh and an early "April Fool". This reply, however, did not come.


I remember spending the night disturbed, awake, faking sleep so that my family members did not barge into my room criticizing me for late night commotion and praying the morning will have a miraculous reversal of this message. The miracle I was asking for was too big. I bugged a mutual friend in the early morning hours the same day about this happening, she also admitted being equally disturbed at the news. The whole day passed in a senseless frenzy and chaos, with some uncanny excerpts of our friendly moments reverberating in my ears.


The "gang" at the university had decided that the semester break would involve a visit to this friend's place. At that moment I couldn't help wishing we had never said that. This is definitely not what any of us had in mind. On an earlier occasion, this friend had talked about his family - his parents and a sweet sister constituted his family. On a certain random topic, I recalled him say, "we are four. When my sister gets married, I too will get married. So we will still remain four!! :)" After this dreadful loss, I was completely lost at how that count will ever be completed again. The loss was irrevocable - no number of people could ever fill that place. No one could even approach that space left empty. And no amount of words can express that loss to the fullest.


Do remember everyone and especially the departed soul in your prayers.


May Allah Bless Us All,
Peace.

Sleeping Beauties

Greetings!!


Early morning journey to the university is often adventurous in its own sense.


Today, during my travel to the university, I observed two sleeping beauties on board belonging to two very different classes. One of the lady in her early thirties was dressed in a heavily embroidered dress with the classic white coat - the symbol for Doctor here in Pakistan. Nothing from her persona said she was a doctor except her coat. The second sleeping beauty was clad in a black gown, her face hidden behind a veil. I realized the second lady's slumber only when I occupied the seat next to her and she continuously drooped on me in her over-whelming sleep. All through my hour's journey, I saw both these women occupied in troubled sleep like they were deprived of the night. The jerks of the public transport seldom allows peaceful sleep, but if the sleeper is pure, even accidents are insufficient to wake them up!

If I had seen this yesterday, it would not have been so hard to digest since the day before was the religious event of "Shab-e-Baraat" where many occasional Muslims pull an all-nighter in prayers for the hope of getting their sins forgiven. But today, it seemed a little out of place to see two sleeping beauties together in the same bus.


I believe the culprit for this lack of sleep, other than the deteriorating economic conditions forcing people to do multiple jobs, is because of the electricity shortage the authorities claim proudly while justifying the load-shedding. Shameful though it is, with the abundant resources Pakistan is blessed with, electricity shortage is actually a question mark on Pakistan's talent and capability.


Peace.

Changing Interior Trends

Greetings!!


A recently as just a few years ago, I remember seeing the public vehicles' interiors here in Karachi decorated like a bride fresh from the beauty parlor. With numerous handicraft hanging on the windscreen and the sides, it was horrendous to sit on the benches beside the driver's seat; the hangings continuously poked on the head and the eyes. I remember once the hangings were so dense, the interior was actually suffocating to bear through the journey. More often, the hangings hung so low, it would block vision for the innocent first-timers craning their necks to look through the windscreen.


Recently, however, an abrupt change in these "interior-decoration" styles have become evident. Often now, I see the hangings have disappeared or significantly lessened. More of the windscreen is viewable now. The hangings are now restricted to the front with no handicrafts fixed above the benches and their occupants. Thankfully, this recent change has reduced the suffocation - with the sun pouring in through the windscreen during the morning time, it is much more bearable to travel in buses.


I believe much of this change is attributed to the recent increase in buses-related terrorism - almost above 50 buses have been burnt during the tensed times. Although the bus bodies are more or less "recoverable", these decors definitely aren't! These decors have moved into the category of luxury and with the current fluctuating moods of the city, luxury is something one cannot afford. Nevertheless, this current state of the buses is more appreciable since it allows women to sit more peacefully, less bothered by unnecessary things that cannot be moved.


Peace.

Commemorance of religious events

Greetings!!

Religious events, especially here in pakistan, are celebrated with utmost fervor. Not to mention the forehead cracking worships muslims indulge in and their intensity in the form of long drawn tiring hours, usually late into the night, more recently, these religious festivities are accompanied with FIREWORKS!

Though the connection between the two does not remotely exist, this recent development has rapidly gained popularity with firework artists now flogging each residential area in pakistan. Not only does this imply endless ordeal with the sound of the blasts attacking everyone's ears present in the vicinity, these firework artists are significantly skilled in multiplying this ordeal by not only increasing the sound of the blasts, but also by igniting these fireworks right at the moment when people least expect it - like in the dead of the night.

Yesterday, a similiar religious event was celebrated with the aforesaid religious fervor. People were caught off guard when these miniature bombs went off to create noise pollution. With the current conditions of this region, these mischief mongers do not realize their innocent acts of terrorizing are not well suited and can easily be misunderstood!

I believe parents are to be blamed for these actions by their wards, because they are financially and morally responsible for their upkeep. If parents can exercise some control over their children, i think religious events can be commemorated with pure religious fervor and our environment saved from this unnecessary polluting factors.

Peace.

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

Greetings!!

I happened to read this book a while back. With its easy language and smooth flow, this book is definitely a must read for all those looking for good stories in understandable language!


As a kid, I remember hearing this same plot-line in Urdu with slightly different setting and characters. Though this book was first published in 1988, I doubt whether the Urdu version was actually an adaptation of The Alchemist.


The story is centered on a shepherd who is foretold in his dreams that he has a bigger cause to fulfill. On the search for this "cause", this shepherd travels around half of the world. What happens next is written in the book.


It has a beautiful message engraved in the story - whatever happens, happens for a reason we may not be able to see while it is happening, but will realize to appreciate it when we look back at it. So when we challenge the Almighty by saying certain way could have been better for reaching the same goal, we are actually challenging His wisdom - which I believe is pure idiocy seeing we are nowhere comparable to Him!


Peace.

Formal Dresses

Greetings!!

The topic of contention between the students and the authorities at the university has often been the case of formal dressing. With the scorching sweltering heat prevalent in Karachi, wearing a three-piece suit is far from possible for men - unless we want strong brave macho men fainting in the heat like bowling pins fall when hit by the ball.


In most organizations, central air conditioning keeps the environment pleasant and the coat-suits tolerable. But in the university, where the males seem to spend most of their time on the field work, with no "boys common room" to relax their worked up muscles and no air conditioned classrooms available apart from the scheduled course classes, imposing three-piece suits on them seem to be very harsh.


But the authorities do not deviate from their reasons - men need to learn their grooming from the university-level. If they can not bear wearing suits in the university and they continue to dress rashly, they will most probably end up giving their job interviews of massive organizations in Bermudas and muscle-grip sleeveless shirts!!!


In my opinion, grooming should be taught at the universities - but in a more polite manner. Men, though they possess immense strength and valor, can get strokes and sun burnt too!


Peace.

Pillion Riding back in Action

Greetings!!


This is in reference to a recent development in the country titled "Pillion riding ban lifted to ease people's transport hassle"
LINK: http://geo.tv/7-15-2011/83739.htm


This ban was enacted a few days ago foreseeing the violence that occurred in the country. This ban has now been lifted to provide the public ease in transport. This ban truly poses immense difficulty for the commuters especially men capable of driving motorcycles. Bike being the most cost effective "cheap" mode of transport these days, it poses immense difficulty when two or more people from the same household have to reach the same destination at the same time and are not able to travel together because of this ban! Pillion riding is banned on the presumption that terrorist activities can be controlled this way. However, history does not have any records in compliance with this hypothesis.


I believe pillion riding should not be banned. With the public transport continuing to become expensive, the fuel prices sky-rocketing and the traffic on the roads multiplying abysmally, pillion riding is the one relief the people cherish because of its ability to glide between traffic and reach the front of the queue, its comparatively low costs (all except the driver seem to be travelling for free) and its usability to transport several individuals.

Peace.

Prisoners take Policemen Hostage

Greetings!!


This is in reference to a news titled, "Prisoners take policemen hostage at Larkana prison"
LINK: http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/17/prisoners-take-policemen-hostage-in-pakistan.html


I believe our law enforcement agencies need security for themselves now. With the brutality they practice against the prisoners, it is inevitable that this news will be repeatedly reported. If these policemen had treated their jail residents like humans, I believe this would never have happened in the first place. It is an eye-opener for the oppressors - when the oppressed are left with nothing to lose, they become most vulnerable. And in a situation like this, the oppressor ends up having everything to lose.


This particular incident, though remarkably violent, has lessons for everyone who takes heed from it. A policeman died as a result of the prisoners' outburst. Several were injured who tried to contain these wild prisoners. But the fact remains, these policemen have high involvement in making them wild in the first place.


Peace.

Weather in Karachi

Greetings!!


Here is another one of Karachi Tips commendable images:

This image talks a lot about the weather especially in Karachi, and slyly, also about the residents of Karachi. The weather in this area of Pakistan is exceptionally "moody". One can wake up to a bright sunny day and end up coming back from work soaked skin deep in rain. It can also happen that one wakes up to a cloudy day promising to rain heavily but the wait for that first drop of rain never ends.


Since the past few days, same has been the case in the city. It had been exceptionally cloudy in the past few weeks but no substantial rain fell down from above. What is more is that our weather forecasts keeps giving us hope that it will rain in near future and that "near-future" never comes.


Commendably, the whole image talks about the moodiness of the weather here in Karachi, but the last word - "too" - of the statement gives the piece a whole new second perspective. Karachiites have long developed a reputation for being "topi baaz" - exceptional liers! Given any tough situation, Karachiites (though every Pakistani can) know how to wiggle out of these compressed spots. And they are so heavenly skilled in this regard that the fooled does not realize what happened till it is already too late.


Though this is not something one should be proud of, and it has a whole religious perspective attached to it, I believe in the modern era, it is close to impossible to abstain from such lying games. Because at the end of the day, even if a person tells the truth, those masses habitual of facing liers will never believe it.


Peace.

Electricity shortfall

Greetings!!


Here is another page extracted from Karachi Tips page on Facebook:

The Karachi Tips folks have done a commendable job here in bringing day-to-day practical jokes in one place. This image also reflects a strange truth prevalent in our city Karachi. On the slightest instinct of rain, the electricity system crashes and the whole city is engulfed in darkness (since the clouds are so dense, even if it is day time, it looks like night). So when one spots signs of an upcoming pour of rain, one needs to be quick in completing all electrical chores since once the electricity is gone, one can never be sure when and if it will be back!


It happened once in the last five years that Karachi faced the heaviest rain of all times with severe rainfall pouring for almost a day. Not really a Karachiite back then, I spent most of the time enjoying the rain and expressing how beautiful it looked. However, soon enough, it dawned on me that the electricity was gone for good - the grids, transformers and electrical connections had crashed. As it is the city was floating with knee-deep rain water, posing additional difficulties for the KESC people to approach the target. I witnessed a continuous three day electricity shut down that time, with the mobile phones on the verge of dying, the rechargeable hand-held lights already dead and the then famous UPS electricity back up completely exhausted. Those three days taught me the lesson summarized in this Karachi Tip!


Peace.

The Holy Matrimonial - Pakistani Style

Greetings!!


I happen to come across a Facebook web page by the name of Karachi Tips, which talks a lot about how things happen in Karachi.


The following image has been extracted from their page:

I find this 100% true. Not just in Karachi but it applies to the whole of Pakistan. If there is marriage taking place somewhere in the neighborhood, it simply has to be too grand a show off with loud blaring music pouring out of the event space into the streets and into the houses of the unfortunate neighbors! Simplicity has long been trashed; talk about low music, less guests, less food and less fuss - you are sure to get some extremely pathetic glares from those actively involved in the festive event. To back up their view, they go on to say how it is the last marriage in the family, or the first, or the second, or . . . Some can even go on to say it is to impress the in-laws!


It is no wonder that the average cost of an "average" wedding these days lies somewhere between 8-10 lacs! I believe it is a complete waste of money! If things can be kept a little simpler and low on the show-off mode, weddings can truly be made affordable and memorable (and this does not apply to those who can afford extravagance. They, by all means, can continue to torture their neighbors!)


I find the hall systems slightly better in this regard since they are, at times, aloof from residential areas. Loud music in weddings sound better when it is at considerable distance and audible in whispers. Weddings are not going to stop - this is a necessity going on since generations. It is merely the styles that keeps changing, and the present style is truly rogue!


Peace.

Going Green (3)

Greetings!!


After the general realization of the degenerating environment, efforts are being made to "go green" with respect to everything - be it energy sources, renewable resources or resource conservation.


However, this blog is regarding the cars "going green".

When it was realized that the traditional fuels used to power the cars were sources of obnoxious pollution hazardous not only for the direct inhalers but also for the ozone, immediate efforts came into being to switch over to "less-polluting" alternatives so that the environment can be saved.


The basic idea behind the selection of fuel for vehicles is it should readily react with air, more specifically oxygen. Selection by this rule allows for reduction in costs of fuels.


These attempts are depicted in the conversion of petroleum-run cars into CNG-run cars here in Pakistan, though the reasons here were not remotely the conservation of the environment but rather the conservation of people's finances. However, for whatever reasons, progress was made.


More recently, a more "greener" fuel has been discovered in the form of compressed hydrogen gas. The exhaust products of this fuel is WATER - hence it is by far the greenest fuel. Attempts are being made to commercialize this fuel, but the precautions for this fuel makes it too dangerous for domestic use. Compressed hydrogen gas is highly flammable; minor accidents can also cause severe damages.


I believe hydrogen gas will be a viable fuel source if the cars are made of rubber which will repel on collision, instead of collapse. Water as a by-product makes hydrogen exceptionally green - if only more research is done regarding how to make this fuel domestically usable, I believe the ultimate "green" will be achieved in this regard.


Peace.