Born on 2nd March, 1997, Babar Iqbal has brought great respect for Pakistan in the field of information technology for the fourth time in his 12 years. Proud of Dara Ismail Khan, Babar Iqbal who is also known as cyber kid acquired youngest Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) award.
Earlier he had grabbed three awards for youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) at the age 9 years, Youngest Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA) at the age 9 years and Youngest Certified Web Professional Associate (CIWA) at the age of 10 years. With his latest record he surpassed another Pakistani star Irfa Kareem Randhawa who made the same record at the age of 9 years and seven months. Babar competed the exam for which candidates of higher ages from 25 to 35 were appearing. His two brothers and sisters are also Microsoft Certified Professionals.
IT experts from all over the world have been surprised by the success of Pakistani child star. This bright prospect of young Pakistanis shows the dazzling future of Pakistan in the field of information technology.
While Afridi got 50.51 % votes, Ponting ended at the second position with 37.16 % with Dhoni (11.68%) and Shane Warne (0.65% ) falling behind.
www.espnstar.com ran a contest - ‘Cricketer of the Decade' for 40 days where the surfers voted for their favourite cricketers.
Twenty cricketers were shortlisted for four categories (Wicketkeeper, Batsman, Bowler, All-rounder) by a group of ESPN STAR Sports representatives.
Five cricketers were up against one another in each category and the player with the most number of votes advanced to the final round. Each category was open to voting for one week.
And at the end of the knockout stages, four players with the highest number of votes from each category were chosen.
They were up against one another yet again for the title of 'Cricketer of the Decade'.
And finally it was Shahid Afridi who claimed the title with the highest numbers of votes.
Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah (1680 – 1757) whose real name was Abdullah Shah, was a Punjabi Sufi poet. Baba Bulleh Shah himself became a respected scholar, but he longed for true inner realization. Against the objections of his peers, he became a disciple of Inayat Shah, a famous master of the Qadiri Sufi lineage, who ultimately guided his student to deep mystical awakening.
Biography
Baba Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of Uch, Bahawalpur, Punjab, now in Pakistan. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara in modern Uzbekistan .
At the age of six months, his parents relocated to Malakwal. There his father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a preacher in the village mosque and a teacher. His father later got a job in Pandoke, about 50 miles southeast of Kasur. Baba Bulleh Shah received his early schooling in Pandoke, and moved to Kasur for higher education, to become a student of the prominent professor, Ghulam Murtaza. He also received education from Maulana Mohiyuddin. His spiritual teacher was the eminent Sufi saint, Shah Inayat Qadri.
Baba Bulleh Shah was a direct descendant of Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) (S.A.W), through the progeny of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gillani of Baghdad.
A large amount of what is known about Baba Bulleh Shah comes through legends, and is subjective; to the point that there isn’t even agreement among historians concerning his precise date and place of birth. Some "facts" about his life have been pieced together from his own writings. Other "facts" seem to have been passed down through oral traditions.
Baba Bulleh Shah practiced the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like Shah Hussain (1538 – 1599), Sultan Bahu (1629 – 1691), and Shah Sharaf (1640 – 1724).
Baba Bulleh Shah lived in the same period as the famous Sindhi Sufi poet, Shah Abdul Latif Bhatai (1689 – 1752). His lifespan also overlapped with the legendary Punjabi poet Waris Shah (1722 – 1798), of Heer Ranjha fame, and the famous Sindhi Sufi poet Abdul Wahad (1739 – 1829), better known by his pen-name, Sachal Sarmast (“truth seeking leader of the intoxicated ones”). Amongst Urdu poets, Baba Bulleh Shah lived 400 miles away from Mir Taqi Mir (1723 – 1810) of Agra.
He died in 1758, and his tomb is located in Kasur.
Poetry Style
The verse form Baba Bulleh Shah primarily employed is called the Kafi, a style of Punjabi, Sindhi and Siraiki poetry used not only by the Sufis of Sindh and Punjab, but also by Sikh gurus.
Baba Bulleh Shah’s poetry and philosophy strongly criticizes Islamic religious orthodoxy of his day. At the time worldly corruption had been taken over as oppose to the true teachings of Islam.
Poetry Translated in English:
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
Not a believer inside the mosque, am I
Nor a pagan disciple of false rites
Not the pure amongst the impure
Neither Moses, nor the Pharaoh
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
Not in the holy Vedas, am I
Nor in opium, neither in wine
Not in the drunkard`s intoxicated craze
Niether awake, nor in a sleeping daze
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
In happiness nor in sorrow, am I
Neither clean, nor a filthy mire
Not from water, nor from earth
Neither fire, nor from air, is my birth
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
Not an Arab, nor Lahori
Neither Hindi, nor Nagauri
Hindu, Turk, nor Peshawari
Nor do I live in Nadaun
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
Secrets of religion, I have not known
From Adam and Eve, I am not born
I am not the name I assume
Not in stillness, nor on the move
Bulleh! to me, I am not known
I am the first, I am the last
None other, have I ever known
I am the wisest of them all
Bulleh! do I stand alone?
Where no one recognizes our caste (or race, or family name)
And where no one believes in us
***
Ab to jaag Musaffir pyare
Raeen gayi latke taare
Kar le aj karni da weera
Mod na ho si aawen tera
***
Awake, dear traveller, you’ve got to move on.
Trailing its stars, the night is gone.
Do what you have to do, do it today.
You will never be back this way.
Your companions are calling.
Let us go.
***
Awake, dear traveller, you’ve got to move on.
Trailing its stars, the night is gone.
A pearl, a ruby, the touchstone and dice
With all that you thirst by the waterside.
Awake, dear traveller, you’ve got to move on.
Trailing its stars, the night is gone.
A Beacon of Peace
Baba Baba Bulleh Shah's time was marked with communal strife between Muslims and Sikhs. But in that age Baba Baba Bulleh Shah was a beacon of hope and peace for the citizens of Punjab. While Baba Bulleh Shah was in Pandoke, Muslims killed a young Sikh man who was riding through their village in retaliation for murder of some Muslims by Sikhs. Baba Baba Bulleh Shah denounced the murder of an innocent Sikh and was censured by the mullas and muftis of Pandoke. Baba Bulleh Shah maintained that violence was not the answer to violence.
Baba Bulleh Shah also hailed Guru Tegh Bahadur as a ghazi (Islamic term for a religious warrior) and incurred the wrath of the mullas.
Modern Renditions
In the 1990s Junoon, Asia's biggest rock band from Pakistan, has also rendered such poems as Aleph (Ilmon Bas Kareen O Yaar) and Bullah Ki Jaana. Baba Bulleh Shah's verses have also been adapted and used in Bollywood film songs. In 2004, Rabbi Shergill successfully performed the unlikely feat of turning the abstruse metaphysical poem Bullah Ki Jaana into a Rock/Fusion song, which became hugely popular in India and Pakistan. Another version was performed by Lakhwinder Wadali titled simply Bullah. Examples include the songs Chhayya Chhayya and Thayya Thayya in the movie Dil Se..
In the 1990s Junoon, Asia's biggest rock band from Pakistan, has also rendered such poems as Aleph (Ilmon Bas Kareen O Yaar) and Bullah Ki Jaana. Baba Bulleh Shah's verses have also been adapted and used in Bollywood film songs. In 2004, Rabbi Shergill successfully performed the unlikely feat of turning the abstruse metaphysical poem Bullah Ki Jaana into a Rock/Fusion song, which became hugely popular in India and Pakistan. Another version was performed by Lakhwinder Wadali titled simply Bullah. Examples include the songs Chhayya Chhayya and Thayya Thayya in the movie Dil Se..
Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman said on Saturday a contingency plan was ready to counter any threat to the country’s security and made it clear that any misadventure by the adversary would invite a ‘massive reaction’.
Speaking at a briefing here at Air Headquarters, he said Pakistan did not harbour aggressive designs against any country, but was capable of beating back any aggressor.
He said Pakistan believed in peace with honour and observed that peace cannot be maintained from a position of weakness.
In reply to a question about the threats of surgical strikes inside Pakistan by India in case of another Mumbai-like terror attack, the PAF chief said “the neighbours know that in case of a sneak attack by them, reaction will be coming within hours”.
He said India would not be able to penetrate deep inside Pakistan’s territory, and the most they would do in such a case would be to choose an area near the border for a hit-and-run operation.
He said when the President House received a hoax call from ‘the Indian foreign minister’ after the Mumbai episode, the Pakistan Air Force identified certain targets across the border.
Air Marshal Qamar Suleman said permission from the government for replying to any aggression had been obtained and preparations made for a matching response.
He said India would not be able to defeat Pakistan in a conventional war.
He said the High Mark 2010 was not aimed against any country, but aimed at evaluating capabilities in an environment where dimensions of threat were changing warranting new concepts. He said the exercise was different in nature from the previous ones because the other two services were also actively taking part in it.
He noted that a future war would be swift and intense and said that is why the high tempo operation with a component of time sensitive targeting was being undertaken.
He said the budget for the exercise had been managed by savings as a result of 20 per cent reduction in flying from June, without asking for additional funds for the mega event from the Government.
Responding to question, he indicated that there was no plan to set up an air base in Azad Kashmir saying that the base in Skardu was sufficient to meet operational requirements of the PAF.
The Air Chief said Pakistan would start receiving 18 F-16 planes paid for it years back from June and the process would be completed by December. He disclosed that the United States had agreed to provide another 14 block 52 F-16s to Pakistan shortly. He said the existing fleet of F-16s would be upgraded in Turkey from September. He said all the F-16s would be upgraded to block 52 by 2014.
He said he said he never wanted a deal with the US for purchase of drones since it would be very expensive, but said it would be welcomed if sensors were provided by the US. He said Pakistan develops its own surveillance drones and would invest in research and development to make its own armed drones if a need was felt.
Earlier Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Plans) Air Commodore Javed Ahmad briefing reporters on the concept of High Mark 2010 said the primary target was to put to test the high state of combat readiness while gearing up all supporting units and validate the lessons learnt to improve deployment tactics.
He said since international, and domestic situation impinges upon the security calculus, the near realistic exercise was in line with the transformation in PAF’s concept of operations. He said new acquisitions had been operationalised in minimum possible time to take part in the exercise that will continue till the mid of May.
Few days back I posted a story of friendship with my childhood friend Saif-ur-Rehman; who has settled in Bulgaria and engaged in coaching of the National Cricket Team.
As I've mentioned in my previous post that he has a great craze towards acting and entertainment field. Recently he has participated in a talent hunt show in Bulgaria named as "Bulgaria's Got Talent". He made the audience laugh with his performance. He took a simple situation and presented it as "One-Man-Show" and entertained people and judges with the twists and twirls of his God-gifted talent of acting and mimicking. Let's enjoy his performance in the video clip below:
All of three judges liked his performance and style. According tho them the performance was a new kind of entertainment for Bulgarian public. One of the judges even commented "I wish that our people (related to showbiz and acting) can learn something from your talent." This is a big statement for Mr. Saif-ur-Rehman and all Pakistani's. One of the judges appreciated his lingual abilities and said that even this language is not your mother tongue; but even though you have full command over it.
All of three judges cleared him for the next step with best wishes. We also wish him best of luck in every field of life.
. Baba Bulleh Shah himself became a respected scholar, but he longed for true inner realization. Against the objections of his peers, he became a disciple of Inayat Shah, a famous master of the Qadiri Sufi lineage, who ultimately guided his student to deep mystical awakening.
