TechLahore

What a super depressing day it’s been. I take that back. It’s been a depressing few months actually. In the grand scheme of things, losing a T20 final is not the end of the world, but it sort of underscores – in a poetic way perhaps – how things sometimes just don’t seem to work out, regardless of the good intentions, hard work and brilliance of the protagonists. That determined flurry of runs, the grit and effort all invested in the hopes of a positive outcome don’t always bear fruit. Misbah’s praiseworthy efforts with the bat today echo the substantial investment many of us have made in hopes for a brighter tomorrow, for things to take a change for the better. But it doesn’t quite seem to happen… Why?

If one didn’t know better, a likely explanation would be a grand conspiracy of multitudes of men in concert with the elements, executing a plan that is perfectly orchestrated. All to prevent “good things” from happening in the Land of the Pure. Yes, the majority here, as in any other country of the world, is fairly blase about their lot. But there are determined, committed people who are trying to make a difference too. Their everyday lives are an absolute challenge. Keeping your hopes up in an environment that’s bombarding you with news of gloom and despair is a feat in of itself… And the last few months have been just absolutely terrible for the make-Pakistan-a-better-place set. We started off with the CJ fiasco earlier in the year, heard news of incursions in the tribal belt and dealt with the political rumblings associated therewith, witnessed the Lal Masjid episode and its explosive aftermath, dealt with the Mian’s arrival and prompt return… All these relatively high profile shows were punctuated by flash floods in Balochistan, attacks on Fauji training grounds, madrassa madness and flyovers tumbling over. One almost wants to look up and say, “Send another couple of earthquakes and be done with it!”

But what does this have to do with Technology in Lahore and in Pakistan? Well, a lot! The environment shapes attitudes to a large extent and over the last year or more, the environment has left much to be desired. Within the IT community, one has witnessed some brilliant professionals return to the homeland, give the local industry and environment a shot for a couple of years and then, specially in the past year, pack up and leave. It may not be what everyone wants to hear, but we’ve got a long way to go before we can cultivate an environment where peaceful, professional people can feel at ease and focus on being productive and creative rather than feel constantly distracted by loopy “Maulvis”, khardimagh faujis and baighairat politicians.

How does one create an isolated microcosm that can sustain the type of citizen identified above, while allowing the rest of society at large to remedy its many issues and begin to heal itself (slooowly)? That is the 21 Billion Dollar question.

[Post pub note:] Also see Jehan Ara’s views on the T20 final. She raises an excellent point, but it just goes to show that if winning IS indeed important to us, it could be because there’s not much else to distract ourselves with (at a broad level, as a nation). That’s the issue really. Not the defeat. When there’s the constant pall of negativity around you – the kinds of things I alluded to earlier in this post – a T20 final can mean too much. Unhealthy, yes. But it’s reality as well.

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