The Evening Star

  A Noir Tale of Time and Transformation The Beginning of the End Karachi was a city that never slept, and neither did I. The streets pulsed with desperation and ambition, a constant tug-of-war between survival and success. I was Shahbaz Raza, the man behind the curtain, the guy who made brands sing and celebrities dance to my tunes. If your product was a failure, I made people believe it was a revolution. If your reputation was in the gutter, I pulled it out, polished it up, and sold it back to the world with a glossy tagline. I ran an empire, stretched between Karachi’s neon glow and New York’s steel towers. A world of deadlines, deals, and caffeine overdoses. Chai in the morning, espresso at noon, whiskey at night. Rinse, repeat, bill the client. But time doesn’t care about your invoice. At 60 , I felt it creeping up behind me like a mugger in a dark alley. The younger crowd—fresh-faced, sharp-dressed, and backed by algorithms—were taking over. My instincts, once razor-shar...

  I recently took a trip to Swat, and let me tell you, it was a wild ride. I stayed at the Post Office Rest House, which was definitely showing its age. But you know what they say, "don't judge a book by its cover." Despite the shabbiness of the place, it was actually quite cozy and welcoming. And the sweet old man who ran the place was an absolute delight. He regaled us with stories of his youth. Classic.   PTDC: Miandam Now, onto the real adventure. We visited Malam Jabba, the biggest ski resort in Pakistan. I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about skiing, considering the last time I tried, I ended up face down in a snowdrift. But the Samson group had done an amazing job maintaining the resort, so I decided to give it a shot. And let me tell you, it was an absolute blast! The slow chair lift gave us plenty of time to take in the stunning scenery. And the best part? No face plants this time! I did fell on my arse though :D   After a day of skiing, we he...

Education is the backbone of any country, and it plays a significant role in shaping its future. Pakistan is no different. However, unfortunately, the education system in Pakistan has been facing several challenges that are eroding its roots. The education system in Pakistan comprises primary, secondary, higher secondary, and tertiary education. The primary education system in Pakistan has several issues, including a lack of proper infrastructure, teacher absenteeism, and outdated teaching methodologies. Most of the schools in rural areas do not have proper facilities such as electricity, clean water, and toilets, making it difficult for students to attend classes. This results in a high dropout rate, and many children remain illiterate. The secondary and higher secondary education systems in Pakistan also face numerous challenges, including outdated curriculum, inadequate teacher training, and insufficient resources. The syllabus taught in these institutions has not been revised in de...

I cannot begin to express the overwhelming pressure and burden that has weighed down on me. You see, if you have been following my blogs, you already know of the hardships I have faced. Although I have managed to find peace with most of my struggles, I have had to make some difficult decisions, such as leaving my business to switch to a job. This change has not been an easy one, my friends. Every day, I find myself struggling to hold on to my sanity and fighting the urge to resign. Although I have not shut down my business, working in an office under management has been an exhausting and soul-crushing experience. It pains me to admit that I have resorted to venting on social media because I feel suffocated in this environment. N7 Tech may be the right office for me, but the management issues never seem to end. The toxicity of the environment is overwhelming, and the company's attitude towards its employees is disgraceful. I am forced to bear the burden of all expenses, even for a s...

They say it ’ s a man ’ s world out there but it is no hidden truth either that in that world there is every man for themselves. I don ’ t believe we have the right to judge anyone, all we can do is to share our experience. This, however, is just the voice in my head. Everyone portrays the man to be a glorious thing. I don ’ t know about the women though as I don ’ t know the voices inside their heads. They are warriors inside the voices of my head but this story is not about that but is about how hard it is to be in man ’ s world. Everyone asks me why I don ’ t get married all the time nowadays. Everyone asks me why I work from home and why I don ’ t earn much. They ask me that since my dad is getting older, why does he have to work now and why can ’ t I take the responsibility. This is all the pressure that I take on a daily basis and it is messing me up. I know what they are saying is right but I don ’ t know how to achieve that work. I have tried doing jobs, five of them and t...

The Big Bang Theory A story for the kids The Big Bang Theory A story for the kids Once upon a time, when the universe was still growing and there were only a few tiny towns scattered across space, there was a special little village called Red Rocks. It was a very pretty place, with sparkling lakes and big open fields of green grass. But the most amazing part of Red Rocks was Mt. Slacko! It was a gigantic mountain with a glowing Lava Lake right inside. All the kids in Red Rocks loved to play and explore around Mt. Slacko. They would climb up to the top and look down at the bubbling lava inside the mountain. They would run through the fields around the mountain and play games of tag and hide-and-seek. In Red Rocks there lived a teenage boy Moon. He was a bright student and always willing to lend a helping hand. Moon's girlfriend Star was also a bright student and they both came from humble middle-class families, but they were determined to be scholars someday. Living in the ...

Sand Castle He was feeling nostalgic so he went back to the roof. It was second time in this week that he went up to the roof with a gap of multiple years in between. The roof was just a word here, in fact, the place was heaven or we can say used to be a heaven. It was a place where he has grown up. He remembers playing around the place but what brought him back up was the memory of all the dreams he has woven in that place. A lot has changed in all these years. The place was still the same though but very dirty with dust around every corner. He remembers how much this place meant to them back then and how they spend so much time sweeping and cleaning the place but now they all are adult and they rarely visit the rooftop. The place has lost its glory but everything was there except for the tube light as it got broken some years ago and the empty sockets are just sitting alone in the dark. There was only one room on the rooftop which used to host them all but now it was locked....

It was a snowy night. His hands were trembling while cutting the branches. He had to come a long way to find the birch trees. There were pine trees all around. Oh, the lovely pine trees. He just can’t use pine trees for burning because they produce a lot of smoke and he doesn’t want to suffocate. The darkness was spreading as the sunset. He hurries to collect enough wood for the night. His horse shakes his head, in order to ring the bell that was around his neck. It was as if he was asking to hurry up. It was a legit concern as the snowy breeze was getting inside his woolen clothes and sending chills up his spine. It was almost dark when he reached his house. It was a beautiful cottage. The house was situated on a hilltop. The house was made of wood however at certain places; there was the use of brick pillars. There was moss decorating several areas of the house. He crossed the front yard of the house. As it was a steep place, he has converted this area into a garden where he us...

There are too fewer people who read books these days but do you know what reading a book does? While reading books, I have been around the world and I have seen wonderful places. I have seen places like Florence where renaissance flourished, home to the famous poet Dante Alighieri. I have visited places where Dante have spent his life. I have visited the Boboli gardens. I have been to Florence Baptistery where Dante was baptized.  I have been kicked out of Florence just like Dante and was forced to Venice. I have visited all the amazing places in Venice and took the orient express to Paris. I have been to France, to Paris and danced on the famous Waltz songs of Paris restaurants. I remember my girlfriend Pascal taught me that it is easy to dance on Waltz, just one, two and turn around.  I have roamed all around Champs-Élysées, walked under Arc de Triomphe, and visited the famous Place de la Concorde. I have walked and adored the paintings inside the Louvre Museum esp...

The bloody lift is always malfunctioning. He kicked the steel frame with a vulgar slang. He was a man of faith. Decent and always looking at life from a positive perspective. His head ached while he was climbing the stairs. His world was upside down. It was a filthy old building. The placed smelled of rust, and the air was dense. The stairs were like a snake coiled up after digesting its prey. The bulb flickered every once a while in its efforts to keep the darkness of the night away.  The stairs were littered with used cans and cigarette bud. There were a few traces of the grill along the staircase that used to exist sometime. The walls were dark as a single bulb was making a feeble attempt to keep the stairway alight. The walls must-have been painted white when the building was built, but now the colour has faded with traces of dampness all around. The pale yellow colour shines in the light and displays its art of pathetic graffiti and useless adverts that are placed around t...

He was a man with no faith. He smiled as he crossed his small garden. The flowers were blooming. It was a sunny day, relatively hotter.  There is the strange phenomenon that the hotter the day, the greener the plants are, maybe it is due to photosynthesis. The birds were chirping around. Maybe the world wasn’t as happy as it seemed but he had decided to live the last of his day to the fullest so everything seemed happy to him. He was a poor man, dealing with a series of debts. His wife left him and took the kids away because he was unable to provide. It wasn’t that he was a failure, he used to earn big time but time changes and now he regardless of how hard he tries, fails. It was as if bad luck had surrounded him and there was no silver lining in the clouds. Days like those, it was hard even to feed his own self. Despite all these pressures, he was addicted to positivity. He was addicted to happiness. That day, he had decided to enjoy the day so he took out his best dress an...