The pursuit of happiness

Eefa Khalid Published May 11, 2010

Among the various encroachments on Pakistan's footpaths are the bright-kurta clad local fortune-tellers sitting with their parrots picking up 'fate' cards for their customers.

This old practice has been flourishing in various ways; some of them grab a small space on the footpath and use parrots to pick an answer while others read palms. Some reach the elite by sitting at different restaurants and hotels, offering their skills through tarot reading, palmistry and numerology. But the questions are typically the same; revolving around health and marriage mostly.

The pursuit of knowing things is an undefined part of human nature. Aslam, a fortune teller who sits near Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s Mazaar said “I’ve been in this business since 15 years and have regular customers who come to me every Thursday, asking almost the same questions every time they visit, the war is between money and love ... some ask more about paisa and others ask about mohabbat”.

Why are shrines such a popular location for this trade? Regardless of evolving as a society, gaining awareness and education, time and time again people flock to these palmists and fortune-tellers to know their fate. Do most people actually believe in what they find out or can this be considered just a 'fun-activity'? How superstitious are we as a society and how far would we go on our quest to find out about the future? - Eefa Khalid / Dawn.com

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

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danish

May 11, 2010 11:33am

people like to know their fortune through these techniques because there might be no other way to know the unknown and they just need a quick answer.

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rabia

May 11, 2010 11:43am

Man has always been curious to know future.. People are always wondering about what next.... I guess there will be a time when specially designed fortune teller robots would be the next big scientific "blessing"... lets see if people will ever trust themselves or depend upon others likewise in the past..!!

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nasim

May 11, 2010 12:49pm

That's the sad part, that our society motivates people in these kind of superstitious ideas. I guess, people they believe in very strongly, about there future as well, there desire as to what life holds ahead for them. That is why they think after that there, life will be honky dory. It's all superstitious nothing more, nothing less. Just, to bribe people and make money on it.

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Imran Hussain

May 11, 2010 01:01pm

We need to start our curriculum from Grade I with the inclusion of Probability theory - the more the masses would learn about Probability theory, the more they would stay away from any kind of "superstition" - Trust me, we can teach kids about complex mathematics.

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Nikhil from India

May 11, 2010 01:35pm

All this comes from our insecurities and our desire to control them. The force that makes us believe in existence of God is same which lets us believe in these pseudo sciences.

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jee

May 11, 2010 01:54pm

I agree with Imran's idea. Fantastic.

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jee

May 11, 2010 01:57pm

There is an element of uncertainty in everyone's life. The purpose is to make human being work hard and strive for the betterment. This is the secret of human evolution. People who go to fortune tellers are confused as they do not know this fact of uncertainty very well.

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Sajid Iqbal

May 11, 2010 02:22pm

Humans are mortal, therefore, insecure by nature. We can think and are therefore curious. The insecurity and curiosity fuels these practices in several forms.

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Tirmizi

May 11, 2010 03:09pm

In this pursuit people not even waste their time and money, but surely their believe on ALLAH, which is the most important act of a Muslim's Life!

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May 11, 2010 06:58pm

Lack of religious knowledge. Only one know's about the future (ALLAH). what kind of muslim we are?

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M. Asghar

May 11, 2010 08:36pm

It is very intereting that in the age

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Syied Nasir Mehdi

May 11, 2010 08:40pm

Fortune telling exists from ancient times. Emperors, Kings, Warlords used to have official fortune tellers. In India they still draw janam kundley. In Europe it was sin and fortune tellers were supposed to be which. Now the place is taken by media and a few writers who freely give their forecasts. Some one hears the noise of marching boots and others note political motives of Great Powers. What should this poor Parrot man do and where should he go. Had he been a millionaire he would have been a politician.

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M. Asghar

May 11, 2010 08:48pm

It is intersting to see that in the age of so-called "Society of Knowledge" a stronger sense of uncertainty is going up, too. Is this dark side of knowledge engrained in our genetic code as a geological memory?

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Abid

May 11, 2010 09:35pm

Okay,so fractions and decimals should be taught in montessori,algebra in K.G1,geometry in K.G2,Probability in class 1 and calculus in class2 till 5 so that maths would no longer be taught from secondary onwards and we will have a super intelligent non superstituous society which we wont find anywhere else on this planet.

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sanjay

May 11, 2010 11:39pm

I thought you Muslims were more progressive than these superstitious things. In my India, unfortunately hundreds and millions believe in this quackery and ruin their as well as their families in search of eden. One my my most memorable chinese take out meals came with a cookie which I remember to this day. " stop searching the world for happiness, for happiness is within you." Imran Hussian is right when he mentions of probability theory. Biggest problem on the Indian sub continent is not poverty, but lack of education, which leads to poverty and all things evil.

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Ilyas Jokhio

May 12, 2010 03:27am

I am not so sure that this is purely superstition. We see people who are well educated and know all about the realities and probabilities look at the horoscope columns of the newspaper every day. These readers clearly know that people who write and publish horoscopes are just trying to make money out of this sell-able item. Same way I think people who visit the fortune teller on Thursdays understand that this is all fiction and the fortune teller is just trying to make a living but yet the emotional support gained helps, slightly, with normal human emotions of hope and fear. That slight help is worth the money spend for them.

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S. A. M.

May 12, 2010 04:14am

It is something very harmless. I believe the majority of the visitors to these fortune tellers go just for fun to see how the parrot would pick the card and what would be written in that card. Even if somebody in trouble is going to these people may be it the good news on the card could give them the hope that things will improve that he or she would finally be with his beloved or will become blue eyed of his or her boss. The only reason that I find such parrots to be near the shrine is that when people go to shrines they, in order to help the fortune tellers or for some other reason would give them money. It could be that such people would want to help the speechless parrot instead of the keeper of parrot. You cannot tell precisley what is the real driving force or the reason for that matter. I have never been to such a parrot although I had parrots as pet but I would appreciate that parrots can be trained to master the feelings of so many human beings. It also makes me salute thosethat prepare those cards. how accurately they are able to understand the needs, desires, aspirantions and psychology of the masses. I would say it is an art.

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Muhammad.Quddus

May 12, 2010 04:14am

The regular customers visiting the fortune-teller every thursday making sure how the stock is doing in the market. In the market of love, shall we say? The regular customer is a gambler and love is a gamble. It is fun untit it wears out. Soon that regular customer would stop visiting the fortune-teller. Either the gambler had won or had lost and has no need to head for a market for reassurance. With this element of assurance, the game is over. Now the gambler's life is worthless. He is bored and joyless. Where is the excitement? New gamble, please.

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sana yasin

May 12, 2010 05:17am

It was precise but good. Well lack of religious belief is problem in this stream. its not a matter of education its all about believe in your self and God.

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Cervet Cahn

May 12, 2010 05:21am

Please don't relate it to "OUR SOCIETY". Astrology, palmistry and other forms of future telling exists in every society, its in the nature of man to feel the urge to know what is hidden from it. And I dont think education can play any role in it, because we find very educated and rational people involved in it. Just a little bit of faith would do the job!

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Abdul Ahad Jan

May 12, 2010 05:39am

Being a Muslim, we should abstain from these fatal way of knowing our fortune because our good or bad is under the control of ALLAH and we would have adamant belief only on one ALLAH.

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Usman

May 12, 2010 06:16am

Indeed, it is astonishing!! Why people think that their fate is destined or it is unchangeable with changing circumstances. The fact of the matter is that we are branded as Muslims, but we act like Hindus (because of their heavy faith in superstitions). I believe it is strictly forbidden in Islam to ask someone about your fate etc. It is equal to ignoring blessings of Allah. Asking someone about your future doesn't do more than a psychological play up that most of the palmists do. The one should believe in his/her own abilities and work hard to run the show.

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M Saleem Chaudhry

May 12, 2010 06:22am

It's an enlightening blog, provoking thinking on a subject of national importance, particularly in our society ridden by biases, prejudices and fixations of all types on account of widespread illiteracy and obsessive indoctrination by clergy.

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Babbarsher Khan

May 12, 2010 07:47am

Why bring religion in every thing, sounds like you do not have enough of it. The culture goes beyond the religion and state laws. If every damn things need to be approved by some bearded guys with no respect for humanity, then why we do need Pakistan as a separate country, why not merge it with Saudi Arabia? Then only Islam will rule and Sharia will be the constitution. Pakistan is Pakistan and can not be Saudi because there are certain things in Pakistani society which gives it unique character and this is coming from our heritage and has nothing to do with the import from that doomed desert land!

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Zubair

May 12, 2010 09:02am

Due to ignorance, this trend is increasing. These poor and ignorant people are so desperate that they even can not understand a very simple fact that if fortune tellers on road can tell them which bond number will win the first prize, why they (fortune tellers) don't take that bond and become rich? Why they bargain on money?Government should play its role to eliminate it as it is a crime to loot poor and ignorant people.

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Malik irshad

May 12, 2010 09:50am

I think this is due to the curious nature of man. All of us have some sort of superstitious beliefs. And this is a soothing affect for a time. The difference between the masses is due to different mental inclination....

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Manmohan

May 12, 2010 12:30pm

Brother Usman, don't blame superstitions to Hindus alone. It is there in every religion. Let me ask you a question and I hope that you will answer it honestly. Is it not that believing in God, Allah, Islam or any such concept superstitious ?

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Mawali

May 12, 2010 01:38pm

Really! Do tell

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Mawali

May 12, 2010 01:52pm

Wait just a minute here. I thought Islam decrees fate accomplish. In other words everything is destined. I was told by every beard toting mullah at the Friday sermon that God has set every man's fate, well to include women. Everything you do is set and destined. Especially the time of your death, so you can run but you can

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Mohammad A Dar

May 12, 2010 04:48pm

Lack of education (Knowledge) easy prays. Helpless and miss guided people. An old trade to rip people off. As it is mentioned in Holy Quran, Allah, The merciful says, Do as I guide you to. If you do not, what ever you do, and what ever the consequences are, they are of your own doing. Responsibility lies with the educated (knowledgeable) but they believe in degrees, but educated in degrees are mostly uneducated ( un knowledgeable) in the essence of education. If you see one needs help, extended your self with your knowledge in truth not with the burden of degree, and un educated will not be lost, He will not seek help from a Ignorant.

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Pankaj Patel

May 12, 2010 08:20pm

Well said Babbarsher Khan.There are weak minded people every where in the world and should not be blamed to any one religion.I believe weak minded people are no different when they look to parrot or Saudi Pakistan has suffered looking to Saudis and will prosper only when they will start respecting themselves.

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Muhammad.Quddus

May 12, 2010 10:33pm

There are those who are appalled at the "poor" and the "ignorants" for stopping by at the fortune teller. Why? because they are not smart enough to trust the judgement on the street rather than seeking help from the wise man perhaps not accessible or seek out a Psychologist certainly out of reach. He may be poor or ignorant or superstitious but his act is certainly harmless. How about the actions of the "brilliant" and the "wise"--the blue blood with foreign credentials-- carried out not on the streets with the help of a fortune teller but in the centers of power and left millions severely effected for worse.

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Prof Ramesh Manghirmalani, Geneva

May 13, 2010 04:06am

Astrology literally means "the Science of the Stars", from the Greek astrologia: astron (constellation; star) and logia (study of; ordering principle; utterance). It contains both the idea of an organised body of knowledge of the cosmos, along with the way the stars "speak" to us, or give meaning to our lives [see Is Astrology Scientific]. A person who practices astrology is called an astrologer. A very ancient, but still vital discipline, astrology seeks the meaning and application of the influences of the planets, stars and other celestial phenomena in our lives. Astrology and astronomy have in modern times become separate studies, though for most of human history they were two sides of the same coin.

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Prof Ramesh Manghirmalani, Geneva

May 13, 2010 04:08am

Don't bring religion , is way of life Exploring ourselves, our relationships and our place within the world, astrology has found that the symbolic relationships between the heavenly bodies are significant, and can be seen as a map to human destiny. This is expressed in the hermetic maxim: Astrology can give us insight into all manner of situations, from the personal to the political and from the most intimate to the most mundane. Because astrologers generally take a holistic view of the world, we can see that there is a spiritual connection between all things, even the planets, stars and us.

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Muhammad Haroon

May 13, 2010 10:14am

This is all result of the lack of education and only a just sysytem and strong educational policy can bring change and hope to this soicety.......

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Abid

May 13, 2010 11:02am

Outcome is predestined, actions are voluntary. Example: you plant a tree, thats your choice but the number of fruits it will bear is predestined. Regarding superstitions, it is a universal phenomena.

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Nikhil from India

May 13, 2010 01:50pm

Yes both were two sides of the same coin...Until science stepped in and found out what a load of quackery it is.

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Babbarsher Khan

May 13, 2010 05:22pm

For this kind of great enunciation it would have been better you had left your designation at home. Good luck, Professor, nevertheless!

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van kirk

May 13, 2010 06:04pm

We can explain such ignorant behaviour on lack of education but how can you explain it for all the Pakistanis who live in Western countries. They too are given to senseless superstition. If you check ethnic papers in USA and Europe, all kinds of Pakistanis abroad still engage in fortune telling through very ignorant means. If you see the behaviour of Pakistanis in Western countries like USA, you soon realise that you can't blame the ignorant behaviour on lack of money or lack of education. I think that partly our culture itself is backward and no amount of education can fix it.

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Goswami

May 13, 2010 09:15pm

The Muslims of the South Asian origin have the same culture no matter which part of the subcontinent they reside in. Different groups have different RELIGION. Some homegrown some imported. Astronomy and astrology are as ancient as the inhabitants of the subcontinent. Before the creation of Pakistan Hindus as well as Muslims they all subscribed to the fortune telling traders and which they still do outside of Jama Masjid in Delhi. So some of our neighbor should not have knee jerk reaction to dumping anything they do not like or despise on their brotherans on the other side of the border. Lots of other customs that the Hindus practice are also practiced by the Muslims of the subcontinent.

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