THE subject requires an abstract and metaphorical discourse for not crossing the Rubicon. I am at an age where images on my memory collage pop up randomly. Often sketchy, they tend to stir a kind of delirium when the recollections are dishevelled in the making.

But indulgence in nostalgia remains a prudent passion as nothing unknown is expected to emerge except for some distressing memories. Such inflictions can be easily averted by remembering this verse from Faiz:

Or, this line from Shakespeare:

“A scar nobly got, or a noble scar, is a good livery of honour”.

But how much and how long can you ignore a darkish past if the present and the future are fickle and fearsome! The martial laws, ignominious democratic regimes and the hybrid setups have all failed to uplift this crowd like a nation from the pit of poverty and the quicksand of corruption. I am reminded of a beautiful piece of creativity by Iftikhar Arif that portrays our political predicament so elegantly. For the sake of brevity here, just one couplet will suffice:

Haroon Rashid Siddiqi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2021