Noon (24 page)
Too late, for, like a director who has just introduced his film to his public, Isffy punched the button on the remote, and the still blue light of the screen was extinguished by the sight of two
black and white figures in a deserted area. Isffy and Zulfi. The thin shadow of a tripod fell long between them, fixing the time of day, with the precision of a sundial, as late afternoon. Facing
them, as in an experimental theatre, was a single wicker chair. At its feet a man sat slumped and half-naked in the sand. Zulfi was tying his wrists to the hard wooden edges of the chair. Isffy
disappeared, then reappeared as shadow. The camera began to move. It rested on an aerial view of the half-naked man. His face was pressed sideways against the plastic wicker; it was calm, as though
comforted by the assurance of some greater justice. And even in profile, it was clear, from the thick beard and spectacles, the pious patch of darkened skin on the forehead, whose face it was.
Then the view swung up, and in the distance, molten now in the sunlight, was the sea. No promenade, no bathers; just a white abandoned beach, and for as far as the camera’s limited eye
could perceive, the iron expanse of the Arabian Sea.
(London, July 2011)
A soft summer day. Rehan Tabassum looked upon it from the shade of a Notting Hill coffee shop with something like dread. Here, with the breadth of
humanity around him, ethnic and various, flowing peacefully, it seemed, toward a certain end, the trouble in Port bin Qasim appeared to recede, appeared to be nothing more than a patch of
turbulence on some distant tributary.
Rehan felt oppressed by the indifference of the great city, by its gentle rhythms and security, this sepulchral city, to which all the flights and tales of the world came. That both places could
exist at once! And that he, Rehan Tabassum, should have to live in one while carrying within him, like an infection in his blood, the knowledge of the other. It was this that he found intolerable;
it made him recoil from the pleasures of that summer day, from the diverse crowds, the ethnicities, the foreign films and newspapers – the world so near, it seemed, and its trouble so far,
far from this coil of peace.
Opening his wireless options, he was assailed by a page-long list of choices. Hankypoo and Rubberducky stood out. He chose The Bean. And Googling ‘Isphandiyar Tabassum’ he was
returned to those last days in Port bin Qasim.
In the end, it had been the bloggers who closed the circle, smashing the ceiling to let in the light. They spoke last, and in many voices:
It seems that the mystery behind Qasimic Call’s slack service has been finally solved! According to this news report, the cable company’s top executives MD
Isphandiyar Tabassum and his bodyguard, Zulfikar, was arrested a few days back on charges of being involved in a porno case. . . . so much for broadband in port bin qasim!
Posted by Salman Siddiqui at 9/6/2011 12:22:00 PM
17 comments:
Anonymous said . . .
If Isphandiyar made a porn film with his girlfriend or shagbuddy then what is wrong with it? Why was Bilal nosy to first of all search for the clip (even if it was on
laptop, not his task to open all movie files). Secondly even if he accidentally discovered it, why did he bother to brag about it and show it to other collegues. Talk about Isphandiyar and
his girlfriend / shag’s privacy. Or is it a crime in Pakistan to shag someone before marriage? lol you guys are so backward. tsk
16/6/11 7:04 PM
Anonymous said . . .
I dont think the issue here is who shagged who. Nothing justifies illegally imprisoning someone, strippin them naked, sodomizin them and makin a movie of the whole
crime-the magnitude of the crime reported in the Herald is horrendous. It’s a criminal act and the perpetrators deserve severe punishment.period. it’s awfully sick when people try
to justify other people’s crime. but no worries, the present status quo in the country guarentees that the perpetrators will walk scot free. I’m sure papa Sahil Tabassum will dish
out some from his many many millions to save his skin . . . let’s all say Pakistan Paindabad once more shall we? -anonymous II
17/6/11 3:25 AM
Anonymous said . . .
I agree with you. He should be punished but he wont be. But dont forget that the Bilal guy should be legally charged as well for invasion of Isphandiyar’s privacy.
It is not the petty Bilal’s business to snoop around his boss’s system for secrets and then have a laugh at it with other employees. His actions provoked Isffy, and the flipside
is that Isffy is powerful and can get away with it so he screwed his life up. thanks
19/6/11 5:33 PM
Anonymous said . . .
Pakistan Paindabad!
19/6/11 11:39 PM
Anonymous said . . .
did it ever occur to anyone that bilal might be lying in his version of events. and the Herald is famous for sensationalism, so i wouldn’t really beleive everything
reported. maybe it’s time to question what anyone ANY one would do if they found out their dirty linen had been strewn all over.
20/6/11 4:40 PM
Anonymous said . . .
If i could then i would do the same as Isffy did. It is not about dirty linen. I am shagging my girl and making its video and we both consent to it. Nobody has the right
to see it without our permission let alone stealing from our computer and showing it to the rest of organisation. Bilal is the asshole in the picture anyway you look at it.
22/6/11 4:26 PM
Aqeel said . . .
You did removed my comments, I know the reason ;) You are a pure patriot Pakistani, a real Paki Lover, who says ‘sab say pahly Pakistan and the Pure
Language’. So that’s why the freedom of speech is not allowed in your constitution. Feeling very sad :-( about our country and people . . .
22/6/11 9:37 PM
Anonymous said . . .
Pakistan a country of corrupt, jealous, callous and psuedo-patriots. No freedom whatsoever unless your daddy is in Army or is a Fedual lord or is a big industrialist. I
spit on a double standard society / country like that.
23/6/11 4:04 PM
Anonymous said . . .
shutup asshole . . .
1/7/11 3:06 PM
Anonymous said . . .
For the life of me I dont understand if ISffy wanted to set an example, for god’s sake, he should hve used the Guard to butt-fuck the dude . . . but nooooo . . .
Mr. MD had to get a taste of the anus himself . . . One stupid person.
7/7/11 12:23 AM
Anonymous said . . .
Where can we get Isphandiyar’s video?
8/7/11 9:51 PM
port bin qasim said . . .
hi . . . wish I’d found this page earlier. anyhow, nothing wrong with making a video but how stupid to leave it on an unprotected laptop in a media company! even
more stupid to dip into the company ink . . . Queenie, the girl sat across his office, some ex-kgs marketing chick . . . no wonder they get so many adds for their channels!!!
13/7/11 3:35 AM
port bin qasim said . . .
who wants the video?!
13/7/11 3:00 PM
Anonymous said . . .
please place the link of th video here..for public good!
15/7/11 3:38 PM
ruhollah said . . .
you guys are sick. Why are you surprised at Bilal’s snoopin if all you want to do is watch yourselves? I can see now what the end of our porr country will look
like: ‘nasty, brutish and short,’ like a bad student film.
18/7/11 3:40 PM
Anonymous said . . .
Brutish maybe, but definitely not short. This is feature-length, baby. Countries don’t ‘end,’ they just rot away slowly
20/7/11 3:48 PM
ruhollah said . . .
but the violence, does anyone know where it has come from? did we know it was there?
ENDNOTE
1
. \skt{manas} n. mind (in its widest sense as applied to all the mental powers), intellect, intelligence, understanding, perception, sense,
conscience, will [Lat. {miner-va}.]
Also by Aatish Taseer
Stranger to History:
A Son’s Journey Through Islamic Lands
The Temple-Goers
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