Comments on: The Orient http://soach.org/2007/11/02/the-orient/ South Asian Culture and Heritage Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:15:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Majid Sheikh in Lahore http://soach.org/2007/11/02/the-orient/#comment-156 Majid Sheikh in Lahore Sun, 23 Dec 2007 13:05:42 +0000 http://www.soach.org/2007/11/02/the-orient/#comment-156 I read Salman's short piece of October 22, 2007. It made me sad, for I once faced such a dilemma. To me two sentences are the crux of his piece. let me paste them and then comment briefly. Did I "return" then or have I "returned" now? and the second sentence pertaining to the reasons he returned "home" says: "each time I have answered it differently". The first sentence is his dilemma, while the second is his confusion in understanding his dilemma. If I am correct, Salman left Pakistan after passing his 'A' level exams. He returned a few years after completing his PhD. So his entire youth was spent outside Pakistan and in the USA. His two years in Pakistan surely saw him face a very different world, one in which he started out well and then took the soft option to returning to a paying job in the USA. He will now buy a house and live there. His is the typical dilemma of a first generation immigrant. Home is where the heart is. First time immigrants all face this dilemma. I also faced such a choice. After completing my PhD in England and having a very nice job in the finest British newspaper, one took the difficult route. My heart was firmly in Lahore. It was very tough, very frustrating, very very difficult, but in the end it was all for the better. Pakistani newspapers were the pits, but one moved on and today I own a very large tannery and two related factories. I have also reestablished my journalistic career, have published a best-seller book on Lahore and the second one will be out soon. My 2 daughters were well educated and are married and live abroad. Now I have immense choices before me, and I intend to live a second full life. Why not. It is all a matter of creating choices for yourself. A dilemma occurs when one is not able to create choices, or is scared of the very different environment in Pakistan. I am confident Salman has the guts to do well in any environment, to teach, to research, to face the normal leg-pulling which takes place in all environments. I am sure he can do business well. Come back to where your heart is ... it is as simple as that, but first create choices in the land where your heart is. Its as simple as that. All said in utter concern and without gain. Wish you the best in any choice you make. I read Salman’s short piece of October 22, 2007. It made me sad, for I once faced such a dilemma. To me two sentences are the crux of his piece. let me paste them and then comment briefly. Did I “return” then or have I “returned” now? and the second sentence pertaining to the reasons he returned “home” says: “each time I have answered it differently”. The first sentence is his dilemma, while the second is his confusion in understanding his dilemma.

If I am correct, Salman left Pakistan after passing his ‘A’ level exams. He returned a few years after completing his PhD. So his entire youth was spent outside Pakistan and in the USA. His two years in Pakistan surely saw him face a very different world, one in which he started out well and then took the soft option to returning to a paying job in the USA. He will now buy a house and live there. His is the typical dilemma of a first generation immigrant. Home is where the heart is. First time immigrants all face this dilemma. I also faced such a choice.

After completing my PhD in England and having a very nice job in the finest British newspaper, one took the difficult route. My heart was firmly in Lahore. It was very tough, very frustrating, very very difficult, but in the end it was all for the better. Pakistani newspapers were the pits, but one moved on and today I own a very large tannery and two related factories. I have also reestablished my journalistic career, have published a best-seller book on Lahore and the second one will be out soon. My 2 daughters were well educated and are married and live abroad. Now I have immense choices before me, and I intend to live a second full life. Why not. It is all a matter of creating choices for yourself.

A dilemma occurs when one is not able to create choices, or is scared of the very different environment in Pakistan. I am confident Salman has the guts to do well in any environment, to teach, to research, to face the normal leg-pulling which takes place in all environments. I am sure he can do business well. Come back to where your heart is … it is as simple as that, but first create choices in the land where your heart is. Its as simple as that. All said in utter concern and without gain. Wish you the best in any choice you make.

]]>