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Acclaiming the Wallflowers, KEMU Batch'21, King Edward Medical University, Lahore (2026)

14/05/2022

I originally come from Lahore but my father, being a nuclear engineer, was posted to Chashma nuclear power plant, so we've been living there for the past 20 years, and so I received all my initial education from there. As a child, I was always an all-rounder, enthusiastic about and highly participative in all kinds of extra curricular activities, be it sports or debates, musical performances or dramatics, I could be seen everywhere. But that did not mean studies were secondary. I've always consistently been a position holder, ever since grade 5 and that is one thing that hasn't changed over time.

Seeing doctors around, was always inspirational for me and kindled in me, a keen interest for medicine so when my elder sister got admission to KEMU, that served as the final orientation I needed to decide to pursue MBBS. I scored really well In FSc and cleared MCAT in the first attempt with score that made me land in KEMU, at merit number 5.

My passion for learning has driven me all these years. I actually have a deep rooted interest and yearning for medicine, that is why I always studied with the sole intention of actually knowing the concept and practical application of whatever topic was at hand, completely oblivious of the mere notion of distinctions and positions. That is the only reason why, I would spend all the time and energy needed, to completely clarify in my mind, the true concept of every topic at hand, so much so that mostly it seemed physically impossible to move on to the next unless I had truly comprehended the previous thing.

When I came to KE, the environment was obviously different from my expectations. The overall aura, laden with the heaviness of anxiety and a sense of endless competition, the duress that comes from being amongst a huge pool of extremely diverse and capable individuals, each one of a kind in their own special way, can be extremely intimidating. It can coerce you into the fear of losing your own individuality and identity, of being lost as a mediocre somebody in a vast sea of talent.

The only thing I wanted was to not be just that. I have always been goal and career oriented, and never been shy of working hard and spending my full time and energies for the completion of that goal. The goal here was to know, to learn, to be a good doctor. In the light of that goal, all my other interests gradually withered away, I lost my liking for extra curriculars because I did not want to compromise my learning, and the politics and society culture proved to be the last straw.

Resultantly, I was focussed. And yes, it was worth it. I ended up topping 4/5 professional exams, graduating with 14 distinctions at hand, and Alhamdulillah, because it has been Allah's blessing for me, someone who in 1st year, did not even have the slightest idea what "distinction" means, ended up topping the class, and that itself served as the mark for me, something I had to maintain, the standard had been set, I knew what I was up against in the future.
Had that not happened, I sure would have been somewhere in the middle, and I can only thank Allah, for it is nothing if not His blessing.

Everything has a cost. I wish I could have found the right balance, but it is surely easier said than done. Along the way, I had to sacrifice alot of things, but most importantly, the time lost, that I could have spent with family and friends, keeps nagging at me. That is why, whenever I have some at hand, I try to spend most of it with my family. It is also, maybe the only reason why I decided to stay in Pakistan, to not pursue medicine abroad, because I feel I cannot abandon my parents when they need me the most. How would it serve me if I leave them when they are at their weakest and I'm at my peak, years down the road when I would be done for good, these relationships, these bonds, this love, would be my only joy. Things have a way of circling back to you and I dont want to be empty handed, with worldly achievements as my only earning.

If you ask me where I'd be 10 years down the lane, I can only wish and hope to be a successful doctor. Success for me is not medals or honours, It is the ability to alleviate someone's suffering, to relieve someone of their pain, to actually create a difference in someone's life, and to be peaceful and truly content with whatever you are and whatever you do. I hope and pray, I get to have that.

I have alot to be grateful for. A loving and supportive family, tonnes of prayers lighting up my way and opening new paths for me, and If I am honest, a good luck can take you higher up if its paired with honest hardwork and real passion. I believe Allah swt has a unique way of blessing everyone, He has blessed me here in this regard, and He sure blesses other people in a lot of other ways. So we can just be humble and truly grateful for whatever we have been gifted with, and try our best to return whatever good we can, and contribute our best. If we can better even one life, maybe it won't all be in vain.

Sarah Mohsin
Batch 2021

01/04/2022

Life brings us the tears, smiles and the memories. The tears dry, the smiles fade away but the memories last forever. We realize the actual worth of the moments when they have become memories of the past and surely this is a bitter and harsh reality of life.

Five years! that’s a lot to observe for a keen and quiet observer like me.How can I forget 28 November 2016 when I first entered this great institution. Since then a lot has changed and a lot has passed. But what remains unchanged? is my love for this place and the pride of mine to be a part of this place and my class because it’s a true blessing and I have never considered myself capable or competent enough to be a part for all of this. I would consider myself to be in the part of less efficient ones in the class but might be it was due to my shyness and a very little socialization in class that even very little of the boys know me here after five years. To add , when our final year started , one day a boy asked me during the lecture “Bhai ! ap kis ke proxy lagwane aye ho?” and this left me astonished that he even could not recognize me as his own classfellow . Not to blame him, I would blame myself for not getting out of my comfort zones and always spending a lot of time alone on my own.

To add to my story,I was born in Islamabad but later moved to Lahore with family. But the love of Lahore soon transcended, but I would say both cities have a special place in my heart. From the beginning, I had love only for two things : solving equations or reading , or to put in words, love for physics , mathematics and literature is in my blood. It is, again, another strange act of nature that a person who would like to read about Avicenna’s floating man thought experiment or Shakespeare ,Ghalib and Allama Iqbal writings or would love to understand how Einstein developed his theory of relativity ended up here studying Anatomy , Physiology and Medicine but that’s how the life works. Instead of becoming a philosopher or a physicist , I became a physician. Belonging to a family of doctors, I had to opt for biology because two other cousins of mine in family were doing the same or may be I was too weak enough to go against the traditions. Interestingly,we all three cleared our mcat in first attempt and got enrolled in different medical colleges.

A little introvert,a litte quiet and a little shy person with conservative beliefs and religious approach might best describe my personality.From my school times, I have always maintained a limited social circle or a small group of friends. That’s may be so because I believe more in quality than the quantity. May be I lack in good communication skills and can not convey my ideas to other person in an appropriate way but believe me this does not make me a hard person to deal with . Talk with me for five minutes and you will notice I am not that dumb and you will realize that I always try to maintain levels of morality and respect and expect others to do the same and I promise, you will always learn something new and informative about your subject from me.

To explain my five years stay here, I think, a lot ,just passed in lecture halls, labs and dissection halls or in wards but I always hated this absurd rule of attendance. Besides that, 80 percent of times you could have found me in the reading room or canteen or other 20 percent of times in Patiala ground sitting on the bench (alone, just to clarify!!!!) depending on the weather but in my opinion whether it is May or June or November or December I have found reading room to be the best shelter for your leisure time and it’s the same shelter where I have read and completed quite a number of books (please do not confuse them here with curriculum books).

There is a sense of competition and struggle here with every other person trying to go ahead of the other but that’s ok. There are some good things too. I admit that my friends were eight times out of ten miserable but the other two times they were a little helpful too.

But one thing I found quite strange and disgusting. Believing in my conservative approach, and it’s a separate debate whether I am right or wrong, I faced a lot of taunts and teases from my classmates and close friends like : “Trip pe nahe ao ge is saal bhe? Tu phir class mein kioun ate ho?”…...or in wards or labs , “tumhein humare elawa koi mon nahe lgata dosre side pe…..age practical life mein bhe youn he chalo ge tu kia hoga tumhara?”….or “kitna sharmate ho tum….tumhara to larkiyoun ke sath interaction he nahe hai class mein!!” ….. so my answer to all of them is that there are some social and ideological boundaries I have kept myself into and I think so, if I do not endorse my viewpoint on anyone, no one should have the right to insult me or tease me just because of my conservative approach. This was one heartbreaking point for me. I admit, my participation in major class events or theme days or culture days or class trips may be limited but this does not mean that I was never a part of my batch and gives no one the right to insult or ridicule me.

My journey has not been so smooth here. I have failed a number of class tests , sub stages , stages and send ups and even the annual exams but I have always never looked back.I bet no one among the boys can beat me in terms of failures in tests and exams but yet somehow the things kept going.Throughout my stay here, I only repeated these words to myself that at first you should not had entered here but if you are here, no matter what happens, you would finish it and take it towards the end at all costs.

We all have mentors in our life. For me its my “Dada abbu”. He was a legend in himself. Might be it was from him and his company that I inherited a lot of my conservative ideas. He was Hafiz e Quran and I never saw him in years skipping Bajamat Namaz in Masjid. Even in his last two or three years of severe illness, he cared for his Namaz than anything else. We had such a special bond that in his last days , he could only remember and call me with my name than anyone else in the entire family.

To conclude ,life, in my point of view , is a complex of feelings and desires. We often try to find out what is the real path towards happiness and success. The environment, around us in which we are living, is taking us away from our basic beliefs and traditions. For an individual in his life or for a society as a whole, we must learn and realize that the only truthful and real path towards success is The Quran and The Sunnah. We should try to become a practicing Muslim and set this as an example for our friends, family and the people around us to follow golden principles of Islam in their lives.

عجب نہیں کہ پریشاں ہے گفتگو میری

فروغِ صبح پریشاں نہیں تو کچھ بھی نہیں

خِرد نے کہہ بھی دیا ’لااِلہ‘ تو کیا حاصل

دل و نگاہ مسلماں نہیں تو کچھ بھی نہیں

To end on a patriotic note, Iove for my homeland and soil has a special place in my heart. Pakistan has given us a lot of things but many of us are planning to leave the country in search for better career and life opportunities and are right in a lot of sense but against all the odds,i have decided to stay here and decided to serve my homeland till my last breath………

خاکِ وطن کا مجھ کو ہر ذرّہ دیوتا ہے

~anonymous fellow of batch 21~

17/10/2021

All praise is to Allah and never ending blessings and salutations be upon His Beloved S.A.W.

Our grandfather wished to have a doctor (kemcolian) son, but he didn't live long enough to see his grandsons fulfill his wish. After our granddad, our father was the one responsible for fulfilling his family's needs, so he had to leave his FSc. PreMed. Our father is our biggest support and inspiration. He has been the best mentor, wont be lying to say, whatever we are today , it's because of his prayers and efforts to teach us right from wrong, giving us the space to try to become complete, well rounded individuals with high morals. He has been involved in our lives just the right extent, neither too ignorant nor too intrusive. A perfect blend of a fatherly figure and a best friend, who can be our confidant at times making us extremely comfortable to share every little thought with him and an even better guru, giving best advices in our best interests.

We were never too conscious about our grades or positions. After 5th grade , we got enrolled in a Madrassah for Hifz e Quran. We resumed our education in 9th class, not fully having an idea on how to memorize complex biology names or cram types of bonds in chemistry.

So our inclination had always been towards Physics and Mathematics, because they are practical subjects with little to memorize and alot to apply. Maths has its own language. We'd solve theories to challenge ourselves, just for the sake of discussion and, even derive our own theories for fun. Unaware of the standards required to attain "good marks" in board exams , we worked hard enough to satisfy our own conscience and to keep our father happy, but our goal was never too specific, as in to get into KE. To our surprise we got good marks in 9th board exams. They came as a shocker to everyone because the government school we did our Matric from didn't have a history of getting above 80% marks 😂. It inspired us to work harder and we ended up passing matriculation with good marks.

Even though we had studied pre-engineering subjects in post exam holidays, But when it came to get enrolled in college, to everyone's surprise we impulsively sent our admissions in for pre-medical. With lots of ups and downs, we finally got selected into K.E , a place we didn't even know existed up until the end of FSc. and had never imagined to be our home for the next 5 years. Only after our admission to KEMU, we were told by our father about our grandfather's dream to have his son graduate from KE and he hadn't mentioned this ever before just because he did not want to pressurise us into anything.

Coming from all boys institutions and religious backgrounds , studying in a co institute funnily seemed like a task at first. Greeting our own friends standing with some female colleagues felt unnecessarily challenging, becoming quiet just because some girl was passing by 😂, slowly and steadily we learned to have a balance, to know where to draw the line. Supporting each other in the good and keeping each other from the bad is the best thing you can do for anyone and that's the kind of friends we made in K.E.

Before wards and one on one interaction with patients, life was always happy-go-lucky. We have passed more than one subject in the professionals with literally last-minute efforts. Just when we thought we would fail this time because of taking it too easy, we somehow managed to pull it through. Allah has been more than kind to us, paving our ways through paths we weren't even aware of.

We try our best to strictly adhere to the basics of Islam, to make our foundation strong so that whatever lies on top of it, stays. Love for the Holy Prophet S.A.W is indeed love for and from Allah swt, and following the teachings and sunnah of Rusool e Akram S.A.W is the way to please Allah and to earn His affection, so we try to follow this path (May Allah accept this effort and help us in it). Hub-e-Rusool and Hub-Allah are not exclusive rather they are the crux of Islam. Religion is simple for us and we try not to indulge much into the obscure aspects of things, because focussing on enigmas only makes it more complicated and might even detrack you from abiding by the basics and it can often seem repulsive and condescending to people around.

Final year has taught us that a good doctor doesn't just need to be well trained and knowledgeable, he/she needs to be empathetic, now more than ever. We have seen doctors and paramedics show so much prejudice for appearances and social standing, so much bias which translates into inequitable treatment of down-trodden patients at their hand.

Being twins, life has been really exciting for us. One getting beaten up by our mother because the other one made a mistake to teachers asking us "beta ap abhi to viva de kr gye ho". We found our best friend in each other. From sharing our deepest secrets to competing with each other in exams , fighting on trivial things to becoming each other's support in hard times, sharing books and money, we've seen it all. We hope and pray to have each other's back all our lives because we have an unbreakable attachment that runs deeper than the surface. It's a blessing to have each other's company and we wouldn't trade it for the world.

Hafiz Muhammad Iqbal Tanveer
Hafiz Muhammad Umer Tanveer

05/10/2021

Looking back at how life has been, I don't know if there's a better way to summarize it other than Allah taa'la has always always been enormously kind. And I don't know if it happens with you too, but when things have been smooth for so long, an inevitable sense of foreboding begins to develop; for smooth roads are never meant for us humans.

Baba was a doctor in Army. We had a childhood that was scattered almost all over Pakistan. So questions like where do you belong from are always hard to answer. Should the answer be Rawalpindi or Quetta or Sargodha or Nowshera or Sialkot or Gujranwala? How do you explain belonging everywhere and nowhere? Changing schools. Changing homes. Changing cities- every 2 years. It was routine back then. From experiencing below freezing temperatures in Quetta where water would freeze in pipes overnight to spending afternoons along river Kabul in Nowshera. From having a Hazara best friend (whom I could not find again on facebook) to overcoming language barriers to settle amidst Pashtun friends at school. From making homes in places unknown to leaving them for good without looking back. Between packing and unpacking- we learned to live and laugh and celebrate.

With three daughters in the house, baba would teach us to fix broken switches, repair extension wires and show us how to replace a flat tyre with stepney .Whether it was getting sweets from bakery across the road, or going to get the driving licence for the first time, he would not accompany us. And no matter how annoying it seemed back then, I believe his doing so inculcated in us a sense of self-reliance. Also, he would buy us books. A lot of books. زاویہ and فیروز اللغات and کلیات اقبال ; that too at an age where we could not read them properly, let alone comprehend.

As we experience life first hand, we begin to develop our own independent views and ideas. And it becomes inevitable for us to differ from our parents at that point. For some reason, in our society, it is perceived to be an act of deviance. I don't think it is. Every individual is entitled to an opinion and what better place for learning and growth than a healthy discourse amongst a family sitting in a lounge at the end a long working day?

I can never have a logical explanation for how I ended up here. Some hard work and a sheer stroke of luck, may be. No matter how absurd it may sound coming from a final year student, but there are moments when I see KE's domes flooded in white light at night and the feeling of being here still feels surreal.

None of us are the same as the people who stepped here in first year. We have had our own struggles, own journeys; some more profound than others. We have been reshaped in so many ways; knowingly or unknowingly, willingly or unwillingly.

One thing that I have learnt over time is to complain less and work more. It is honestly astonishing how we find it so easy to complain about things; it has become a national attitude of sorts. From "hostel ka khana nahi acha" to "humain koi ward main parhata nahi hai", we can complain endlessly about everything and anything. Hostel ka khana will never become satiable unless we stop comparing it to ghar ka khana. Ward main koi parhata nahi hai will always keep on bothering us until we realize that a lack of effort from our side contributes to the problem too. I wish we would put more effort in trying to fix things rather than complaining about them amidst ourselves all the time.

If I could ask everyone to pray for one thing- it would be good companionship. The people that we surround our self with have a huge impact in shaping our future selves. Friends- they give you new perspective, allowing you to see the world from angles unknown. They broaden your horizons and allow you the space and strength to embrace yourself. From searching Havelis in Old Lahore on foot to Cycling 50 km to Hinar Minar- How can you not be grateful for people who allowed you to live and experience لاہور and life?

With final year comes an unheralded existential crisis. An unprecedented sense of uncertainty. 350 people who embarked on a journey together, ready to part ways; leaving the safety of these walls where mistakes can be forgiven into an unforgiving world, where mistakes can cost lives. Looking at a bigger picture at times like these helps; it assures you that in the bigger scheme of things, there's definitely a role for you to play and that things are going to fall in place.

I genuinely pray for all of us to become "Healers", good enough to do justice to the essence of the word. Healers not just good with hands, but with words, thoughts and actions. And I believe we can. After all, it takes nothing to be kind!

I have always liked to believe in a bigger picture, a bigger scheme of things. The feeling of being a speck in a universe so humongous- it's exhilarating. It gives you a sense of belonging, a greater purpose. Every one has a calling. I don't know how you would like to put it, but I like to call it the tragedy of life. And you need to find one to call your own. Something that rises above and beyond the material needs of existence, making every other worldly trial trivial.
Something that ignites in you a fire to strive for maximum human potential, for that final summit push. Or as Iqbal would say it:

آئينۂ ايام ميں آج اپنی ادا ديکھ
تعمير خودی کر ، اثر آہ رسا ديکھ
اے پيکر گل کوشش پيہم کی جزا ديکھ
ہے راکب تقدير جہاں تيری رضا ، ديکھ!

29/08/2021

When you come to a grand institute like KEMU, from a background and region like mine; humble, remote, and underprivileged to say the least, it is a given that your struggles were extraordinary and your hopes for the future; momentous.
But more often than we expect, things unfold in a manner, that strengthens your belief in the futility of life in this world and the importance of the hereafter.

My name is Hafiz Muhammad Ajmal Saleem. I am a Malik (Kamboh) and Saraiki by lineage and I come from the land of Bahawalpur. My father, a clerk in the Zakat and Usher department, is and has been my sole inspiration after Hazrat Muhammad S.A.W.
His struggles have motivated me to be where I am today. My family comes foremost for me in every aspect of life, and only their opinion and happiness matters to me. Maybe by default, I remain permanently unimpressed and uninterested in people around me and the lives they lead. And this has only been further enforced by everything that I have seen, since the day I came to KE.

I did not get the head-start in life most people here are fortunate to have, but ever since I stepped out on this path, I was determined to reach the best institution that existed for MBBS. I was focussed and consistent, so Allah swt eased my ways for me.

But to my dismay KE was more disappointing than inspirational; be it the pompous and conceited attitude of the professors, the self-centred and regardless demeanour of the students, the grouping, mob-mentality and lack of individuality, the disgusting boot-licking, the atrocious diversion from the teachings of our religion, the self-service and rat-race, the demeaning criticism and the hateful prejudice, all of this pushed me further away from participation in any and every kind of activity here, and association with this place.

I was hardworking and passionate about my career ever since I decided on it, and maybe my honesty and perseverance were rewarded by Allah. I managed to get distinctions with good marks and even secure positions in my professionals, but it failed to change the prejudice and criticism I faced here on the basis of my appearance and background. It was heart-breaking at first but also eye-opening, because this repulsive environment pushed me to work harder and achieve the best, in order to get out of this country and escape this atmosphere. The incentive must seem selfish and materialistic, but it is true and blatant, because no one else is looking out for people like us anyway. Consequently, I decided to go for USMLE, and Alhamdulillah, even cleared my Step 1 in 4th year with flying colours.

It might seem to outsiders that wearing a turban and having a beard, dressing according to the sunnah and trying to strictly adhere to my religion, abstaining from wrongful deeds that have become so commonly accepted in our society and limiting myself to Quran and tableegh in this country, has favoured me in any way. It is painfully wrong. I have faced more prejudice and hateful insinuation based on my appearance and my choices than I would care to elaborate, be it from my fellows or from professors, in the classrooms or vivas, I have been always made to feel lesser than and ridiculed.

People here see me and assume I am lacking and naive. They dont expect me to speak in English or be brilliant at a subject, professors dont consider me eligible of answering questions worthy of distinctions, hence they choose not even to ask them from people not dressed up in a suit and tie. Just because I refrain from interacting unnecessarily with the opposite gender, It is assumed I will fail at coordination or teamwork, that I lack the confidence that everyone will attain from this. People never give me the edge of even a positive assumption, but all this has only motivated me to adhere even strongly to everything I believe in.

I may remain quiet but I am totally aware of everyone and everything that goes on around me, from my class fellows to celebrities on social media, their opinions and actions that are condradictory to our religion, and I deliberately choose to let it be. My choices and actions are conscious and well-thought, because they come from a place of faith and love for Allah swt.

When you persevere on the path of Allah with all your heart, these obstacles and challenges only make you stronger and make you believe ever so more in the triviality of wordly things. As someone once so rightfully said:
"قربانی کا لفظ قرب سے ماخوز ہے۔ کسی کا قرب اختیار کرنے کے لئے آپ کو قربانی دینی پڑتی ہے۔ اور اللہ تعالٰی کے قرب سے بہتر ایک انسان کے لئے کیا ہو سکتا ہے۔"

In addition to the Quran, I have learnt the biggest and most useful lessons of life from my madrassa and my ustaad Qari Maqbool Sahab, when no one would even turn an eye for me, my teacher Sir Rao Sakhawat saw and kindled the spark in me, my professor in FSc, Dr. Talat Mahmood had a momumental role in my success, I owe them alot. Their encouragement, kindness and selfless guidance showed me what true teachers look like. I have very few friends and my circle is small, but I still value and respect everyone whom I have ever let in. I am a very private person and have told you little about myself but only later it will be revealed that "molvis" are the wisest people on earth.

My goal for this world is to prosper so much that I can inspire, support and lift up other people who have journeys like me. I want to lay the foundation of a madrassa in Bahwalapur, where brilliant children are provided with all the facilities of life and every access to all kinds of academic resources. Where they are taught all the subjects alongwith the Quran, so they turn into completely well rounded human beings who show the world that leading a life solely according to Islam is not backward or oppressive, rather it is a very conscious and well-informed choice and the most enlightened way of life.

People may call me extremist and radical, but I am proudly so if radical means calling a spade a spade, in the face of opposition. I will never try to justify what is clearly prohibited by Allah swt and never try to rebel against His orders. This is my way of life. It is hard and demanding, It may seem uncompromising and fanatical, It might even cost me my reputation here but nothing is lost if I manage to save my akhirah. Afterall, that is what truly matters.

22/08/2021

I am the first person in my entire family to reach university. Coming from a family that owned an established business, we were always pretty comfortable. Unlike everyone else in the family, my parents were exceptionally devoted to getting us educated and they used all their means to ensure that I studied well to reach where I am today. From warning to enroll me in the factory as a daily-wage worker if I ran away from school and actually acting upon it 😂, to bribing me with my favourite bicycle if I got good enough marks and keeping all their promises, I was blessed with parents who did their best to keep me on the straight path.

Resultantly, I finally had a sense of responsibility and work ethic that paved my way to KE, but life was all fun and games until my first 3 years here. Then suddenly my life was turned around by a surge of events that changed my perspective of everything.

Coming home one day from hostel, to find my taya abbu anxiously pacing the front yard, him breaking the news of my father having suffered a heart attack while stranded alone in Kuwait with nobody from home to reach him immediately, felt like someone had swept the rug from under my feet. My mind was unable to understand or accept the circumstances, how a person previously in perfect health could have had such a grave condition, with complete right heart block and only 3 patent vessels in the left heart. Later we came to know, he had undiagnosed diabetes mellitus for the past 1 year. He has been in Kuwait since my childhood, working day and night, to leave no stone unturned for our well-being while paying almost no attention towards his own health.

When he came back to Pakistan after this episode, I went to receive him alone at the airport. The sight of a man who never depended on anyone for even emotional support, who never unloaded his problems on people for the sake of their peace, who had always been so sturdy and self-sufficient, struggling with pulling his own suitcase, looking so feeble and debilitated, literally shattered my heart and jolted my entire existence.

Things took an even darker turn when lockdown commenced due to COVID, making my father unable to return to Kuwait and sending our business there, totally down the drain. Economic losses and instability on top of his already declining physical and emotional health, really took a toll on him. I realised then the dire need of being my family's anchor in this time. Being the eldest son, this was where I needed to step up the most.

I started making conscious efforts to strengthen my bond with my father, to make him realise I could share his burdens and be his confidant. I would take little steps everyday to be there for him and my family because they needed me the most. I was on the run 24/7, searching for business and investment options in Pakistan, exhausting all my resources in trying to be of help, trying to save an already dwindling empire and an ailing family while managing my studies and proff, side by side.

It was the hardest time of my life. I was shook in every way but fortunately, things did get better eventually. We were able to start a business here and it began to gradually make up for all the losses, my father and I got closer and he finally felt comfortable enough to hand over the responsibilty and finances to me and rest a little for himself. He also returned to Kuwait and the work there got up and running again, but all this taught me life lessons, I now understand there was no other way to learn.

Maybe everything does happen for a reason but the greatest thing I learnt is that if anyone deserves your affection and kindness the most, it is your family. If you are good to everyone outside, friends and colleagues, but not to the people who matter the most, everything you do goes in vain.

Life is like Yin Yang. ☯️
Nothing is completely yin or completely yang. Each aspect is inclusive of the other. This is a symbol of harmony which reminds us that life is a balancing act, and is most fulfilling when we learn to embrace its dualities, its ups and downs, good times and bad, joys and challenges.

Being a good muslim and a good human are never exclusive. And for being both we need to understand the importance of "Huqooq-ul-Ibaad" and doing right by the people around us. Two things are the crux of success, team-work and fairness, without these you will land nowhere and with these you can raise the greatest empire.
Justice with your family, justice with your friends and colleagues, justice with your responsibilities and justice with yourself, for me this is the recipe of a successful life, in this world and the hereafter.

Abdur Raheem Arshad is the President of KAPS (Kemcolian Arts and Photography society), for the year 2021. We appreciate him for his persistence, versatality, enthusiasm and reliability, and wish him good luck for all his future endeavours.

Acclaiming the Wallflowers, KEMU Batch'21

14/05/2022

01/04/2022

17/10/2021

05/10/2021

29/08/2021

22/08/2021

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