Hiba Arshad

The Aussie Charm

Today we welcome a new contributor to UrbanDuniya. Hiba Arshad is a Lahore-based writer who felt compelled to pen the following piece about UrbanDuniya’s founder and lead writer Tim Blight and his work with UrbanDuniya and Pakistan.

Souls that soothe the heart are a rare find… once in a blue moon one may encounter a being so pure that the spirit’s charisma sparks an everlasting aura of memoirs, leaving one enchanted.

One such sacred soul has passed a familiar abyss and it seems as if, for now, the storm will cease to be. One other shares my dreams, my love for a land I call home, a home burning in the fires of agony. A home damned by the very hands it sought to build, a home devoid of legions. I find this fellow being a queer case, but sweet and honest in his existence. Where, on one side you may find a swarm of ravenous vultures scavenging the streets of my land reaping blood from the walls as they tear it apart. He stands to honor, striving to restore the glory that breathes through this soil.

Pakistan is still an amazing place. At Badshahi Mosque, Lahore, with my friend and brother Aehsun 🙂

My first encounter with Timothy Blight, Sir Tim as we all know and admire the man was marked with bliss. His help and guidance worked wonders as with faith restored I accomplished an ardent task and Alhamdulillah take pride in my present state. His presence is always welcomed as he is an extraordinarily benevolent man. But it is not his exceptional manners that leave me awestruck rather the love and confidence he shows for my country and its people. He has faith in the restoration of this land, in the idea of exceptional possibilities alien to the crippled and depraved souls that haunt this barren realm.

I feel elevated when his words paint colors to the splendid image of my country that I have salvaged in my deepest dreams. He talks with pride of a nation that may be on the verge of collapse but stands strong on the edge. His zest supplicates the passion that burns through the veins of patriots.

Street art in Lahore

In times when the blood bounded beings seek passages to escape the chaos that surrounds these testing times he hopes of dreamy realities and heavens that leave me wondering why we. who are the products of this blessed soil have lost all hope of a better tomorrow. Why can’t we believe that times will change, things and people and situations will never stay the same. Why do we not picture a future that holds everlasting joy and if not everlasting but still peace that would vanquish all the scorching scars that are ingrained into our hearts.

No flower blooms in the sparkling spring without surviving the hardships of fragile beginnings. This flower will see a perfect sunrise and it will blossom with vibrancy and shine the brightest in its own time.

From Tim: I am truly humbled by this beautiful and inspiring piece of writing. I wish I could show my appreciation for the kind words and heartfelt sentiments expressed here, and I intend to do so by responding in writing in the coming days. I have so much to say about this, and about Pakistan in general, and I will really need time to compose my thoughts in a coherent manner inshaAllah. So please stay tuned, this story is not yet finished.

Edit: Please find Tim’s response piece here.