Intellectuals must smoke, be eccentric and angst-ridden, eat at roadside khokhas (to feel 'at one' with the masses) and be able to pontificate at length about nothing.

Silent and clueless, the children's innocent and unflinching gaze sears my soul even as their panicked mother rushes them to hospital.

A dinner with middle-aged, portly, balding, Pakistani men turns ugly as unsavory fish tikka is followed up with talk of politics and 'revolution'.

Eid is the excitement of chand raat, new clothes, bangles, mehndi, Eid namaaz, sweet dishes, guests galore, calling on relatives and friends and piling up Eidi.

The general feeling is that Aamir has been led astray by his seniors, specifically captain Salman and fellow fast bowler Asif. Will the PCB be able to discipline these players?

Would you attempt to rescue me from the clutches of a frenzied mob who were baying for blood and laughing in glee at my panic? Or would you rather just stand and watch?

Pink Floyd's classic "Another Brick in the Wall'' always reminds me of my teachers. Many of them relished ridiculing their students but others motivated us.

I have been jolted into writing this painful blog by a social activist's answer to my query about why his organisation has not protested about her ordeal. He replied, "We can't speak up for everyone..."

During the second half of the World Cup final, we were suddenly jolted by an explosion. I scrambled towards the tree with it's unlikely occupants and clung to an overhanging branch, as people thudded past like a herd of crazed elephants. Soon our lungs were burning with the acrid stench of tear gas. The area where the crowd had been packed cheek by jowl was now deserted.

A great roar goes up as the match starts, and there is a lot of shouted advice to the players. The chap on my right, who is hanging on to his impressive motorcycle helmet for dear life, keeps admonishing the Spanish players for their inability to score in the first half, saying 'go right, now left, kick it into the net, whoaaaaa, whaaaat's wrong with you??!"