The drugs fad

I’ve been in the media and entertainment industry for 14 years and much as I enjoy my alcohol, I’ve never come to terms with the need for drug consumption. I see it around me — in India, Pakistan, showbiz, high society and corporate circles, getting consumed in living rooms, bedrooms, washrooms, by the poolside. The most beautiful and successful people do the most ugly things. Isn’t the fame and fortune that comes with being a good artiste or a charismatic businessman good enough for the world’s movers and shakers? What triggers the desperate need to resort to lethal substances? Loneliness? Anxiety? Frustration? Depression? Or is it one of those social fads that can’t be helped?

Hollywood has lost cart-loads of its own to drugs. Every time an A-lister goes into rehab, has a meltdown or dies, the evil bares its ugly fangs all over again. As I read a recent article about George Michael’s continuing addiction to crack cocaine, I wondered what a shame it would be if one were to lose another sparkler. But rather than look West-wards with a grim face, it’s time we tackled the malaise in our own backyard. 

Tailpieces

1) After Shoaib Malik was dropped post the 2013 Champions Trophy for not being in form, it’s taken him two years of patience, persistence and diligence to regain lost ground. He was recalled for the series against Zimbabwe in May and scored a century, demonstrating good form. He also performed well during the recent series against Sri Lanka. So PCB’s decision to elevate him from Category C to A is hardly surprising. It means a sharp increase in his monthly retainer and match fees, but at a larger level, it is a glowing acknowledgement of the fact that he is back in the reckoning, and hopefully, on a fast track to becoming captain.

2) Mohammad Asif, who spent several months in an English jail for deliberately bowling no balls in return for money, says that the iconic Nelson Mandela was his inspiration. The only similarity that can (and should) ever be drawn between the two was that both went to prison.

3) Angelina Jolie has crept up a notch in my estimation. She was brave to quit Princess Diana’s mine-clearing charity, Halo, after objecting to two trustees paying themselves more than £120,000 in a year. She’s highlighted a worrying trend of charity executives imploring us to dig deep into our pockets while happily filling their own.

4) A police constable, who worked as a driver for Sabeen Mahmud and was a witness to her killing in April this year, was shot dead in Karachi. Sadly, we do not live in times that are conducive to witnesses, informants and whistleblowers. By effortlessly eliminating those who pose a threat to them, the perpetrators of crime are way ahead of their game than the cops are!

5) Abdullah Kurdi’s decision to escape the government forces and Islamic State, and pay a people smuggler to put his family on an overcrowded dinghy to Greece, without life jackets, was a dreadful one. While this was an avoidable tragedy, it’s impossible to imagine the scale of his remorse and guilt. No one deserves to lose his family, and not a man who wanted to give his family a chance at life, which was so cruelly snatched away.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th,  2015.

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