Monday, December 13, 2010

ONE PIECE

Greatness, Glory, Gold. A Pirate Named Gold Roger also known as the Pirate King has conquered this all. He was executed with an unknown reason but before he died he had revealed his last word about The legendary Treasure named One Piece which was hidden in the Grand Line. 22 years after his Death, A Pirate named Monkey D. Luffy appeared and has only one Goal, To Become the Next "Pirate King" and Find The Treasure "One Piece". This Start The Never Ending Adventure. Monkey D. Luffy, inspired by his childhood hero "Red-Haired" Shanks, sets out on a journey to find the legendary treasure One Piece, to become the new Pirate King, and after eating the devil's fruit gains the power to do so. To accomplish this, he must reach the end of the most deadly and dangerous ocean: The Grand Line. But first he must find a crew.
During the course of the story, the crew contend with both other less moral pirate crews and the Marines. The latter are the subordinates of the World Government, who seek justice by ending the Golden Age of Pirates. Many background story elements involve the delicate balance of power between the World Government and the world's most powerful pirate crews. Also, the Craziest Crew in the world .
i usedto watch the anime when i was young, but now i only read the manga.
i guess i like zoro because he is the coolest, loofy is just goofy. nami is good too.
one piece is one of the best shounen mangas that i know of.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Shugo Chara


ikuto

The thing about this anime is that I accidently heard someone say that it has a sad ending and that my favorite character Ikuto dies in the end ,so I didnt watch it till the end for the fear of Ikuto dying. But i still know the story and have watched enough to like Ikuto.
The heroine of the story, Amu Hinamori, is a student at Seiyo Elementary. At first glance, her classmates refer to her as "cool and spicy" and rumors speculate about her personal life. However, her real personality is that of a very shy girl who has trouble showing her true personality. One night, Amu wishes for the courage to show her "would-be" self, and the next morning finds three brightly colored eggs—red, blue, and green—in her bed. At first, she is alarmed, but realizes she must have really wished to change. These eggs hatch into three Guardian Characters: Ran, Miki, and Su. The Guardian Characters aid Amu in discovering who she truly is and help fulfill Amu's dreams. Amu's life becomes much more complex as she struggles to deal with her "would-be" selves and the Seiyo Elementary's Guardians, who recruit Amu as the Joker to search for X Eggs and X Characters, the corrupted forms of peoples' dreams.

Meanwhile, the Easter Company is extracting people's eggs in search of a special egg called the Embryo. The Embryo is believed to grant any wish to the one who possesses it. However, the process creates X Eggs and X Characters.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi is a teenage boy in high school contracted by Easter to find the Embryo. He often helps Amu even though he works for Easter. Ikuto actually despises Easter and tries to wrench himself free from them by trying to find the Embryo to grant that wish. He possesses the Dumpty Key which pairs with Amu's Humpty Lock which at first did not fit in the keyhole. Like his father, Ikuto is a skilled violinist.
The thing about this anime is that I accidently heard someone say that it has a sad ending and that my favorite character Ikuto dies in the end ,so I didnt watch it till the end for the fear of Ikuto dying.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Gakuen Alice (ALICE ACADEMY)


hotaru and mikan

 For Mikan, there was no better friend than Hotaru (though Hotaru sometimes seems to have other sentiments). They often played together. But Hotaru is a very special child, and she agrees to go to a school in Tokyo which the government reserved only for geniuses. This left a very lonely Mikan at home. When Hotaru fails to keep her promise and come home for holidays, her young friend is very disappointed and rather angry. But upon overhearing a conversation between Hotaru's mother and a teacher, Mikan realizes that her friend's reasons for leaving might not have been what they seemed. So Mikan takes it upon herself to run away and go to Hotaru's school. There she discovers the so-called "genius academy" is actually a school for people gifted with special powers called "Alices";. Her friend Hotaru is one of these, and after a chance encounter with a teacher, Mikan suddenly finds herself enrolled. Finally, the two friends are reunited.There Mikan also finds friends, love, and a life that she will never forget.


natsume and mikan
 Natsume is the male protagonist in the series. He is a genius and likes to ditch class frequently. He is hated and feared by a lot of students and is unhappy with the school. He was paired-up as Mikan's "partner" by the their mostly-absent class teacher, this develops his relationship with Mikan as she is around him all the time and is stubborn despite his initially cold and mean attitude.
 However, during that time, Mikan (along with her friends) find out that the academy is really built on both secrets and lies.
The story has attributes: comedy, romance, drama, fantasy and supernatural.
It is ongoing and has 26 episodes but the manga is very involving, the best thing about this manga is the friendship and strong feelings of love among Mikan and her friends.
Another unique thing about this manga is that in most mangas main characters are either teenagers or more but in this one they are only 10-12 years old, but thery grow up later.

mikan and friends


Friday, December 3, 2010

INUYASHA

kagome and inuyasha
Kagome is a modern Japanese high school girl. Never the type to believe in myths and legends, her world view dramatically changes when, one day, she's pulled out of her own time and into another! There, in Japan's ancient past, Kagome discovers more than a few of those dusty old legends are true, and that her destiny is linked to one legendary creature in particular--the dog-like, immortal, half-demon called Inuyasha!

priestess kikyo
 That same trick of fate also ties them both to the Shikon Jewel, (Jewel of Four Souls) ; But demons beware...the smallest shard of the Shikon Jewel can give the user unimaginable power. Inuyasha is also after the Jewel and Kagome  helps him since she can sense the Jewel shards.The shikon Jewel was  protected by a priestess named Kikyo 50 years ago and, somehow while chasing after the Jewel Inuyasha and Kikyo end up falling in love.






naraku
 But are tricked  by an evil demon Naraku (who's suffering from jealousy) into thinking that they are being betrayed by each other.  Kikyo ends up sealing Inuyasha to a tree using her sacred arrow and the Jewel vanishes as she dies herself.
50 years later, kagome finds inuyasha tied to the tree and pulling the arrow she releases him and she is said to be the reincarantion of priestess kikyo as the sacred Jewel is born with in her body. At first Inuyasha treats Kagome very badly, trying to take the Jewel for himself, but eventually he ends up falling in love with her.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

NARUTO

The most popular and comon anime is Naruto, it has a very interesting story and is probably the most intruguing shounen( the manga in which lead is a male character) I have ever read.
In another world, ninja are the ultimate power–and in the village of Konoha live the stealthiest ninja in the world. But sixteen years ago Konohagakure was attacked by a fearsome threat–a nine-tailed fox demon which claimed the life of the Hokage, the village champion. Today, peace has returned, and a trouble making orphan named Uzumaki Naruto is struggling to graduate from the Ninja Academy. His goal: to become the next Hokage. But unknown to Naruto and his classmates, within him is a terrifying force.
Its also one of the most longest anime is still ongoing, it has tons of fanfictions as well. I read those alot.
The two main characters in the story, Naruto and Sasuke are friends in the beginning but they end up being eternal rivals. saskue has a cold and indifferent personality while naruto is lively and cheerful. Most fanfictions make Naruto and Sasuke a couple which doent even exist.





One of the most unique things about Naruto is that, it has so many different characters. There are all kinds of personality types.

Hijaab of Speech

Talking with non-mehrams( strangers) :

Allah ordered the women to talk to the non-mehram ( unknown men) in a tone which may not make him misunderstand their intentions.
Quran [33:32] …………… be not too complacent of speech, lest one in whose heart is a disease should be moved with desire: but speak you a speech (that is) just.

Islam has forbidden Non-mahrams to meet except in the presence of Maharams ( immediate relative). Many steadfast muslims who have ignored this particular rule haves gotten to a point where they start doing things like kissing, touching certain body parts and just inappropriate stuff. They both know that its  wrong, ask forgiveness and end up doing it again.

Quran [33:33] And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former Times of Ignorance; and establish regular Prayer, and give regular Charity; and obey Allah (God) and His Apostle…………………..
The Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) said to men: “None of you should meet a woman in privacy unless she is accompanied by a mahram (unmarriageable kin).”

Monday, November 29, 2010

SKIP BEAT


kyouko
 Kyouko Mogami lived solely for her childhood friend Shoutaro "Shou" Fuwa. She follows Shou to Tokyo so that he may realize his dream of becoming a famous singer. When his dream is realized, Kyouko overhears the truth behind his decision to bringing her with him: he was using her as a maid.

Shocked and enraged, Kyouko swears to take revenge by outdoing him in show business. With a new look and a new attitude, she joins LME, the agency where Ren Tsuruga (Shou's rival and the #1 actor of LME) works, in the hopes of achieving her goal of destroying Shou's pride.

Along the way, she discovers her true self, makes new friends (and enemies), and finds herself at the heart of some interesting situations that will change her life, and the lives of all others involved, forever.
shotaru on right
ren on left

I love Winter!!

I love Winter!!
I was ecstatic when I woke up on Monday morning to find it snowing outside, I didn’t realize it was snowing until after when I left the house, while waiting for the bus at the bus stop. Since it was my first time seeing snow fall and it was only light snow shower, I didn’t immediately acknowledge it. But after that when it started snowing heavily I was so happy. Since childhood it had been my dream to live somewhere where it snows and is really cold. Coming from a really hot country I am sure my love for snow is understandable, but as I came unprepared for such cold weather, and after a while my hands started turning numb, I didn’t adore snow as much as before. Now I know that it can be very inconvenient, especially getting up in winters is really hard. But no matter what I still love snow, and I enjoyed it a lot, having snow ball fight with my brothers in my yard. And despite my mothers constant scolding I hardly ever wear a jacket unless its very cold, I feel like if I wear a jacket I wont be able to enjoy the cold as much and also I just cant take the heat. I am so glad there has been no sun for days; Seattle’s winter is just awesome!!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

EID MUBARAK!

One day left for Eid ….
Ah!! thinking about that brings back a flood of memories. My last Eid when I was in Pakistan was the most wonderful in my life. I still remember how me and my friends sat in a circle in the college grounds on the last day of school before Eid vacation. We sat under the sun and chatted for hours while doing henna on each others arms. It was so much fun we all would gather around the one was best at making henna designs and wait in turns. We used to cover all ours arms and dry them under the sun. we discussed the patterns designs and colors of the outfits we were going to wear on Eid day. Celebrating Eid together with your friends and family, now I know the worth of it. My first Eid here was so boring and colorless. I didn’t feel like it was a celebration at all. I will call all my friends back home on this Eid. I sure hope its fun………………………….

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

HANA KIMI (FOR YOU IN FULL BLOSSOM)


At age thirteen, Mizuki Ashiya, a Japanese girl growing up in America, saw Izumi Sano high jump on TV for the first time. Amazed by his grace, Mizuki quickly became a huge fan of Sano's. Three years later, high-school age Mizuki decides to return to Japan so that a dream of hers might come true: to see Sano jump in person.






Mizuki Ashiya


Mizuki even goes so far as to transfer into Sano's school, in hopes of being closer to him. Mizuki's wish is granted, and she becomes Sano's roommate. There are two problems, however:
Sano has quit the high jump, and he attends an all-boys school, meaning Mizuki now has to disguise herself as a boy morning, noon and night, even in her own room! Unknown to Mizuki, however, Sano finds out her secret fairly quickly, and now a strange feeling has come over the two of them.

Sano and mizuki




Mizuki is a fun-loving, cheerful and optimistic character who cares deeply for her family and friends. Unfortunately, despite her kind heart, she is what one would call dense, so the secret of her gender has to constantly be protected by Sano. He found out Mizuki's true gender due to an accident early in the series.
This series has other most intriguing charaters I have ever seen in a manga.




Minami and his uncle

Umeda (doctor)
 My favorite character in this manga is Minami who is the dorm manager of the dorm in which sano and mizuki. Minami's uncle is the doctor of the school who being the cool careless type is another of my favorite. Umeda despite being a doctor is recognized by his glasses and he has a smoking habit due to which he gets criticized by everyone.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

KAICHOU WA MAID-SAMA!

Also known as "Our student Council President is a Maid!" Kaichou wa Maid-sama! is a shoujo manga series by Hiro Fujiwara. It Genres are Comedy, Romance, School Life and shoujo (main character is a girl).
It is one of the top anime and manga.
 The story goes like this:
                                   
Once an all boys school, Seika High School, a renowned school full of reckless and filthy students, has recently become a co-ed school. However, with the female population still remaining a minority even after the change over the recent years, Ayuzawa Misaki takes it into her own hands to reform the school and allow a chance for the girls to feel safer in the rough environment.

Training, studying and even becoming the first female student council president of the school, Misaki has gained a reputation, among the male students body as an uptight boy-hating demon dictator and as a shining hope for the teachers and fellow female students. However, despite her tough-as-nails appearance, she secretly works part-time at a maid cafe in order to support her family. Unfortunately, her secret is soon revealed when the somewhat impassive Usui Takumi, a popular boy at school, nonchalantly discovers her in a maid uniform after school.
          

Usui is one of the most popular boys at school. He's in fact an illegitimate child; his rich English mother (whose maiden name is Usui) had an affair with an unknown Japanese man. He proves to be extraordinarily talented in a number of different fields, including cooking, the violin, chess, and table etiquette.
 He regularly tells Misaki he likes her, but she dismisses his behavior simply as a joke or harassment. Usui truly cares and loves Misaki but he is waiting for the right time for them to be together and officially date each other.
One of the reasons of Usui's attraction to Misaki is that she is  always driven to do her best regardless of the endeavor, and has a strong sense of justice, though she also has a tendency to forget her own well being in the process of helping others. Misaki harbours feelings towards Usui and often blushes when he's around her but she always denies it and says that she hates Usui, but it usually means she loves him.

Monday, November 1, 2010

CODE GEASS: LELOUCH OF THE REBELLION

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion  often referred to as simply Code Geass, is a Japanese anime series created by Sunrise, directed by Gorō Taniguchi, and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, with original character designs by Clamp. Code Geass is set in an alternate universe where three superpowers, the Holy Britannian Empire, the Chinese Federation, and the Euro Universe have divided the world between them (with the exception of an independent Australia) and maintain a tentative balance for the first part of the series.
The Holy Britannian Empire is an imperial monarchy and the most prominent superpower within the world of Code Geass, controlling over one-third of the world at the start of the series.
The king of the Britannian Empire Charles is ruling injustly over the people of japan stripping them of their rights and freedom.
Lelouch vi Britannia is an intellectual Britannian prince who was sent as hostage, along with his sister Nunnally, by his father, Emperor Charles zi Britannia, after his mother was murdered, and has vowed to destroy Britannia. Lelouch gains a mesterious power called Geass that gives him the ability to make people obey him.
Lelouch Lamperouge is a seemingly ordinary 17-year-old student at Ashford Academy. In reality, he is Lelouch vi Britannia, the exiled son of the Emperor of Britannia and the late Empress Marianne, forced to flee to Japan after his mother's assassination. When he gets caught up in a battle between the military and Japanese rebels, he gains the power of Geass, allowing him to force others to obey his orders without question, and begins a quest to utilize this power to destroy Britannia under another identity known as Zero. Only in high school lelouch is highly intellegent, and decides to become the leader of the resistance movement against his father The King,  to fulfill his two wishes: to seek revenge for his mother and to construct a world in which his beloved sister Nunnally can live happily.
                       CC a mysterious, immortal, green-haired girl who establishes a contract with Lelouch on the condition that he grant her one wish, to die and gives him his power of Geass, acts as his accomplice.

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN ISLAM

    
With the advent of Islam, all such ideas based on an inherent inequality lost ground. In different ways, and with great persistence Islam presented to the world the concept that, in spite of outward differences, all human beings are equal. All are entitled to equal social status and equal rights. No one is inferior or superior. Here are two references from the Qur'an and Hadith respectively.
Men, we have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you might get to know one another. The noblest of you in Allah's sight is the most righteous of you. Allah is wise and all knowing (49:13).
According to this verse of the Qur'an, the differences of color and race found among human beings is for the purpose, not of discrimination, but of identification. Men in essence are equal. What really distinguishes one man from another is character. His superiority can therefore bespoken of only in terms of the degree to which a man is honorable. The truly honorable man is one who is God--fearing and who recognizes and fulfils the rights of God and his fellow men.
On the occasion of the final pilgrimage, the Prophet delivered his last sermon while sitting oh his camel. One of the things he said is recorded in these words:
'O people, listen carefully, your Lord is one Lord, there is no doubt about it. Your ancestor, is one ancestor, there is no doubt about it. Listen well to my words: no Arab has any superiority over a non--Arab, and no non—Arab is superior to an Arab. No black is superior to a brown or red, and no red superior to any black. If there is any superiority in anyone it is due to his God--fearing qualities(piety). Have I conveyed the message?' the Prophet asked the people. The people answered from all corners, 'Indeed so! God be witness.' Then the Prophet said: 'Let him that is present tell it unto him that is absent.'(Al-Jamili Ahkam al-Qur'an, 16:342)
This declaration was made by the Prophet in the final year of his life at a time when the whole of Arabia had been conquered. As such, it wasnot the declaration of a reformer, but of a ruler of the time. His definition of human equality was not just listened to as a theory, but was immediately put into practice--nay, enforced in society.
In his declaration, the Prophet told the people that just as there is one Creator of this world so all the human beings in this world were born of one man and woman. All human beings were thus equal, being each other's brothers and sisters. They might differ in respect of appearance, but as to honor, status and the right to legal justice, there was no difference between them.
So far as human status is concerned, Islam clearly states that if people have been placed on different rungs of the social ladder, this is not a matter of having been favored with or deprived of social distinction but of their being under divine trial. God has created man in this world in order to test him. Worldly goods and position (or the lack of them) are used by God as instruments of this test. They are like examination papers set by the Almighty. Opulence and penury are both intended to be states in which man is tested. He should, therefore, stop suffering from inferiority or superiority complexes, and should consider instead whether he is going to pass or fail this test.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

BARAJOU NO KISS MANGA

Barajou no Kiss is a Japanese comic and anime having an alternative name as "Kiss Of the Rose Princess" and has an awsum story and excellent characters.

Most girls are crazy about jewelry, but not Anis Yamamoto. Not since her father gave her a rose choker as a child, claiming it was a protective amulet which would safeguard her from harm; however, if she ever took it off (a feat easier said than done!), she would be afflicted by a “punishment” of some sort. But after a certain incident causes the choker to disappear, she realizes that this punishment her father spoke of might have been a bit more than she bargained for!
Now she is stuck with being the dominion of four knights , who she could summon anytime and who would absolutely obey her any command . What will Anise do, and who will she choose among her rose knights as its in her destiny to end up with one of the knights. The Knights namely....



                                           Mitsuki Kurama (the black rose)







Kaede Higa  (the red rose)





                                 Tenjou Mitsuru (the white rose)  




      


  Asagi Seiren (the blue rose)          


Monday, October 18, 2010

THE FAISAL MOSQUE

 The Faisal Mosque in Islamabad is the largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia and one of the largest mosques in the world. Faisal Mosque is conceived as the National Mosque of Pakistan.
The Faisal Mosque is named after the late King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, who supported and financed the project.
The mosque is located in the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad. It is situated at the north end of Faisal Avenue, putting it at the northernmost end of the city and at the foot of Margalla Hills, the westernmost foothills of the Himalayas.

Faisal Mosque has the third largest capacity of accommodating worshippers in its adjoining grounds after the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca, the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina. Each of the Mosque's four minarets are 80 m (260 ft) high (the tallest minarets in South Asia) and measure 10 x 10 m in circumference. The speciality of this mosque is that it lacks the traditional Dome structure that represents basically every mosque in the world.

Monday, October 11, 2010

ISLAM AND TERRORISM

Why are most of the Muslims fundamentalists and terrorists? This question is often hurled at Muslims, either directly or indirectly, during any discussion on religion or world affairs. Muslim stereotypes are perpetuated in every form of the media accompanied by gross misinformation about Islam and Muslims. In fact, such misinformation and false propaganda often leads to discrimination and acts of violence against Muslims. A case in point is the anti-Muslim campaign in the American media following the Oklahoma bomb blast, where the press was quick to declare a ‘Middle Eastern conspiracy’ behind the attack. The culprit was later identified as a soldier from the American Armed Forces.
A fundamentalist is a person who follows and adheres to the fundamentals of the doctrine or theory he is following. I am a fundamentalist Muslim who, by the grace of Allah, knows, follows and strives to practice the fundamentals of Islam. A true Muslim does not shy away from being a fundamentalist. I am proud to be a fundamentalist Muslim because; I know that the fundamentals of Islam are beneficial to humanity and the whole world. There is not a single fundamental of Islam that causes harm or is against the interests of the human race as a whole. Many people harbor misconceptions about Islam and consider several teachings of Islam to be unfair or improper. This is due to insufficient and incorrect knowledge of Islam. If one critically analyzes the teachings of Islam with an open mind, one cannot escape the fact that Islam is full of benefits both at the individual and collective levels.
Today the moment a person uses the word fundamentalist he thinks of a Muslim who is a terrorist.
Islam is derived from the word ‘salaam’ which means peace. It is a religion of peace whose fundamentals teach its followers to maintain and promote peace throughout the world.
Thus every Muslim should be a fundamentalist i.e. he should follow the fundamentals of the Religion of Peace: Islam. He should be a terrorist only towards the antisocial elements in order to promote peace and justice in the society.


CLOUD STRIFE

Cloud Strife is a fictional character introduced in the anime Final Fantasy 7 and is basically the lead character. His original design was created by Final Fantasy VII character designer Tetsuya Nomura. Cloud's appearance is marked by spiky blond hair, striking blue eyes, dark clothing and his Buster Sword, which previously belonged to his friend Zack Fair. Cloud is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai in Japanese. Cloud is a cool and aggressive type of character and is hardly friendly to anyone. But, in interacting with Aerith, (a flower girl) sole survivor of an ancient race, Cloud's character is further expanded upon. 

He shows increased signs of good-natured humor and protectiveness, as opposed to his antagonistic use of sarcasm with Barret (Clouds travelling companion) or comparative coolness to everyone other than Tifa that he has previously spoken with. Aerith, in turn, reciprocates this attitude, offering her assistance to lead Cloud back to Sector 7 and to rescue Tifa in Sector 6, despite Cloud being her bodyguard and the danger present. Aerith also inquires about Cloud's romantic life, and, depending on the player's dialogue choices and actions, could be one of several characters to take Cloud on a "date" at the Golden Saucer, an enormous amusement park, along with Tifa. This love triangle aspect between Cloud, Tifa and Aerith is primarily focused on in the first disc, and at times is used to humorous effect.

HADITH (Sayings of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H))

  The Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) stated that;
"Allah the Almighty is good and accepts only that which is good. Allah has commanded the faithful to do that which he commanded the messengers, and the Almighty has said: "O ye messengers ! Eat of the good things and do right". And Allah the Almighty has said : "O ye who believe! Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you"
Then he mentioned [the case of] a man who, having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty and who spreads out his hands to the sky [saying]: "O Lord! O Lord!" - while his food is unlawful, his drink unlawful, his clothing unlawful, and he is nourished unlawfully, so how can he be answered!"
[Related by Muslim]
On the authority of Abdullah bin Abbas, who said:One day I was behind the Prophet and he said to me: "Young man, I shall teach you some words [of advice]: Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask of Allah; if you seek help, seek help of Allah. Know that if the Nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, it would benefit you only with something that Allah had already prescribed for you, and that if they gather together to harm you with anything, they would harm you only with something Allah had already prescribed for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried."

Sunday, October 3, 2010

PAKISTANI TRADITIONS OF MARRIAGE AND COURTSHIP

There is no tradition of dating in Pakistan. Which I think helps teenagers to avoid a disturbed state of mind by not getting into messy relationships, instead we have arranged marriage system for people there, believe that,
                                                       Its better to love the one you marry rather marry the one you love
One thing why we dont date is that our religion does not allow it. To prevent that schools dont have co-education but even in some universities, where there is co-education girls and boys always are seen in separate groups and classes.
The responsibility to marry the children resides with parents and usually they choose the perfect match for their kids. Pakistanis marry their children approximately at the age of 20-26 for girls and for guys until they get a job to support their future wife and kids. Mostly in a married couple women younger in age than men by two or three years, they can be the same age but I have never seen wife being elder than her husband.
 Although a person can choose for himself but he needs his/ hers parents approval. Usually what happens when parents decide that its time to marry their kid is that they start looking for a partner and if they find someone suitable they go to talk to the parents of that person to discuss the matter and try to know more about the person they had chosen. So in the first steps children are not involved. But parents cant marry without the childs consent of course and after introducing them to the other partner they ask for their opinion and dont just impose some one on them.
  Eventually if they find some one on which both parents and child agree on, they decide for the date of marriage. Also the girl and the boy are allowed to meet before marriage but not without an elder.
                    
The marriage ceremony lasts three days in which the night of the first day is kind of the girl’s night called Mehndi. A huge party is held at the brides house where only girls from both bride and grooms side are invited to have fun. They dress up the bride, do henna on each others arms, sing songs and tease the bride.
The next day is called Baraat when the groom and his family are supposed to meet the bride and her family in a hotel where food is served while bride and groom sit together on stage where they sign forms and drink milk from the same glass (silly tradition not Islamic). There is also a tradition of exchanging rings but its not necessary. At the end of the ceremony groom is supposed to take the bride to his house. And on the third day bride and groom together are invited to party thrown by grooms parents where brides relatives are also invited. This ceremony is called Waleema.


Due to all those reasons in Pakistan divorce rate is very low, personally I had never heard of one while I Pakistan. Therefore we have strong family system where parents and child live together until the children are married.








MY FAVORITE ANIME CHARACTER


Kuran kaname from Vampire Knight anime is the most handsome and cool (also vampire) anime character.  Vampire Knight is a shoujo manga and a Japanese anime series written by Matsuri Hino. My love for reading mangas led me to read Vampire Knight when I came across it over the summer. Kaname is actually one of the most powerful characters in the series, revealed to be one of the original vampires and founder of the Kuran family. The story is very complicated and the setting is a boarding high school (Cross Academy) in which there are day classes and night classes for humans and vampires respectively. The dorms are situated at a distance from each other to prevent dangerous situations. Yuki is a human girl who is in charge of making sure that the students from both dorms don’t meet so the secret of night class being vampires remains safe and is obsessed with kaname who being the dorm manager of night class sees her occasionally. The reason that I like kaname is that he is wise and polite, he never over reacts and maintains calm posture. He spends most of his time trying to protect Yuki and other humans from vicious vampires which basically is the purpose of the academy. Later Kaname's inexplicable attachment and gentleness to Yuki is finally explained when Kaname awakens her true nature as a pureblood vampire and as his supposed sister. Both Kaname and Yuki had a bloody past which Yuki discovers as the story continues. Vampire knight is ongoing and the characters and drawing of the manga are superb that makes it the best manga I ever read.
                                                        


SCHOOLS IN PAKISTAN

                                    Pakistan is my homeland and I came to the US for the first time about 6 months ago. The difference in culture and educational system surprised me a lot. I remember my first day in school that was two weeks after coming here as a complete shock. I have never been to a co-education school before and the thing that most surprised me was the level of education and discipline.
                                   Institutions in Pakistan up till high school level are never co-ed and always have uniforms and strict discipline. Before coming here when I was in 10th grade I went to a private school which taught English and Urdu (national language) both from first grade. Science is given the most importance as a subject and curriculum is like totally excluded from school but some schools still have a bit of sports. In Pakistan there are no computers in school, music and drama is something that kids dont know about at school level. A class consists of 30-35 students and they sit in particular arrangement in rows not just randomly anywhere also students sit in the same class all day while after every period a different subject teacher comes to class to teach her subject. Students stand up as a gesture of respect when the teacher enters the class and sit when they are told to. We are not allowed to enter class or speak in class without the teacher’s permission. There are strict rules for proper uniform and we used to have assembly every morning where we gathered in the grounds before the start of the day to recite Holy Quran, then we are given a golden piece of advise (like a quote) for each day by our Principle (who by the way had so much dignity that students literally were afraid to face him). The assembly lasts about 20 minutes.
                                 School mostly starts at 8:15 and each class is of 45 minutes and there are 8 periods each day. From first to 4th grade my subjects were English, Urdu and Mathematics. Some schools include social studies and religion or stuff like geography or drawing till middle but we didnt have any of it as a subject. We read a bit of social studies in English and religion in Urdu and arts in free periods. After 4th grade we just add science along with the three subjects but even with four subjects it’s pretty tough. Teachers although strict know each student personally.
                                 Students do written assignments and have to cram huge books (creativity is not much involved). Science is pretty advanced and we study things in 7th grade that I did here in my junior year. From 8th to 10th grade we have 8 subjects which are Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Maths, English, Urdu, Islamiat and Pakistan history every year. Thats where we graduate from high school after that we go to 2 year college and than later universities.
                                 Students in Pakistan dont do jobs of anytime, part time or full time until they graduate from university because parents are responsible to provide for everything their kids need. Frankly it’s not a burden on parents because they can earn a decent living to support their family easily.  So basically all Pakistani students have to do is study till they graduate from university and get a job.