Aasif Shah's Blog

The corona catastrophe has taken us back to 14th century when the Black Death, the most notorious pandemic devastated Europe and wiped out one half of its population.  If history is to be believed, it was mammals such as mice and rats that caused the deadly pandemic in Central Asia and that eventually arrived Europe through Italy. The tragic tale does not end here. The human civilization has witnessed series of deadliest pandemics from Antonine Pandemic in the 2nd century to Swine Pandemic in 21st century leaving millions of people dead. COVID-19 is the latest series of Pandemics that has sent shivers across the world. The greatest paradox is that it united the contradictory world but divided people at large. It does not see if I am king or a slave, believer or atheist, white or black. It is unseen yet powerful, living yet unseen, far yet close. It is an untold story of everything from Science to God, Medicine to Economics, and Culture to Religion. The Wuhan born pandemi...

Few days back, I had an opportunity to perform the role of an invigilator at an examination conducted by Indra Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) where most of the examinees were SSA teachers of school education department. What I had realized for the entire three hours of the time duration is that we are heading towards explosive academic destruction. It was very embarrassing rather unpleasant experience to see teachers in possession of copying materials inside the examination hall. That night I could not get a good sleep. I found my mind pulled towards negativity. I asked myself is this the reason that most of the parents turn away from government schools? How a teacher who resorts to cheating can be the pillar of a society? How can he demand pay commissions and increments when he is not able to fulfill demands of ethical standards?  For what we are celebrating teachers day? Of course, there are many good teachers that play vital roles in the lives of students in...

It is a painful tale of a young, enthusiastic and handsome man that begins with an unusual fever on 13th August 2016 when he was working in his office and when the entire valley was under the grip of curfew. Without sharing his agony to anyone at home, he went straightaway to a Srinagar based Private Hospital for consultation where he was diagnosed with chronic intestinal inflammation and oncological related issues by a local doctor based on USG and colonoscopy reports. He called his family who were shocked to see him admitted in the hospital. On the same day, the doctor recommended an instant surgery and operated on him the following day without a second thought. Later, it appeared that the doctor has scratched and caused a terrible wound in his large intestines. Without noticing the same, he stitched and left him in ICU where it was observed that something scary was leaking out of his abdomen and which got worse with the days passing. When the young man woke up from ...

I had an opportunity to go through the precise message of Prof. Ableter of Ghana University on Facebook in which he argues that ‘Academic excellence is overrated’.  Is academic excellence really overrated? I kept asking such question to myself for days together and I got a weird sensation inside my head as if somebody was answering my question ‘Oh man don’t think too much’, if academic excellence would have been the criteria of the success then what about Thomas Edison who was a bad learner in classroom yet he invented the electric bulb, Steve Jobs who never graduated yet he revolutionized  the world with his visionary creations such as iPhones and iPads, Bill Gates who was an average student, yet he became an inspiration to people across globe and we have many such examples.  To support his argument, Prof Ableter ...

Embarking on PhD’ is most difficult endeavor to undertake. Not only does it consume years together but the dropout rate for PhDs’ are quite high. I am not sure if an acronym ‘PhD’ has historically lacked a precise definition because Doctor of Philosophy would be ambiguous as PhD holders are not necessarily philosophers, unless the degree is earned in philosophy. In America, Europe, Asia or Africa, completing a PhD programme can take five years or more. That is 1825 days or 8 percent of your existence if you live up to 65 years. The programme is typically broken down into 1-2 years of course work followed by 3-5 years of original research to produce. Many people start PhD with a vague idea and spend first 2 years to figure out the novel aspect they want to pursue and many are unaware about the target audience they want to reach through their findings. The fact is that they find themselves trapped in a poor research culture (mostly in developing countries) that turns them out to be c...

Friendship is one of the most precious gifts that make life beautiful. When we have good friends to confide in, sufferings seem more tolerable and the pleasures are more intense. Everyone goes through good and bad times in their lives no matter what place they are in or what educational or ethnic background they come from. There is a time when people find themselves in circumstances that they never wanted to face. They find their life messed up and consequently they start losing control over it. Typically they turn to God and ask him for forgiveness and seek his help through patience and prayer but then they often have expectations that their friends are there who would listen to them and facilitate them to feel like the world is not falling apart. But the reality is that when they face a disastrous loss or have a major failure or suffers from lingering ailment or mental dejection; their friends (with few exceptions) turn out to be traitors by taking advantage of their helplessne...

Gone are the days when our forefathers used to live together as a society.  No doubt, there was poverty, scarcity and complexity but there was a beauty in life and pleasure among all. There were few privileges to enjoy, yet life was complete, meaningful and nourishing. There was care and concern, love and affection, proximity and the true bonding. Teachers were praiseworthy and schools were truly nucleus of learning. Furniture’s were alluring and houses were economical. Despite wars, tranquility prevailed earlier. There was trust. There was hope. There was illiteracy but more wisdom, less technology but more comfort, less schools but more scholars, less inputs but more productivity. Craftsmanship was worthier and vessels were flawless. Disputes were promptly sorted out and courts had fairly less business. Production was meant for survival and the cattle farming were familiar. Agriculture was the priority and chasing profits were tertiary. Trees were all around, with birds on ...