The insane power outage

By Dr. Muhammad Hafizullah

I was very upset! “Has he started smoking again?” I asked myself on spotting a cigarette lighter in his pocket. I had worked very hard with the gentleman; he had presented with severe chest pain and had been in and out of the hospital quite a few times. He underwent angiography and required three vessel stenting which was performed pro bono publico. He could not afford drugs and I tried to help him with lipid lowering and anti-clot drugs. I was sure he had quit smoking but this was most upsetting if he had started smoking again. As he settled down in the chair, I could not help asking him rather in annoyed tone, “I am very happy that you are doing very well; but I am very unhappy that you have started smoking again!” He was perplexed and answered, “No never, I am complying with all your instructions. I will never smoke again.” Rather relieved I asked in Sherlock home style, “then why are you carrying a cigarette lighter?” He broke into cackling laughter and showed me the lighter adding, “This has a light and I use it in load shedding.”

People now have to carry some thing to use in the hour of load-shedding. Mobile phones with powerful light have become very popular among old and young because of light. Old folks have started using special sticks with provision of light in them, to be used during load-shedding. Someone clever must have imported these special sticks for showing way in the darkness. Long lasting lights with special bulbs and rechargeable batteries have flooded the markets. Every one regardless of age and social class feels it important to have a source of light because load-shedding can strike at any time and at any place; may it be shopping mall, a deserted road and stairs of building or bathroom. Just like people pick up wallet, car keys, and mobile before leaving the house, now the thing, not to forget, is the portable source of light.

Gone are the days when people used to open discussion in public or private on topics like weather and politics; now the opening question is, “how are you coping with load-shedding - and many other unkind names people remember it with!” Why load-shedding is a question no longer being discussed? ‘How many hours per day’ - is the main topic where people of different areas and background compare their woes. ‘You are lucky that you can at least sleep for four hours at stretch at night,” comments Hameed and Rehan retorts,  “you people are better off, because you can sleep for whole one hour during day time!” “We have no light in the morning so cannot get ready for the office in time,” reports Kareem and Jamal answers back, “when I reach home late in evening, there is no light, no TV, no water and no computer!” “We have a perfect recipe for disaster - lights go off every two hours for one hour and then some times every one hour for two hours - every day that we get up and pray for two one instead of one two format” “Our routine is worse - light go off for two hours then for three hours and then for four hours and then the cycle restarts!” confides Rashida Bibi.

The whole nation has become nervous wrecked. As the long arm of clock reaches near ninety degrees, heart starts thumping faster and breathing rate increases. Eyes switch between lights and clock - “no not now, please - please I have a lot of work to do!” one pleads with unknown dark forces, who mercilessly switch off the lights. As the arms of clock continue their journey and pass by twelve marks with no effects on light, hands are raised to offer thanks and eyes get wet to express the gratitude. Every one lives between hope and despair - light and no light - normal life and dark ages -every hour of the day, twenty fours a day, seven days a week and three sixty five days a year. The nation has become jittery and has lost the self confidence, not knowing when the load-shedding will strike and take them back to dark ages.  

People now loudly express their immense gratitude to Allah and WAPDA authorities when the dead fans start revolving, bulbs light up and air conditioners start throwing cool air.   Most of us have mentally accepted the ‘dark ages’ and when the lost friend ‘electricity’ smiles at us we immediately offer our thanks. As no body knows how long will the lady luck keep smiling at us. The frailty of electricity has become a quotable example.

Previously electricity was associated with something that shocks and now it is referred to someone ‘who cannot be trusted’. Shortly, Pakistani poets will start mentioning their beloved as ‘electricity’ - who only appears to disappear. Like unfulfilled promises of beloved, all promises regarding load-shedding have never been translated into reality.

My architect talked me out of making a basement when I was making my house a few years ago. He would argue, “How can you live without an air conditioner?” In the new scenario, when we are forced to live even without fan and air conditioner seems like a pure luxury, a naturally cool place like basement seems like an ideal option. The answer to all my arguments ‘no’. I am sure not any more! New houses in Pakistan should all be under ground -cool and live able even without electricity.

The in topic of nowaday’s social gatherings is ‘generators’ -driven by gas, diesel or petrol. The so-called experts ravel on the details of different models available in the market. The merits of model that run on petrol are compared with those using diesel. The merits and demerits are discussed in minutiae. The advantages of generators driven by gas are contrasted with the main disadvantage -gas load-shedding. Experts dwell upon details about company fitted and later added gas kits. The proud owners of generators make their personal experience available to the under-privileged and less fortunate poor friends -more like developed and under developed countries. This gives a God given chance to the braggers to boast about the comforts they enjoy and how the life has not changed at all in spite of all others facing the worst crisis of their lives.

The less privileged discuss UPS and make a special point that they do neither have to wake up to put it on and nor they have to keep awake to put it off. UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) is a wonderful little quiet machine which works very well as long as there is load-shedding within confines of decency. The poor little thing requires four hours of charging after giving service of one hour.

Most people threw their UPS away, when the machines failed to perform during our recent times of most cruel and insane load-shedding. The poor thing did not have enough time to recharge hence the performance went down the drain. I personally had to buy two giant sized batteries -good enough for eighteen wheelers. To add salt to wounds, even this arrangement did not work. Then, I had to procure a battery charger (used for car batteries) so as to charge the spare battery when not in use. High brows boast about the ‘imported UPS’ and some even prefer to use the machines produced in our neighbouring country.

Life has not been the same since the monster of load-shedding hit hard our beloved country. The unfortunate part seems to be that there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Things are getting worse with every passing day. I very fondly remember my grand mother and her lantern and hand held fan!