The Pakistani pilot who flew me to Islamabad recently delivered a mini-khutba (sermon) on the plane. He urged passengers to pray for Pakistan and re-read the safar ki dua (prayer for travel) complete with a translation in Urdu.
"Sit back and enjoy the view. Few get to see the skies like this. This is also the best time to think about our country, its problems and make dua," the pilot began his sermon which lasted over 10 minutes.
"Pray for your loved ones. Pray for peace, prosperity and speedy justice in our country. Pray that Pakistan tides over its ‘bohrans’ (crises). Think about what role you can play to change Pakistan. Remember, change is just round the corner.
"Our children are getting 'A' grades, but are they also becoming good citizens? Teach your kids good manners. Teach them not to litter public spaces. Make sure they don't grow up and blame us for the mess they are in. Our country has everything -- its beauty is comparable to the best countries of the world. We should strive to make our country better..."
The khutba in English also lasted a good 10 minutes.
"We should stop blaming others for our problems. Traffic snarls are our doing. You cannot blame others…Keep the plane toilets clean. After using the toilet wipe the seat clean…Remember, you may want to use the toilet again...Thank you for flying with us. Do fly with us again. We are because of you. If you do not come to us, we will not be able to fly..."
I had a feeling the pilot would step out of the cockpit and take questions. But I guess he had to also make time for landing.
I am hoping the experience was beautiful... Sounds like you did enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteIt was :)
DeleteEpic! :P
ReplyDeleteWhere were you flying from? I think there are a few reasons for this:
ReplyDelete1. PIA is going down the drain in terms of financial health, maybe the pilot was desperate to keep people coming back and thought by preaching he would get in the good books of people.
2. Everyone in Pak loves to give lectures to others... and this was probably his chance thru his 'loud speaker' to get his message accross, afterall you have no choice but to listen to him while you are in the confined space of a steal tube in the middle of the air!!!
Vesey highly unprofessional of a pilot and wreckes of desperation!
Likhti raho!
A
Instructions on how to keep plane toilets clean was bit much!! :)
DeleteBut maybe its the reason that Pakistan is much cleaner than India. Because they have a proactive policy of teaching cleanliness, maybe.
DeleteKisi Indian aircraft mein pilot ne aisa kiya hota toh airliner agle din band ho jaati..! I hope they had in flight entertainment system that allowed u to just put on ur headphones and block out the preaching...
ReplyDelete:)
Deleteim sure all u were interested in was the menu in the in flight meal and if it really was boti kebabs ...
ReplyDeletehaha..
DeleteSo what is wrong with it? He probably just wanted to convey a good message to his fellow citizens.. Whats unprofessional about it?
ReplyDeleteAnything that teaches people to be good should be praised, no?
Ashraf, praying for Pakistan was fine. But the rest was totally avoidable.
DeleteHey, No big deal...He is one concerned citizen like all of us..Just cannot handle a moment when gets an opportunity to say something.
ReplyDelete:)
Deleteno biggie , pilots are humans too. and we are emotional breed.
ReplyDelete:)
Delete@Authors - no replies to my comment?
ReplyDelete@Ashraf... I am not the author but me thinks its highly unprofessional to exploit the fact that everyone in stuck in mid air inside a metallic object and the microphone is in your hand... Resisting the urge to blabber your heart is the duty of a professional with a microphone especially when you are in mid air and cant just walk out of the scene! You see... With great power comes great responsibility!
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