Superman
By Syed Kamran Hashmi
Westfield, IN
The fire devoured the whole building in just a few minutes. It was fierce and indomitable; blazing to swallow the next dwelling in line. Many families were trapped in their apartments, wailing desperately with their children, crying for help and pleading to God for a miracle. Time was running out as some of them had started to pass out, while the rest coughed continuously as the smoke filled up their lungs.
In these critical moments, Superman zoomed to the site of the catastrophe and blew out the fire with his powerful breath. Then, he flew all victims to a safe place and prepared them for medical help. Once the security of all individuals was ascertained, the villagers started cheering. They admired the courage of the superhero and appreciated his efforts. The media team of Superman also arrived soon and rushed to take pictures of the wreckage and to transmit the breaking news to all the news channels throughout the nation.
Upon the advice of Superman, a large crowd of people gathered to listen to him just outside the village. As usual, Superman was emotional and dramatic in his address. He roared and growled. He shouted and bawled. He yelled and squealed. He sang, he rhymed, and he fluted and danced. Then suddenly, in a matter of seconds, he disappeared.
He is seen again just after minutes on a television network presenting a cooking show. He is wearing a chef’s cap instead of his typical red cape in the show and is proudly presenting his new line of Italian cuisine. Although he is not a professional cook and has limited knowledge of the ingredients, the recipes and the special flavors, but he is the invincible Superman. He is all-powerful and gifted. He can knead the flour. He can slice and dice the vegetables. He can bake and boil. He can grill, dress up and perfectly garnish the meal to be enjoyed by everyone.
As we finish the freshly baked ‘Super’-lasagna, he is presiding over a business meeting and is pondering the marketing strategies of his organization. He is obviously unaware of the intricate details and is also incognizant of its technical aspects but he is not an ordinary person. He can easily teach professionals about the essential steps to balloon the company profits, point out their mistakes and discuss their incompetence. In a five-hour long business meeting, typically, he would speak continuously while everyone else would contribute through his or her share of silence.
Immediately afterwards, he rushed to a hospital. He put on a surgical gown, scrubbed himself and wore sterilized gloves to perform a craniotomy (brain surgery) on a patient. Then you see him in the police station as an investigating officer. Afterwards, he can be found as a pharmacist, and the list goes on and on. In short, he is everywhere — working hard all alone, helping the poor and needy people all the time.
Just a few months ago, he was so touched by starvation that he decided to feed everyone. He believed with his altered ego and supernatural powers he would not only overcome poverty through a piece of bread but also fix the overall economy of the country. It was an incredible act of innocence and gullibility because both (poverty and the economy) remain unchanged. Then the other day, illiteracy bothered him. His experience had taught him about the innumerable benefits of education and modern technology. He was craving to eradicate ignorance from the nation in the blink of an eye and was mulling over different ideas. Then one day, it clicked; a flawless plan had emerged in his mind and he decided to distribute the essence of education to everyone in the country. He had ultimately put the genie of illiteracy in a box. This was a work of pure genius and an example of thinking out of the box by directly distributing the boxes of knowledge and wisdom to the people.
Being from Krypton, the man of steel (mills) does not completely understand the gravity of human suffering, especially if they lose a loved one. That is why he did not even try to bring the missing soul back to life and realized even with his powers, he could not translate all the dreams into reality.
Lately, Superman has discovered that Lex Luthor — an old foe — still possesses the magic crystal that can deprive Clark Kent (Superman) of his powers. He does not want to lose his capabilities once again and has learnt the lesson from his past endeavors. Therefore, he decided to cajole Lex into forming a new alliance this time, and convince him to base their relationship on a single goal: ‘Super’-service for the people. He met him in person to discuss matters in detail and ensure each other’s support. The new tactic has worked so far, and Superman has been able to retain all his extraordinary powers. Naturally, we are the beneficiaries of their deal and feel blessed that a Godsend, a superhero is among us with all his potential to help humanity in every possible way.
(The writer is a US-based freelance columnist and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com)
Back to Pakistanlink Homepage
