Over View Marketing Of Products Within Nestle Marketing Essay

Over View Marketing Of Products Within Nestle Marketing Essay To pose Nestlà © product against the competitors, the company will be using differentiation strategy which will not only differentiate their own from others but also give an edge over others. Nestlà © core products will be very beneficial especially in terms of quality, health, and hygiene and most important consumer satisfaction. Nestlà © augmented products will include consumer satisfaction, warranty to retailers in terms of expire, delivery and after sales services. The companies all over the world get some competitive edge based on some features which other companies dont have. For example, as the Dell has the competitive edge over other computer manufacturer companies, because they use built-to-order Strategy while no other company in computer industry use this strategy. Similarly in Pakistan nestle has their competitive edge based on the strategies like product differentiation and customer oriented. Nestlà © is using the product differentiation strategy by providing the superior quality products. Their main focus is to keep the customers loyal. They bought shelve space in different departmental stores to attract the customers. They tried to reach each group of people in which they have succeeded. Besides, customer satisfaction is the focal point for the company. They provide hygienic products to their customers. Products are also verified by health and safety measures and international quality standards. Porter Five Forces 3.1.1 Threat of New Entrants: There is big number of food companies in the world; meanwhile the competitive between food companies are happened. Some companies have carved out role in which they support to dairy supply. These food companies are fearful of being squeezed out by the big players. Another threat for many food companies is other food services companies entering the market.15 Competing in a new industry requires resources to invest. Production of packed products requires huge investment of financial, human, technical, and marketing resources. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The suppliers of food might not pose a big threat, because of the number of suppliers. Raw milk is standard commodity and is available in the open market from a large number of milkmen. If anyone refuses to sell its product then company can buy it from others who are already willing to sell to company. On the other hand, the importance of volume to supplier also considered as a threat. Suppliers also have less leverage to bargain over price because the company is purchasing the large volume of their milk and suppliers dont have much option to sell milk to others. Bargaining Power of Buyers   The buyers will not post much of a threat to the food industry. Large clients have their own bargaining power with food companies. Large corporate clients like airlines and retailers pay millions of dollars a year. There are large numbers of distributors, who are buying and distributing the product, so their bargaining power is low and company have leverage to dictate implement its terms and conditions to distributors. Availability of Substitute   There are few of substitutes in the food industry. Most of the food companies have similar suites of services. Companies focusing on their role usually have a competitive advantage, but this advantage depends on whether there are any barriers that preventing other firms from entering.15 Competitive Rivalry The food industry is highly competitive in nowadays. As a result, food industry has become more like a commodity, an area in which the food company with the low cost structure, greater efficiency and better customer service will beat out competitors. In long run, larger companies prefer to take over or merge with other companies rather than spend the money to market and advertise to people.15 Source of Cost Efficiency 3.2.1 Economy of scale Economy of scale determines cost efficiency based on time, and processing of the operations and labour cost. Nestlà © used new high-technology system machines to process all the products, like high-speed bottling system, packaging machine for increasing the output of the products so, it could save time of the operation in process, and save labour cost. The company do not need to hire more labour to operate the process, which is one of the key to save cost. 3.2.2 Experience Nestlà © has been serving Pakistani consumers since 1988, when parent company, the Switzerland-based Nestlà © SA, first acquired a share in Milkpak Ltd. Today Nestlà © is fully integrated in Pakistani life, and is recognized as the producer of safe, nutritious and tasty food, and leaders in developing and uplifting the communities in which they operate. Nestlà © Pakistan ensures that their products are made available to consumers wherever in the country they might be. Convenience is at the heart of the Nestlà © philosophy, and there aim is to bring products to peoples doorsteps. Resources 3.3.1 Tangible resources Nestlà © Milkpak produces in over 81 countries and achieves 98% of its turnover outside Europe. Nestlà © Milkpak is the worlds largest milk company, which does 98% of its business. It has an annual turnover of 70 billion Swiss francs, 522 new factories in 81 countries, 200 operating companies, 1 basic research outer and 20 technological development groups, has more than 231,000 employees and more than 8000 products around the globe. There are three companies co-ordinate the activities of some 200 operating companies around the globe. Intangible resources There are three different functions, Nestlà © Milkpak, holds the financial shares in the allied companies. It also checks the profitability of these companies and to ensure the profitability of the group as whole. Second, Nestlà © Milkpak, has two areas of activities that are research and technological development, and technical assistance. Beside this, it provides know-how in engineering, marketing, production, organization, management and personnel training on a continuous basis. The third company is Nestlà © World Trade Corporation that oversees the import and export of merchandise worldwide. 3.4 BCG Matrix Relative Market Growth Low High STAR (Growth) QUESTION MARKS (Introduction) CASH COWS (Maturity) DOGS (Decline) 3.4.1 Stars The stars are the high relative market share and high market growth. Nestlà © beverages are the stars in their business, because with the high quality and new designs which comes every now and then makes them more popular among the customers, because customer with upper class wants the quality and nestle offers the best quality food items. Besides, Nestlà © major products such as Nestlà © milk pack and Nestlà © water will lies in the category of star products, due to the needs of human in their life. 3.4.2 Question Marks The product which have high anticipated growth rate but low market share would be considered as question marks. The product which the company launch first time in Pakistan is Nestlà © Ice-cream would come under the question marks due to the unknown result whether successful or failed in the growth of business in future. 3.4.3 Cash Cows The cash cows are Nestlà © cereal and other baby food products. There is less competitive brand on these specific of products and Nestle was considered as a branded and reliable brand, so most of the consumers prefer to buy from Nestle. 3.4.4 Dogs The pharmaceutical products are Nestlà © Dog; because it has low-share business with low growth market especially when talk about Pakistani market. The company has to think on what it can do by improving the low share and growth market. 3.5 Product Life Cycle ` Nestlà © Nestlà © Cereal Baby Food Nestlà © Food items pharmaceutical product (e.g. Milk pack and water) Nestlà © Ice-Cream INTRODUCTION GROWTH MATURITY DECLINE Product Development Time Nestlà © Products Nestlà © Milkpak Industry The product life cycle has been used to analyse the products development refer by the BCG matrix. Product life cycle has 4 stages consist of introduction, growth, maturity and decline. Nestlà © Ice-cream has been stated on the introduction stage because it is launched the first time in Pakistan. Next, the growth stage would be the food items like milk pack, water and etc, due to human need as Nestlà © has provided. On the other hand, Nestlà © cereal and baby food were stated in the maturity stage, due to less competitors. Lastly, Nestlà © pharmaceutical product is on the decline stage, because of the low share in business and low demand. In the product life cycle, it shows that Nestlà © Milkpak industry is now on the maturity stage, the company has been recognized by consumers. 3.6 SWOT Analysis (TOW Matrix) SWOT Analysis (TOW Matrix) Strengths Worldwide fame of Nestlà ©. Efficient milk collection system. Keeping high quality standards. Integrated distribution and warehousing facilities. Large market share of innovative. Having Good reputation in the market by strong brand name i.e. Nestlà ©. Strong RD. Weaknesses Unable to compete in price sensitive segment of UHT milk market. Under-utilization of the capacity. Unable to fulfil the demand of local powder milk market. Opportunities Improving Economy. Population growth rate. High urbanization rate. High literacy rate. Flexible government policies for food industry. Have significant growth opportunities. May merge with other global businesses to eliminate competitors. Having Capable of expanding into other markets of the world. SO Increase production of quality milk to cater the unsatisfied demand. They should go in the product line of powdered milk. They should increase their exports. They should cater the wide range of unsatisfied demand by improving their distribution networks. WO As per the increase demand of the milk they should fulfill the demand as Nestlà © have the ability to expand. They should make a strong distribution system to cater to avail the full benefit of the growing market. They should adopt affective marketing strategies for the promotion of their product. Threats High inflation rate. Low purchasing power. Decrease in GDP growth rate. Increasing interest rates. Recessionary period in business cycle. Competition with the new entrants. ST Invest more on the dairy product line as there is still a large chunk of the market which require modernization. Introduce new technology for quality assurance and better productivity. WT The co-ordination between different departments should be improved it will lessen the bureaucratic cost and increase the efficiency of the company.

Great Gatsby :: essays papers

Great Gatsby 3 Write an essay about the character and function of Nick Carraway. Despite the title, Nick Carraway is the first character we meet, and appropriately his role in The Great Gatsby is crucial; without him the story would lack balance and insight. The first chapter is primarily dedicated in establishing his personality and position in the book, then moving on to Tom and Daisy. Nick is our‘ guide, path finder’ in The Great Gatsby; he relates the story as he has seen it and from what others have told him. He strives at all times to be objective, his comments are balanced, as he says just in the first page of the book–‘ I’m inclined to reserve all judgements’. His objectivity is reinforced throughout to us by his scorn of Gatsby– he thoroughly disapproves of him– he‘ represented everything for which I have unaffected scorn’. Yet there is something–‘ some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life’,‘ an extraordinary gift for hope’ that is attractive to Nick, and requires him to make several attempts at describing it. He registers contempt for much of what Gatsby stands for– the falseness, the criminality, but still he likes him. His ability to laugh at Gatsby and his false airs‘ What was that? . . . The picture of Oxford?’ shows he’s neither charmed nor wholly disgusted by Gatsby. Nick sees him as the best of a‘ rotten crowd’, his approval is always relative– compared to Tom and Daisy his dream like innocence is attractive, though twisted into an impossible goal and only nearly achieved by criminality. But compared to Tom’s ruthless attitude to Myrtle and Wilson, Daisy’s careless abandonment of Gatsby and ultimately their complete inability to see their wrong–‘ if you think I didn’t have my share of suffering . . . I sat down and cried like a baby’– put Gatsby in a much fairer light. As Nick says, Gatsby was‘ worth the whole damn bunch put together’. His amusingly contemptuous remarks show his sense of humour, and although he is straight-laced, we are not bored by him. We are told of his age– thirty, which makes us take his opinions seriously, as he is not some immature unworldly man. Nick is introduced directly, but Gatsby remains a distant character for a good while. The establishment of Nick’s reflective, tolerant personality is essential, as are his limitations, so we don’t just dismiss him as Fitzgerald’s mouthpiece. The fact that he disapproves of Gatsby so early on, helps us to go along with his judgements when he tells us of Gatsby and unfolds the story. Our first mysterious glimpse of Gatsby prepares us for much of what is to

American Technology :: Computers

American Technology In 1957 the USSR launches Sputnik, the first artificial earth satellite. In response, the United States forms the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) within the Department of Defense (DoD) to establish US lead in science and technology applicable to the military. In 1962 RAND Paul Baran, of the RAND Corporation, was commissioned by the U.S. Air Force to do a study on how it could maintain its command and control over its missiles and bombers, after a nuclear attack. This was to be a military research network that could survive a nuclear strike, decentralized so that if any locations (cities) in the U.S. were attacked, the military could still have control of nuclear arms for a counter-attack. In 1968 ARPA awarded the ARPANET contract to BBN. BBN had selected a Honeywell minicomputer as the base on which they would build the switch. The physical network was constructed in 1969, linking four nodes: University of California at Los Angeles, SRI (in Stanford), University of California at Santa Barbara, and University of Utah. The network was wired together via 50 Kbps circuits. In today’s society the Internet has greatly reduced the number of sent letters through the US postal service. This is true because if you can send the same information to somebody without wasting paper it is much better on the environment. Another reason why so many people have switched to using e-mail is that it is just simply faster than waiting for a letter in the mail. One more reason people use e-mail more is that the rate of postage to send a letter is steadily going up. It is currently at 37 cents per letter where sending e-mail is free. Some of the negative effects of this shift of people using e-mail over actually mailing their letters is the postage per letter is increasing more often than ever because more people use the internet to send letters now because it is just faster than mailing a letter which could take up to a week to get to your house where e-mail is instantaneous. The Internet’s impact on me personally is good overall. This is true because I surf the Internet when I’m bored, the Internet has online games that I can play with other people on the other side of the world if I wanted to. The Internet has all kinds of databases, which helps me on research papers like this one.

Obesity In the United States Essay -- Health Weight Obese Essays Diet

In America we have many issues to worry about from AIDS to Ebola. A large worry should be the epidemic in America that has killed more then 300,00 people a year (tuberose,1). An epidemic so strong that over the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in the United States? (Nutrition,1). How would you feel if I told you this very epidemic was in your house now? America is at war right now and we are losing , this war started many years ago and has not yet been won. Every year we lose many of our beloved ones to this monster , what can we do? Obesity, the new green eyed monster, has taken over America and nothing has been done. Americans are heaviest people in the world we have been the heaviest since , the 1950s. With our growing wealth and appetites we eat way more than three meals a day, which in some countries is a whole weeks worth of food. â€Å"In 1996, a U.S. Department of Agriculture study revealed that at least 33 percent of all adults in the United States were overweight; that number increased to 61 percent of adults and 13 percent of children in 1999 according to the Surgeon General. In late 2001, the Surgeon General’s report said 27 percent of Americans are obese and 61 percent are overweight.† ( Tuberose,3) Scientists have found there are four main components working against us in this battle of the bulge, The media, our eating habits, lack of exercise, and our own individual heritage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s society it seems that everywhere you look you are always being pressured into trying to make yourself better, there are signs every where you look telling you that your not pretty enough, smart enough, thin enough, or that anything you have is not good enough. All this pressure that the media puts on people causes a low self-esteem (Tuberose,6). When people are stressed out or have a low self-esteem they produce a hormone called insulin, which increases the lipid intake causing people to gain weight in their midsection and buttocks, the two most dangerous storage areas. (Susan G. Berg page 12). Not only does the media tell you that you are worth less they try to fool you into thinking that you might not be so worthless if you bought some of their products for example, diets pills. Most diets pills are dehydrators, they make you think you are losing weight when in reality you are onl... ...   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If we can come together and learn to live a healthier life ,full of eating right ,and exercising we can over come this monster which kills to many of our beloved ones each year. If we don’t act now we might face worse consequences in the long run. â€Å"According to a 1995 report by the Institute of Medicine, 59 percent of the adult population met the current definition of clinical obesity, which qualifies the disease for epidemic status. One study predicted that if obesity continues to increase at its current rate, every single man, woman, and child will be obese by the year 2030.†( Tuberose,3) Works Cited: 1. American family Physicians. â€Å" what it takes to lose weight†. Jan 1,2003. American   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Academic of family physicians.02/03/05.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2. Tuberose â€Å"calories and obesity† no posting date, Tuberose .02/03/05   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3. Nutrition & Physical Activity.08/17/04.National Center for chronic diseases prevention   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and health. 02/03/05 4.Aliha Bauman and the editors of Prevention . Fight Fat. Library of congress: St. Martins press. 1998 5. Susan G. Berg and the editors of Prevention . Food Smart. Library of congress: St.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Martins press. 1998

Cultures of Pakistan Essay

Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. Culture may be defined as behavior peculiar to human beings, together with material objects used. Culture consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, codes, institution, tools, techniques, works of arts, ceremonies and so on. According to Allama Iqbal: â€Å"Culture encompasses all the mental, Spiritual and Physical activities of a Nation. It includes the basic beliefs and faith, values and literature, art and architecture, music and mode of dress, manners and customs prevalent in a given Society.† PAKISTANI CULTURE IS A ISLAMIC CULTURE Pakistan is an ideological Islamic State. Its very existence is due to Islam, so the Pakistani culture is primarily based on the Islamic way of life. All other ingredients of culture are inspired by Islam. Pakistani culture is highlighted by its grandeur, simplicity, firm convictions and noble deeds and ideas. If we study the cultures of Pakistan there are four different types of cultures at provincial level. They are different from each other in some aspects and similar in some aspects. Punjab People: Punjabi people are very warm hearted and fun loving. Punjabis are heterogeneous group comprising of different tribes, clans, communities and are known to celebrate each and every tradition of their culture. Some popular casts of Punjabi’s are; Jats, Maliks, Mughals, Arains, Gujjars, Awans, Rajputs, Gakhars, Khokhars, Sheikhs, Aheers, Kambohs, Niazis, Legharis, Khosas, Dogars, Thaheem, Mirani, Qureshis, and Syeds. Languages: Punjabi is the provincial language of Punjab. It is spoken as the first language by majority people in Punjab, even spoken and understood in areas beyond the confines of Punjab. Facts and figures show that Punjabi language is spoken as first language by 44% of Pakistanis. Urdu language is also commonly spoken in this region. Key Punjabi languages/dialects are: Dresses: Costumes of Punjab are an indication of the bright and vibrant culture and lifestyle of the people. The costumes are a mix of colours, comfort and beauty and Punjab is well known for the use of phulkari(embroidery) in its costumes. In most of the villages of Punjab men wear Pagri(turban), dhoti/lacha, kurta, khusa. Women wear gharara, or choridar pajama or colorful shalwar kameez, paranda, choli/duppata, khusa, kola puri chappal or tillay wali jutti. Whereas in urban areas of Punjab men and women follow latest trends and fashion, generally they wear different styles of shalwar kameez. Cuisine: The extensive cuisine of Punjab can be vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Most Punjabi food is eaten with either rice or roti. There are some dishes that are exclusive to Punjab such as Mah Di Dal, Paratha, Makai ki rotti, Saron Da Saag, and in cities Choley, Haleem, Baryani and other spicy dishes are popular. In beverages, tea is consumed in all seasons and as a custom most of Punjabis serve tea to their guests. Punjabis are also fond of Zarda, Gulab-Jamuns, Kheer, Jalaibi,Samosy, Pakorey etc. During summers people drink lassi, doodh-soda, aloo bokharey ka sharbat, lemonade etc. Sports: Punjabi people have fanatical interest in sports. Punjabi’s are fond of kabaddi, and wrestling. Other games being played in Punjab region include Gilli-Danda, Khoo-Khoo, Yassu-Panju, Pitho-Garam, Ludo, Chuppan-Chupai, Baraf-Panni, Kanchy and some major sports include cricket, boxing, horse-racing, hockey and football. Cultural Festivals: There are numerous festivals which are celebrated by Punjabi people including some religious festivals such as Eid-Milad-Un-Nabi, Jumu’ah, Laylat-ul-Qadr etc. Urcs (devotional fairs),which are held at the shirnes of sufi saints, Melas and Nomaish (exhibitions). Lahori’s are famous all over the country for their celebrations particularly for Basant festival (kite flying) in the spring season. Dance and Music: Bhangra is most commonly known Punjabi music genre and dance style. Punjabis passionately love folk songs/music, Qawali and Punjabi music  is recognized throughout the world. The Tabla, Dhol, Dholki, Chimta, Flute and Sitar are all common instruments of this delightful culture. Different forms of dance in Punjab are: Loddi, Dhamal, Sammi, Kikli, Gatka, Bhangra, Giddha and Dandiya. Customs and Rituals: Some of the customs followed in Punjab have no foundation in Islam. However, the Punjabi culture has adopted those ceremonies and traditions from Hindu culture. Birth Rituals: Punjabis celebrate birth of their child with great enthusiasm. Grandfather or grandmother or some respected elder member from the family puts honey with their index finger in child’s mouth called Ghutii. Sweets are distributed among friends and relatives and people bring gifts for the child and mother. Generally on 7thday child’s head is shaven and Aqiqa ceremony is held, also sheep/goat is slaughtered. Punjabi Weddings: Punjabi weddings are based on traditions and are conducted with strong reflection of the Punjabi culture followed by several pre-wedding customs and rituals (dholki,mayun,ubtan etc.) Traditional customs and the ceremony generally lasts for 3days, Mehndi, Barat (Nikkah+Ruksati) and Walima, followed by Chauti (bringing the bride back to her parents’ home the next day). Funeral Rituals: At funerals after namaz-e-janaza it is customary to offer lunch to people who came for condolence. On 3rdday of the funeral, Qul is held and every following thursday the Quran is recited (jumah-e-raat) followed by prayers for deceased and after 40days the chaliswaan is held. Literature: Punjab is very rich with literature and Sufis adds more in its literature. Punjabi poetry is renowned for its extremely deep meaning, beautiful and hopeful use of words. The large number of Punjabi poetry is being translated throughout the world into many languages. Some famous poets of Punjabi are Sultan Bahu, Mia Mohammad Baksh, Baba Farid, Shah Hussain, Anwar Masood etc. Waris Shah, whose contribution to Punjabi literature is best-known for his seminal work in Heer Ranjha, known as Shakespeare of  Punjabi language. Bulleh Shah was a Punjabi Sufi poet, a humanist and a philosopher. The verse from Bulleh Shah primarily employed is called the Kafi, a style of Punjabi. Some other popular folk tales of Punjab include Sassi-Punnu, Sohni Mahiwal etc. that are passing through generations. Arts and Crafts: Punjab is the major manufacturing industry in Pakistan’s economy and here each art enjoys a place of its own. The main crafts created in the highlands and other rural areas of Punjab are basketry, pottery, bone work, textile, cloth woven on handlooms, cotton, silk etc. embroidery, weaving, carpets, stone craft, jewelry, metal work along with truck art and other wood works. Baluchistan Baloch culture is opposite to the general perception about it. Though Balochistan is an area of barren lands, deserts and mountains, the Baloch culture is full of traditions, arts and crafts. Balochi embroidery is one of the most popular arts and crafts which are done by the females. Baluchistan is also known for its tribes and festivals. Another distinct feature of Baloch culture is the storytelling tradition. Poets and story tellers are highly respected in Baloch culture. Language: The people belonging to Baloch tribe speak balochi language. Marriages: In Baloch culture marriages are different and unique than in the other provinces of the country. The marriages are according to Islamic principles in presence of a Mullana along with the presence of witnesses. Every member of the family takes part in the marriage; they express their joy and happiness by following the traditions of their culture. Usually the marriages are done in young ages (teenage) but are arranged in early childhood or at birth. Dressing : Like all the other provinces of Pakistan the national dress shalwar kameez with distinct additions and modifications are worn in Baloch culture. Turban is the common headwear of Bloch men along with wide loose shalwar along with knee-long shirts. Females dress consists of a shirt  having a big pocket and embroidery and embedded round mirror work in front. A big Dupatta/ Chaddar is taken to cover the head and shoulders. Festivals : Both religious and social festivals are celebrated by Baloch people. The religious festivals are same as across the country like Eid-ul-Azha and Eid-ul-Fiter. Baloch culture is full of many social festivals like Sibi festival which has folk music performance, cultural dances, handicrafts stalls, cattle shows and a number of other entertaining activities showing the colorful side of Baloch people. Music: Baloch culture is rich in folk music dances and songs. Famous wedding songs of Baloch culture are Nazenk and Salonk. The instruments used are mainly a flute, locally called Nal, Tamboora and Soroz. A common Baloch folk dance is known as Dochaap. Women also move in a circle clapping their hands on certain occasions. Other dances include the Lewa, Latti and Hambo. Food: Usually Baloch people have meals in morning and evening. Men and women eat separately. Wheat, millet and rice are part of the Baloch meal. Meat is also an important part; â€Å"Sajji† is the favorite dish of most people. Sajji is the food eaten with knife other than that Baloch people usually eat with hands. Milk, butter and vegetables are also part of Baloch cuisine. Sports: Popular games include chauk, and Ji. Also games like wrestling, horse racing, shooting and hunting pastimes among the wealthier people of tribes. Card games and gambling are also popular among groups of some tribes. Sindh Sindh is one of the four provinces in Pakistan located at the Southern border. The province of Sindh has been named after the famous River Indus. In Sanskrit, the province was dubbed Sindhu meaning an ocean. Language: Sindhi language is an ancient language spoken in Pakistan and many other parts of the world. Government of Pakistan issues National Identity Cards to its citizens only in two languages; Sindhi and Urdu. Festivals: The people of Sind love their religion and the two festivals of Eid-ul-Adha and Eid-ul-Fitr are celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm.  Different domestic festivals are arranged by the local people to provide people with new things they buy on Eid’s occasion. On different occasions, the Folk dance of Bhagat is also performed by professionals to entertain the visiting people. Hence, a Sindhi Cultural Festival is a compound of folk dances, music and cheap entertainment for local people. Lifestyle: People of Sindh are more inclined towards an agricultural based lifestyle. The fertile Indus Plains provide a valuable source of income for the local people who practice farming on these lands. Inland fishing is also practiced along the Indus River in Upper Sind providing further opportunities for local people. Itinerant way of lifestyle is commonly seen in the desertic regions of Thar where people move from place to place in search for drinking water sources along with their animals. Arts and Music: Sindhi society is dominated by great Sufis, the mystics and the martyrs. It has always been the land of peace, love, romance, and great cultural and artistic values. There were the great theologians of the Naqsh bandi order in Thatta who translated the fundamentals of the religion of Islam into their mother tongue. There were the great Sufi (mystic) poets like Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai who was the cherisher of truth and spent all his life in its propagation, pursuit and quest. Bhitai was also an excellent musician. He invented a new type of musical instrument, Tambura (drone instrument), which till today, is a primary source of music in rural Sindh. The beauty of Shah’s verses is enhanced by his blending of traditional Indian rag with the Sindhi folk songs and music. Cultural character:The ancient Sindhi civilization was the place, where the aesthetic utilization of leisure was freely indulged. There has been evidence, that the excavations of sites dating back to 3000 B.C. (all over Sindh) is also true, around 1200 years ago when Jaina Dakshiniya Chihna (778 A.D.) described the distinguished features of Sindhi’s in this way: â€Å"Elegant, with a lovely, soft and slow gait, they are fond of the art of harvas (that is, songs, music and dancing) and full affection towards their country.† Sindhi’s celebrate Sindh Cultural day worldwide on 6th December by wearing Ajrak & Sindhi Topi on that time. Pashtun The history and the origins of Pathans has been a controversial debate however not much of a consensus could be formed . There were theories ranging from Pakhtuns having an Aryan, Jewish, Arab or mixed origin. None was convincing enough to form a conclusion. Patahns are extremely obsessed and curious to know about their origin of their race, however it might not be a major concern for many other races. Holidays , special events and Traditions: Gham khadi,Wada Koidana,Topak tamacha,hujra,kat bistara along with those is the arrival of Sparlay or Spring, known as Nava Wroz (New Day), is also celebrated by some Pashtuns. It is an ancient annual Pashtun festival which celebrates both the beginning of spring and the New Year. Amongst some Pashtuns, Sheshbeeyeh, a prelude festival to Nava Wroz is also celebrated. Food: One of the most famous dishes includes tikkah,serge,sugi ka halwa,kawa,chapali kabab,kabala palao,special long naans. And many more Poetry: Pathan are very famous for their poetry ,they are very passionate and patriotic which is obvious from their poetry. Some of the famous poets are include Amir Kror Suri, Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba and many others. Dances Attan: In this dance, the dancers perform to the music.This dance is performed by both the genders involving 2-5 steps, ending with a clap given while facing the center, after which the process is repeated again. This dance is typically performed with the musician dictating the duration and speed. Khattak dance: The Khattak Dance is performed by the Khattak tribe. Mahsud dance: A unique dance routine using rifles performed by the Mahsud tribe of Pashtuns. Originally it was used to dance at the time of war, but later on became a cultural dance. The dancers dance empty handed and require only large drums. Nowadays though it is danced with the guns in the dancers hand. Waziri dance: Two drummers and a flute player play a particular tune. Two persons leave the circle; go dancing towards the drummers, and come back  dancing in the same manner. During performing both the persons turn around two times at a time once towards each other facing face to face and once keeping faces in opposite direction. After doing this separately they march while dancing to the assembled crowd. Clothing: Pashtun men usually wear a Partoog-Korteh in Pashto(salwar kameez is Urdu)with a pakul (Pashtun hat). In the Kandahar region young men usually wear different type of hat similar to a topi and in the Peshawar region they wear white kufis instead. Leaders or tribal chiefs sometimes wear a karakul hat, like Hamid Karzai and others. Women and girls wear traditional long dresses with a light piece of cloth used to cover their hair.They also wear beautiful hand made jewellery. And beautiful pakhtoon frocks. Sports: Some Pashtuns participate in buzkashi, which is a sport introduced in the region during the Mughal era.. The word â€Å"buz† means â€Å"goat† and â€Å"kashi† means â€Å"dragging† or â€Å"pulling†. Not a team sport, it is every man for himself and that becomes apparent as soon as the game starts. Although buskashi is primarily an individual sport, alliances are built up between various players. Between the alliances, the strongest players finally take control .This is very similar to polo. Football is another sports very enjoyablely played by pathans of Khyber pahktoonwar.

Blood Promise Chapter Seventeen

Convincing them to release a Strigoi-particularly when we had him trapped-wasn't easy. My questioning hadn't made sense to them either, but they'd gone along with it. Letting a Strigoi go? That was really crazy-even for the unpromised. They exchanged uneasy glances with one another, and I wondered if they'd disobey. In the end, my harshness and authority won out. They wanted me as their leader and put their faith in my actions-no matter how insane they seemed. Of course, once we did let the Strigoi go, we had the new problem of making sure he actually went. At first, he started to attack again, and then, realizing he'd probably get overwhelmed, he finally skulked off. He gave us one last menacing look as he disappeared into the darkness. I didn't think being taken down by a group of teenagers had done a lot for his self-esteem. He gave me in particular a look of hatred, and I shuddered at the idea of him knowing my name. There was nothing to be done about it now; I could only hope my plan had a chance of working. Denis and the others got over me letting the Strigoi go once we made a few other kills that week. We fell into a routine, investigating clubs and dangerous parts of town, relying on my senses to tell us when danger was near. It was funny to me how much the group soon began to rely on my leadership. They claimed they wanted no part of the guardians' rules and authority, but they responded surprisingly well to me telling them what to do. Well, more or less. Every once in a while, I'd see a bit of that unhinged recklessness. One of them would try to play hero, underestimate a Strigoi, or go in without the rest of us. Artur nearly ended up with a concussion that way. As the largest of all of us, he'd gotten a bit cocky and was therefore caught off guard when a Strigoi threw him into a wall. It had been a sobering moment for all of us. For a few agonizing moments, I'd feared Artur was dead-and that it was my fault as their leader. One of Sydney's Alchemists had come-though I'd made sure not to be around, lest Abe find me-and had treated Artur. The guy said Artur would be fine with some bed rest, meaning he had to stop hunting for a while. It was hard for him to do-and I had to yell at him when he tried to follow us one night, reminding him of all their friends who had died before because of such stupidity. Out in the human world, dhampirs tended to run on human schedules. Now I put myself on a nocturnal schedule, just like I'd been on at the Academy. The others followed suit, except for Tamara, since she had a day job. I didn't want to be asleep during the time Strigoi prowled the streets. I had called Sydney each time we left a kill, and word had to be getting around in the Strigoi community that someone was doing a lot of damage. And if the Strigoi we'd released had carried my message, some of those Strigoi could specifically come looking for me. As days passed, our kills dropped a little, making me think the Strigoi were indeed being cautious now. I couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing, but I urged the others to be extra careful. They were beginning to revere me as a goddess, but I took no satisfaction in their adoration. My heart still ached from all that had happened with Lissa and Dimitri. I wrapped myself up in my task, trying only to think of working the Strigoi community to get closer to Dimitri. But when we weren't out hunting Strigoi, I had a lot of downtime with nothing to do. And so I kept visiting Lissa. I'd known there were a lot of kids-like Mia-who lived at the Royal Court because their parents had jobs there. I didn't quite realize how many there were, though. Avery naturally knew them all, and to no one's surprise (at least not mine), most of them were spoiled and rich. The rest of Lissa's visit had been a series of other functions and formal parties. The more she listened to royal Moroi talk business, the more it irritated her. She saw the same abuses of power she'd noted before, the same unfair way of distributing guardians like they were property. The controversial issue of whether Moroi should learn to fight alongside the guardians was also still a hot topic. Most of the people Lissa ran into at Court were of the old-school mentality: Let guardians fight and Moroi stay protected. After seeing the results of that policy-and the successes that had happened when people like Christian and I tried to change it-hearing the selfishness among the Moroi elite enraged Lissa. She welcomed her escapes from these events whenever she could, anxious to run wild with Avery. Avery was always able to find people to hang out with and attend parties of a much different nature than Tatiana's. Stifling Court politics never came up at these parties, but there were still plenty of other things to drag Lissa's mood down. In particular, Lissa felt her guilt, anger, and depression over me spiraling deeper and deeper. She'd seen enough of spirit's effects on her moods to recognize potential warning signs, though she hadn't been actively using spirit while on this trip. Regardless of the moods' cause, she still continued to do her best to seek distraction and drown her depression. â€Å"Watch it,† warned Avery one evening. She and Lissa were at a party the night before they had to fly back to the Academy. A lot of those who lived at Court had permanent housing, and this party was at the town house of some Szelsky who served as an aide on a committee Lissa didn't know. Lissa didn't really know their host either, but that didn't matter, save that his parents were out of town. â€Å"Watch what?† asked Lissa, staring around the sights. The town house had a courtyard out back, lit up by tiki torches and strings of twinkling lights. There were drinks and food in full force, and some Moroi guy had a guitar out and was trying to impress girls with his musical skills-which were nonexistent. In fact, his music was so awful that he might have discovered a new way to kill Strigoi. He was cute enough, though, that his admirers didn't seem to care what he played. â€Å"This,† said Avery, pointing at Lissa's martini. â€Å"Are you keeping track of how many of those you're taking down?† â€Å"Not from what I can tell,† said Adrian. He was sprawled on a lounge chair nearby, a drink in his own hand. Lissa felt a bit amateur compared to them. While Avery was still her wild and flirtatious self, she didn't have the crazed or stupid air of someone completely trashed. Lissa didn't know how much the other girl had been drinking, but it was presumably a lot since Avery always had a drink in hand. Likewise, Adrian never seemed to be without a beverage, the effects of which mostly mellowed him out. Lissa supposed they had a lot more experience than her. She'd gone soft over the years. â€Å"I'm fine,† lied Lissa, who was watching her surroundings spin a little and seriously contemplating joining some girls dancing on a table across the courtyard. Avery's lips quirked into a smile, though her eyes showed a bit of worry. â€Å"Sure. Just don't get sick or anything. That kind of thing gets around, and the last thing we need is everyone knowing that the Dragomir girl can't hold her liquor. Your family has a fierce reputation to maintain.† Lissa downed the drink. â€Å"Somehow, I doubt alcohol consumption is part of my family's illustrious ancestry.† Avery pushed Adrian over and lay down next to him on the lounge chair. â€Å"Hey, you'd be surprised. In ten years, this group will be your peers on the council. And you'll be trying to pass some resolution, and they'll be like, ? ®Remember that time she got trashed and threw up at that party?'† Lissa and Adrian both laughed at that. Lissa didn't think she was going to get sick, but like everything else, she would worry about it later. The bright point of all this was that drinking was helping numb the memories of what had happened earlier in the day. Tatiana had introduced her to her future guardians: a seasoned guy named Grant and the â€Å"young lady,† who was named Serena. They had been nice enough, but their parallels to Dimitri and me had been overwhelming. Taking them on had seemed like a betrayal to us, yet Lissa had simply nodded and thanked Tatiana. Later, Lissa had learned that Serena had originally been lined up to be the guardian for a girl she'd known her entire life. The girl wasn't royal, but sometimes, depending on guardian numbers, even non-royals got assigned guardians-though never more than one. When positions for Lissa's protection opened up, however, Tatiana had pulled Serena from the job with her friend. Serena had smiled and told Lissa it didn't matter. Duty came first, she said, and she was happy to serve her. Yet Lissa felt bad, knowing it had to have been hard on both girls-and terribly unfair. But there it was again: an unfair balance of power with no one to really keep it in line. Leaving that encounter, Lissa had cursed her own meekness. If she hadn't had the courage to follow me, she thought, she should have at least put her foot down and demanded that Tatiana give her my mother instead. Then Serena could have gone back to her friend, and there'd be one friendship still left intact in the world. The martini simultaneously seemed to numb the pain and make her feel worse, which honestly made no sense to Lissa. Whatever, she thought. And when she caught a glimpse of a server passing by, she waved him over to order more. â€Å"Hey, can I-Ambrose?† She stared in surprise at the guy standing before her. If there'd been a swimsuit calendar for hottest dhampir guys, this one would have been the cover model (aside from Dimitri-but then, I was biased). This guy's name was Ambrose, and she and I had met him on our trip there together. He had deeply tanned skin and well-formed muscles underneath his gray button-down shirt. He was a particular oddity at Court, a dhampir who'd rejected guardian service and performed all sorts of tasks here, like giving massages and-if rumor was true-having â€Å"romantic encounters† with the queen. That one still made me cringe, and I'd run into some pretty disgusting things in my life. â€Å"Princess Dragomir,† he said, flashing her one of his perfect white grins. â€Å"An unexpected surprise.† â€Å"How have you been?† she asked, genuinely happy to see him. â€Å"Good, good. I have the best job in the world, after all. And you?† â€Å"Great,† she replied. Ambrose paused, eyeing her. He didn't drop that gorgeous grin, but Lissa could tell he didn't agree with her. She could see the disapproval in his face. Avery accusing her of drinking too much was one thing. But some pretty dhampir servant? Unacceptable. Lissa's demeanor grew cold, and she held out her glass. â€Å"I need another martini,† she said, her voice as haughty as that of any perfect royal. He sensed the change in her, and his friendly smile turned to one of polite indifference. â€Å"Right away.† He gave her a small bow and headed off to the bar. â€Å"Jeez,† said Avery, watching admiringly as he walked away. â€Å"Why didn't you introduce us to your friend?† â€Å"He's not my friend,† snapped Lissa. â€Å"He's nobody.† â€Å"Agreed,† said Adrian, putting an arm around Avery. â€Å"Why look elsewhere when you've got the best right here?† If I hadn't known any better, I'd have sworn there was a hint of legitimate jealousy underneath his jovial tone. â€Å"Didn't I go out of my way to bring you to breakfast with my aunt?† Avery gave him a lazy smile. â€Å"That's a good start. You've still got a ways to go to impress me, Ivashkov.† Her gaze drifted over Lissa's head and turned surprised. â€Å"Hey, Jailbait's here.† Mia, with Jill in tow, came striding through the garden, indifferent to the shocked looks she received. The two of them were clearly out of place. â€Å"Hey,† said Mia when she reached Lissa's group. â€Å"My dad just got called away, and I have to go with him. I've got to give Jill back.† â€Å"No problem,† said Lissa automatically, though she clearly wasn't happy about Jill being there. Lissa still kept wondering if Christian had some special interest in her. â€Å"Everything okay?† â€Å"Yeah, just business.† Mia made her farewells to everyone and left the party as quickly as she'd come, rolling her eyes at the other royals' sneers and shock as she passed. Lissa turned her attention to Jill, who had sat gingerly in a nearby chair and was staring around her in wonder. â€Å"How's it been? Did you have fun with Mia?† Jill turned back to Lissa, face brightening. â€Å"Oh yeah. She's really great. She's done so much work with water. It's crazy! And she taught me a few fighting moves, too. I can throw a right hook†¦ although not very hard.† Ambrose returned then with Lissa's drink. He gave it to her wordlessly and softened a bit when he saw Jill. â€Å"You want anything?† She shook her head. â€Å"No, thanks.† Adrian was watching Jill carefully. â€Å"You okay here? Do you want me to take you back to guest housing?† Like before, his intentions weren't romantic in the least. He seemed to regard her as a little sister, which I thought was cute. I hadn't thought him capable of that kind of protective behavior. She shook her head again. â€Å"It's okay. I don't want you to have to leave†¦ unless†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her expression grew worried. â€Å"Do you want me to go?† â€Å"Nah,† said Adrian. â€Å"It's nice to have someone responsible around in the midst of all this madness. You should get yourself some food, if you're hungry.† â€Å"You're so motherly,† teased Avery, echoing my thoughts. For whatever reason, Lissa took Adrian's â€Å"responsible† comment personally, like he was directly slamming her. I didn't think that was the case at all, but she wasn't really thinking all that clearly. Deciding she wanted some food herself, she got up and wandered over to the table in the courtyard's garden that had trays of appetizers on it. Well, it had earlier. Now the table was being used by the dancing girls Lissa had noticed before. Someone had cleared space by moving all the trays of food to the ground. Lissa leaned over and picked up a mini sandwich, watching the girls and wondering how they could find any sort of beat in that royal guy's horrible music. One of the girls spotted Lissa and grinned. She extended a hand. â€Å"Hey, come on up.† Lissa had met her once but couldn't recall her name. Dancing suddenly seemed like a great idea. Lissa finished the sandwich and, drink in hand, allowed herself to be pulled up. This got a few cheers from people gathered around. Lissa discovered that the crappy music was irrelevant and found herself getting into it. Her and the other girls' moves varied from overtly sexual to mockeries of disco. It was all fun, and Lissa wondered if Avery would claim this would haunt her in ten years too. After a while, she and the others actually attempted some synchronized moves. They started by swaying their arms in the air and then moved on to some chorus line kicks. Those kicks proved disastrous. A misstep-Lissa was wearing heels-suddenly sent her over the table's edge. She lost the drink and nearly collapsed before a pair of arms caught her and kept her upright. â€Å"My hero,† she muttered. Then she got a good look at her savior's face. â€Å"Aaron?† Lissa's ex-boyfriend-and the first guy she'd ever slept with-looked down at her with a smile and released her once he seemed certain she could stand. Blond-haired and blue-eyed, Aaron was handsome in a surfer kind of way. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Mia had seen him. She, Aaron, and Lissa had once been involved in a triangle worthy of any soap opera. â€Å"What are you doing here? We thought you disappeared,† Lissa said. Aaron had left the Academy a few months ago. â€Å"I'm going to school out in New Hampshire,† he replied. â€Å"We're here visiting family.† â€Å"Well, it's great to see you,† said Lissa. Things hadn't ended well between them, but in her current state, she meant her words. She'd had enough booze to think it was great to see everyone at the party. â€Å"You too,† he said. â€Å"You look amazing.† His words struck her more than she would have expected, probably because everyone else here had implied that she looked trashed and irresponsible. And breakup or no, she couldn't help but recall how attractive she'd once found him. Honestly, she still found him attractive. She just didn't love him anymore. â€Å"You should stay in touch,† she said. â€Å"Let us know what's going on.† For a moment, she wondered if she should have said that, in light of having a boyfriend. Then she dismissed her worries. There was nothing wrong with hanging out with other guys-particularly since Christian hadn't cared enough to come with her on this trip. â€Å"I'd like that,† Aaron said. There was something in his eyes she found pleasurably disconcerting. â€Å"I don't suppose, though, that I could get a goodbye kiss, seeing as I rescued you and all?† The idea was preposterous-then, after a moment, Lissa laughed. What did it matter? Christian was the one she loved, and a kiss between friends would mean nothing. Looking up, she let Aaron lean down and cup her face. Their lips met, and there was no denying it: The kiss lasted a bit longer than a friendly one. When it ended, Lissa found herself smiling like a dazed schoolgirl-which, technically, she was. â€Å"See you around,† she said, heading back toward her friends. Avery wore a chastising look, but it wasn't over Aaron and the kiss. â€Å"Are you crazy? You nearly broke your leg. You can't do that kind of thing.† â€Å"You're supposed to be the fun one,† pointed out Lissa. â€Å"It wasn't a big deal.† â€Å"Fun isn't the same as stupid,† Avery retorted, face serious. â€Å"You can't go do stupid shit like that. I think we should get you home.† â€Å"I'm fine,† said Lissa. She stubbornly looked away from Avery and instead focused on some guys who were doing shots of tequila. They were having some sort of competition-and half of them looked ready to pass out. â€Å"Define ? ®fine,'† said Adrian wryly. Yet he looked concerned too. â€Å"I'm fine,† Lissa repeated. Her gaze snapped back to Avery. â€Å"I didn't get hurt at all.† She'd expected grief about Aaron and was surprised they hadn't given it to her-which made it even more surprising when it came from another source. â€Å"You kissed that guy!† exclaimed Jill, leaning forward. Her face was aghast, and she displayed none of her usual reticence. â€Å"It was nothing,† said Lissa, who was irked to have Jill reprimanding her of all people. â€Å"Certainly none of your business.† â€Å"But you're with Christian! How could you do that to him?† â€Å"Relax, Jailbait,† said Avery. â€Å"A drunken kiss is nothing compared to a drunken fall. God knows I've kissed plenty of guys drunk.† â€Å"And yet, I remain unkissed tonight,† mused Adrian, with a shake of his head. â€Å"It doesn't matter.† Jill was really worked up. She'd grown to like and respect Christian. â€Å"You cheated on him.† With those words, Jill might as well have practiced her right hook on Lissa. â€Å"I did not!† Lissa exclaimed. â€Å"Don't drag your crush on him into this and imagine things that aren't there.† â€Å"I didn't imagine that kiss,† said Jill, flushing. â€Å"That kiss is the least of our worries,† sighed Avery. â€Å"I'm serious-just let it go for now, you guys. We'll talk in the morning.† â€Å"But-† began Jill. â€Å"You heard her. Let it go,† a new voice growled. Reed Lazar had appeared out of nowhere and was looming over Jill, face as hard and scary as ever. Jill's eyes went wide. â€Å"I'm just telling the truth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I had to admire her courage here, considering her normally timid nature. â€Å"You're pissing everyone off,† said Reed, leaning closer and clenching his fists. â€Å"And you're pissing me off.† I was pretty sure this was the most I'd ever heard him say. I tended to kind of think of him as a caveman, stringing three-word sentences together. â€Å"Whoa.† Adrian leapt up and rushed to Jill's side. â€Å"You need to let this go. What, are you going to start a fight with some girl?† Reed turned his glare on Adrian. â€Å"Stay out of this.† â€Å"The hell I will! You're crazy.† If anyone had asked me to make up a list of people most likely to risk a fight in defense of a lady's honor, Adrian Ivashkov would have been low on that list. Yet there he stood, face hard and hand sitting protectively on Jill's shoulder. I was in awe. And impressed. â€Å"Reed,† cried Avery. She too had risen and now stood on Jill's other side. â€Å"She didn't mean anything. Back off.† The two siblings stood there, eyes locked in some kind of silent showdown. Avery wore the harshest look I'd ever seen on her, and at last, he glowered and stepped back. â€Å"Fine. Whatever.† The group stared in amazement as he walked abruptly away. The music was so loud that only a few of the partygoers had overhead the argument. They stopped and stared, and Avery looked embarrassed as she sank back in her chair. Adrian still stood by Jill. â€Å"What the hell was that?† Adrian demanded. â€Å"I don't know,† Avery admitted. â€Å"He gets weird and overprotective sometimes.† She gave Jill an apologetic smile. â€Å"I'm really sorry.† Adrian shook his head. â€Å"I think it's time for us to go.† Even in her drunken state, Lissa had to agree. The confrontation with Reed had shocked her into soberness, and she was suddenly uneasily evaluating her actions tonight. The glittering lights and fancy cocktails of the party had lost their charm. The drunken antics of the other royals seemed clumsy and stupid. She had a feeling she might regret this party tomorrow. Once back in my own head, I felt fear set in. Okay. Something was very wrong with Lissa, and no one else seemed to notice it-well, not to the extent they should have. Adrian and Avery did seem concerned, but I had the feeling they were blaming her behavior on the drinking. Lissa was still reminding me a lot of how she'd been when we'd first returned to St. Vladimir's, when spirit had been seizing her and messing with her mind. Except†¦ I knew enough about myself now to realize that my anger and fixation on punishing Strigoi was being influenced by spirit's dark side too. That meant I was draining it away from her. It should have been leaving Lissa, not building up. So what was wrong with her? Where was this short-tempered, crazy, and jealous persona coming from? Was spirit's darkness simply growing in intensity so that it spread to both of us? Were we splitting it? â€Å"Rose?† â€Å"Huh?† I glanced up from where I'd been staring blankly at the TV. Denis was looking down at me, his cell phone in his hand. â€Å"Tamara had to work late. She's ready to go now, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He nodded toward the window. The sun was almost down, the sky purple, with only a little orange on the horizon. Tamara worked within walking distance, and while there probably wasn't any real danger, I didn't want her out alone after sunset. I stood up. â€Å"Come on, we'll go get her.† To Lev and Artur I said, â€Å"You guys can stay here.† Denis and I walked the half-mile to the small office where Tamara worked. She did assorted clerical tasks, like filing and copying, and there'd apparently been some project that kept her there late tonight. We met her at the door and walked back to the apartment without incident, talking animatedly about our hunting plans for the evening. When we reached Tamara's building, I heard a strange wailing across the street. We all turned, and Denis chuckled. â€Å"Good God, it's that crazy woman again,† I muttered. Tamara didn't live in a bad part of town but, as in any city, there were homeless people and panhandlers. The woman we watched was almost as ancient as Yeva, and she regularly walked up and down the street, muttering to herself. Today, she lay on her back on the sidewalk, making strange noises while waving her limbs like a turtle. â€Å"Is she hurt?† I asked. â€Å"Nope. Just crazy,† said Denis. He and Tamara turned to go inside, but some soft part of me couldn't abandon her. I sighed. â€Å"I'll be right in.† The street was quiet (aside from the old lady) and I cut across without fear of traffic. Reaching the woman, I held out my hand to help her out, trying not to think about how dirty hers was. Like Denis had said, she merely appeared to be in crazy mode today. She wasn't hurt; she'd apparently just decided to lie down. I shuddered. I tossed the word crazy around a lot when it came to Lissa and me, but this was truly crazy. I really, really hoped spirit never took us this far. The homeless lady looked surprised at the help but took my hand and began talking excitedly in Russian. When she tried to hug me in gratitude, I stepped back and held up my hands in the international â€Å"back off† signal. She did indeed back off but continued chatting happily. She grabbed the sides of her long coat and held them out like a ball-room skirt and began spinning around and singing. I laughed, surprised that in my grim world, this would cheer me up. I started to cross back over to Tamara's place. The old woman stopped dancing and began talking happily to me again. â€Å"Sorry, I have to go,† I told her. It didn't seem to register. Then she froze mid-sentence. Her expression gave me warning only half a millisecond before my nausea did. In one fluid motion, I spun around to face what was behind me, pulling my stake out as I moved. There was a Strigoi there, tall and imposing, having sneaked up while I was distracted. Stupid, stupid. I'd refused to let Tamara walk home alone, but I'd never even considered danger right outside my â€Å"No†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I wasn't sure if I said the word or thought it. It didn't matter. The only thing that mattered just then was what my eyes saw before me. Or, rather, what my eyes thought they saw. Because surely, surely, I had to be imagining this. It couldn't be real. Not after all this time. Dimitri. I knew him instantly, even though he'd†¦ changed. I think in a crowd of a million people, I would have recognized him. The connection between us would allow nothing else. And after being deprived of him for so long, I drank in every feature. The dark, chin-length hair, worn loose tonight and curling slightly around his face. The familiar set of lips, quirked now in an amused yet chilling smile. He even wore the duster he always wore, the long leather coat that could have come straight out of a cowboy movie. And then†¦ there were the Strigoi features. His dark eyes-the eyes I loved-ringed in red. The pale, pale, death-white skin. In life, his complexion had been as tanned as mine, thanks to so much time outdoors. If he opened his mouth, I knew I'd see fangs. My whole assessment took place in the blink of an eye. I'd reacted fast when I'd felt him-faster than he'd probably expected. I still had the element of surprise, my stake poised and ready. It was perfectly lined up with his heart. I could tell, then and there, that I could make the hit faster than he could defend. But†¦ The eyes. Oh God, the eyes. Even with that sickening red ring around his pupils, his eyes still reminded me of the Dimitri I'd known. The look in his eyes-the soulless, malicious gleam-that was nothing like him. But there was just enough resemblance to stir my heart, to overwhelm my senses and feelings. My stake was ready. All I had to do was keep swinging to make the kill. I had momentum on my side†¦ But I couldn't. I just needed a few more seconds, a few more seconds to drink him in before I killed him. And that's when he spoke. â€Å"Roza.† His voice had that same wonderful lowness, the same accent†¦ it was all just colder. â€Å"You forgot my first lesson: Don't hesitate.† I just barely saw his fist striking out toward my head†¦ and then I saw nothing at all.

The Matrix

Buddhism: In-Class Essay Assignment Choose one (1) of the following seven (7) options and compose a 5 paragraph in-class essay of approximately 3-4 pages in length. Please double space and use both sides of the page. Option 1: Morpheus and the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar are often viewed as examples of Arhats and Bodhisattvas. Do you think this is an accurate portrayal? Explain your answer using three criteria. Option 2: Individual choices are highlighted throughout the movie and are an example of the Buddhist goal to eliminate ignorance.Choose three characters in the movie and discuss the choices that they were faced with and how these choices illustrate key Buddhist concepts. Option 3: Names are highlighted throughout the film and are used to further explain religious concepts as well as deepen the plot. Choose three names from the movie and explain the religious concepts that they are illustrating. Option 4: While The Matrix borrows heavily from Buddhist philosophy certain elements of the film seem out of place in that they directly contradict Buddhist ideas. Write an essay that highlights three of these elements and explain how they contradict the beliefs of Buddhism.Option 5: Throughout the movie, Neo/Mr. Thomas Anderson is often cast in a saviour role. Explain how Neo/Mr. Thomas Anderson is similar to and/or different from various saviour figures in the religions we have studied (i. e. Siddhartha Guatama, The Buddha, Jesus, Vishnu/Krishna etc. ). Option 6: Which branch of Buddhism (Mahayana, Theravada or Vajrayana) seems to have inspired this film? Explain your answer using three different arguments. Option 7: Create your own question. Write out the question in clear language and have it approved by your teacher before you begin answering. The Matrix Recently, we have discussed how we know. Hilary Putnam, American philosopher, developed a thought experiment which has become so popular that it is the basis of blockbuster film The Matrix. In short, the thought experiment calls one to imagine that your brain and the nerves connecting it to your senses has been severed or disconnected. The brain would actually no longer be in your body it would be placed a vat filled with nutritional fluid to keep your brain alive and functioning. The sensory inputs in your brains are now connected to the outputs of a giant super computer.A man sits at this computer and inputs data, and this data is processed in your brain as if it came from your senses. Consequently, your brain would only know the information which was entered and would not know it was really sitting in a laboratory somewhere. Many philosophers have dealt with the issue of perceiving and knowing reality including Plato and Descartes. A dialogue will now commence in order to compare and contrast The Matrix with the writings of these two well-known philosophers.Additionally, perception versus reality, and is ignorance really bliss will be mentioned as these issues came up in the movie and both writings. There are numerous similarities and differences between The Matrix and the writings of Plato and Descartes. First a brief description of each piece will be discussed and then the similarities and differences. In The Matrix the main character Neo, is a computer hacker who meets a group of rebels lead by Morpheus. The mission of this group is to get the world to realize the human race is lying unconscious in giant machines that are keeping their bodies alive.Just like the Putnam thought experiment, their brains are all connected to a super computer on which a simulation of the world is running. Humans are unconsciously living out virtual lives in this computer simulation and are not aware of anything but the simulation. After joining Morpheus’ group of disse nters Neo realizes not everyone can handle the truth and a member of the group, Cypher betrays his comrades so he can once again live in the computer simulation. In the Plato cave allegory piece, there is a dialogue taking place between Socrates and Plato’s brother Glaucon.Here, Socrates describes a scenario in which men are held captive as prisoners in a cave from childhood. The men have their legs and head fettered so that they can only look straight ahead at the cave wall. For their whole lives they have seen shadows on the wall, objects passing by and all they could do is guess what the objects were. Then, Socrates asks Glaucon to imagine that one of these men was released. Ultimately, they deduce that the freed man would pity the other prisoners because he was able to experience things as they actually were and did not have to imagine what everything was.The reality was far more precious than his imagination. The third writing comes from Meditation I from Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartes who offers some reasons to doubt his senses. In this piece, Descartes has resolved to forget everything he thinks he knows. He reasons that if he can doubt the basic principles upon which his opinions are founded then he can doubt all his previous opinions collectively. Most of the opinions he has believed to be most true came from his senses which are only sometimes reliable.Ultimately he realizes from habit or custom or just laziness that it is almost impossible to change his way of thinking so he just pretends these opinions are false so as to combat his long-held beliefs. There are many similarities between The Matrix and the cave allegory piece by Plato. Most prevalent is the idea of perception versus reality which is illustrated in both works. In The Matrix the perception is that humans are living real lives. Every day they get up, go to work, and come home. They are just normal people living.The reality however is that humans are unconscious , in machines that keep their bodies alive while their brains are all connected to the matrix which is simulating real life. The perception is completely false. Similarly, in the cave allegory the prisoners’ perception of objects passing the cave wall in the form of shadows is false. In reality, they are only guessing the true nature of the shadows and never really know what the objects are until one prisoner is freed and allowed to experience things as they really are.Although the perception is all the prisoners have when they are fettered, the truth is as the freed prisoner  experienced much better than any imagined object. When free, the prisoner could look at the sun and feel its warmth on his skin something the other prisoners could not imagine. Reality was so much better than the perception that at the end the free man pitied the other prisoners because of this fact. Neo taking the red pill and the prisoner being freed from the cave are moments that have the same impa ct. For the first time these individuals have the chance to truly experience all that was hidden. The differences between these two pieces were not as pronounced but still apparent.In The Matrix, Neo was given the option of taking the red pill or the blue pill. He had a choice to learn the truth about the world he was living in or to go back to his life in ignorance. Neo decided to live in reality and thus his life was forever changed. In the cave allegory the prisoner did not have a choice. He was imprisoned since childhood and thus forced to live in ignorance. It was only when his captors decided to free him was he able to experience what life really is beyond the perception of the cave. The Matrix and Meditation I by Descartes had a few similarities.The most striking similarity between the two is that both Neo and Descartes did not want to conform their way of thinking with that of the whole. A change happened and they questioned all they knew to be true. In each instance, a choi ce was made and this lead to an enlightenment of sorts. Neo had a feeling that something was not right about his life and chose to live outside of the norm. In the same way, Descartes knew his opinions and beliefs left room for doubt so he questioned the foundation on which he knew what he thought was true.Both men questioned long-held beliefs as a way to determine if what they knew to be true actually was. The major difference between the movie and Descartes’ piece is the permanency of the change that occurred in Neo and Descartes. Neo was changed forever when he decided to live in the true real world. In the movie once Neo discovered who he really was nothing would be the same for anyone, including those living in the matrix. At the end of Meditation I, Descartes was unsure if he would be able to maintain his new way of thinking and would  try to pretend that all his opinions are false.Ultimately, there is a chance he will go back to his old way of thinking but this does not happen in Neo’s situation. There is no chance Neo will go back since his change was more than a change in his thought processes like the change described by Descartes. As a result of these works, questions naturally arise about perception and reality. For example, how do we know the world we are experiencing is real? Can we ever really be sure that we are not living in a matrix right now?Unless someone comes along and shows us different we are geared to believe the things we perceive with our senses are real and the world we live in is real. In the end, we may discover that life is itself a dream and when we die we will wake up to this realization. There is no true way to know if we are living in some sort of matrix unless we are made aware of something else as Neo was. Another question, which is better, the harshness of reality or the â€Å"ignorance is bliss† comes about because of Cypher’s betrayal in The Matrix. Ignorance is defined â€Å"as a lack of k nowledge, understanding, or education,† Merriam-Webster.Merriam-Webster, n. d. Web. Bliss means to be completely happy and thus the saying ‘ignorance is bliss† means if one lacks knowledge they are completely happy. It is much better to escape the cave and live in a world just as it is the good with the perceived bad. If a person is ignorant they do not have the means to make an informed decision and thus are at a disadvantage. It is my position that the harshness of reality is best for the human race as a whole because it gives us all the opportunity to make life what we want it to be and not what some computer imagines for us.Having the option there is no choice to make. I want to live my most authentic life why live if I cannot co-create my own masterpiece. There are people who would like to live in ignorance like Cypher, but then you are choosing to end up just like him dead. In conclusion, these works all generate thought into reality and perception. The ultim ate truth for anyone is that knowing comes from a desire to know. As long as you live you have a choice to make as Neo did to live in ignorance or knowing anything is possible. The Matrix Buddhism: In-Class Essay Assignment Choose one (1) of the following seven (7) options and compose a 5 paragraph in-class essay of approximately 3-4 pages in length. Please double space and use both sides of the page. Option 1: Morpheus and the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar are often viewed as examples of Arhats and Bodhisattvas. Do you think this is an accurate portrayal? Explain your answer using three criteria. Option 2: Individual choices are highlighted throughout the movie and are an example of the Buddhist goal to eliminate ignorance.Choose three characters in the movie and discuss the choices that they were faced with and how these choices illustrate key Buddhist concepts. Option 3: Names are highlighted throughout the film and are used to further explain religious concepts as well as deepen the plot. Choose three names from the movie and explain the religious concepts that they are illustrating. Option 4: While The Matrix borrows heavily from Buddhist philosophy certain elements of the film seem out of place in that they directly contradict Buddhist ideas. Write an essay that highlights three of these elements and explain how they contradict the beliefs of Buddhism.Option 5: Throughout the movie, Neo/Mr. Thomas Anderson is often cast in a saviour role. Explain how Neo/Mr. Thomas Anderson is similar to and/or different from various saviour figures in the religions we have studied (i. e. Siddhartha Guatama, The Buddha, Jesus, Vishnu/Krishna etc. ). Option 6: Which branch of Buddhism (Mahayana, Theravada or Vajrayana) seems to have inspired this film? Explain your answer using three different arguments. Option 7: Create your own question. Write out the question in clear language and have it approved by your teacher before you begin answering.