‘Men enjoying witnessing the downfall of the upright,’ observed Dostoevsky, a 19th Century Russian novelist, in his pithy, aphoristic style. If we replace the word ‘upright’ with a phrase ‘one better off than us’, what we accrue is the political picture of today’s Pakistan. The envy, then, mired with jealousy, compounded by wholesale uncertainty about the state’s future, joining hands to blur the present and demonize the past. On the political front, the one who sided with the hare, a certain Mr.K, is passing his days hunting in the company of hounds and vultures. A certain Mr.N is waging a war from a land of traders and clowns far-far away. The other political minions and tight rope walkers are happy for they lord over their section of admirers and supporters and fully enjoy their virtual presence from the comfort of their rooms. Yes, they are the tiny-lilomnipotentes, basking in all the benefits of end-users in a world that has gone to, mauled by, yet managing somehow to survive a global pandemic. When Corona dawned, a couple of months ago, all attention, quite singularly, went to fight a pandemic unparalleled in modern history. And then, the nuisance value of the global menace fizzled out. This is something not at all peculiar to the modern times, every incident, every event, every macabre happening is bound to find its way to the trunk of the vehicle called History of Homo Sapiens. The very nature of media demands novelty, nuisance, sensationalism, scandal and a paltry dressing of sex. And truth be told, any event, big or small, sooner or later, runs out of the fuel and fury. Kleptomaniacs, Kings, and Kites, are all predators. The question arises, who is the prey then. Well, I have a suggestion. Please do look in the mirror The title of this column points out to three seemingly different species of being. Kings rule, kites attack, and kleptomaniacs steal. If we delve a little deeper, all three perform the same job. The kings of yore mistook themselves as shadows of God, the kites are a bird of prey, and kleptomaniacs struggle to tame their impulses and end up being ruled by them. The ‘K’ factor dominated, dominates and will dominate till the dusk of civilization and will survive the barbarity of any imaginable dystopia. The rallying cry of our times has been ‘Root Out The Corruption and the Corrupt’. We were made to believe, over and over and every now and then, that the kink/chink in our armor is corruption. Everything else is perfect and exemplary. Now, this is an ideal example of self-deluding. The root cause of corruption is not misuse by those who have acquired power and pelf and privilege. The genesis of corruption is to be found in the systematic denial and perpetuation of mistrust between individual citizens and their relation with the state. Till this mistrust is addressed and cured, the demon of corruption will reign supreme over all and sundry. In a state, with monomaniacal ambition and designs to root one thing- be it corruption, poverty, injustice-the ultimate victim is the common man in the street. The sense of being superfluous is aggravated by reminders of helplessness in the face of inept and archaic state apparatus. Resultantly and ultimately, the police stations become haunted houses, the hospitals become morgues, the courts become slaughterhouses and the society becomes a madhouse. In the times of kings, monarchs were states. Of late, Our Prime Minister Mr.K self-titled himself as ‘Democracy’ incarnate. Now, this is something uniquely bizarre. A mortal earthling calling and crowning himself as an immortal ideal. All is well, a wise man said, in heaven and hell. All is most definitely not well, in Pakistan and its surroundings, a lay man will testify to it at the drop of a hat. The kites, one sees from time to time if one finds time to look at the sky, hover over their prey, wait, keep their wings flapping and then go for a kill. Ultimately, in the game between predator and prey, the only choice a prey has is to hide and bag more time till it is time to give in to his destiny. For the predator, in this case, kites may lose a battle, but always win the war. This, dear reader, is destiny. The destiny of prey is ultimately written by the claws of the predator. And then the kleptomaniacs, the impulse-driven, compulsion-stricken thieves who steal not out of need, but out of failing to resist the temptation to possess a thing without paying for it. Since the column is short, and the story is always long, let us cut to the chase. Kleptomaniacs, Kings, and Kites, are all predators. The question arises, who is the prey then. Well, I have a suggestion. Please do look in the mirror. You’ll either find a predator looking back at you or the prey looking downwards. That and that alone is the Rorschach’s test to know our place in the society, in the state and most importantly in the pecking order of existence. The writer is a freelancer