Gardening

"Mali baba ! aap ne saari umer bagbaani kerte guzaar di. Bus phoolon se pyar kiya, pode lagaye, darkhat ugaye, phal sajaaye, kiyarian banai. Kesa lagta hai aap ko"

"Dekho baba! Hur insaan ke ander aik rab rehta hai. Us ke ander bhi cheezain thakleeq kerne ki -  zindagi dene ki - us ki parvareesh kerne ki - saaya dene ki - aik rag pharkti rehti hai. In saans lete podon ki bagbaani ker ke kuch der ke liye apne rab jesa banne ki koshish kerta hun...Tum ne shayed hi kisi bure shaks ko bagbaani kerte dekha hoga"

Art of slavery

Tu ke na-wa'qife aadabe ghulami hai abhi
Raqs zanjeer pahen ker bhi kiya jaata hai

You are not gifted with the art of slavery yet
Dance can still be performed wearing shackles

- as written by Habib Jalib for Pakistani movie "Zarqa" 37 years ago

On "Apple's Bite"

(a friend described his episode of cheating and succumbing to seduction)

"Fruit of apple" eaten by Adam and Eve from forbidden tree was nothing but the fruit of "lust".

Woh aik khubusurat aurat thi. Dil-aawez kupre pehnti aur har waqt honton pe lali sajaaye rakhti. Woh jaanti thi ke main shadi shuda hun magar woh mere qareeb aane lagi. Hum 'stores' main saath saath phirne lage. Woh is qadar meri zindagi main daakhil ho gai ke mere bacche ke school aa ker un ki ustaanion tak se milne lagi. Phir aik dopher woh mujhe aik aese gaaon le gai jahan sirf shewat ki hukumraani thi (Call it lustland). Jahan sub burhana the. Shuru main, main thora jhijka magar phir gurmiye-shewani ke aage dum tor gaya.- 

Chori ka wahi phal - jis ka asal maza allah jaane phal main hai ya uski chori main!

Nana

Rasheed Mamu ne cigarette ka aik lamba kush liya, mun chat ki taraf kar ke naak se dhunwan nikala, kuch der khamosh rahe aur bole: "tum aaye nahi ! Marne se pehle tumhare nana tumhara bohat intizar kerte rahe".

Main jawab diye bagair saamne sofe pe betha raha. Mamu ne tafseel se nana ke aakhri dinon ke qisse, maut ke lamhat aur janaze ki rasoomat bayan ki. Main chup chap betha sunta raha aur saari kahanion ke khake apne zahen main banata raha. Mamu ne phir wahi baat ki aur chup hoke ke cigarette pine lage ke: "Tumhare nana ko tum se bohat mohabbat thi. Unhon ne tumhe paigam bhi bhijwaya tha ke - us se kaho ke aa sakta hai to aa jaaye. Magar tumhari ammi ko tumhare la-ubalipun ka ilm tha is liye baat chupa gain".

Main phir chup raha. Woh saare lamhe jo nana ki qurbat main guzare yaad aate rahe. Ye woh log hote hain jin ki aankhon main noor hota hai aur jin ki sohbat main sirf pyar aur sukoon ka aehsaas rehta hai.

Kafi der main aur mamu chup chap bethe rahe. Main uth ke chalne laga to mamu ne kaha: "Barson main aate ho. Nana the to phir bhi kabhi kabhi aate the. Ab aaoge ya nahi?"

Main ne kaha: "Nana jese log ajeeb hote hain mamu. Mar ke bhi unki khushbu nahi marti. Aaj bhi unki khushbu is makan main hur su pehli hai. Jub bhi duniya ki us haramzadi 'job' se, jis ne mujhe nana ki mayyat main aane se roke, se dil bhar aaya to is khushbu ki thandak simatne zaroor aaun ga"

achhe log

"Achhe log jaldi kiun mur jaate hain"

"Is duniya ki halate-zaar dekh ker shayed unka kaleja phat jata hai"

Backbiting's force

There is a line in old granths and ginans (granths and ginans are medieval hindu, sikh and muslim religious poetry): "neenda thaye tian thi uthi ne jaeyen". Means - to get away from the place where you hear back-biting.

Few days ago, koonj did an excellent post on back-biting. What I also learned: Its not only important to avoid backbiting but to keep yourself away from such people and places. Backbiters and backbiting conversation is like a big centripetal force which tends to suck everyone around.

Saleem Kausar

Zimbabwe

Woh baRa udas sir jhukaye, sir haaton main liye betha tha.

Main ne poocha: "kiya huwa". Us ne sir uthaya to aankhain num thin. Main ne kaha, "Khairiat?".

Us ne saamne computer pe ishara kiya Jahan CNN ki web site pe ye Khabar lagi thi:

Living off rats to survive in Zimbabwe

Main ne khamoshi se poori khabar parhi aur chup raha. Kuch der baad us ne kaha: "Yaar tum bare maulvi bante ho. Agar khuda ke darbar main sawal kerne ki , gila kerne ki aur ilzam dene ki ijazat nahi hai to ye te batate jao kiya hume rone ki bhi ijazat nahi hai"

Main kiya jawab deta. Faiz bohat yaad aaye

zehmate girya-o-buka be-sood
shikwae bakhte na-rasaa be-sood
ho chuka khatam rehmaton ka nazool
band hai muddaton se babe qabool

be-niyaze dua hai rabbe-kareem


(Useless endeavors of cries and tears
bemoaning unfufilled fortune for
Fall of (divine) blessing is over
For long closed is assent's door

God is not in need of prayer any more)

Baap

Kamine bete ke liye

aik 75 baras ki umar ke baap ko 

uth ker muaafi maangi pari

Perdes

"Kitne baras se hain aap yahan US main"

"Koi Chalees (40) baras ho gaye beta"

"Lagta hai aap ko america khub raas aaya hai. Aalishan ghar, lexus gari, adab kerne wali samjhdar aulad - yahan ki behtreen universities main -, din dugni raat chugni taraqqi kerta karobar, achhi sehat.. aakhir koi dukh bhi hai aap ko?"

"Beta pardes se bhi baRh ker koi dukh hota hai kiya! Ye sub kuch to aese hota hai jese baanjh zameen pe matti ka ranga rang gharonda".

Amir Khusraw

(Beautiful sufi song written by Amir khusraw for his guide Nizamuddin Aulia - nijam as in last line - source: http://www.alif-india.com/lyrics.html)




You've taken away my looks, my identity, by just a glance.
By making me drink the wine of love-potion, You've intoxicated me by just a glance;
My fair, delicate wrists with green bangles in them, Have been held tightly by you with just a glance.
I give my life to you, Oh my cloth-dyer, You've dyed me in yourself, by just a glance.
I give my whole life to you Oh, Nijam, You've made me your bride, by just a glance.

Beautifully sung by various artists but here is Naheed Akhtar version

Responsibilities

A disciple approached his master: "For years I have been seeking illumination," he said. "I feel that I am close to achieving it. I need to know what the next step is."

"How do you support yourself?" the master asked.

"I haven't yet learned how to support myself; my parents help me out. But that is only a (minor) detail."

"Your next step is to look directly at the sun for half a minute," said the master.

And the disciple obeyed. When the half-minute was over, the master asked him to describe the field that surrounded them.

"I can't see it. The sun has affected my vision," the disciple said.

"A man who seeks only the light, while shirking his responsibilities, will never find illumination. And one who keep his eyes fixed upon the sun ends up blind," was the master's comment.

From Maktub - Paulo Coelho

universal web

Agar koi cheez is 'universal web' main tumhare liye likh di gai hai to woh tum tak ghum phir ker kisi tarah bhi zaroor paunch gi, chahe tum us ki tamanna karo ya na karo, ya chahe tum use yaad rakkho ya bhool jao.

House of 1000 Mirrors

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the House, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."

Its your attitude which reflects.

Laila Baji

Laila Baji!!  Woh saare mohalle ki laila baji thi. 

Bachon ko tuition aur quran parhati thin. Umer ab to koi pentalees (45) ke aas paas ho gai hogi magar aaj se 15 - 20 baras pehle laila baji bohat khubsurat huwa kartin thin. Mohalle ke larke un pe khub mara kerte the. Laila baji ka aik nikhattu sa bhai tha, bara kaamchor. Bohat arsa huwa ghar se bhag gaya. Walid kamzor se aadmi the aur un ki aik choti si lagi bandhi naukri thi magar ghar ka guzara mushkil hota tha. Aadha kharch laila baji mohalle ke bachhon ko tution aur quran parha ker poora kertiN. Laila baji ke aik se barh ker aik rishte aate magar unki amma har rishte se inkaar ker detin. Log kehte hain amma ko aesa rishta chahiye tha jahan biah' ker bhi laila baji ghar ke karch main madad de sakain aur isi intizar main laila baji ki umer nikal gai. Laila Baji ke saath ki saari sahelian aik se barh ker aik jagah biah' di gain.

Ab ki baar jab main Pakistan gaya to mohalle main bohat kuch badal gaya tha. Mohalle ke pehle makan ke aangan main bethne wali 'khush khuda begum' bhi faut ho gain thi jo har kisi ke aane jaane ke auqat ka hisab rakhti thin. Magar laila baji wahi thin bus ab umer dhalne ke aasar the. Ab bhi bachhon ko tuition aur quran parhatin thin. Un ke walid ab faut ho chuke the, ab amma reh gain thin. Usi muskurahat aur pyar se milin. Har kisi ka fardan fardan haal poochti rahin magar aankhon ke peeche chupe aanson mujh se na chup sake.

Sochta hun laila baji ke dil ki kahani kaun likhe ga. Jub wapas aate PIA ke jahaz main betha to khirki pe baarish ke hulke hulke qatre chamak rahe the. Aesa laga Laila baji ke aansu hain jo tohfatan unhon ne apni sahelion ke liye mere saath bhijwa diye hain!

rishte

Us aurat ne zindagi main siwaye apni pehloti ki beti ke shayed hi kisi se mohabbat ki ho. Ma baap us ke bachpun hi main faut ho gaye the. Zamane ki sitam zarifion ne us ke ander aik ajeeb karwahat bhar di thi. Mekaa to koi tha nahi albatta shadi ke baad woh saare susral aur mohalle main apni karwi kasili zaban ki wajah se mashoor rahi. Jab woh khud faut hui to jahan us ke mian ne sukun ka saans liya wahan main ne bhi kaha: 'khas kum jahan pak'. Us ke peeche agar koi roya to bus usi ki woh aik beti.

Magar aik baat sab kehte hain ke jab bhi koi us ki beti ke khilaf kahin koi baat kerta hai to woh us raat us shaks ke khawab main aake apna chehra zaroor karati hai. 

Ye kese rishte hain jo mar ke bhi nahi marte.

3 stars

"Dekho bhaiyya ! Tumhari ye ikhlaqiat ki jhak jhak buk buk to main roz hi sunta hun magar is mulk main, main ne aik baat note ki hai, ke white collar job ke liye:

Kamyabi ke teen nishan
Lamba, gora aur jawan"

12 kids

12 kids participated in the quiz. 

All did well so prize was given by lottery to one kid. 

11 kids lost faith to their hard work!

Puntuality

One of the most important lessons of life you need to teach your kids is to be puntual at work. 7 AM means 7 AM not 7.01 AM. Better be 5 minutes early. Nobody respects the habitual late comer.

"what if I get late due to unavoidable reason like ..ummm.... say accident?"

"Call them and let them know you are running late (and pay back that time later)"

"What if I can't contact them"

"Apologize when you see them"