Aakhri lamha

Mere walid ki maut yaqini thi. Unhe cancer ka marz tha jo poore jism main sarayat ker gaya tha. Ye baat hum bhi jaante the aur un ko bhi maalum thi. Un ke bistare marg ke qareeb beth ke main ne leo Tolstoy ki "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" ko dubara parha. Aik marta huwa shaks jis zehni kefiyat se guzarta hai main us ka phir idraak kerna chahta tha. Aik aik lamhe main ne kitab ke saath apne baap ko marte dekha.

Aik sham jub hawa main kuch khunki thi aur main khirki se jharte patton ko dekh raha tha, mere waalid ne kaha: "Mera aik kaam karo ge".

Main ne kaha: "zaroor, hukam kijye".

Unhon ne pucha: "Tumhe mera dost Kamaluddin yaad hai, jise tum kamal mama bulate the"

"Ji, magar ab to barson huwe un ka kuch pata nahi, magar aap bolain kiya kaam hai". Mere walid ne kaha: "use kahin se dhundho aur agar zinda hai to mujh se baat kerwao".

Main ne kaha: "Koshish kerta hun".

Main ne idhar udhar, karachi, usa, canada kai phone kiye magar kuch pata na chala. Main ne walid se kaha, ab kiya kiya jaaye. Mere waalid ne aik din jub unka dard qadre kam tha aur morphine ka asar zahen pe taari nahi tha, bole:"Meri baat gor se suno".

"Ye aaj se koi 40 baras pehle ka qissa hai. Tumhare Kamal mama hamare saath kaam kerte the. Hum Karachi se mashriqi Pakistan bicycle rickshaw ke spare parts ki tijarat kerte the. Aik dafa hum koi 20,000 rupe, jo us zamane main bari raqam hoti thi, ka maal le ker Pehle 'Dhaka' paunche aur phir gari main aadha saman load kerwa ke Kamaluddin 'Chittagong' rawana huwa aur main ooper 'Mymensingh' nikal gaya. Jub hum plan ke mutabiq dubara 'Dhaka' main mile to Kamaluddin ka chehra utra huwa tha. Us ne mujhe bataya ke kahin raaste main koi dhai hazar rupe ka maal chori ho gaya tha. Mujhe Kamal ka bharosa tha. Hum ne dhai hazar rupe pe lanat bheji aur wapas Karachi paunche. Magar jub Karachi main chori ka ye qissa hum ne apne bare bhai (yani mere manjhle taya) jo karobar sambhalte the, ko sunaya to woh aape se bahir ho gaye. Unke dil main Kamal ke liye pehle hi aar tha. Kamaluddin pe tahumat lagi aur use naukri se nikal diya. Kamaluddin khuddar aadmi tha. Us ne yahan wahan se 2500 rupe jama kiye aur aik din chup chap raqam dukan pe chor ker chala gaya. Main bhai ke saamne awaz na utha saka. Kamaluddin ka difa na ker saka. Kamaluddin ne mujhe se dosti nahi chori. Magar aaj maut ke itne qareeb jub zindagi ko dekhta hun to sochta hun bus aik dafa Kamal se maafi maang lun aur 2500 rupe use lauta dun".

Main ne abbu se wada kiya, aap befiqar ho jaayain, ab Kamal mama meri zimedari hain. Walid ne aankhain band ker li. Do roz baad abbu faut ho gaye. Jub abbu ki maut ka saara gubar betha to main ne abbu ke saare purane doston se phir raabta kerna shuru kiya. Koi 3 mahine baad pata laga, Kamal mama Karachi main manghopir ke ilaqe main kisi basti main rehte hain. Main foran Karachi bhaga. Abbu se kiya wada yaad tha.

Main to Karachi main itne barson rehte huwe bhi kubhi manghopir nahi gaya tha. Dhundhte dhanate unka ghar nikala. Kamal Mama pehle to nahi pechane magar jub taaruf kerwaya aur abba ki maut ka bataya to gale laga ke bohut roye. Main ne unki amanat unke hawale ki to bohut jhijke, bole: "itni purani baat ko ab kiya dohrana". Main ne kaha, mera wada hai. Aage aap jo chahe in paison ka karain. Paros ke kisi bacche ko bhej ke samose, botal, mithayian maangwa li. Un ka khuloos dekh ke main bara sharminda huwa.

Wapas nikla to mere zahen main wade ke baad aabu ke chehre ka aur Leo Tolstoy ke Ivan Ilvich ki maut ka aakhri itminan ghum raha tha.

Hi-Tech aur hum

Allah Ahsan Ali ko jannat naseeb kare. Meri umer ka hi hoga magar ooper se bari jaldi bulawa aa gaya. Ahsan Ali aur main saath school aur college main parhe phir woh engineering ki taraf nikal gaya aur main qismat ka mara medical school main daakhil ho gaya!

Ahsan Ali mujh se pehle america aaya huwa tha. Dosti aur barh gai. Ittafaq se hum aik hi shaher main the. Har weekend pe Chicago ki lakeshore drive aur downtown ko nikal jana. Michigan lake pe 'Bikini clad' haseenaon ka nazarana kerna, desi restaurants main raat gaye tuk mehfilain jamana. ye sub khub 3/4 baras chalta raha. Phir main ne Chicago chor diya. Peeche se Ahsan Ali ki Shadi aik pakistani larki se hi ho gai. Love marriage thi. Love at first sight. Aahista aahista Ahsan Ali ke phones aur email kum hote chale gaye. Main apni zindagi main magan raha. Mujhe kiya maalum tha ke Ahsan Ali ki khamoshi ki wajah 'unhappy married life' hai. Ye sab to uski maut ke baad ilm huwa. Shadi thi to love marriage magar pehle din se jhagron ka shikar ho gai. Choti choti laraiyon ne mian biwi ke darmiyan bari khaleej paida ker di.

Aik roz main subha sawere tayyar hoke kaam pe ja raha tha ke mujhe cell phone pe ittlah mili ke Ahsan Ali ka seattle main car accident ho gaya hai aur ICU main maut aur zindagi ke bich para hai. Main ne flight pakri, seattle pauncha. Main khud doctor tha aur sub doctoron se mila. He was basically brain dead in Trauma ICU. Ahsan Ali ki biwi ke ilawa uski amma, bahen, bhai, bhanje, bhatijon aur dusre doston ka aik jame gafir tha. Dusri raat koi 12 baje jub waiting room main koi nahi tha, Ahsan Ali ki biwi ne mera haat thama aur bilak bilak ke rone lagi. Usne mujh se kaha: "Dua kerna Ahsan mujhe maaf ker de..Jub woh seattle ke liye ghar se nikla to hamari larai hui thi. Us ne kaha tha, tum kaho to main wapas na aaun aur main ne gusse main jawab diya, tumhare aane jaane se mujhe koi faraq nahi parta. Ab ki baar woh sach much nahi aaya. Mujhe maalum hai woh hassas aadmi tha. Driving kerte huwe dimag isi baat main hoga. Ab saari zindagi is guilt ko le ke kese jiun gi"

Ahsan Ali bohut yaad aata hai. Main ne apne address book se us ka email delete nahi kiya. Jub kubhi koi cheez doston ko fwd kerta hun to aik lamhe ke liye ruk jaata hun. Kaash main ne aik baar usse uski khamoshi ki wajah poochi hoti. Hamari is hi-tech duniya main internet, cell phone aur blackberry ke bawajud hum sab kitne dur, khudgarz aur akele hain. Ahsan Ali ki biwi ko to sirf aik jumle ka guilt hai, magar mere andar un 4 barson ka gulit khol raha hai jis main mujhe aik lamhe bhi ye khayal nahi aaya ke, aik hasta bolta dost khamosh kiun hai. Baqol Munir Niyazi

madad kerni ho us ki, yaar ki dharas bandhana ho
bahut derena raston pe kisi se milne jaana ho

kisi ko maut se pehle, kisi gum se bachana ho
Hamesah der ker deta hun main , hur kaam kerne main

Aaj jumma hai !

(Pakistan main burhe mardon ki, gurbat ki maari kamsin larkion se shadi kerne ki jo biddat hai, uske parto main likha gaya)

Hamare mamu apni noiyaat ki aik alag cheez hain. Saari zindagi sharab pi hai aur peechle 45 barason se chain smoker hain magar aaj bhi wese hi sahet-mand hain jese jawani main the. Sharab aur tambakoo ke ilawa unhe aurton ka bhi shoq hai. Is umer main bhi apne beton se ziyada aurton main maqbool hain. Aur game-rozgar main shayed hi koi aesa kaam ho jo mamu ne na kiya ho. Mamu khud aksar maze le le ker apni zindagi ke qisse sunate hain. Jub mamu ka phone raat 9 baje ke baad aata hai to mujhe pata lug jaata hai ke aaj kuch ziyada hi pi li hai.

Jub parhaai se chori barhi to bare mamu ne school se utha ker saath apni ice cream factory pe bitha liya. Magar mamu ke qadmon ko kiya koi zanjeer bandh sakti. Woh Mashriqi Pakistan (Bangladesh) nikal gaye kiunke bangali aurtain khubsurat thin aur asani se mil jaati thin. Wahin pe kuch arse calcutta se kapron ki smuggling ka kaam kiya. 1971 ki jang ke baad Pakistan aa gaye. Jub maulvion ki hangama arai se Pakistan main sharab pe pabandi lagi to mamu bharat nikal gaye. People's Party ki hukumat main sharab phir milne lagi to Pakistan aa gaye. Ghar walon ne samjhaya ke ab aulad jawan hone ko aai hai, lug ke koi dhang ka kaam karo, to idhar udhar se paise jama ker ke mamu ne lalukhet (karachi ka mashoor ilaqa) main aik parchoon ki dukan khol li. Ab aage ka qissa mamu ki zabani suniye.

"Meri Dukan masjid ke pechware main thi. Maulvi shahab ke hujre ka peechla chota darwaza meri dukan ke darwaze ke saath khulta tha. Maulvi shahab ke biwi bachhe kahin punjab ke gaun main rehte the. Aik din khabar aai ke maulvi shahab, jin ki umer kum az kum 65 saal hogi gaun se dusri biwi biha ke laye hain. Jub unki biwi dukan pe soda lene aai to us ki umer 19 baras se ziyada nahi hogi. Baad main ilm huwa, maulvi shahab ka kisi pe bara qarz niklta tha to badle main uhhon ne apni beti biha di. Maulvi shahab se lurki ki jawani kiya control hoti. Main taar gaya. Lurki bhi mere aage peeche ghumne lagi. Bus phir har jumme ki namaz ke waqt jub mohalle ki sarkain weeran hoti, maulvi shahab khutbe se logon main deen ki aag bharkate rehte aur main ander unki jawan kamsin biwi main lagi jawani ki aag bujhata rehta".

Neeche paan ki dukan
Ooper gori ka makan
Mullah deta tha azan
Allah-hu Akbar

Ye watan tumhara hai

Apne diyar se buri khabron ka tanta bandha hai. Saima asked me the other day: "Are we going toward civil war?". 

Aaj Pakistan bohut yaad aa raha hai....Kiya haal kiya hum ne is mulk ka!

I can't keep my tears from listening to this song from Mehdi Hasan

I am sorry, Amin bhai

Mere bohut kum qaribi janne wale logon ko mere blog ka pata hai, un main se aik amin bhai hain. Amin bhai ka taaluq Ahmadabad, India se hai. Accidentally he bumped into my blog and somehow identified me. Kuch dinon pehle main ne apne blog main aik suna huwa quote tehreer kiya tha ke: "It is not healthy to have only one child. If you can procreate, have atleast 2, preferably 3 children. A single child has to succumb life long to you-are-the-only-hope pressure of parents and parents themselves direct all their overdue positive and negative attention to one single child".

Amin bhai peechle jumme namaz ke baad mile, kehne lage: "Tum ne bari asani se jo likh diya, mujhe us se ittafaq nahi aur woh dusron ke liye bara taklif deh ho sakta hai"

Main ne kaha: "Main samjha nahi"

Unhon ne ooper likhe quote ka hawala diya aur kehne lage: "Hamara sirf aik beta hai. Hum chahte to 3/4 paida ker lete. Allah ka diya sab kuch hai.....After my son was born, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Very severe diabetes. My father was severe diabetic and we all siblings have brittle diabetes. I don't want to bring another soul in this world to battle all complications of diabetes just for the sake of my and my wife's ego and pleasure..............Yaar tumhare post ne dukhi ker diya tha"

Sangdil

Jab hum 13/14 baras ke the to hamare mohalle main aik salman bhai rehte the. Shayer type aadmi the. Na unhun ne hamare saath kubhi cricket kheli, na patang uraii aur na kubhi raat gaye mohalle main beth ker mehfil jamaii. Sub ko maalum tha ke woh mohalle main hi Hira naam ki aik lurki pe marte hain. Bare chakkar kate, hum se khat bhijwaye, ashar likhe aur aashqi ka wasaf poori tarah se nibahte rahe. Magar Hira, jinhe hum Hira baji kehte the, ke dil pe koi asar na hota. Woh is saare qaziye se bezaar rehtin. Kai baar salman bhai se kehlwaiya ke un ke dil main salman bhai ke liye koi jagah nahi. Wahi huwa jo hota hai. Aik din Hira baji shadi ker ke london chali gain. Salman bhai rozgar ki talash main dubai chale gaye. Kafi arse wahan rahe. Shadi nahi ki. Pakistan main TV ke private channel khule to un ki bhi lottery nikal aai. Likhne ka fun kaam aaya. Suna hai, aik pvt. TV channel pe khub set hain. Peechle dino unki likhi aik TV serial dekhi. Aik aik dialogue se purani mohabbat jhalak rahi thi. Saaf nazar aata tha ke waqt aur gardishe-zaman ne unke dil pe lagi Hira baji ki tasveer pe koi gird nahi daali.

Mujhe nahi maalum tha ke Hira baji ab america main hoti hain. Peechle saal main houston aik shadi pe gaya to wahan Hira baji mil gain. Ab bhi khubsurat thin. Wahi qatil adain thin. Waqt aur umer ne unhe aur graceful bana diya tha. Jaan pechan ke baad bohut baatain hui. Hur kisi ka poochti rahi. Akhirkar main ne khud muskurate huwe kaha, 'apne aashiq salman bhai ka nahi poochain gi'. Bezaari se boli, 'kahan he woh?'. Jub main ne bataya ke abhi tuk shadi nahi ki to sir jhatak ke boli: "What a stupid man"!

Usi waqt peeche Javed akhtar ka likha ye gana chal raha tha...

Aag se thandak, barf se garmi maang ke hum pachtaaye *

Mujhe Salman bhai bahut yaad aaye. Ye aik tarfa ishq bhi bari zaalim cheez hai.


* You can view that song on youtube here

Ruts of one or two experiences

Jum main M.B.B.S ker ke america aane ki tayyari ker raha tha to reference letter lene apne aik professor, Dr. Nasir ke paas pauncha. Unhon ne reference letter to de diya magar saath aik kagaz pe ye quote bhi likh diya. Kehne lage - ' shayed wahan bure waqt main yaad reh jaaye aur tumhe cheezon ko samjhne main aasani ho jaaye'.

"We are constantly misled by the ease with which our minds fall into the ruts of one or two experiences".

- Sir william Osler

"Kaari"

Attiya Dawood is a well known Sindhi and Urdu feminist poet of Pakistan. You can read collection of her urdu poems "Sharafat ka pul" here and english traslation "raging to be free" here.

(Thanks to zakintosh for tip)


To my daughter

Even if they brand you a "kari"And condemn you to death,
Then choose death, but live to love.
Don’t sit pretty in the show-case of respectability You must live to love.
In the desert of thirsty desires
Don’t be like a cactus, but live to love.
If somebody’s fond memories
Come slowly to you,
Then smile and live to love.
What can they do? They may stone you to death
But in a single moment You can attain all of life. You must live to love.
They may call it a sin.
So what? Bear it,But live to love