Qabooliat ki ghari

Agar aap ko yaad ho to is blog pe main ne ‘parapsychology’, ‘meta-physics’, ‘spiritualism’, ‘new age’ wagera wagera se apni dilchaspi ka zikar kiya tha (here). Us ki asas (origin) zindagi ka aik aesa waqiya tha jo meri zindagi ki awwal awwal yadoN main se aik hai. Us waqt meri umar koi 6 baras hogi.

Amma hame magrib ke waqt masjid main darse-quran ke liya bheja kertiN. Sabaq se pehle hum masjid ki peechli sirhiyoN se masjid ki chat(roof) pe bhaga kerte. Un sirhiyoN ke neeche mayyat le jaane ke liye lakri ka aik khubsurat janaza parha rehta. Hum masjid ki peechli sirhiyoN pe charte huwe us janaze ko dekha kerte. Kabhi kabhi use dekh ke aik hulka sa dar bhi lagta. Aik roz kehlte huwe hamare saath ke aik bachhe ne kaha, ‘main marne ki acting kerta hun, tum log mera janaza banao’..hum sab ‘janaza janaza’ kehlne lage aur woh bachha lakri ke us khubsurat taboot main mayyat ban ke so gaya. Kuch der baad maulvi saab ne hum sab ko wahan se daant ke bhaga diya.

Dusre din woh larka mar gaya!

School se ghar aa ke woh bistar pe leta aur phir wapas nahi uttha!

Us waqiyeh ne mere andar maut ka aik ajeeb khauf bitha diya. Main taayi amma ke ghar therne jata to unke ghar raat ko ghup andhera rehta aur main para para sochta rehta ke, kiya qabar ke andar bhi itna andhera hota hoga…Is dar se nikalte nikalte mujhe bohat waqt lag gaya aur phir jesa ke main ne likha tha ke zindagi ka aik beshtar hissa main ne is dasht ki sayyahi main guzara! …

Hamari dadi kehti thin ke….. magrib ke waqt aik ghari qabooliyat ki aati hai. Us ghari dil ya zaban se nikli koi baat poori ho jaati hai.

Us bachhe ki maut aik ittafaq thi ya phir dadi amma ki baat sahi thi ke, qabooliyat ki ghari, us bachhe ke dil se nikli maut ki aarzoo poori ho gai

Allah behtar jaanta hai….

Umar's take on Hajj

Umar's parents are from Pakistan but he is born and raised in USA. He is a very handsome chap and a very smart surgeon. Certainly, one of the most eligible bachelor! Umar and I always communicate in English. Even, if I speak urdu he replies in english. I always thought that his urdu may not be good as he is Pakka ABCD.

Aaj sham main hospital ki elevator main daakhil hua to.... umar was standing there. His head was shaved....Main ne kaha: "are ye kiya ho gaya? tumhari 'tind' kiun nikal aayi"...He informed me that he is just back from Hajj.

Main ne kaha: "Yaar Umar! aik baat batao. Is it true that Hajj is really such a spiritual experience that you can't describe in words or is it just something hyped and exaggerated by muslims"

Umar replied: "Its very true. The impact of spiritual enlightment can't be described. I was like in outer world watching my whole life in a single glance. Money and career, even family seems like a bubble to me....."And than very first time in 2 years, he spoke to me in very clear urdu: "Hajj ke baad aadmi apna nahi rehta".

Main ne poocha: " Agar main tum se poochun ke, sirf aik lafz main batao ke Hajj se tumhe kiya mila to kiya kaho ge?"

Umar ne jawab diya: "Sabar. Manasike Hajj kuch aese hain aur phir duniya ki aarzi zindagi ka aehsas kuch itna ziyada hota hai ke wapas aa kar bari jaldi sabar aa jata hai. Woh aik lafz hai sabar"

Man who was not the father

From one of my favourite blogger karrvakarela

".....Or the man who, even when he found out at the time of transplant that he wasn't the father of his daughter, still took care of her. Her own mother abandoned the child but this man stayed with her, steadfast until the very end. The girl died in his arms..."

Read full post here

Crowd Psychology - Group Sex

(The following post may carry offensive content, though I tried not to be graphic)

What shocked me most was the presence of Fang in that house!

Crowd psychology is one of the most vital phenomena in any human society. Once a crowd starts walking on a single thinking path, it creates such a powerful energy that it can move mountains. This is the same crowd psychology that brings revolutions. It is like a Vaccum, which sucks in people's minds, and they lose their power to have objective thinking. It is a most extreme and collective form of conscious hypnotism. A similar thing rolls out from stereotyping to most brutal ethnic genocides!...

One of our fellow residents was getting married to a fellow resident girl. A Bachelor party was planned for guys at a nude bar, and girls gathered at one of the girl's houses. Guys joined girls after their party. They all were drunk, and one person's idea of Tom Cruise's 'eyes wide shut mask' led to group sex thingy. These were wild people, but when I saw Fang taking the black fold off her eyes as she received a cell phone call from her mother, I was shocked to find her there - rising from an act of sin. Fang was Chinese and was one of the most pretty, graceful, reserved, and, I thought, a very conservative breed. I guess under crowd psychology, she was carried away in the storm of sex, sin, and alcohol.

Keeping senses sane in the middle of the madding crowd is one of the hardest things, and may Almighty protect all of us from it!

P.S. The above was not a pleasurable memory but very disgusting. I do not find the idea of group sex appealing anymore.

*

Sir Jazakallah!

Jab hum aathween (8th class) main the to hamare islamiyat ke aik ustad dusri school se transfer ho ker aaye. Naam to unka Sir Manzar tha magar jald hi woh school main Sir Jazakallah ke naam se mashoor ho gaye, kiunke woh har baat pe Jazakallah kehte the. Aik din main period ke beech main bathroom se aa raha tha ke unhon ne mujhe rok ke poocha: "Mian barkhurdar! ye period ke beech main kahan ghum rahe ho?" 

Main ne kaha: "Sir bathroom se aa raha hun" Woh bole: "Jazakallah" 

Main ne class main aa ker ye baat dostoN ko sunayi aur hum poora din unka mazaq urate rahe aur baat be baat pe aik dusre ko jazakallah bol bol ke haste rahe. Mere bare bhai cricket gazab ki khelte the. Itni shandar batting kerte the ke mohalle main 'Clive Lloyd' ke naam se mashoor the. Unke saath main bhi poora din jhulsa dene wali garmi main cricket khelne ghumta rehta. Aik aesi hi garmi ki dophar main shadeed dehydration ke baais mujhe 'kidney stone' ka aesa dard uttha ke nani yaad aa gai. Jub bhi peeshab kerne jaata aesa azar hota ke Allah ki panah! Us din Sir Jazakallah bohut yaad aaye. 

We take life's so many blessings as granted. Even having a healthy excreta is a blessing. Jazakallah!

On 'Bakra' Eid

The following is another controversial piece I received (from another gentleman) on Baqar Eid. Again I am posting here to demonstrate different thinkings people have on different issues.

"For most of the last night I was kept up by the bleating bakra in my neighbor's backyard. Had a fitful nights sleep at best and woke up in the morning to a cascade of children running around the aforementioned bakra. Clearly all these children were entirely excited about the impending gruesome death of the bakra. Gruesome meaning having its throat slit without any care of pain and watching its blood flow out while the poor animal gasps its last breaths. And yes, children standing around enjoying the spectacle. No wonder these children grow up to become adults that enjoy killing. So, why we as Muslims are surprised that our children grow up to be killers that enjoy killing (suicide bombers)?"

A note on Hajj

The following is a forwarded email about one's view on Hajj. This is controversial but I found it very interesting.

"....I would strongly condemn the ban on the non muslim to enter the Haram(kaaba). I think it should be open to everyone. Its beacuse the basic focus of Quran is on An'naas and not Muslaymeen. There are more ayah with 'Ya'ayuhannaso' compared to 'Ya'ayuhal momayneen'........"

A story of a bad marriage

(As described by a friend) 

 Sometimes a lousy marriage is worse than a broken marriage. My parents divorced after 25 years of marriage. It is strange, but I knew that my mother was never happy in this marriage. My father was a 'malang type aadmi.' He was not a very social type. He was not a very presentable person. On the same note, he was not a very expressive or a romantic soul. I am not sure; he even realized that - the woman who lives and sleeps with him is unhappy. My mother wanted to love and companionship out of marriage. My father looked at the wedding as a family-making thing. Unfortunately, they both were blind to each other!

That day my father was at work. My mother was furious at home. She was packing her stuff to move out to her brother's (my mama) place. She was angry as my father could not vibrate like other men in a family 'dawat,' and one woman taunted her about my father's appearance. I tried to stop my mother.

I said: "aap khud unko bata ke chali jao".

She said: "Nahi! tumhi unhe bata dena".

Main ne kaha: "Ma! ruk jao. Is tarah to ghar mat toro".

Ma didn't answer. I asked her again, 'are you sure about leaving dad?' She said yes, and moved out.

My father was not even able to express any emotions that night. The only thing he said on the table as I warmed the dinner in the microwave was, 'who will take care of me now?'

I wish my mom had left this relationship when she knew she was unhappy. We are three losers like points of a triangle - still together but living differently. Nothing works if the heart gets a block in marriage and feelings go dead.

Meri Ma ne 25 baras koshish ki ke uska dil maan jaaye, magar ye dil saala bara ziddi aur harami hai - ye kab kisi ki sunta hai. Mere Baap ne 25 baras poori imandari se ghar banane aur chalane ki koshish ki. Apna pet kaat ke hamari khawaishat ki dozakh bharta raha. Woh sochta tha, main kum khauN, kum pehnuN magar mere biwi bachhe khush rahe. Magar woh nadaan kahin se sirf woh 2 lafz nahi la saka jo kisi aurat ke dil ko mom(wax) ker de !

Ye dil ka muamla saala bara harami hai!

*

On Health, Diseases & being a Doctor

Being a physician, I learned that there are 2 kind of patients. One, who bring disease to themselves by bad habits like tobacco, alcohol, drugs etc. Others are those unfortunates, who develop disease for known (hereditary, gentic, enviromental etc) or completely unknown reasons.

Meri residency ka third year tha....I was on research elective...is liye.....nobody was expecting me in hospital for regular work...... Chicago main sardiaN urooj pe thin. Mujhe shadeed 'upper respiratory tract infection' huwa huwa tha. Aik subah meri aankh khuli to mujhe aehsas huwa ke....I cannot move my muscles at all. I realized that either I have developed acute myopathy, Guillain-Barré syndrome or somekind of acute polyneuropathy (or may be catatonia).....Main ne haath uthane ki koshish ki magar nahi utha paya. Gardan bhi nahi ghuma paya...Main phir so gaya...yunhi pare pare bimari ki halat main 2 din guzar gaye. Kubhi aankh lag jaati, kubhi raat main khirki se december ki chandni takta rehta aur kubhi samjhta aalme-khawab main hun. Do din baad haaton main kuch jaan mehsoos hui to main ne mattress ke paas pare phone pe speed dial ka button push kiya aur dost ko kamzor awaz main suratehaal bayan ki......To make story short, I remained in hopital for a week, responded to Plasmapheresis, got better and went on with my life.

Magar un do dinoN ne mujhe saari zindagi ke liye ye sikha diya ke aik bimar aadmi jo mahinoN bimari ke alam main bister pe para rehta hai, kis azab se guzarta hai. Ye sach hai ke pehle mujhe patients pe gussa aa jata tha. Us din se nahi aata.

It sounds simple, but health is the highest blessing. Health is for sure the biggest wealth. And there is a reason, at the end of the day - I come home with a sense of pride and satisfaction - ke- I made atleast a little difference in someone's life today!

A note on names

One of my weakness is that: "I am very bad in remembering names" - and I have paid for it many times. This is so basic that every human loves his name and I usually forgets people name unless I have to interact with them on regular basis. I assure you, if you learn to remember and pronounce people's name correctly, pepole will remember you more than you deserve.

Nightmare

Is baar bhi jub meri aankh, us khawab se khuli to mera poora badan paseene se sharabor tha.

Ye khawab main ne jub se hosh sambhala mujhe aksar aata hai, jis main aik khunkhuwar, gali ka mela kutta (stray wild dog) - jis ke badan pe kaale kaale daag hain meri taraf dekh ke bhonkta rehta hai. Jub bhi ye khawab aata hai, uske kuch hi dinoN main koi na-khushgawar hadsa zaroor ronuma hota hai.

Ab ki baar ye khawab thora mukhtaleef tha. Is baar us khunkhuwar kutte ne bhonkte huwe mere chehre ki taraf chalang lagaii - phir hosh nahi raha ke kiya huwa!

Aankh khuli to tez bukhar se badan garam tha, poora bister tar tha, dharkanaiN tez thi aur aik anjaane khauf ne poore kamre ko apni girafat main lapet rakkha tha!

A note on Dr. Abdus Salam

(A note on Dr. Abdus Salam 12th death anniversary)

Dr. Abdus Salam ko kaun nahi janta. He won nobel prize in Physics for his work in Electro-Weak Theory.

After he won nobel prize, Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, immediately invited him to India but he replied: "First I want to go to my own homeland, though I have strong desire to visit India but only for one reason - to see my primary school mathematics teacher - whose enthusiasm and encouragement for subject lead me to nobel prize".

Jise bachpun main achhe ustad mil jaayain woh bare Khush naseeb hote hain.

"The Scream"...aur Dadi Kulsum

Montreal ki sard raatoN main, main ne jub pehli baar Rohinton Mistry ki Kahani “The Scream” parhi to mera pehla reaction ye tha ke: “I didn’t expect such a mediocre work from such a big writer” but …I was wrong.

Rohinton Mistry’s short story “The scream” has recently been published with simultaneous impressive combination of 'mix media' artistic drawings of Tony Urquhart. It’s a project of World Literacy of Canada.

Jub main Montreal se Toronto wapas aaya to Amma ne kaha: “Jaane se pehle Kulsum Dadi se zaroor milte jaana, agli baar tak shayed woh is duniya main na rahain”. Main Kulsum Dadi se milne gaya to haddion (bones) ka aik dhancha bister pe para tha. Woh mujhe nahi pehchaniN. Kuch alfaz unke honton pe aye magar kisi ki samajh naa aaye. Kulsum Dadi ki umer 89 baras hai. Unhon ne khandan ke har fard ko godoN khilaya magar ab aalame-nazah (death bed) main pari hain…..To my doctor eye she appeared very anemic.... Ghar walon ne bataya, 'decub. ulcers' ke baais...... she is in severe pain... 'Hospital bed' ka intizam hai aur timardari ke liye full time ‘caretaker’ hai magar jis azziyat se woh guzar rahi hain main use koi naam nahi de paya.

Mujhe us aik lamhe main, jub Kulsum dadi ki aankhon se aansoN ke do qatre dhalak ke side pe gire – Rohinton Mistry ki kahani “The Scream” main chupe dukh ki gherayion ka andaza huwa. Aik umar raseeda shakhs apne aakhri ayyam main jis nafsiyati ‘mind set’ se guzarta hai woh mujhe samjh aa gai.

Main ne us kahani ko aik baar phir se parha…aur kafi dair tak airplane ki seat se sir tikaye betha raha………….There is a reason, I think Rohinton Mistry is one of the greatest writer of modern time!

Embraced by Desert

(Heard while talking to someone in a coffee shop)

Main ne apni zindagi ka beshtar hissa 'indian civil service' main guzara. Retire hone se kuch arsa pehle meri taayinaati (deputation) "district churu” main ho gai. Ye ilaqa Rajhastan ke shehra (desert) main hai aur shayed naqse pe dhundhna bhi mushkil ho. Wahan din main darjaye harart 50 C tuk aur raat main shadeed sard ho jata hai. Main akela wahan chala gaya. Dil main yahi sochta raha ke: ‘Kaun jaane, kese ye din katain ge’. Ajeeb ajeeb hol (fear) dil main uthte rahe.

Pehli subah, sawere sawere meri aankh khul gai. Main ne jese hi darwaza khola, aik taza hawa ka jhonka aaya aur mujhe yun mehsoos huwa jese – “I have been embraced by cool breeze of desert”. Main ne hulke hulke suroN main indian classical music laga di. Itni dair main naukar shave ke liye paani aur garam chai le aaya.

Subah sawere ki us thandi ‘breeze’ aur shehra ke us sakoot main jo sukoon pinhaN tha, woh na to mujhe America ki kisi wadi main mayyasar aaya aur na hi inglistan ki sard raatoN main.

Desert has its own beauty !

Lotto

Is blog pe main ne apni aik cousin sister ‘Nagin’ ka zikar kiya tha (here). Main jub bhi Canada aata hun, Nagin ke haan hi therna hota hai. Ab ki baar bhi Canada aaya to Nagin ke ghar thera. Aik Sham, Nagin apne bachhon ko le ker mall ki taraf ja rahi thi. Main bhi saath chal para. Mall pe Nagin ‘Lotto’ ke stall pe khari ho gai.

Main ne kaha: ‘ye kiya adaat tum ne apne saath laga li’.

Nagin ne jawab diya: “Mujhe bhi pata hai, lottery niklne ka chance lakhon main aik hai magar apne bachhon ke saath ‘lotto’ is liye khelti hun, ke mere bacchoN ka zindagi ki anhonioN pe iman qaaim rahe. Zindagi ki khubsurti inhi choti choti batoN se saji rehti hai. Hafte ke 2/4 dollar main itni saari umeedaiN aur khushiaN, bhale kuch der ke liye hi mil jaain to kiya bura hai” !!

A conversation

While roaming on streets of Toronto at midnight, looking for "Tim Hortons"....but both quiet - apne apne khayaloN main gum...

"Tumhe Pakistan yaad aata hai?"

"Kubhi kubhi"

"Ziyada ya kum?"

"Kubhi ziyada kubhi kum"

"Jub ziyada yaad aata hai to kiya kerte ho?"

"Mehdi Hasan ko sunta hun"

"Mehdi Hasan kiun?"

"Kiunke jub Pakistan yaad aata hai to uske saath woh sab chehre bhi yaad aate hain jin se hum mohabbat kerte the aur un mohabbatoN ko Mehdi Hasan Zaban de deta hai"

"hmmmm"

............phir khamoshi

Maqsood ki Imandari

Agar aap ye blog parhte rahe hain to aap ko andaaza hoga ke meri nau-umri aur nau-jawani ke din Karachi main guzre. Main pehli dafa Rawalpindi/Islamabad gaya to meri umer 24 baras thi. Mujhe Abbu aur Amma ke liya Canadian Immigration ke kuch papers jama kerwane the. Abbu ne kaha, Karachi ke halaat ki badolat behtar yahi hoga ke tum haat ke haat jama kerwa aao. Hamare mohalle ka aik lurka Murad Ali Rawalpindi main naukri kerta tha. Chandni Chowk ke qareeb usi ke makan pe therne ke plan bana. Chalte huwe abbu ne koi 5000 rupe alag se mere hawale kiye ke agar zaroorat par jaaye. Main ne woh paise patloon main daal liye.

Main aur mera cousin nazeer ba-kheriat Murad Ali ke makan pe paunch gaye. Murad Ali ka aik aur room-mate tha - Maqsood. Maqsood ka kamra kafi bara tha. Main aur Nazeer usi ke kamre main ther gaye. Main ne raat kupre badalte huwe patloon se 5000 rupe nikale aur sink par rakh ke bhool gaya. Subha hui to Murad Ali aur Maqsood to kaam pe chale gaye. Mujhe 5000 rupe nahi mile to Maqsood pe shaq guzra. Main ammi abbu ke immigration papers jama kerwane Islamabad chala gaya magar poora din dil hi dil main kurhta raha. Nazeer jazbati aadmi tha, is liye usse zikar nahi kiya ke Allah jaane kiya afat dhaye. Hum Islamabad se jald hi laut aaaye. Murad Ali aur Maqsood sham 6 baje kaam se wapas aaye to Maqsood ne pehla kaam ye kiya ke almari se 5000 rupe nikal ker mere hawale kiye aur kaha tumhari amanat sambhal lo. Mujhe apne aap per bari sharam aai aur usse bhi ziyada sharam us waqt aayi jab Maqsood ki kahani suni:

“Maqsood ke waldain 1947 main bihar se hijrat ker ke East Pakistan aaye. Jub 1971 main Bangladesh bana to Maqsood ke khandan ke saath bhi wahi huwa jo wahan har Bihari khandan ke saath huwa. Maqsood ke walid ko Mukti-bahini waloN ne goli maar di aur ghar walon ke saamne bari bahen ki izzat lut li. Us ne ‘talao’ (lake) main chalang laga ke khud-kushi ker li. BalwaiyoN ne baqi khandan ko saari zindani ye gum sehne ke liye zinda chor diya. Maqsood ki amma baqi 4 bachhoN ko le ker muhajir camp main mehsoor ho gai. Wahan se girte parte 2/3 baras baad woh Karachi paunche aur ‘Orangi town’ main thikana kiya. Maqsood ki amma ne kisi local factory main naukri ker ker ke 4 bachhoN ko bara kiya. Maqsood ne B.Com kiya to Amma ko naukri churwa di aur ab 3 behnoN aur Amma ka kafeel tha. Jo kamata tha woh guzare aur behnoN ke jahez ke liye jama ho jata tha”

Maqsood chahta to asani se mere 5000 rupe harap ker sakta tha, magar in halaat main bhi usne imandari ka daman nahi chora.Ye meri zindagi ke sirf woh 6 din the jo main ne Maqsood ke saath guzare magar har cheez main who hisab se apne paise pehle aage barha deta. Mujhe nahi maalom Maqsood ab kahan hai magar imandari ka jo sabaq woh mujhe parah giya, saari zindagi nahi bhulta. Ab bhi jab dostoN main “soldier system” ke hisab se paise nikalne ka waqt aata hai to meri koshish hoti hai ke sab se pehle apna hissa de dun – shayed mere andar bhi Maqsood ki imandari ki aik choti si ramaq jag utthe !

Aik Shair

A thought provoking shair of Abdul Hameed Adam.

"Khuda kee zaroorat naheen Adam mujh ko
abhee to mein koee insaan dhoond'ta hoon."

On Obama's win

As written by Adnan:

"I do have to say, the Americans have impressed me. This is the same country that let Bush be president for two terms, and clearly elected him for one (the second) term. And despite the smear campaign run by the Republicans, they still elected Obama.
Muslim. Arab. Pals around with terrorists. Socialist. Marxist.
And still, they elected him. Thank you for showing politicians that smear campaigns are awful, and they should not work."

Read very intelligent full post here

Salim Kausar

One of my all time favourite ghazal from Salim Kausar

People's Disease

Being a physician, one lesson I learned : "People's disease is a very private thing and it should not be brought for discussion unless and as appropriate needed. People get hurt !"


Azam koi dus baras mera class fellow reha ! Pehli se dasweeN jamat tuk hum aik hi class main rahe. Azam ko shuru se hi darde-shikam (Abdominal pain) ka problem tha. Diarrhea kubhi itna shadeed hota ke dinoN school se gaib rehta. Aksar class main use vomitting ho jaati. Aksar khabar aati Azam hospital main hai. Kai baar hum use uski amma ke saath clinic ya sarkari hospital se aata dekhte. NaweeN aur DasweeN main Azam mere saath tha. Bohut dosti rahi. Phir main aage chala gaya. Azam kisi aur college chala gaya. BarsoN beet gaye.

Jub main ne residency khatam ki to state license ke liye mujhe kuch papers attest kerwane school jana para. Azam ab bhi school ke aas paas usi makan main rehta tha. Junhi main school se nikla woh aik dam se saamne aa gaya. Ab bhi yunhi dubla patla jism tha. Lagta tha bimari ne uski jaan nahi chori thi. Jub salam dua khatam hui to mujhe kuch samjh nahi aaya ke kiya baat karun. Main ne be-khayali main poocha: "Ab tumhari bimari kesi hai ?" Us ke chehre pe aik rang aaya aur guzar gaya. Usne gol mol sa jawab de diya, magar meri baat se use jo takleef hui woh saaf ayaN thi.

Aaj bhi uska chehra yad aata hai to dil main nadamat aur aik kasak si uthti hai !

Phantom of Pleurae

"Human lung is covered with 2 layers, visceral pleura and parietal pleura. Inflammation between these pleurae cause pain and difficulty in breathing".

Jub main residency ker raha tha to hamare aik Korean pulmonologist the. Bare Allah wale aadmi the. Aik din unhon ne hum se kaha: "Human relationships are like 2 pleurae together. If they develop friction and inflammation but have no choice but to live together - causes severe pain with every breath. And let me tell you its not easy. Sometime there is no apparent reason for pleural inflammation. All workup remains negative. Kind of idiopathic.. But pain remains there - severe pain with each breath. Manytime human relationship turns into what I call Phantom of Pleurae".

Human Touch, Women and Business

Mere aik dur ke chachha the. Hum unhe Shaban Chachha kehte the. Wese intihai be-zarr se aadmi the magar Allah jhut na bulwaye, thore se sust (lazy) bhi the. Saari zindagi idhar udhar choti moti naukrian kerte rahe. Aur agar kubhi karobar main haat daala bhi to woh unki sustravi aur ziyada sote rehne ki adat ki badolt beth gaya…

Akhri baar unho ne ‘north nazimabad’ ke ilaqe main aik choti si bakery kholi. Main jub kubhi us ilaqe se guzarta to abba ki nasihat ke baais unki bakery pe salam kerne ruk jaata. Ab ki baar bhi karobar ka wahi haal tha aur who phir bakery band kerne ka soch rahe the. Pore din main bakery ba-mushkil koi 40-50 rupe ki ‘bikri’ (sale) kerti.

Koi 6/8 mahine baad amma ne bataya ke Shaban chachha ki bakery khub chal pari hai. Mujhe bari hairat hui. Ab ki baar unki bakery gaya to customers ka aik jame gafir tha. Faraq sirf itna tha ke ab bakery chalane main Gulshan chahhi ne unki help kerna shuru ker di thi. Main ne Shaban Chahha se poocha: “aakhir aesa kiya majra huwa ke bakery aik dum se yun chal pari”.

Chachha ne jawab diya: “Tum to jaante ho ke ye saara residential area hai. Ziyada tar gharelu log ya khawateen hi hamari customers hain. Tumhari gulshan chachhi ne logon ki dukh dard ki kahani sunna shuru ker di (I knew her from before, she is a very good listener). Customers ko is bakery se cheezon ke saath dukh dard ka madava bhi milna shuru ho gaya. Phir who aros paros ke logon ke liye kubhi ghar se pakore to kubhi gulab jaman paka ke laane lagiN. Dusri taraf Bakery ki bhi halat durust ki. In sab ke baais peechele 8 mahine main tumhe ye sun ker hairat hogi ke meri roz ki sale 5000 rupe ho gayi hai aur bare dinoN pe to ye 9/10 hazar tuk ho jaati hai”.

Kiya ye sach hoga ke: Women due to their ability of creating 'human touch’ are better sales person than men?

Confabulation

Few days ago, while I was traveling in an airplane, I noticed my co-passenger had a traveling magazine which I didn’t have in front pocket of my seat. I asked to have it for few minutes as I am always intrigued with natural lakes of USA. I looked at the relevant article but instead of giving back, I put magazine in my front pocket without realizing that it was not airlines’ but his magazine. He asked for his magazine back and I embarrassedly returned it.

Bachpun main bhi aksar aesa huwa ke, main ne zid pakar li ke ye khilona ya flaN flaN kitab meri hai. Amma ne ya bhai ne samjhaya tub kahin samjh aaya ke ye meri cheez nahi.

Zindagi main bohat si cheezon ke baare main hame ye aehtmal rehta hai ke woh cheez hamari hai magar ziyada tur cheezain bus kuch der ke liye hi hamare paas mustaa’r (on lease) hoti hain. Is aehsas ko – jis main ke ye tameez kerna mushkil ho jaaye – ke kaunsi cheez hamari hai aur kaunsi nahi – ya jis main ‘reality’ aur ‘fantasy’ – khalat malat ho jaaye- ko confabulation kehte hain.

Confabulation is defined as the confusion of imagination with memory.

Khalil Jibran apni kitab “The Prophet” main likhta hai ke asal main aulad bhi hamari nahi hoti. Hamare bachhe hamare nahi, waqt ke bachhe hote hain.

Abhi kuch hi dinon pehle main ne Nazeer Akbarabadi pe aik post likhi thi. Zaalim kiya sach likh gaya hai:

Sab thaT para reh jaawe ga jub laad chalega banjara

A quote

"A man could lose all his decency faster than any other thing he possessed: money, health, love"

(From Moazzam Sheikh's short story 'Monsoon Rains', when central character Masud walked to his naukrani basti in pouring rain whom he used as sex slave).

Kaifi Aazmi

What a ghazal from Kaifi Aazmi !

Woh bhi sarahney lagey, arbaab e fun kay baad
Daad e sukhan mili mujhey, tarkay sukhan kay baad

Deewana'waar chaand say aagey nikal gaye
Thehera na dil kahiN bhi, teri anjuman kay baad

HontoN ko see kay dekhiye, puchtaiiye ga aap
Hungamey jaag uThte haiN, aksar ghutan kay baad

Ghurbat ki thandi chaa'oN meiN, yaad aayi uski dhoop
Qadr e watan hui humeiN, tark e watan kay baad

Elaan e haq meiN khatra e daaro rasan to hai
Lekin sawaal yeh hai kay, daaro rasan kay baad?

Human emotions - healed or numbed?

A cross-posting of a paragraph from Aisha's recent post. It tells a lot about humans reactions to overwhelming emotions

"A group across from me drink cocktails engaged in casual conversation. Politics, I think until I hear them. A meeting of those with missing family. One lady with a page boy cut and blue jeans talks about her father. He went to Nepal and never returned. The other, a son in Iraq. "Do you think we'll ever know what happened?" Ms. Page asks as she takes a sip. A lady with coke bottle glasses shrugs as she looks at her nails. I'm amazed by how neutral they seem. They could be discussing the weather for all the emotion revealed. Maybe time heals? Maybe it numbs".

You may read whole post here

Father

Interesting Ad. (thanks to karrvakarela for tip)

Nazeer Akbarabadi

Nazeer Akbarabadi was an unique urdu poet. In 18th century era, when everybody was writing difficult classic urdu, mostly 'ishq related' ghazals, Nazeer wrote for and in simple common man language. In that time period, poetry in small 'bahar' (like of Mir Taqi Mir) were valued but Nazeer wrote in long 'bahar'. First time when I read his "sab thath para reh jawe ga, jub laaad chale ga bangera" in 10th grade, I loved his 'laffazi'. Ye woh umer hoti hai jub lafzon ka khel dil ko bohat bhata hai. Than, there was a point, I thought - what a big deal writing in such long lines? But when I gained more sense of world (did I?), I realized that his "laffazi" and long "bahar" make sense, as it send a strong message of core meaning. I doubt, he ever wanted to be famous. It is said that, 98% of his work was never found.

For any literature/writer/poetry we all go through 3 phases 1) enjoying its obvious flavour 2) criticizing it 3) understanding its core and value

A quote on life

"sometimes there is no such thing as right decision, we have to do what we got to do, as long we accept the responsiblities of the choices and stand by them...it always works"

(From a single working mother of two teenagers)

Mani ki Kahani

(I am cross-posting few parts from Baraka's recent post with permission. She left me speechless for many minutes in front of computer screen).

"...........Before my cousin Mani committed suicide in May, he was homeless for one period, in jail for another. He was the last person you’d expect either of, with two masters’ degrees from reputable Bay Area universities, a job at Sony, and a devoted wife and adoring son - all the stuff that is supposed to signal success and protect you from becoming one of the unwashed crazies on the street. But when his first mania struck at the age of 32, within weeks he had lost everything. As his mind boiled with fantasies and conspiracies, he spent his savings, lost his job and apartment, and then left his family, reputation, and sense of self-worth behind, never to be recovered. Two years later at the age of 34, after great suffering and consistently refusing to accept his condition or seek treatment, he shot himself in the head while his sick and aging parents slept in the next room............

I locked his memory away without allowing myself to grieve in May, too busy tending to a houseful of distraught women, including his wife, and to a frantic child, his son. Five months later it is still too painful to imagine his agony and isolation before he died, believing that we didn’t love him, that we were all against him. I still have all of his e-mails and the replies I sent him, unbearably harsh now in retrospect, because I didn’t understand that it was the disease speaking for him............His tragic death - and my role in contributing to it - showed me how serious a medical condition bipolar is; how imperative psychotherapy, medications and empathy are; and how deadly the consequences of not informing ourselves of the lethality of the disease proved to be. Lithium is as necessary as prayer.

For the first time since May, I find myself mentioning Mani in detail, here, and to her, because I hope that by speaking of his death, she - and others - might live.........I hope that he knows that I love him. But my mind recoils imagining that he does not know, and at someday having to answer his now five-year-old son when he asks me how and why his father was killed."


Read full post The Slippery Slope

Related previous post: Saving a person

The Professor

As commented for previous post - cross post from Uncle Saugoree blog

"He was not a university type professor but he was master of Ulum-e-Nujoom wa Qiyafah. He knew my chief and many other chiefs he knew as he had "tiched" them and had a testimonial from all big shots of Pakistan some professors, some High court Judges or Lawyers and such well-known officials and politicians (Pakistan and India- I am talking about 1958 experience).

One day he proceeded to demonstrate his "powers". He gave us a slate on which we wrote something after we had gone into other room and came back to him and to our surprise he was able to write it down exactly what we had written. So what is this "tiching". He would catch hold of a finger, mostly little finger just for a moment and then will tell you about what will happen to the person. This process was called by him as, "tich kerna". I was tiched also (no charge) and most of what he said turned out to be true such as when I would go out (of country) hwereas at that time I had not thought of leaving Pakistan".

Read full post here

Kala Jaadu - Syed Ali aur Zubi - 2

Syed Ali aur Zubi ka jo qissa pehle likh gaya hun (here), usi ke parton main ye aik ajeeb saniha hai.

Jesa ke main ne likha tha ke Syed Ali aur Zubi ki shadi ke liye shart ye lag gai ke pehle Syed Ali ki bahen ki shadi ho, jo ke ho ker hi nahi deti thi. Zubi ke andar jalti aag aahista aahista jalan aur phir adawat main tabdeel ho gai. Gurbat, Mohabbat aur dhalti umer ne mil ker 'frustration' itni barha di ke Zubi ne taaweez, gandon, babon, sadqon bulke kaale jadoo tuk ka sahara lena shuru ker diya.

Aik din Zubi ki ma use Karachi ke ilaqe 'teen hatti' pe kisi aamil ke paas le gai jis ne shaadi kerwane ki 'gaaranti' le li. Kuch ajeeb ajeeb amal bataye aur kaha; ye amal parh ke har raat Syed Ali ki bahen ki tasweer pe phoonkh do, tumhara kaam ho jaaye ga. Zubi ko ab in 'totkon' pe koi khas yaqeen to nahi raha tha magar ye soch ker ke kiya jata hai, amal ker diya.

Koi do teen mahine baad ye khabar aai ke Syed Ali ki bahen "Yarqan" (Hepatitis A) ki waba main faut ho gai. Maut bhi aesi ki jism ke har hisse se khun band hi nahi hota tha (coagulopathy due to liver failure).

Jub Zubi ne pehli baar mujhe ye qissa sunaya to rote rote uski hichki bandh gai. Mujh se kehne lagi, maiN ne kubhi aesa nahi chaha tha. Poochne lagi qayamat ke roz mera kiya hoga? Ab is zindagi main is nadani se ho jaane wale gunah ka kaffara kese ada karun? MaiN khud gunahgar.........siwaye tifal tassaliyon ke kiya jawab deta?

Allah hum sab ko is 'shar' (evil) se bachaye!

MaiN jub Amma se milne Canada jata hun aur raat ke peechle pahar, Amma ye samjh ker ke maiN so raha hun, mujh per 'surah falaq' parh ker phoonkti hain aur sir pe haat pehrti hain to pehle mujhe khub hasi aati thi magar ab nahi aati - bulke achha lagta hai !

(Below is a forward from regular mails I get)

Achhi Aulad

Main internet per Eid ke programmes 'browse' ker raha tha ke Pakistani comedian Umer Shariff ka show dekhne beth gaya. Usme usne aik bari achhi baat kahi:

"Duniya main is se bara sadqae jaariya (continuous charity) koi nahi ke aap aik achhi aulad chor jaayain"

A quote

I think, following quote best describe parents and kids relationship. (anybody knows author?)

"To the world you might be one person,
but to one person you just might be the world".

Tumhe mere Allah ne bheja hai

(written on Eid day)


Zaroori to nahi ke Zindagi main insaan ko har kisi ki baat ka yaqeen aa jaaye magar phir bhi aksar kuch baatain dil main reh jaati hai.

Pakistan ki aik trip ke dauraN mujhe ye khayal aaya ke aaj bus se safar kerna chahiye. Karachi main ‘prince cinema’ se zara aage ‘tibet center’ ka bus stop hai. Jumme ka din tha aur dophar ka waqt huwa hoga. Main bus ke intazar main khara ho gaya magar bus thi ke aakar hi nahi deti thi. Mere sabar ka paimana labrez huwa aur main ne aas paas nazar doraii to aik khali rikshaw khara nazar aaya magar us khali rickshaw ka driver nazar nahi aaya. Main ne wahan khare aik shaks se poocha: ‘is rickshaw ka driver kahan hai?’ to usne door khare aik bachhe ko awaz di: ‘Munne jao chacha se kaho, sawari aai hai’. Munna saamne dukan pe bethe aik chache ko bula laya. Chache ne mujh se kaha: ‘Aap to kub se wahan bus stop pe khare the, kiya irada badal diya?’. Mai ne jawab diya: ‘Bus chacha! Dhoop se behaal ho raha hun’. Chacha ji ke chehre pe aik muskurahat aai aur bole:

“Mere Allah hi ne tumhare dil main ye khayal dala ke aaj bus ka safar karo, phir tumhe dhoop se behaal kiya aur mere rickshaw ke paas bheja. Aaj mera kaam kafi thandda tha aur main soch raha tha ke – aaj ka kharch kese poora hoga? Kiya mujhe aaj phir mithaii wale ka aata goondhna pare ga? Magar mere Allah ne tumhe mera rizq bana ker bhej diya. Tumhe mere Allah ne bheja hai”

Mujhe unki baat ka yaqeen to na aaya magar main ne sir hila diya. Chachaji to bari asani se eeqan ki rassi thame apni mushkil se guzar rahe hain. Sochta hun, bure waqt main hum jese munkir, iman ki woh taqat kahan se laayain ge !!

Peechle eid ki posts: Bhoot and Eid in west

A Tale of 2 Childhoods

Meri umer koi 5 baras ya usse bhi kum rahi hogi. Aik din Abbu apne dost se milne ja rahe the ke mujhe bhi saath le gaye. Abbu ke dost PIA main pilot the. Unki flight ka time ho raha tha. Ye woh zamana tha jub terminal se jahaz tuk walking tubes nahi hoti thin bulke chal ker ya bus main jahaz tuk jana parta tha aur phir 'stairs' se jahaz main charhna parhta tha. Hum abbu ke dost aur unke crew ke saath jahaz ki taraf walk kerne lage. Sufed wardi (white uniform), uspe lage badge, pilots wali neeli topi (blue hat), runway ke bare bare mazboot concrete - in sub ka mujh pe kuch aesa asar huwa ke main ne soch liya - bara ho ker pilot banun ga. Magar jub satween jamat (7th grade) main tha to kisi ne keh diya: "Tum pilot kese bun sakte ho, tum to chashme lagate ho". Woh khawish wahin dum tor gai magar andar sulagti chingari hamesah jalti rahi.

Jub America aane ke liye main pehli baar jahaz main bethne ke liye Karachi ke purane airport se bus main load huwa to aik dum se bachpun ka woh nazara saamne aa gaya. Uske baad main ne najaane sekron (hundreds) baar jahaz ka safar kiya hoga magar aaj bhi jub airport pe kisi pilot ya takeoff kerte huwe concrete ke mazboot runways pe nazar parti hai to andar chupi chingari phir bharak uthti hai.

Main ne kubhi iski koshish nahi ki (ya shayed gair-iradi tor per aesa huwa ho) magar mere bete ki umer koi 3 baras rahi hogi, tub se use jahazon ke models jama kerne, unki videos dekhne aur unki kitabain parhne ka junoon ki had tuk shoq hai. Woh urte jahaz ko dekh ker bata sakta hai ke aaya ye Cesna hai, Mcdonell Douglas hai ya Airbus. NASA ke shuttles ke takeoff ki commentaries use zubani yaad hai. Mere ghar main aap sofe pe bethain ge to neeche se jahaz baramad hoga. Ab uske sawalon ke jawab mere paas nahi hote.

Sochta hun - kiya dabi khuwasihat bhi genes se 'transmit' ho jaati hain?

Generation Gap and Love

Log kehte hain ke ma baap(parents) aur bachhon(kids) ki aksar is liye nahi banti kiunke beech main zamane ki raftar se aik 'generation gap' aa jata hai. Main is baat ko nahi maanta!

Aap dekhain ge ke 'grand kids' aur 'grand parents' ki hamesah khub jamti hai aur bara piyar hota hai.

Agar zamane ki uftad mohabbat ko qatal ker sakti to aesa na hota. Aulad mohabbat dhundhti hai ,chahe rang-nasal-zaban-zamane ka kitna hi faraq kiun na ho aur buzurg jaante hain ke ke kese darguzar kerna aur sirf mohabbat ka jawab mohabbat se dena.

3 Nayab 'Women'

Duniya main 3 aurtain nayab hoti hain.

1. Aik woh jo jaanti hain 'makup' kahan rokna hai.

2. Dusri woh jo janti hain, jhagra kahan chor dena hai.

3. Teesri woh jo janti hain, mard ko kis had tak tarsana hai.

Woh Aik Sajdah

Khush-naseeb hote hain woh log, jo sajda ker sakte hain!

Badal ke bhes phir aatay hain har zamanay main,

agar-cheh peer hai aadam, jawan hain Laat o Manaat

Woh aik sajdah jissay tuu garaN samajhta hai,

hazaar sajdhoN se deta hai aadmi ko nijaat

(Iqbal)

They resurface with new face in each (time) period,

though (now) mature is Adam, (still) young are Laat o Manaat

That one prostration which you think is difficult

gives man freedom from thousands prostration

.

Related Post: Shabe Qadar

Psychiatry, Religion and NDE

"As you ask me to pinpoint one thing which I found consistent and different in my practice of psychiatry, let me tell you first that being a psychiatrist and a Muslim together was very interesting for me, particularly after my training in Western institutions. One phenomenon which remained very attractive for me was talking to patients with 'near death experience' (NDE). All those patients consistently described their loved ones who were already dead to be on the other side waiting for them. I found it bizarre that none of many patients recalled seeing an alive person. I always wondered, is it all anoxic brain tissues that give consistent NDE physiology, or is this real metaphysical and spiritual thingy".

Related post: Code Blue

*

Parents, Divorce, Disease and Smoke !

"We never had a good marriage. When we realized that our marriage was not working, we had a two-year-old daughter. We decide to stay in the marriage for her sake. It took good 18 years when she went to college, and we took divorce with mutual consent. We taught now our daughter should be able to take it easy, but she absorbed this shock inside. And let me tell you, she is not an average kid. She is a brilliant kid with always the best in education and sports. She developed Ulcerative Colitis. Every time she comes home with an exacerbation of her disease and gets a Remicade shot, she becomes miserable. I advise her to start smoking this time; as you know, smoking helps in ulcerative colitis. If you think kids ever get big enough for their parents' divorce, you are dead wrong."

 (Related post: Samjhaute ki chadar / Jim )

*

Short film - "Story of a Sign"

I received this link in a fwded email. Allegedly, this film has won numerous awards around the globe along with the Best Short Film at Cannes Film Festival 2008.

Sayed Ali aur Zubi

Zaroori Nahi hamare India/Pakistan ke 'conservative' culture main sab theek ho. Khud hamare 'conservatism' ki apni buraiaN hain.

Zubi sare mohalle main badnaam thi kiun ke uski umer koi 16 ya 18 baras hogi jub usne do char stage dramon main kaam kiya. Hamare mohalle ke aik lurke nauman ko acting ka shoq tha. Nauman ke saath main kubhi kubhi 'arts council' drame ki rehearsal dekhne chala jata tha, wahin meri Zubi se dosti hui. Main Zubi ko chai pilata aur lateefe sunata. Zubi khud bhi kamal ki hazar-jawab lurki thi. Agar use taalim ka mauqa milta to bohat aage jati bulke agar acting ki duniya main hi rehti to aaj uski tasveer bhi Karachi ke har billboard pe hoti.

Drame ki practice raat gaye khatam hoti aur jub Zubi ko koi lurka mohalle main raat gaye drop kerta to kai aankhain uth jaati. Zubi ke walid faut ho chuke the, amma motape(obesity) ki wajah se maazur thi aur aik chota bhai tha. Zubi ke paas is ke ilawa chara nahi tha. Zubi ki parsaai ke liye mujhe kisi qasam ki zaroorat nahi. Ye sach hai ke stage pe kai 'obash' (pervert) log kaam kerte hain aur shareef gharane ki lurkian amuman wahan nahi bhatkti magar zubi ne shayed hi kisi ko had se bharne diya ho.

Kuch arse baad mohalle walon ki wajah se Zubi ne ye kaam chor diya aur tower pe aik firm main typist ki naukri ker li. Ye aik ajeeb ittafaq tha ke mera aik dost Syed Ali usi building main job kerta tha. Sayed Ali Zubi pe aashiq ho gaya. Woh Zubi se shadi kerna chahta tha magar jub 'inquiry' pe Sayed Ali ke ghar walon ko Zubi ke pehle stage dramon main kaam kerne ka ilm huwa to unhon ne Sayed Ali ko Shadi se rok diya. Baat khatam ho gai magar donon ke dil main mohabbat ki aag sulagti rahi.

Sayed Ali ghar ka kafeel tha. Jub Sayed Ali ke ghar walon ne lurke ki halat dekhi to bilakhir shadi ke liye haan ker di magar shart lagaii ke jub tuk Sayed Ali ki bahen biah nahi di jati, ye shadii nahi hogi. Sayed Ali ki bahen ki shadi to nahi hui magar woh aakhirkar Hepatitis A ki aik waba main faut ho gai (will write detail in other post). Magar ye Saniha koi 6 baras baad hua. Bilakhir unki shadi hui.

Ab ki baar main Pakistan gaya to socha dekhun dono kese hain. Main Sayed Ali ke ghar gaya to Zubi school van se apne bachhe ko utar rahi thi. Mujhe dekh ke bohat khush hui. Main ne poocha kitna bara ho gaya tumhara ye beta. Zubi ne jawab diya: "6 Baras ka ! Agar log kamine nahi hote to shayed ye aaj 12 baras ka hota". Zubi ne baat to mazaqan kahi magar andar chupa teer bata raha tha woh saari zindagi uske maathe pe lagaya gaya badnami ka daag nahi bhule gi !

Chacha Karim, Toofan aur Pareende

One of my friend works at UTMB, Galveston. I called him last night due to Hurricane Ike. Here is conversation:

"Did you evacuate?"

"Main ne wednesday morning ko hi evacuate ker liya tha"

"That was pretty early"

"Wednesday morning, main pareendon ke shor se bedaar huwa.... and saw them flying in flocks away. I knew, its gonna hit here. Hamare punjab main TV, Satellite nahi hote the. Magar gaun (village) main Chacha Karim hota tha. Woh pareendon ke shor se andaza laga leta the ke kitna shadeed toofan aaye ga. Pareendon ki perwaz dekh ke hawaon ka rukh bata deta tha. Main ne us subah weather channel ki bajaye Chacha Karim pe ziyada bharosa kiya aur nikal gaya. Allah jaane gaun main ab bhi Chacha Karim hota hai ya nahi..."

Guardian Angel

Kiya ye sach hoga ke hum sab ka aik "Guardian Angel" hota hai

Andheri raat hai, saaya to ho nahi sakta
Ye kaun hai jo mere saath saath rehta hai

aik khubsurat shair

palat ke har taraf se kyon nazR us shaks per thehri?
Wafa ke silsilo`N ki woh musalsal inteha' thehra'

(anyone knows poet?)

Dusra Sawal

Zindagi main aik aam aadmi aur aqalmand aadmi ka faraq ye hai ke aqalmand aadmi "dusra sawal" kerta hai. Ye sawal pehle sawal ya 'statement' ke baad aata hai !

- aur baat jitni asan lagti hai, utni hi mushkil hai.

"He is cruel to me"
but why he is cruel to me (you)?

"My parents are not happy with me"
but why my(your) parents are not happy with me(you)?

"My spouse doesn't trust me"
but why my(your) spouse doesn't trust me(you)?

"I can't get this done"
but why I (you) can't get this done?

Jo zindani main dusre sawal tuk jana sikh le, wahi samjhdar hai.

Quote

Its really hard to wait for the right person in your life esp. when the wrong one is so cute.

(Send to me in an email, when I argued with one girl about her decision to marry a particular boy)

Tip !

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year old boy entered a coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress comes by and put a glass of water in front of him.

“How much is an ice cream sundae?” asked the boy.

“50 cents,” replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. “How much is plain ice cream?” he inquired.

Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient. “35 cents,” she said annoyingly.

The little boy again counted the coins. “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table, and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier, and departed.

When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were 15 cents - her tip.


(What impressed me - I found this in one of the pure 'finance' blog)

Batwe

Allah Jannat naseeb kare hamari Dadi ko - kaha kerti thin: "Jis ghar main batwe(wallet) alag ho jaayain, us ghar ki chataiN (roofs) bhi saath nahi rehtiN."

Faith-Healing

Interesting post and discussion at Uncle Saugoree blog.

"Faith healing (regardless of the type of faith) is not uncommon and I am going to relate a story of a practitioner in Pakistan whom I know very well. A woman appeared in his office with acute breast abcess (very painful condition indeed) He told her, it will have to be incised. She got scared, went to a 'faith-healer' and came back on third day without fever or pain though abcess still there and said "Doctor saheb cheera lagaa dain ab." (Go ahead doc, give your incision now)."

"Is it all psychological? - what you think?" (My querry)

"Good question.

I think many of these "healings" (other than planned and fake in the TV programs of these Televangelists--that is what I think I infer from the man putting his hand on the forehead of the "patient" and the patient falling backward held by the assistants of the preacher) may be explained on psychological basis, but I am sure there are definite healings that do occur as "miracles" (and not just because they cannot be explained in scientific terms).

I clearly remember one experience, that I shall have to describe with some brevity. My chief (the late prof. C. D. Aring) belonged to the "older" group of neurologists when Neurology was more intimately connected with Psychiatry) During my residency I had one young woman admitted in our ward with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) with paraparesis with upgoing toes, along with other signs (Definite Dx. of MS) and had some deformity of feet. One morning I came and she was out of bed standing and wanted to dance around with me. I was told, a faith healer had visited.Her deformity of feet was gone, still had upgoing toes but was walking very much improved with very little stiffness of legs".

Read full post and comments here

Rafiq Chacha ki 2 rupe wali gari

Hum us waqt koi 7/8 baras ke rahe honge. Hamare Nana Africa se wapas aaye to sab ke liye kuch na kuch tohfa le ker aaye. Magar mera tohfa sab se mehnga tha. Mere liye woh aik achhi si inglistan ki bani hui gari le ker aaye, jo chabi se chalti thi.

Amma ne mujhe gari di to boliN: "Ye bohut mehngi gari hai. Poore 25 rupe ki (us waqt 25 rupe bohat hote the). Dekho sambhal ke rakhna aur bhai ke saath mil ke khelna." Main bhai ke saath bhala kiun khelta? Saath ke dusre 'cousins' ghar aate woh bhi bohat kurhte. Main bari 'raunat' se gari se khelta aur unke dil jalata rehta.

Aik din un sab ne paise jama kiye aur bahir 'Rafiq chacha' ki dukan se 2 rupe ki choti gari khareed ke le aaye - aur mujhe challenge kiya: "Race laga lo. Jo gari jeete woh behtar". Main apni bari gari ke zom main tha, race laga betha. Us do rupe ki aluminium ki khali kholi halki gari se meri bhari bharkham chabi se chalne wali gari buri tarah haar gai. 8 main se 7 cousins ne yaktarfa mere khilaf faisla de diya - aur main haar gaya.

Main barson is haar pe kurhta raha. Woh haar mujhe hazam nahi hui. Kese maan lun? meri inglistan ki bani itni mazboot model ki gari Rafiq Chacha ki 2 rupe ki gari se haar gai?

Magar jub zindagi ki resha-dawanion se pala para tub mujhe us haar ka matlab samjh aaya: Aadmi jitna mal-o-daulat ke bojh se apne aap ko bhari ker le, utna hi uska chalna mushkil ho jata hai. Rafiq Chacha ki 2 rupe ki gari ka rasta hi asan aur sahal rasta hai.

"Allah hum sab ko asani de aur asani taqseem kerne ka sharf bakhshe" - Ashfaq Ahmad

Unique view

Few months ago I did a post titled Psychological Dyslexia . Few peoples have ability to see angles of thing, which are present for centuries but nobody ever discovered it.

When first time I read Arundhati Roy, I was not very impressed with her writing skills but was blown away with her unique views to different aspects of life and relationship. She had immense emotional depth. Lately, she created stir with her comment on disputed region of Kashmir. Read her unique view:

"India needs azadi from Kashmir just as much as - if not more than - Kashmir needs azadi from India. The unimaginable sums of public money that are needed to keep the military occupation of Kashmir going is money that ought by right to be spent on schools and hospitals and food for an impoverished, malnutritioned population in India. What kind of government can possibly believe that it has the right to spend it on more weapons, more concertina wire and more prisons in Kashmir?"

Thelma

Zindagi main kuch waqiaat kiun hote hain, aur hum kuch logon se kiun milte hain, is ki aksar khud hame bhi khabar nahi hoti - magar is "divine web" main hum sab aik dusre se kachhe dhagoN main bandhe huwe hain.

Kuch dinoN pehle doctors ki aik private mehfil main ye guftagu chal nikli ke har koi aik aesa waqiya bayan kare jo anhona (unexpected) ho.... Dr. Karim (name changed) is a dermatologist. He is a very religious and a family person....unki zaban se jub ye baat nikli ke ya waqiya aik prostitute/sex worker ka hai to hum sab ke kaan khare ho gaye !!

"Mera bhai Belgium main rehta hai. Koi 3 baras pehle Pakistan jaate huwe main hafte bhar ke liye uske haan ruka. Aik roz doston ke israr pe main bahek giya aur hum "red light district" ki taraf chale gaye. Thelma mujhe wahin mili. Jub main Thelma ke saath tha to uske private area pe mujhe aik brownish mole nazar aaya. Main dermatologist tha. Woh mole melanoma ke classic 'ABCD' pe poora utarta tha. Main ne Thelma ko mashwara diya ke doctor ko zaroor dikhaye...Is saal main phir Belgium gaya to Thelma ka khayal aaya. Main usko khojne wapas gaya. Woh ab bhi wahan kaam kerti thi. Mujhe dekhte hi gale se lag gai - kehne lagi: "You are my angel. It was indeed a cancer. I got surgery and cured. You saved my life. You will be guest of the house tonight !"

Shabana - 2

Agar aap ko yaad ho to is blog pe main ne aik bazla-sanj (witty) lurki "shabana" ka zikar kiya tha, jo mere saath Karachi main house job kiya kerti thi.

Peechle weekend main apne purane kagaz saaf ker raaha to us main se shabana ka aik card baramad huwa. Tafseel suniye:

Main house job ke kuch arse baad America aa gaya aur Shabana wahin reh gai. Uski shaadi hamare saath ke hi aik senior doctor se ho gai. Jub main residency main pehli baar Pakistan gaya to Shabana ke kai messages mile ke - usse mile bagair wapas na jaun magar main wadon ke bawajud usse mile bagair wapas USA aa gaya. Aake mujhe apni kum-zarfi ka aehsas hua to main ne Shabana ko "I am sorry" ka aik card mail kiya. Kuch hafton baad uska aik sada sa card mausul huwa aur andar ye do satrain (lines) likhi thin..

Manane ki adat kahan par gai
Satane ki ta'alim kiya ho gai ?

Metros

Shahr (Metros) 2 tarah ke hote hain.

1. Jis ka intazam isliye theek nahi rakha ja sakta kiunke wahan log rehte hain. 2. Jis ka intazam isliye theek rakha jata hai kiunke wahan log rehte hain.

Ab ye aap ki qismat hai ke aap kis shahr main rehte hain.

Zindagi

"Jub tum se milne ke baad mujhe aesa laga ke main hamila hun to pehle dar gai magar phir jub aesa na huwa to aik dukh sa huwa"

"Sach poocho to aik halki si chot mujhe bhi lagi thi - ke kaash hamara dar sach hota"

Khandani Dushmani

Main metric main tha jub Sher Khan ne hamare mohalle main makan liya. Sher Khan ka taaluq Chitral se tha. Us ne Karachi University main admission liya tha. Sher Khan "surkha" (leftist) tha aur testosterone nikalte hi mere khayalat bhi bagyana (rebellious) ho gaye the. Sher Khan se meri dosti ho gai. Jub Pakistan main General Zia ke khilaf MRD ki tahreek chali to main Sher Khan ki banners banane main madad kiya kerta. Mere Medical School main paunchne ke baad ye dosti aur gheri ho gai.

Sher Khan ne aahista aahista apne chote bhaiyon, bhanjon aur bhatijon ko bhi Karachi bulwa liya. Main unko tutition parhaya kerta. Aik din tuition parhane pauncha to ghar band tha. Parosion ne bataya, Sher Khan Chitral gaya tha wahan use kisi ne golian maari hain aur hospital main hai. Saare ghar wale chale gaye hain. Koi 6 mahine baad, Sher Khan wapas aaya to main ne Poocha: "Kiya siyasi chakkar tha?",

bola: : " Nahi ! Purani khandani dushmani thi"

Main ne poocha: "Dushmani kis baat pe chal rahi hai?"

Sher Khan ne jawab diya: "ye khandani dushmani bhi ajeeb hoti hai. Dono taraf kisi ko nahi maalum asal jhagra kub aur kiun huwa tha. Har nasal ke sainkroN afrad mar chuke hain. Tum mujhe parha likha samjhte ho na ! magar bachpun se meri aesi brainwashing hui he ke saamne waale ko dekh ke mera khun kholne lagta hai. 8 main se 1 goli ab bhi andar hai. Ye Khandani dushmani bari kutti cheez hai."

Never underestimate the power of revenge....