Friday, February 29, 2008

Kalank

"Tumhe Gulbanu yaad hai jis ki ma kisi ke saath bhag gai thi".

Ye jumla mujhe aik dost ne phone pe kaha. Gulbanu log 5 bhai bahen the. Teen bahenain aur do bhai. Gulbanu ke abba aik ajeeb 'khoosat aur bad-dimag' aadmi the. Aaye din unke ghar se gulbanu ke amma ki mar khane ki awazain aati thi. Woh bachhon ki bhi rozana khub pitai bulke kutai kerte the. Aur phir aik din Gulbanu ki amma kisi ke saath ghar chor gain.

Is baat ko qareeban 32 baras guzar gaye magar hamare 'culture' main koi ye nahi dekhta ke aurat aashna ke saath kiun farar ho gai, bulke hamesah ke liye, yahi kalank mal diya jaata hai ke - "bhag gai".

(Hamare muashre main aurat ki talaq ko itna mushkil bana diya gaya hai ke agar uska apna koi social support na ho to woh bechari aur kiya kare).

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Bhini bhini si khusbu

"Tum apna america main kiya kho ker aaye ho ?"

"Kuch bhi nahi"

"Kuch to hai"

"Kiun? aesa kiun pooch rahi ho?"

"kiunke pehle jub tum paas hote the to aik bhini bhini si khusbu ka aehsas rehta tha. Ab aesa nahi hota !"

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Socrates (suqrat)

Jub suqrat zaher ka piyala pi raha tha to us ke aik shagird ne kaha -' ustad hame afsos hai ke aap be-gunah maare ja rahe hain". Suqrat ne jawab diya:

"To kiya tum ye chahte ho ke main gunahgar ho ker mara jaun!"



Sunday, February 24, 2008

Libas !

saugoree uncle is my must read blog. I always learn something from him. See this beautiful interpretation I learned for surah baqara, ayat 187

"Hunna libasul-lakum wa antum libasul-lahun"
"they (wives) are an apparel for you and you are an apparel for them"

God describes man and woman as "Libas" (garment) for each other which is a good way of describing how man should cover her defects and she covers his defects to make them look nice (and feel good about each other).

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Drinking Blood

Suroor mera pura blog le le magar apni ye post mujhe de de !!


Drinking Blood
Thursday, June 12, 1947 - Lahore.

Pressing the large butcher’s knife against Manmohan’s throat, Laddan screamed one more time,


“Tell me the truth!”

“No, no! Please leave me. I told you I’m Brahmin. I’m not Muslim. I hate all Muslims – harami saale sab ke sab (bloody bastards all of them). I’m your Hindu brother in faith.”

Laddan pierced a small hole in Manmohan’s throat and the latter let out a piercing cry, but no one heard it. Outside, the city was on fire. Quit India movement was still raging on. Nine days earlier Lord Mountbatten had announced plans for the partition of India. The communal war was being fought furiously but no one knew who was on whose side. Hindus and Sikhs were against Muslims. Muslims hated them but together they were supposedly fighting against the British. Amanatullah’s kothi was burnt down to ashes. Yousuf Ali’s three daughters were raped and slaughtered in broad daylight. Amongst this chaos, Lord Mountbatten found order through sipping the Colonial tea which was exported to the UK and hugely benefited the business of the late Glaswegian, Sir Thomas Lipton.

Indians drank only cheap blood.

Laddan’s accomplice winked at him to hint Manmohan was telling the truth that he was Hindu. Without hesitation Laddan sliced open Manmohan’s teenage throat in a single motion. He was now a pro. Manmohan gargled furiously on his gushing blood which had splattered everywhere. In his fist he tightly held his taweez, hiding it from Laddan. Pupils fully dilated, Manmohan’s shocked eyes stared at nothingness as he tried to proclaim, “La ‘ilaa-ha ‘il-lal-laa-hu mu-ham-ma-dur ra-soo-lul-laah.”

Laddan aka Salamat Ali stared at Manmohan aka Abdul Latif in utter shock. He turned to his naïve accomplice and shouted,

Saale! You said he was a Hindu swine?!”




(For me technically it was a weak story as it was easy to identify adult muslim/hindu quickly via circumcision. I still loved this story because of the central theme that, 'when you get blind with religion, you get decieve easily'. When I expressed my reservation to suroor, she explained to me: "You know I used to think that too and thus Manto made sense but there were many Muslim families who didn't (or forgot to) practice circumcision which should have made life during partition more difficult. For instance my grandfather had 15 siblings (9 brothers) from two mothers and except for two older boys none was circumcised! They were raised by Hindu nannies and life just got on without anyone remembering that the seven boys were never snipped". - Thanks suroor)

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Tipping the change


Zindagi main kuch log aap ko thori der ke liye milte hain magar ta-hayat ghere naqoosh chor jaate hain.


Meri aik adat se log aksar nalaaN rehte hain. Whenever I buy something from fast food, Starbucks, etc., I put all 'change' in the Tip bottle, though 'tipping' at such places is not a norm, at least in the USA. Real addiction is to drop coins in the bottle as soon as you get in your hand.


Jub main ne blog likhna shuru kia to mujhe 'posts' likhne ka ziyada idea nahi tha. Pehle-pahel ki aik be-dhangi si post main ne apne dost 'Ammar' ke liye likhi thi. Ammar aik aesa dost tha jo meri zindagi main sirf 2 baras ke liye aaya magar ghere naqoosh chor gaya. Haramzade ki kai aadatain aaj tuk jaan se lagi hui hain aur usi main se aik adat saari 'change' tip ker dene ki hai.


Jub bhi hum coffee peene nikalte - Ammar never allowed me to pay as he always acted like a 'senior' and 'big brother.' After I got comfortable with him, I asked: "Why do you do that?, For 7 dollars of coffee, you pay the full ten bucks". Us ne mujh se kaha: "Try out. I can't explain. But it will make you a better human being"!


And indeed, I feel that adherence to that habit played a role in making me a better human being. Try out! I promise you will not go wrong. Remember, real addiction is to drop coins in the bottle as soon as you get in your hand.


Aaj bhi jub apne bachhe ko hur sham ice-cream khilane nikalta hun to Ammar bohut yaad aata hai!


*

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

War on terror with Que Sera Sera

And one day "Que Sera Sera' suddenly vanished from Blogosphere.

Now I consider myself American and I exactly understand the meaning and importance of "war on terror". But the way this 'war on terror' has been executed has done more harm to the image of America worldwide. It has made more enemies than friends. Its unfortunate that many innocent people who has nothing to do with politics and are only interested in the welfare of their family has been punished for no reason. Particularly at airport and immigration, it was not only limited to muslims but people from every country, race and religion has been treated as 'suspected proved otherwise'. Now here read the story what happened to 'Que Sera Sera' and her family (with her permission):

"....In April 2007, my husband and I came to Qatar for a 4-day recruitment interview for a job, leaving the kids with my sisters in the US. On our way back, at Houston Airport, we were denied entry and our visas were revoked. Why, how, no one knows and it is still a mystry to us. We were in status, our papers were complete but as my sis-in-law says they did not like the color combination of the clothes we were wearing so they decided we should not be allowed to re-enter. Anyway, the homeland security people decided to deport us back home without our kids. Only 15 minutes before the departure of the flight back home they decided to give me a months time to get the kids and then leave for home. My husband went back and I went to our town. Disposed off all the stuff in a week and took the kids and came back to Pakistan in less then 2 weeks.

My husband got the job and we moved to Qatar in July 2007. We had to come here by August anyway, but the homeland security people pushed us to come here early. It seems so easy to write it all now but at that time it was worse then a nightmare. And we found out later that we are not the only ones who had to face this, there are thousands of people being detained and deported without any reason. Because of all this my husband's Phd got delayed. He was to defend in the Summer of '07 and thanks to the homeland security it will now be later this year inshallah.

I am extremely grateful to my family and friends in the US and ofcourse to my husband's freinds at the university, who were there with me during that horrible time."

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Mother Tongue

One blessing of the blogosphere is I met many, many intelligent men and women, and one of them is Baraka. I don't know her personally, but her writings always make sense. I am disappointed that she does not write fiction as much as she should. Any good short story gets measured by the impact of its opening and closing sentences. Follow the link and read the full story. It's the story of a second-generation immigrant/Pakistani girl who sees her mom enjoying blissful moments with herself .....and as a reaction.......

A great tale about the psychological impact of cultural conflicts. I am reproducing here only the beginning part but read the rest with the link,

"She used to spy on her mother, who seemed stranger each day the little girl went to school and discovered what normal was. What it wasn’t: The chicken tikka sandwiches her mother packed for lunchtime that smelled enough to wrinkle little snub noses and avert golden heads, the baggy pants and long shirts she wore while waiting at the curb after school, the hesitant English and modest grace that marked everything she did, so different from the loud, confident mothers of the other girls at school....."


Read the full short story here

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Lexus !

Money can't buy happiness but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Lexus. - Rider unknown

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Marriage for financial security

Hamare aik rishte ke mamu hain - Ramzu (Ramzan) mamu. (Ye purani post, Aaj Jumma hai, se dusre wale mamu hain) . Ramzu mamu bachpun hi se ghar chor bhage. Street smart the. Khub daulat kamai. Ab unki umer koi 60 ke aas paas hogi. Koi 4 baras pehle un ki begum breast cancer se faut ho gain. Bachhe bare ho ker apni zindagi guzar rahe hain. Ramzu Mamu ke paas daulat ki kami nahi. Peshawar se 20 baras ki larki biha ker america laye.


Ab mere aur mere cousin ki guftago suniya:

Me; "yaar ye paisa bari kaam ki cheez hai"

Cousin: "Bus paise ka hi khel hai. lurki gharib thi. Bohut saare bhai bahen the. Us ne financial security dekhi, shadi ker li"

Me: "Bohut si aurtain financial security ke liye shadi kerti hain. Us ne kiya bura kiya"

Cousin: "I think, to marry for financial security, is just a civilized form of prostitution" !

Friday, February 15, 2008

Bud-Dua

Agar aap ko kuch dinon pehle, sir aleem ke hawale se sukh dukh wali post yaad ho (here) to wahi bahes 2 mahine pehle, Karachi ke aik chai khane pe hum doston main chalti rahi. Jo dost muttafiq nahi the un me se aik Akram tha. Akram mere saath medical school main raha. Phir wahin kisi sarkari hospital main 10/12 baras se kaam ker raha hai aur saath saath sham main aik private dispensary chalata hai.

Main wapas USA aa gaya. Abhi aik hafta pehle Akram se phone pe baat hui to usne ooper wali sukh aur dukh ki bahes ka hawala diya. Aage ka haal Akram ki zabani suniye:


"Mere bikul paros main peechle kai barson se aik khandan abad hai. Un ki aik jawan lurki hai. Main saare zamane se ye kehta phirta tha ke ye meri mun boli bahen hai magar meri niyyat kharab thi. Lurki se mere aahista aahista na-jaaiz taaluqat qaim ho gaye. Lurki bhi jawan thi, usko bhi maza lug gaya. Jub moqa milta, hum don apne kaam main lug jaate. Aik taraf to main bare tharre se zana kerta rehta aur dusri taraf lurki ki ma ko ye yaqeen dilata rehta ke ye to meri choti bahen ki tarah hai. Ye 27 december ki baat hai. Main aur woh lurki "ain urooje wisal ke aalam" main the ke lurki ki amma ne pakar liya. Woh beechari kiya kerti. Mujhe khub kosne diye. Bad-dua dete huwe boli: "Allah kare tera sab kuch barbad ho jaaye".

Is waqiye ke baad main ne mazeed shor sharabe se bachne ke liye foran kupre pehne, bahir nikla, car nikali aur apartment complex se bahir aa gaya. Main ne bare barson ki kamai se 2 hafte pehle nai gari kharidi thi. Abhi to insurance bhi nahi liya tha. Aur aaj hi bank se bohut saari raqam niklwai thi. Apna makan khareedne ki baat cheet chal rahi thi, woh cash maang rahe the. Bus samjho saari jama punji gari main thi. Sham ka waqt tha. Sarak pe aate hi andaza huwa ke koi garbar hai. Ye woh sham thi jub Benazir ka qatal huwa aur poore Pakistan main khun ki holi kheli gai. Yun to suna hai poore shahr se police gaib thi magar mere apartment ke bahir sarak pe police ki 3 mobile maujud thi. Jese hi main gari le ker zara aage gaya, aik traffic constable ne mujhe gari side pe kerne ko kaha. Saath hi police mobile khari thi. Main gari se utar ker bahir aaya. Police wale ne mere ulte kaandhe pe ooper ungli rukh ke dabani shuru ki. Pata nahi ye kesa dao tha, mujhe gasshi ai aur main behosh ho gaya. Shayed meri carotid ko dabaya gaya. Aankh khuli to meri car simat police wagera sab gaib the aur charon taraf aag aur dhuwain ke badal the".

Meri 10 baras ki saari kamai lut gai. Main zaani(adulterous) zaroor tha magar kubhi haram paisa nahi khaya. Medicine bhi imandari se practice kerta tha is liye ziyada daulat nahi kamai. Magar shayed tumhari baat sach thi. Amma ki bad-dua lug gai ke mera sab kuch barbad ho gaya !

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

"Ye mard bilkul kutte ki tarah hota hai"

Meri aik cousin hai arifa. Ab ki baar main Pakistan gaya to Arifa aur us ka shohar mujhe dinner pe ley gaye. Main ne mehsus kiya, arifa ka shohar hur cheez apni biwi se pooch pooch ker kerta hai. Arifa se mere taaluqat shuru se doston wale rahe. Hum ne Banu Qudsia ki 'Raja Gidh' saath parhi aur samjhi, faraq itna tha ke tub meri umer 27 baras aur us ki umer sirf 14 baras thi (ye baat is liye likhi taake aap ko us ki IQ ka andaza ho jaye) !

Jub Restaurant main Arifa ka Shohar restroom gaya to main ne arifa se kaha: "Do bachhe hone ke baad bhi shohar tumhari muthi main band hai. Kiya taaweez kerti ho?" . Uska jawab sun ke kuch der ke liye mere hosh ur gaye. Us ne kaha: "Ye mard bilkul kutte ki tarah hota hai. Jub tuk is ko khana (food) aur sex waqt se pehle milta rahe is ki dum hilti rehti hai werna pagal hoke aap hi ko katne dorta hai. Bus yahi 2 taweez kerti hun" !!

Mard ki, is se achhi taarif main ne nahi suni !!!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Dus Kahaniyan

Do char din pehle main ne puranmaasi ki jo post likhi thi us ke continuation main, film "Dus Kahaniyan" pe ye post hai.

This movie is an experiment but what I found unique is the short quick version of basic themes in the form of 10 minutes story. All stories are related to human relationship.


Matrimony - Aksar relationship main husband ya wife ye sochte hain ke hamare spouse ke liye hamare paas time nahi. This lack of communication may push one to cheat and to find love somewhere else. But before you cross that line - think - your partner may be going on the same path !!

High On the Highway - Agar kubhi insan ke saath aesa waqiya ho jaaye ke woh apne 'loved one' ki hifazat na ker paaye to ye chot insan ko kubhi kubhi aese depression main dhakel deti hai ke khud -kushi se hi nijat milti hai ! Mohabbat ki aik dark ally.


Puranmaasi - As annonymous in previous post nicely explained in comments "in our society and culture the actions/lives of each member is attached to the other...kachaye dhagaye"

Zahir - Insan jese nazar aate hain us se kai ziyada dukhi hote hain aur agar koi aap ko apne qareeb aane se rokta hai to shayed woh aap ka bhala chahta hai.

Strangers in the Night - Kubhi kubhi sirf insani rishte ko bachane ke liye galeez tareen rah apnani parti hai.

Lovedale - Aksar qudrat hame ishare deti hai ke kise apna jeewan sathi chunain aur kise nahi - if we understand !

Sex On The Beach - Lust ka bhoot agar insan pe char jaaye to jaan le ker hi chorta hai !

Rice Plate - Kubhi kubhi insan ki 'too much religiosity' use aam insani rishton se andha ker deti hai.

Gubbare - Aik mian biwi ki 35 years ki 'married life' ki kahani ke roz roz ki larai ke bawjud kese mohabbat qaim rehti hai, agar aik dusre ko manane ka saliqa maujud ho. Aur kubhi kubhi zara si choti larai zindagi bhar ka dukh de jaati hai.


Rise and Fall - Bachpun ki dosti aik aesa bandhan hai jo bahek to sakta hai magar kubhi toot nahi sakta !

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Trust

"Kamil Kaplan faced a horrifying decision as flames engulfed his apartment building: Does he drop his 9-month-old nephew four stories to a policeman or hope the baby boy survives the suffocating smoke? Kaplan chose to drop the boy, Onur Celar -- a dramatic life-saving moment captured in photographs seen around the world.....""I took the child from my sister, the mother," he said. "She and the father were screaming: 'Don't do it! Don't do it!' But I didn't listen." He added, "I looked into the eyes of the policeman below, and I knew I could trust him."

Read full story here: Uncle who dropped boy to save him

What you would do if face with such decision?

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Puranmaasi

Bohut arse baad mera khyal hai urdu/hindi literature main aik inthai 'gut wrenching' kahani likhi gai hai. Ye kahani rajinder singh bedi, krishan chandar, ismat chugtai aur Minto ke zamane ke likhe gaye literature ki yaad taaza ker deti hai.

It is from Meghna Gulzar. It is # 3 story in recent Bollywood flick "Dus Kahaniyan" (a collection of 10 stories based on various aspects of human relationship).

Story is based in a small village of indian punjab. This is the story of a man and a woman who couldn't get married due to cultural or whatever reason but remained in love. He promised to wait for her on every full moon night (Puranmaasi night). And one Puranmaasi night she decides to meet her love in the fields but the consequenses following morning are just gut wrenching !


Puran means poora hona, maasi means mahina. Its the completion of a month on full moon according to an ancient indian calendar.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Naushad

Is post ko A R Rehman pe likhi gai peechli post ka tasalsul hi samjh lijye. Woh post likhne ka mera maqsad ye bayan kerna tha ke aksar buzurgon ki dua insan ke kaam ker jaati hai.


Aaj ki Bollywood ki music ka "Mughal-e-Azam", musiqar Naushad ko kehte hain. Naushad ka ye waqiya A R Rehman ki post likhte zahen main aa raha tha, to socha likhta chalun.

Naushad ko musiqar banne ka shoq 16 baras ki umer main Bombay le aaya. Ye 1935 - 1940 ke darmiyan ka zamana tha. Naushad ne film industry ke kai dhakke khaye magar koi 'chance' nahi mila. Saari jama punji khatam hone lagi. Nobat footpath pe sone ki aa gai.

Aik roz isi gurbat main aik faqeer ne Naushad se kaha: "khana khila de baba". Naushad ne use apne saath roadside hotel pe khana khilane bitha liya. Khane ke baad baba ne poocha: "Bol kiya mangta hai". Nashuad ne kaha"Baba dua karo mujhe filmon main chance mil jaaye". Baba ne kaha: "Ja bachha tuje hindustan ka sab se bara musiqar bana diya". Allah jane us baba ki dua lagi ya nahi magar Naushad beshaq hindustan ki bollwood ka "Mughal-e-Azam of music" qarar paya jisne Jadoo, Beiju Bawra, Mother India, Mughle Azam aur Pakeezah jesi filmon ki lazawal musiqi tarteeb di !

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Allah Rakha Rehman

Ye peechle saal 2007 ki baat hai. Main Houston gaya huwa tha. Jumme ka din tha. Mere dost ne kaha, aao jumme ki namaz parh aate hain. Hum wahan ki al farooq nami aik masjid main paunche. Namaz ke dauran bhi main ne us shaks ko dekha jis ne bare khasu-o-khazu se namaz ada ki. Phir masjid ke bahir lage aik stall se samose khareede, jeb se rumal nikal ker zameen pe betha, samose khaye aur wahin glass se sand pe haath dhoya. Ab jaake logon ne pechana ke ye naujawan koi aur nahi bulke India ka mashur musician A R Rehman hai. Log us ke gird jama hona shuru huwe to us ne autograph dene se ye keh ker maazrat ker li ke yahan main sirf apne allah ka aik banda hun, please mujhe yahan is se muaf rakhain. Kuch der baad A R rehman aik dost ki gari main beth ker wahan se chal diya.

A R rehman ka pura naam Allah Rakha Rehman hai. Itne mashur aadmi ka itna purana naam ! Aaye dekhte hain, is shaks ne apna naam Allah Rakha Rehman kiun rakha.

A R rehman ka asli naam Dilip Kumar tha. Dilip ki umer sirf 9 baras thi ke walid ka intiqal ho gaya aur gurbat ne ghar dekh liya. Dilip ko musiqi ka shoq baap se werse main mila magar halat ab badal chuke the. Pehli naukri, sirf 50 rupe ki, 12 baras ki umer main aik studio main shuru ki. 16 baras ki umer main parhai chut gai. Jub Dilip ki umer 22 baras hui to us ki aik bahen shadeed bimar ho gai. Kai doctors ko dikhaya magar halat bigarti hi chali gai. Hur jaga se mayoosi hui to unhon ne aik muslaman wali, Pir Karimulla Shah Qadri se dua ki darkhwast ki. Unki Dua qabool hui aur Dilip ki bahen ko nai zindagi mil gai. Sara Gharana musalman ho gaya. Dilip ne apne liye bhi dua ki istada ki. Ye Dua bhi qabul hui aur aaj A R Rehman India ka sab se bara musician hai. Pir Qadri ne hi Dilip ka musalman naam Allah Rakha Rehman rukha. Kehte hain unhon ne A R REhman ko naseehat ki ke jub music compose karo isha ki namaz parh ker dua maang ke karo. A R Rehman sirf raat ko music compose kerta hai !!

Allah ne na sirf A R Rehman ko music compose kerne ka hunar diya bulke bari achhi awaz bhi di hai. Jub film 'dil se' bani to kehte hain, har koi ye gana (dil se) gane se jub bebas huwa to A R Rehman ne khud gaya aur aesa gaya ke sunte hi dilon main utar gaya. (Despite being malyalam speaking he sang it like a native urdu person).

Aik din meri gaari main, aik gore dost ne ye gana suna to kaha: "Whoever made this song is certainly not an ordinary man" ! Aur main ne jawab diya: "Indeed he is not an ordinary man. He is gifted and protected by God. His name is Allah Rakha Rehman".


Izzat, daulat, shaurat allah ka inam hai jise chahe be-hisab de !

Monday, February 04, 2008

Happy Birthday !

Duniya main kisi 'loved one' ko ye aehsas dilane ke liye ke aap us ka khayal rakhte hain - ka sab se asan aur ahsan tariqa ye hai ke aap us ki salgirah ke din ko yaad rakhain. Jinhe achhe doston ki salgirah ka din yaad na rahe un se dost kho jaate hain aur woh bare badnaseeb hote hain.

Baqol Hazrat Ali: "Badnaseeb hai woh shaks jise dost na mile, aur us se bhi ziyada badnaseeb hai woh shaks jo achhe doston ko kho de" !

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Manorama

Agar aap ko "art", "non-commercial" ya "aam dagar se hat ke" films dekhne ka shoq hai to India main banne wali aik nai film Manorama (say like manor-ma)zaroor dekhiye.

Ye aik 'murder mystery hai', jis ke tane bane aahista aahista uljhate jaate hain. Ye aik aesi film hai jo aahista aahista aap ko apni girafat main le leti hai aur aakhir tuk ye janna mushkil hota hai ke "what's the actual plot?". As per my one friend - there is no BS in this movie !!!

This is director Navdeep singh's first feature film. He studied filmmaking at art school in california and it appears that he learned good stuff there. Enjoy !

Saturday, February 02, 2008

caffeine

Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation. ~Author Unknown

(One of the wittiest things I heard recently. Found at Aisha's blog)