Vibes of the House!

Koi 2 saal pehle is blog pe main ne apne nana ki aik choti si baat likhi thi jis main unhon ne makan se inssan ki wabastagi ka zikar kiya tha (here)

Mera aik dost aaj kul 'house' buy kerne ke liye alag alag neighbouhood ke chakkar kaat raha hai. Us ke walid (visiting from Pakistan) ka israr hai ke woh jo makan bhi dekhne jaaye unhe zaroor saath le jaaye.

Main ne apne dost se poocha: "Tumhare walid ka har makan dekhne ke liye saath chalna mujhe kuch ajeeb sa lagta hai. Ye faisla to tum dono mian biwi ko kerna chahiye"

Mere dost ne jawab diya: "Tumhari baat theek hogi. Magar mere abbu kehte hain, har makan ki apni aik musbat ya manfi maqnatisyat (postive or negative vibes) hoti hai. Jis makan main kubhi achhe log rehte hain, woh makan aap hi apni khusbu deta hai aur wahan rehne wale khub abad hote hain, unhe sukoon ka aehsas rehta hai aur unke kaam khub bunte hain. Aur kuch makan apne saath nahoosat ke saaye le ker aate hain.

Mere walid saath chalte hain to na to woh makan ki qeemat poochte hain na tafseel janna chahte hain - na to unhon ne is makan main rehna hai - jub tuk hum mian biwi apne hisab se makan jaanchte hain woh bus chup chap makan ke andar phirte rehte hain. Pasand aata hai to sir hila ke kehte hain "theek hai" ya phir kehte hain - koi dusra makan bhi nazar main rakho".

Kiya ye sach hoga ke - "every house has its positive or negative vibes?"

On phone calls

One lesson I learned atleast last weekend is to always return phone calls. You may not know the person or may even dislike the person. But, it may make difference in someone's life.


Nida went with me to medical school in Pakistan. One day while we were in second year, she left medical school forever without any notice. That left a bitter taste for everyone in the group. Somehow, her signed transcript of anatomy rotations (called "stages" in Pakistani medical schools) stayed in my dissection manual. She never appeared in exam so this was the only valid transcript available.

Years later, when I was in residency, I received a call from a person named Badar Ali to call back. I could not recognise the person and just ignored it, thinking some Pakistani may be looking for a free prescription.

This weekend I bumped a familiar girl in a desi restaurant. She was sitting there with her family. We both looked at each other and I realized its Nida. I introduced myself. She was surprised too. Her father was there. He said: "I tried to contact you few years ago, when Nida went to Pakistan and could not locate her transcript there. She found your number there and asked me to contact you. If she would have it, it would have saved many credit hours and money for her PA (physician assistant) program. I guess, it was a wrong number ".

I kept quiet.

Guess what ! I came home and open my file from medical school. Nida's transcript was lying there along with my rotations. I am still thinking - should I call her and return it or just move on with my life till I find enough courage to face her and her father!


P.S: She left medical school overnight as her father received threats from a business rival to pay either good amount of money or loose daughters.

The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife is a newly released film and based on a best selling novel. Plot is very unique. It's a story of a girl who falls in love at a very young tender age with a man who time travel unpredictably at different stages of her life. It's a conceptual movie about immortality of love.

I saw this movie with understanding that true love comes to your heart no matter how unbelievable its for other people. When you are in love - time, space, death and other life events - doesn't matter. You always live with the perception of other person beyond his actual physical growth and existence. I think, its a worth watching movie.

From novel:

"Our life together in this too-small apartment is punctuated by Henry's small absences. Sometimes he disappears unobtrusively; I might be walking from the kitchen into the hall and find a pile of clothing on the floor. I might get out of bed in the morning and find the shower running and no one in it. Sometimes it's frightening. I am working in my studio one afternoon when I hear someone moaning outside my door; when I open it I find Henry on his hands and knees, naked, in the hall, bleeding heavily from his head. He opens his eyes, sees me, and vanishes. Sometimes I wake up in the night and Henry is gone. In the morning he will tell me where he's been, the way other husbands might tell their wives a dream they had: "I was in the Selzer Library in the dark, in 1989." Or: "I was chased by a German shepherd across somebody's backyard and had to climb a tree." Or: "I was standing in the rain near my parents' apartment, listening to my mother sing." I am waiting for Henry to tell me that he has seen me as a child, but so far this hasn't happened. When I was a child I looked forward to seeing Henry. Every visit was an event. Now every absence is a nonevent, a subtraction, an adventure I will hear about when my adventurer materializes at my feet, bleeding or whistling, smiling or shaking. Now I am afraid when he is gone.."

Schizophrenia

I have seen few casses of schizophrenia during my practice and very much convinced that more than a psychological disorder, its a physiological disease. Its just unfortunate that few people get it. No they are not crazy people. Its just like diabetes, coronary artey disease or breast cancer which strike many people without their own fault.

"Doctor Sahib, chote chote bonoN (dwarf) jesi koi makhlooq hai. HazaroN ki taadat main mere aas paas jama rehte hain. Bus dar lagta hai mere ooper na char doraiN. Soti hun to bister ke neeche jama ho jaate hain. Kubhi yun mehsoos hota hai, bahir khirki ke jama hain. Aik shor sa har waqt machaye rakhte hain. Har waqt ayatul kursi parhti rehti hun magar koi faraq nahi parta. Kisi aur ko nazar nahi aate na sunai dete hain. Dr. Sahib, log kehte hain mujhe schizophrenia hai. Hoga magar khuda ki qasam - kuch to hai jo sach hai. Sab kuch jhoot nahi. Ye sirf mere dimag ka khalal nahi...."

50 lessons of life

Regina Brett is a well known american columnist. The single most popular column ever written by Regina was "50 Life Lessons," written for The Plain Dealer when she turned 50 years old in 2006. Actually she found her fame for this column. I choose my most favourite ones and at end put link for original 50.

• Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
• You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
• Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
• The most important sex organ is the brain.
• Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
• What other people think of you is none of your business.
• Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
• Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
• Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
• Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
• If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
• All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
• No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
• If you don't ask, you don't get.

All 50 here