Sab se bara dukh?

Hum sab dost jub is 'saturday night' saath mil bethe to guftagu is sawal pe chal nikli ke, 'duniya ka sab se bara dukh kiya hai?'

Main ne kaha - Aulad ki bimari ya aulad ke mar jaane ka dukh,
kisi ne kaha - Ma baap ki bimari ka dukh,
kisi ne kaha - apne apahaj (handicap) ho jaane ka dukh,
Kisi ne kaha - apne hi burhape ka dukh,
kisi ne kaha - tanhaii ka gum
kisi ne kaha - ishq ka dukh

raat 2 baje tuk sab par ke so rahe magar koi faisla na huwa....

Asim Butt - 2

(From Ahsan Butt)

We are working to document and catalogue Asim’s work and require the help of his friends and all those who communicated with, loved and respected him. Please share whatever you can about him and his work, specifically communication you had with him including letters and emails no matter how trivial, pictures, notes, description of his work which you own, and any other information which would help us in putting together a comprehensive account of his life and work. We realise many might not feel comfortable sharing personal communications if they contain personal references, but any such correspondence is not for publication or dissemination and will only be used, if necessary, to derive an idea of the thinking which went into the making of his art. To ensure Asim is accorded his rightful place in the pantheon of Pakistani artists, and to show just how much we all loved him, please help us in preserving his memory for posterity.

Ali Dayan Hasan
ali.asimicus@gmail.com

Arif Pervaiz
arifpervaiz@gmail.com

kashtiyaN

Mujeh ye baat samjhne main bohat waqt laga ke kiun Tariq bin Ziyad ne apni saari kashtiyaN jala di thi!

On Husband Wife 'laraii'

Hamara bachpun kuch yun guzra ke saara khandan saath aik haveli main rahta. Bare Chacha aur Bari Chachi ki khub laraii hoti. Jub bhi unki laraii hoti Dadi hame le ker ghar ke aangan main aa bethti aur hame kahaniyan sunane lagti. Abba ya Amma main se koi kehta ke: "Amma aap hi in donoN ko samjhayain", to dadi jawab deti:

"Jub do mian biwi ki laraii ho rahi ho to sab se bari kher yahi hai ke un dono ko akela chor do ke ye muamla kisi ke bhi fahem se balatar hai" .

Asim Butt - another to die in dark lane

Asim Butt ne Khud kushi nahi ki bulke use hum sab ne mil ker maara hai

naarsai agar apni taqdeer thee
teri ulfat to apni he tadbeer thee
kisko shikva hai agar shouq ke silsiley
hijr ki qatal_gahooN se sab ja miley
qatal_gahooN se chun kar humarey alum
aur niklaiN gaiN usshaq ke qafley
jin ki raah-e-talab se humarey qadam
muKhtasar kar chaley dard ke fasley
kar chaley jin ki Khatir jahaaN_geer hum
jaaN gaNva ke teri dilbaree ka bharam
hum jo tareek rahooN main marey gaey (Faiz)*

See Asim's work here

Read more here, here, here, and here

*If not to reach you was our fate
but to love you was our accord
So who complains if these matters of desire
brought me to death cell of (eternal) isolation
From same death cell holding up distinct flags,
new caravan of lovers will emerge
Their ardent desire made (my) steps
to shortened the distances of sorrow,
it’s because of them that we ruled the world,
By sacrificing life we entertained your heart
we who died in the darker lanes.

Messiah

I am out of medical school for now almost 20 years but I still recall these words of one of our teacher. At that time I though its so simple but it turned out to be one of the most difficult lesson to learn:

"Medicine is not about avoiding all deaths but its about helping alive humans from their sufferings and diseases. Its all about making everyday life easy for humans - and once its over - to make their dying process graceful and peaceful" .

3 Things

Life is perfect when you have 3 things together -

• Steak which is tender and medium done,
• Woman who loves wine, and
• Puffs of tobacco in cold weather!

2 great modern day sufi babas!!

"I think the world's a better place because Bill realised that his goal isn't to be the richest guy in the cemetery." - Steve Jobs about Bill Gates

"I'd give a lot to have Steve's taste. The way he does things is just different and, you know, I think it's magical." - Bill Gates about Steve Jobs

3 Idiots

I wanted to write this post since I saw Aamir Khan's new movie, "3 Idiots." It's worth watching. Though the second half is typical Indian cheezy drama, I enjoyed this movie. The theme is very strong. It reminded me of many of my strange, weird, funny, spooky, and unusual class fellows. Many of them quit medicine and did something else in life! One committed suicide and many turned psycho under pressure to pass exams.

But the central character (Aamir Khan) reminded me of Ejaz Ahmad. He entered medical school with us. He did all the exams with us. He was friends with all the big student union guys. Suddenly, he vanished in 4th year. I met him after many, many years. When I asked him about his whereabouts, he laughed very hard. He was never a student of our medical school. He was a police informer planted with new arrivals. He innocently said - I don't think you should blame me for this! I was doing my job for 5000 rupees per month...And I was thinking, how the hell did you pass all those medical exams, and what about all those deep discussions on anatomy, physiology, biochemistry......

Gaye dinon ka surag le ker kidhar se aaya kidhar gaya woh
Ajeeb ma'noos ajnabee tha, mujeh to heraan ker gaya woh

*

Dur kitni hai abhi subah

Part of one of my fav. Faiz' poetry (with loose translation)

Ho na ho apne qabile ka bhi koi lashkar
muntazir hoga andheron ki faseelon ke udhar
unko sholoN ke rajz apna pata to dain ge
kher hum tuk na pauncheN bhi, sada to dain ge
dur kitni hai abhi subah bata to dain ge


If no one but at least one army of our tribe
would be waiting on other side of walls of darkness (for us)
we will send them message by (making) noisy flames
they may not be able to reach but will call us
how far is dawn (for sure they) will tell us

Front desk

"I work at front desk of a 5 star hotel. Yes it hurts when people treat us like servants. I had more respect working in a simple low level motel. People with less money were more accomodative. No its not my fault - if you could not get upgraded private suite. Unfortunately few people have more money than you or probably you pressed wrong button making reservation. Yes we close our kitchen at 11 PM. Yes my hotel charge for continental breakfast. Its not my fault. You don't have to yell on me if your internet is not working. Yes sometime heaters, airconditions and toilets do not work properly even in best hotels but its not front desk person fault. We may sound polite on face but hope you can see our bleeding heart. I hope some day you understand - money does not give you passport to humiliate others knowing he is slave of his paycheck and your undue complaint may cause him his livelihood"