Charlie Chaplin met Albert Einstein

"What I admire most about your art", Albert Einstein said, "is its universality. You do not say a word, and yet ... the world understands you."

"It's true", replies Chaplin. "But your fame is even greater: the world admires you, when nobody understands you."

Aik Dua jo qabool hui!

Pakistan se America residency kerne aaya tha. Residency milna koi itna asan kaam nahi tha. America aa ker waqt guzarta raha aur main 'shahar shahar gali gali' residency ki talash main phirta raha. ...paise khatam hone lage....doston se udhar lene shuru kiye....din main residency ki tag-o-do kerta aur raat ko aik gas station pe job kerta....Jin dostoN ko residency mili, woh achhe the - mujeh saath rakh liya.

"Residency NRMP Match" aaya - guzar gaya, "Post-Match" bhi guzar gaya....agle saal ke phir 'Match' aa gaya magar residency ki koi offer ban nahi aati thi. Samjh nahi aata tha kiya ho raha hai. Ab tak 3000 programs main apply ker chuka tha. USMLE ke 'scores' bhi 'competative' the..magar aik band gali thi!

"Residency Match" September se shuru hota hai aur March tak chalta hai magar January tak muamla thanda ho jaata hai. December aa chala tha magar yun mehsoos hota tha, is saal bhi residency nahi mile gi!

Main bunyadi tor per atheist na sahi to kam as kam 'agnostic' zaroor tha. Namaz, mazhab, Quran, duaoN se kosoN dur tha!. ...Hamare 'room-mates' main aik sahab bare mazhabi the. Namaz parhte, tape-recorder per hamd-o-naat bhi sunte!

Aik sham ghar aaya to bohat 'depress' tha! lagta tha aansu nikal parain ge! main ne yunhi deewar ke saath bethe bethe tape-recoder on kiya to 'Attaullah Khan EsaKhelvi' ki naat lagi thi "Shahe Madina" (yasrab ke wali saare nabi tere dar ke sawali).....Maalum nahi ye meri frustration thi ya EsaKhelvi ki awaz ka saher tha ya mere andar ki koi awaz thi..mere aansu nikal pare..jun jun naat chalti gai meri hictki bandh gai..Us ke baad sabri qawal ki "Bhar de jholi" shuru hui to laga mera dil uchal ker seene se bahir aa jaaye ga..aur mera kaleja phat jaaye ga!

...Rote rote Allah jaane kab aankh lag gai...

Aankh khuli to khud apni guzri kefiyat pe bohat hairan hua! Apne rone ko apne frustration ka faryadi samjh ke jaane diya.... aur phir usi bhag doR main juth gaya...

4 din baad aik saath mujeh 2 hospitals se Fed-Ex ke envelops mile aur dono main residency ki pre-match offers thi! (On interviews done in previous post-match!!)

Mujeh Makkah ja ker Haj kerne ki to koi ragbat nahi ...magar aik baar Madina jaake 'hare gumbad' ke samne apni topi utar ke, apne sar ko jhuka ker, kehna chahta hun... "Thank You Sir! I owe you a lot!"

Bernard Shaw and Churchill

An amputated finger!

A King had a male servant who, in all circumstances always said to him; My king, do not be discouraged because everything God does is perfect, no mistakes. One day, they went hunting and a wild animal attacked the king, the servant managed to kill the animal but couldn't prevent his majesty from losing a finger. Furious and without showing gratitude, the King said; if God was good, I would not have been attacked and lost one finger. The servant replied, 'despite all these things, I can only tell you that God is good and everything He does is perfect, He is never wrong'. Outraged by the response, the king ordered the arrest of his servant. While being taken to jail, he told the king again. God is Good & Perfect. 

Later, he left for another hunt and was captured by savages who use human beings for sacrifice. In the altar, the savages found out that the king didn't have one finger in place, he was released because he was considered not "complete" to be offered to the Gods. 

On his return to the palace, he authorized the release of his servant and said; My friend, God was really good to me. I was almost killed but for lack of a single finger I was let go. But I have a question; If God is so good, why did He allow me to put you in jail? He replied; My king, if I had gone with you, I would have been sacrificed because I have no missing finger. 

one Chinese proverb

"Jab hawa chalti hai to kuch log deewar bana lete hain aur kuch log us hawa se pan-chakki"

(When wind blows, some people build wall but some make wind-mill out of it)

Jugnu Jesa woh Sitara - 2

Note: Received following email on my post from few days ago on Jugnu jesa woh sitara (here). Before I post this email note, let me tell you - I may have read but never paid attention to Quranic ayats described here. It is all new to me - and I remained skeptical, as always!!

"Somebody send me link to your post Jugnu jesa woh sitara! It was mind boggling, not because it was strange, but because it is exactly how things are described in Quran. Read first 4 ayats of Sureh Tariq (86th surah) - It is exactly how star (Tariq) and old sage man or buzurg (Hafiz) has been described. I can't just believe that how those 4 ayats of Quran manifested exactly as you described in your dream... In this Surah life has been described as piercing star (what you said as jugnu jesa woh sitara)

86:1... By the sky (samaa)and the night comer (Tariq)
86:2.... And what  you know what is Tariq?
86:3.... It is the piercing star (najmus-saqib)
86:4.... There is no soul but that it has over it a protector (Hafiz)

Mansoor!

Dosti nibhane ka pehla sabaq main ne 7 baras ki umar main sikha. 

Main dusri jamat main tha! Hamari teacher ka naam tha 'Miss Aziza'. Miss aziza ka chota bhai tha Mansoor jo har saal fail hota tha. Miss Aziza ne use ab ke baras apni hi 'class' main rakh ke meri bench pe saath bitha diya! Main class main first aane wala 'student' tha. Miss Aziza ka khayal tha mere saath beth ke Mansoor ko kuch parhne ka shoq ho jaaye ga!

Hamare school ke peechware aik kachhi basti thi, jahan raat ko 'bazaar' sajta tha! Aik din Mansoor us basti se kisi tarah aik payal le aaya. School shuru hone se pehle woh sab ko payal ke ghunghru baja baja ke mazaq ker raha tha. Miss Aziza aik dam se class main aa gain. Mansoor ne payal desk ke andar daal di, magar Miss Aziza ne woh payal pakar li! Mansoor ne meri taraf dekha! us ki aankhon main apni bahan ka khauf tha! Main ne payal school laane ka ilzam apne sir le liya! Miss Aziza ko yaqeen nahi aaya! unhon ne mujeh bench pe khara ker diya. Main poora din bench pe khara raha magar main ne mansoor ka naam nahi liya.  Bil-aakhir! Miss Aziza ne baat jaane di.  Us din ke baad meri aur Mansoor ki khub dosti ho gai. Mansoor class ka sab se lamba chora larka tha. Sab usse darte the. Main bohat hi chota sa tha magar ab kisi main himmat nahi hoti thi ke mujeh 'bully' kare. Us din mujeh samajh aa gai ke Dostian kese nibahi jaati hain!

Koi 25 baras baad mujeh pata chala Mansoor Toronto ke aik nursing home main 'vegetative state' main para hai. Mansoor ne Canada aake shadi ker li magar biwi se bani nahi. Shayed Mansoor ke liye ye aik 'shock' tha. Us ke liye shayed relationship aur dosti ka matlab aik dusre ko protect kerna tha. Bahr-haal, us ne 'Lake Ontario' main kud ke apni jaan lene ki koshish ki..... Paramedics revived him but he became 'anoxic'......

Main ne bhai se kaha, mera Mansoor se milna bohat zaroori hai...... I went to see him. I wanted to thank him before he dies for the lesson of friendship he taught me. .... 

Magar jab main us ke paas se uth ke jaane laga to...aik lamhe ke liye mujhe khayal aaya ..kash main ne us roz tumhara naam le liya hota to tum jaante ke "dost hota nahi har haat milane wala'.

Allah Mansoor ko Jannat naseeb kare! Kuch dino baad...... he died of pneumonia in Nursing home!

Dr. Karimov

Zindagi bhi insaan ke sath kese kese khel khelti hai. Dhalti umar main aksar aese gul khila jaati hai ke insaan shahsdar reh jata hai.

It was my first job after residency. I was fresh with very minimal experience. One day, I admitted patient from ER with 'mental status change'. ER did CT scan of head but transferred patient to floor before results were called. I was called by Radiologist to let me know that patient has pneumocranium. Honestly, I did not make much of it. As I was making phone call to neurologist, I saw our unit janitor looking at CT scan, I uploaded on computer screen. I thought he is just curious and looking at it. As I walked to computer again, he looked at me and said: "I think, this is Tension Pneumocranium and patient may need to go to OR". His pupils were as wide as can be. He was sure of his diagnosis. I was shocked to hear those words from a janitor in hospital.

Above was my first encounter with Dr. Karimov. He came to USA from Uzbekistan. He was neurosurgeon trained in Russia. He came to USA for good future of his 4 daughters as life was getting too harsh and it was getting impossible to sustain family there. He found odd jobs in USA to support his family. With odd jobs, he tried to finish exams but didn't pass and give up on his profession. By the time I met him, he was already in his late 50s. 

2 nights ago, I met a 60 year old man at gas station who was an Orthopedic surgeon in Pakistan. As he saw my scrub, there was a sudden flash of light  in his eyes. His pupils widen.  We talked for few minutes. He reminded me of Dr. Karimov. 

I left. As I drove out of parking lot, I can't stop saying words, I promised myself never to say again: "Life is a Bitch"!

Maintain life!

I work in an academic institution. I work in an environment where competition is cutthroat. People work hard. People want recognition. They want to get published in high-impact journals. Knowing this background - let me tell you about one physician I know. Let him call Dr. S.

Dr. S is a kind of physician who rarely publishes or has an interest in running a trial. I have never seen him without scrub. He is always at the bedside. I have seen him working 48 hours straight. He is one of the finest clinicians I have ever come to know. If I get stuck with the patient, I call him to rescue me, and he never fails me! He never asked for a promotion. He never asks for a spot in the speakers' panel. He said something one day, which became an integral part of my philosophy as a physician. He said: "I don't want to be a star; I just want to maintain life!"

In this world where everyone is in the rat race, I am lucky to have someone teaching me this important distinction of work ethics!

*

My use of Facebook!

Facebook can be very tricky! It can do good by getting you to know old friends and share interesting stuff! - but it has broken not only good friendships, it has taken toll on marriages. I do use Facebook for a very different reason.

When I was growing, somewhere in my teen age, I developed a habit of making funny faces each morning in front of mirror before brushing teeth! Overtime I found strength of that habit. It starts my day on good note and usually keep me going with humor all day. Over time, as life took its toll - that wonderful habit get lost somewhere. I recovered its new version via Facebook.

Every morning, before I go to work, I post a joke/carton/humor for my close nit of friends on Facebook! It bring smile to my face and I start my day on good note. Try it (at your own risk!)

Toms and Daisys of life!

"The Great Gatsby" modern American literature ka sab se bara novel samjah jaata hai. Yun to ye aik bohat mukhtasar sa novel hai magar, F. Scott Fitzgerald (author) hame aik baat sikhata hai ke - Duniya main do tarah ke log hote hain - aik Gatsby jese - jin ki sadah lohi unhe is duniya main jine nahi deti - ya phir - Tom and Daisy jese - jo aankh band ker ke aik 'shallow life' guzare chale jaate hain. Unhe pata bhi nahi chalta ke woh insaanoN se khel rahe hain.....

"...They were careless people, Tom and Daisy — they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made. . . ."

Ya to koi Hamari zindagioN ka 'Tom and Daisy' ban jaata hai, ya phir hum kisi ki zindagi ke 'Tom and Daisy' ban jaate hain.

Gatsby bhi aik kamal ka character hai, jo saari talkhiaN mita ke, sirf ye kehte huwe aage barh jaata hai.............."Its OK! Old sports.."


You can read novel here

Anghuti aur 3 Kare!

Me  - "Ye tum ne larki ko dene ke liye anghuti ke saath 3 kare kiun liye hain?"

Him -  "In 3 KaroN ka matlab hai - 

1. kabhi tum se jhoot nahi bolun ga, 
2. kabhi tum se 'cheat' nahi kaunga aur 
3. kabhi tumhara saath nahi chorun ga! "

BetiaN! (Daughters)

My Abdomen was hurting since Tuesday night. I ignored it and by Friday morning, I had no choice but to walk into ER. After looking at my CT scan which showed large phlegmon of California size in my Right Lower Quadrant, surgeons had no choice but to take me to OR. Before going to surgery, I called my kids. I spoke to my 11 years old son who understood the logical explanation but nothing struck me more and looking back - I can bear anything except when my 8 years old daughter was crying on phone and asked me: "So will I see you again?", I remained numbed for 2 seconds and said: "Of course you will"... And, then I had to let her go crying. Before they pushed 'Versed' in my IV - I said to God! "You have to make it right for the sake of words I had already given to my daughter"!!

Khuda betion ko itni piyari kiun banata hai!

Related posts:  "Mere Baba ke das Baras!" (here)