Bojh

Yun to hamare abba baRe kaRak mizaj ke the . Log unke baare main kehte - Zameen jumbad na jumbad Gul Mohammad. Magar aadmi the kamal ke.

Aik din unke saath train station jaana huwa - to Quli ko apna bojh uthane se mana ker diya. Ab abba apni peti uthaye aage, phir quli aur peeche main. Quli se sirf itminaan kerwaaya ke sahi gaari, sahi dabbe aur sahi seat pe hain - aur paise de ker usey rawana kiya.

Main ne kaha: "Abbu! jab peti khud hi uthani thi to phir quli kiun kiya?"

Hasne lage aur jawab diya: "Dekho beta! insaan ki be-rahrawi aur bad-aamali ka agaaz wahin se ho jaata hai - jahan use apna bojh dusroN pe laadne ki adat ho jaaye".

Woh din aur aaj ka din na to main ne kisi quli, kisi porter ya kisi bell-boy ko apna saman uthane diya - aur agar aesa kerna bhi paR gaya to koshish ki ke - zaroorat se ziyada muafze ye tip se kuch mudaafait (compensation) ker lun. 

Bus aik zara si ye adat badal lijye - dekhain andar kitna kuch badal jaata hai!

On "unexamined and examined life"

Many people don't like or even boycott Woody Allen movies due to many ugly chips on his shoulder. I understand that but I still believe he is a genius when it comes to making a movie of class. I usually don't miss woody Allen movies but was unable to go and watch his last flick Cafe Society (here). Finally saw it.

In this movie as much as he showed his brilliance of directorship, he showed his marvel as a writer. There were many beautiful conversations but the one which I really enjoyed is:

Socrates said:  "The unexamined life is not worth living
- (Woody Allen added): "But the examined one is no bargain (either)." !! -

This speaks of his genius.

In this movie, he continues to poke fun on the phoniness of the elite class and of Hollywood. He beautifully used east and west coasts as two extremes of human superficiality and inner depth.

The movie is simply all about two young innocents falling in love - and is that - innocent love continues to haunt forever even though one become extremely successful later in life.

9 lafzon ki kahani

On "Root of word Ramadhan"

(I think it was 1997 when I took Egypt Air to go to Pakistan for renewal of my exchange visa. Egypt Air used to give stay at Cairo without any additional fare. I stopped at Egypt for 5 days and took a tour package of Cairo, Nile, Aswan, Luxor, Edfu etc. Our tour guide was a PhD university teacher of Egyptology. He was working as a tour guide, as his second job, to support his family. His name was Ramadhan. He was very happy to see a Muslim in his otherwise all gora group. He told me something, which I wrote in my diary. Today, I was looking for something and it brought back tons and thousands of memories with its full vividness. After giving all details of my name, he gave me Arabic root derivative of his name Ramadhan. While I am writing this post, his visiting card is lying in front of me and I have a smile on my face.)

The 3 letters root of word Ramadan in Arabic is "Ray-Meem-Zuad" (ر  م  ض), and  "ramd" means "very very hot sand under the full glory of the sun". When Arabs decided to get away from the ancient calendar, and the new calendar was formed the month which fell at the hottest time was called "Shahre Ramadan" or "month of hot sand". Previously it was called  Natiqun (means (make you) scream loud)*. Fasting in this month is probably the hardest thing and maybe that's why this month is chosen in Islam to test, prepare, self-disciplined or whatever you want to make out of it.

(in reality, it rotates through every season as lunar calendar is about 10 days shorter than solar calendar)

* On ancient arab/islamic calendar conversion::  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Islamic_calendar

On "Altered Minds, Dreams, Drugs, Intellect and Spiritualism"

For a long time, it amazes me that how many spiritual experiences described, great poetic and literary works created and many scientific discoveries were made when human mind was not at its normal baseline.

From alcohol, weed, bhang, charas and other mind altering drugs etc. to high fever, seizures, dreams and people with schizophrenia, autism and asperger syndrome have more than normal association with things which altered human history.

As ibne-seena once said: "Sharab aaqil ke liye aqal aur Jahil ke liye jahal hai" (Alcohol is wisdom for wise and idiocy for an idiot).

Ghalib created most of his verses under influences of sharab and said: Ghalib sareere khama nawaye sarosh hai (Ghalib! noise of (my) pen is actually an angel's voice). Similarly, most of Allama Iqbal mystical poetry is created under the influence of alcohol (or some said under a different state of mind describes by his friends as haal)

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the said Godfather of modern literature, was famously known to have seizures.

Einstein was a classic example of high IQ Asperger Syndrome.

My most favorite is of creation of sewing machine story (here)

Darwin though traveled, collected specimens from islands across the globe, but was never able to connect the dots of evolution. It was his colleague H.G Wells who one day while sick with high fever questioned himself that why nature wants us to die - and boom - he came up with the answer: "Nature select the fittest and weed out the weakest" (later said to be adaptable to the changed environment).

Probably human mind shows its full potential (Good or bad) while uninhibited or not under the control of self! 

On "Biwi ka saath"

"Biwi ka saath bhi baRi zalim shey hai yaara.

Hamari shadi ke 28 baras main se 15 saal, hum ne alag reh ker guzaare. laRte rahe, baat baat pe jhagaRte rahe. Kabhi susral ke jhagre, kabhi paison pe jhagra, kabhi bachhon pe jhagra aur kabhi kisi baat pe - aur kabhi kisi baat pe jhagra.

Magar jab mujhe heart attack hua aur main 3 din CCU main paRa raha - to na ma baap the, na dost yaar aur na bachhe. Agar koi milne aa bhi gaya to visitig hours poore hone se pehle chala gaya, kisi ko parking nahi mili aur kisi ka koi kaam aaRe aa gaya. ... aaj ke zamane main rishte bhi saare text messages main tabdil ho gaye hain. "Get well soon" ke google images bohat aaye -- magar mera haat thaame koi khaRi thi to wahi biwi thi. Mujeh dard ho to nurses ko wahi bulaye, mujhe koi takleef ho to woh 'take care' kare.

Mard baRa bad-naseeb hota hai. Use Biwi ke saathi hone ka pata buRhape, dukh, takleef aur bimari main hi hota hai. Jab jawani chali jati hai - to mard aik dam se kamzor ho jaata hai - aur biwi ka pata lag jaata hai. Jawani mard ko kutta bana deti hai. Burhape main woh auqat pe aa jaata hai.

Mujeh ab samjh aayi ke kiun, agar burhape main biwi mar jaaye to mard 6 mahiney main hi is duniya ko daage-mafarqat de jaata hai".

Work

"What do you do for fun?"
"I work!"

In Neuro-ICU

"Jab tum neuro-ICU main propofol ki zad main ventilator pe the,  to main tumhe dekhne nahi aaya. Haan! main ne sab doctors se baat ki, tumari har lab, CT scan report aur progress bhi follow ki - magar haan main tumhe dekhne nahi aaya - is liye nahi ke mujeh tum se mohabbat nahi thi, bulke is liye ke mujh main tum ko kamzor dekhne ki himmat nahi thi - tum jo sab ko zindagi baantte the, woh yun aik dam se itna be-bus ho jaaye -  ye baat aankhain kese gawara le".

Naeem Sahab aur Sureh Naas

Mujhe Allah ke bande masjeed, kaleesa aur mandir se ziyada rah-chalte, dukanoN, galiyoN aur bazaroN main mile hain. 

Naeem Sahab pe 2 posts pehle bhi likh chuka hun (here and here). Unke liye main ne likha tha: "Ye duniya ajeeb ajeeb hoshruba insanon se bhari hai !!!"

Aaj unse wabasta aik aur waqiya likhta hun. 

Chunke woh Texas se mehmaan ban ke aaye the toh ek din unhe kisi ne dawat pe bula liya. Hum bhi saath chal paRe. Junhi hum dawat wali jagah pe pahunche, unhone ne gaari park hote hi 3 dafa surah naas parhi aur kaha: "chalo baba andar chalo - baRi bhook lagi hai".

Hum ne poocha: "Khaloo! ye be-moqa surah naas kis liye?"

Unhon ne jawab diya: "Are bhai! Jahan dawat ho, chaar insaan mil bethe - to geebat aur waswason ka bazaar lag jaata hai. Insaan na sirf dursoN ke waswasoN aur andeshoN ka neeshana banta hai - bulke dusroN ke diloN main bhi waswase daal aata hai. Isi liye har mehfil ya dawat main jaane se pehle surah naas paRh leta hun. Qayamat ke din sawal huwa to bhai saaf keh dain ge: Hum ne to panah mangi thi, tu ne inayat na ki to hum kiya karain"

"Hai na?  - Ye duniya ajeeb ajeeb hoshruba insanon se bhari hui !!!"



Related post: Suzanne aur Sureh Naas!

On "where the Red Fern Grows"

When I finished my residency, I had to go for 3 years to serve in rural America as a waiver for my visa. It was one of the most serene time of my life. (fortunately or unfortunately there were no smartphones or even internet). Beautiful hills, lakes and mountains of America. I worked in a community clinic which served low or no income rural American population. They were innocent, kind-hearted, beautiful people. I regularly did home visits and developed strong bonds with many of my patients and staff. Before I went there, our chief resident told me to read a novel: "Where the Red Fern Grows" to have a perspective of actual rural America. Indeed, it was one of the most beautiful novels of bonding, love, faith, hard work and to understand, why it is important to move in life after the death of loved ones or undesired experiences. (This is a must read for dog lovers). After the recent election when rural America became the focus of vote bank, I read that novel again, and it had the similar impact on me. Many times while reading the novel, I paused, pondered and thought about our intricately bonded lives - events and the divine plan. It is considered to be one of the best classics written in modern American literature. Many people cried for hours after reading this novel.

The name of the novel came from a Native American tell of a young boy and girl who are lost in a blizzard and their bodies were found following Spring, frozen together holding hands. Between them, there was a red fern growing. Red Fern symbolizes the most strong bond of love.

You can read full novel here or watch 1974 version of movie here

End of the novel took me back to my old spent days.

"Rubbing my eyes, I looked to the hillside above our home. There it stood in all its wild beauty, a waving red banner in a carpet of green. It seemed to be saying, “Good-bye, and don’t worry, for I’ll be here always.” 

"I have never been back to the Ozarks. All I have left are my dreams and memories, but if God is willing, some day I’d like to go back—back to those beautiful hills. I’d like to walk again on trails I walked in my boyhood days. Once again I’d like to face a mountain breeze and smell the wonderful scent of the redbuds, and papaws, and the dogwoods...

........Yes, I know it is still there, for in my heart I believe the legend of the sacred red fern."

Agarbatti

Hamare abba ko Allah jannat naseeb kare, aksar kehte: "Beta bure logon se dur rehna, jahan bure log hote hain wahan se achhi ruhain chali jaati hain. Aur jahan khusbu ke saath halka sa dhuwan ho wahan achhi ruhain deraa daal leti hain".... Har shaam magrib ke waqt ghar main agarbatti ki jaati. Jumeraat ko to khas poore loban (Incense) ka bandobast hota - aur abba der tak musalle pe beth ker tahjjud paRhte rehte.

Ho sakta hai, koi pakeeza ruh na aati ho magar pakizgi ka aik aehsaas zaroor rehta. Hum daheriye (atheist) the magar kisi shaam agar agarbatti na hoti to lagta - aaj ka din kuch adhoora sa reh gaya.

BarsoN beet gaye - Abba chale gaye - magar

Aaj bhi jab kahin agar-batti jalti hai to abba yaad aa jaate hain - aur main sochta hun 
--- kese aik choti si cheez se insaan ki yaadain juR jaati hain - jo holey holey insaan ki zindagi ko  - andar hi andar - aik dheemi si aanch pe muattar kerti rehti hain.

Baqol Shafiqur-Rehman :: "Ye jhilmil jhilmil kerti hui piyari piyari kirnaiN"

A note from everyday life

After covering new year night in the hospital, I was dead tired and was trying to keep myself awake with coffee. As my replacement arrived at 7 AM, I finished and threw my empty cup into the trash, BUT instead of throwing it in the regular trash, I put it in Biohazard Bin, which is supposed to be only for medical and body fluid waste. I was reminded by a cleaning person that this was not appropriate. I was wrong! I apologized to him, pick the cup from Biohazard Bin and  put it in the regular trash.

It was a small occurrence but led me to think that there is a reason west is making more progress than the other countries. Anyone can be reminded of his wrongdoing without any fear. From the head of the country to a janitor has his/her own space which cannot be violated. That's how it used to be the guidelines of good governance of Umar bin Khattab, where even caliph of the Estate can be sent to court.

Islam ki saari taalimaat woh le gaye aur kharafat main par gai ummat.