Ustad

(An old conversation when I was a kid)

 "Main aap ko ustad manun agar main chati, saatween, aathween, naween aur dasween - har jamat main awwal aun"

"bete! agar tum itne qabil hote to tumhe ustad ki zaroorart hi nahi"

On being soft

 

Math

 

Societal manipulation

 

Quote

مرد اُتنا ہی مضبُوط ہوتا ہے جتنی مضبوطی سے عورت نے اُسے تھاما ہوتا ہے...

بیورلی جینکنز - 

(Beverly Jenkins is an Afro-American author from Michigan)

A different take on Abraham's story

 

PK

 

Kinds of Love

 

Reputation

 After the pandemic, I think this was the first time I walked into the theater to watch the movie 'Top Gun.' At least say, I thoroughly enjoyed the film because of Tom Cruise, effects, dialogue, and focused storyline (though there was a little Bollywood touch in the storyline). My favorite was the following dialogue.

"Reputation precedes arrival."

"Thank you, Sir."

"It was not meant to be a compliment."

*

Married for 7 lives

I have never been a firm believer in reincarnation. I read about it every day. I met people who vouched about it from their anecdotal experience. Following is another experience from my one trip to El Salvador, where I took a cultural trip to see Mayan culture.

I met a couple in our tour group. It was interesting as the woman's name was 'Maya.' They asked me to believe in their tale in the name of their children. Maya described her story in the presence of her husband as below:

"As far as we remember, we first met 3500 years ago. My man was in somewhat 50-60 years of age when he died, and it was a scorching hot day. He was dressed in a classic Mayan tribal outfit. He probably died of heart failure as he was swollen and used to get short of breath easily the day he died. I was in love with him. I died very soon afterward in his grief. I returned to this world 2500 years afterward in old India, where I used to dress in white Saree and wear flowers in my hair. He took another thousand years to get born again. When he asked me if I should have found another soul in between, I replied: my heart didn't accept any other man, but I became friends with another female soul - and became kind of a lesbian until  you and I were born together."

*

Only Freedom

 

True Beauty as per Azad

مولانا ابوالکلام آزاد 

 وہ انسان ہی نہیں ، جو خوبصورتی سے متاثر نہ ہو۔ خوبصورتی کے بہت سارے رنگ روپ ہیں ۔خوبصورت انسان ، خوبصورت نظارہ ، خوبصورت لمحہ، اللہ کی خوبصورت کائنات ۔ان سب خوبصورتیوں سے بڑھ کے ایک خوبصورتی ہے، جو لازوال ہے، جو لافانی ہے، اس خوبصورتی کو اندیشہ خزاں نہیں ۔

 یہ خوبصورتی سوچ، فکر اور اعلٰی نظریہ کی ہوتی ہے۔ یہ انسان کے کردار کو ڈھالتی ہے، اس کو تراشتی ہے، اس کی ذات کو اور انسانوں کے لیے مفید اور دلکش بناتی ہے، انسانیت کے لیے مر مٹنے کا جذبہ پیدا کرتی ہے اور انسان کی ذات میں کائنات کی ساری خوبیاں ، اچھائیاں جمع کر دیتی ہیں ۔ سوچ، فکر اور نظریہ جتنا اعلٰی ، برتر وارفع ہوگا، انسان اتنا ہی خوبصورت ہوگا۔..!!

Feeling

 "What are you thinking "? the girl asked.

' Nothing.'
" You have to think something."
' I was just feeling.'

Ernest Hemingway, The Garden of Eden

'is rang ka kapRa'

 (overheard at Zainab market, Karachi - while I wait to buy my thing)

"Bhaiyya is rang ka kapRa mil jaaye ga (holding color's paper). Aik shalwar kurta banwana hai"

"Nahi bhai - ye rang to nahi, is se milte julte rang ka kapRa dikha dun?"

"Nahi bhaiyya, bilkul aesa hi rang chahiye"

"Bilkul yahi rang to kabhi nahi dekha. Sirf yahi rang kiun?"

"bachpan se aik hi khawab dekhta hun. Is rang ka shalwar kurta pehne madhosi main madina ki galion main majzoob bane, dholak ki thaap pe, nachta phir raha hun. Bhai Madine jana hai. Kisi aur dukan se mil jaaye ga?'

"nahi bhaiyya ye rang hume nahi maalum - ajeeb hi shade hai"

(man walks away)