Spiritual Strenth

 "Sir! what is the height of attaining spiritual strength?"

"When you can decide the mode and time of death at your will."

Coffee

 -

---How do you prefer your coffee?

---With you

Paranoid

 As I work at a quarternary medical center, we get the sickest of sickest patients transferred from outside hospitals. A wrong clinical judgment in that split of a second can kill a patient. I have a very close friend who is a very senior physician and a mentor for me. He reviews cases of bad or unexpected outcomes. The following conversation occurred two days ago.

(phone rang)

"What did I do wrong this time?"

"Nothing! I called to check on your shenanigans outside of work."

"I am now getting paranoid whenever you call."

"I am glad. We need to be paranoid. We deal with human lives. It is a prerequisite. Have a good day."

(Call ended)

Muqabila

میں ان ہزاروں عورتوں سے مقابلہ کر سکتی ہوں جو تمہیں چاہتی ہیں مگر میں اس ایک عورت سے مقابلہ نہیں کر سکتی جسے تم چاہتے ہو

Sweets of adversity

I visited Dallas for a Pakistani physicians meeting on July 4 to meet some old friends. Sitting with cigars and wine late at night, we shared many of our inner thoughts. Discussion, as expected, turned to moving to the West to find green pastures and to beat adversities back home. One friend made this beautiful comment:

In that process of progress & evolving yourself, you lose a big part of yourself, which you intentionally traded off for that Success, & then wonder if it was worth it. My dad's famous impromptu 'Sweets are the uses of adversity which, like a toad, though ugly & venomous, still bears a jewel on his head.'

On Gardening

Reminds me of my 16 years old post - 

A conversation with a Gardner: https://zindagi-ki-diary.blogspot.com/2006/12/gardening.html

 

Man!

I am not a bar or club person. For some reason, I had to tag along with a few cousins to the club two nights ago. Overheard this conversation.

Girl (apparently drunk): "If I agree to go with you, I am sure, as a man you will take me."

Guy: "It would be more manly of me if I don't take advantage of your compromised state."

Abbu

"Abbu aap 20 baras hum se dur america main rahe, aap ko kubhi hum yaad na aaye"

"Beta yaad to har lamhe aaye magar tum logon ki kafalat ki zimmadari thi. Tum sab ki achhi taalim ke liye ye zaroori tha - aur wese bhi betiyon ka to baRa bojh hota hai"

"Magar abbu, baap ke us haat ki shafqat hum kahan se laate, jo chup chap bhi sir pe rukh diya jaaye, to aulad main saare zamane se laRne ka aik hosla aa jaata hai".

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"

Correction by mother nature

 (conversation)

"kiya ye sach hai ke jab kahin kisi basti main koi dil se aah o zaari kerta hai to zameen phat paRti hai ya aasman baras parta hai.. ye bhi kehte hain, wahan zameen banjar ho jaati hai"

"shayed sach hi hai. Agar aesa na hota to insaani bhaRye kab ke is zameen ko noch noch ke kha chuke hote"

Dilkash Aurat

 (A conversation)

"Tum jaante ho sab se ziyada dilkash aurat kaunsi hoti hai?"

"Jo shadi ke baad nikharti hai"

Kausar

 "Mubarak ho, beta ya beti?"

"Kausar" !!!

(I didn't know, Kausar means daughter too. And, it is used in the most loving term)

Armageddon

Over centuries, humans in every genre, including religion, science, philosophy, or mythology, have argued instead guessed about Armageddon's nature. Due to my recent heavy involvement with pandemic patients' care, I recalled my old interaction with an Australian archeologist I met during travel. He told me:

 "I am 70 years old and have studied many old civilizations. I concluded that humans tend to survive wars, diseases, and catastrophes. All societies, civilizations, and cultures run their bell curve. They rise to their glories and fade away in the books of history. If Armageddon is supposed to happen, and this planet needs to get destroyed, my prediction is will happen in a moment! It may be an asteroid hitting a planet or a global nuclear holocaust. Although it sounds scary, there is a solace that suffering would be very short!"

*

Difference in lifestyles of West and East

 As I took a much-needed break while covering sickest of sick COVID patients with ventilators, ECMOs, and tons of drips - I entered our breakroom looking to get some chai. The only reason I am surviving and keeping my sanity intact while working with these patients is an unlimited supply of chai. Thanks to a few desi nurses around me. As I settled on the chair, took out the mail I bought from home to see my pending bills, one nurse chimed as she handed the mug full of khusbudar ilachi wali chai,

"America aur hamare mulkon main saari zindagi bus 6 lafzon pe ghumti hai

America main: Get the bill, pay the bill

Aur udhar apne India main: chai bun gai, pi ke jaana"

Why we get old

(A conversation with a 92 years old COVID patient)

"So what you are telling me, I assume you do not want any chest compression, electric shock, machine to breathe for you, or any artificial measure or medication to prolong your life. What I am saying is not to attempt to resuscitate you, what we call DNR?"

"Yes, doctor, I lived my life. Despite all troubles, I already enjoyed my life. Now it doesn't matter; I lived for 90 years or 900 years. I worked at Las Vegas as a backstage worker. I think, onwards, it would be just a stretch of the show. For a long time, I wondered why we need to get old? Now I know, the old hood is a blessing. It makes acceptance of death easy. It let you wonder about life - with all its beauty and its cruelty. It makes you let things go. It let you forgive all humans who did wrong to you. It makes you value love, and time people shared with you out of their own time. In the end, it makes you smile. Yes, please let me go peacefully".

At the moment of death

(A conversation with a COVID-19 patient who survived)

 "You almost died that day. If you remember, you asked me to make sure to inform your family. How did you feel before I put you on a ventilator, and we all knew this might be your last conscious moment?"

"It was interesting. At that given moment, there was a massive surge of acceptance to death. There was no fear. I was even devoid of any faith or religion. I didn't care if God exists. Suppose there is anything after death, well and good. If it is all over, let it be. Interestingly, I was still worried about my youngest child, who is still not grown up. Otherwise, no possession mattered".

Defining moment

Pandemic has caused domestic fights to go up. I am not surprised. One of my close friends called me to go out with him as he had a huge argument with his son who is finishing college, has no job but needs to stay home. His son left the house to stay with other friends. We went out. I listened to his part of the story and his venting. In such a situation I try to use the middle ground of being a charasaz and being a naseh. During our conversation, he said a beautiful thing.

"Every relationship has a defining moment, and I don't want this fight to be a defining moment of our relationship. I didn't want to be a spineless father who tolerates bad habits - but at the same time, I don't want this fight to be the turning point of our relationship. It just doesn't worth."

Sleep, Death and Correction

"Why do we sleep?"

"It's a correction."

"Hmmm"

"Mother nature has its way of correcting. Sleep is a correction. Death(s) is a correction."

*

Young look (and woman)

Me: "Man! you look younger and younger every time I see you."
He: "It all depends - what kind of a woman you keep in life."

Jhoot

(Last 2 weeks were not easy as I had to console many people when a loved one died after a protracted illness)

"Sir! Kiya marte huwe insaan se jhoot bolna jaayiz hai - sirf is liye ke us ki maut sukoon se waqiye ho jaaye"

"Jhoot bolna koi achhi baat to nahi magar maut ka aakhri lamha is qadar giraN hota hai ke agar kahin aram (comfort) ki koi gunjaish nikal aaye to kher hai. Allah baRa raheem hai".