Amma ka mehwar

(Last weekend I took my kids to water park. I witnessed something very interesting while we took break for food on side benches).


'Mexican family' ke koi 20 log honge! Un main bachhe bhi the, jore (couples) bhi the, jawan bhi the aur adher umar (middle age) bhi. 'Park' main rash ke baais unhe aik hi bench mil paai, jis pe bethne ke liye sirf do aadmioN ki jagah thi. Us khandan ne saara saman neeche zameen pe rakh chora. Khandan ke saare log apni apni 'activities' main masroof the magar bench pe mustaqil aik amma bethi thiN, jin ki umer koi 60-65 ke aas paas rahi ho gi. Kubhi main use 'salad' banate dekhta to kubhi koi 'sandwhich'. Woh baari baari har shaks ke liye khane ki plate tayyar kerti - aik aadmi aata, khana khata aur dusre ke liye jagah bana ke chala jata. Koi bachha 'ketchup' maang leta to bare piyar se aik alag plate main undel ke saamne rakh deti. Us ke chehre pe aik ajeeb itminaan tha. Us amma ko 'park' main 'rides' ya 'lazy chairs' se koi dilchaspi na thi. Us chehre ke itminan ke peeche aik garoor tha, aik 'grace' tha - aur khud mujeh yun mehsoos hota tha - jese ye amma is khandan ka mehwar hai - jis ke gird saare hashiye gardish ker rahain hain! Amma na rahi to sab bikhar jaain ge. Us roz mujeh apni dadi bohat yaad aain!!

Ye buzurg bhi kamal ki cheez hote hain - chale jaate hain magar apne mehwar ki 'radiation' chor jaate hain - jis se saari zindagi - holey holey - yadon ki saans sulagti rehti hai!

Tu Shia Main Sunni

(one true incident from a life of a person)

"...I may never forget the incident while I was a kid...... an eleven or twelve years old. We were trapped in a relatives house when violence erupted in one part of the Karachi..We were total 7 kids(I was the eldest one) & five ladies inside the house...the youngest one was only few months old.The smoke from the teargas shell was all over the place & all of us had wet towels in our hands. Then suddenly we heard people climbing on the rooftopย yelling " Shia ka gher hay aag laga do".

They did not even realized that victims were few innocent children & women. They started throwing stones inside the house. Our mom, grandmother & aunt put their hands on the mouth of all the children. Our eyes were burning & we were like dead corpse.... nobody was crying; not even my infant brother. There was pin drop silence, then we heard someone saying "lagta hay ghar ke under koi nahee hay, aag lagana beykaar hay".

They stayed on the roof for sometime.....then we heard a police van & some firing in the air & all of them vanished. We remained inside the house for many hours & then police helped us to get out of the affected area.."

Aik Jhoot

Zindagi main aksar insaan ko mushkil faisle kerne parte hain - Aur kubhi kubhi jaante boojhte jhoot bhi bolna parta hai. Mere aese hi aik faisle se - aese hi aik jhoot se - main ne apna aik behtreen dost kho diya - faisla aap khud kijye! 

"I met Masud on the very first day of Medical School. Since then, we have spent the next nine years together every day. We did lectures, exams, practicals, and all fun (masti) together. After finishing my MBBS, I came to the USA. I obtained a residency spot, but it was still seven months before I started. I decided to go back to Karachi for those months. Masud left for the USA before I arrived in Karachi.

While I was still in Karachi, enjoying each moment of my life's most precious last "off work" time, one day, I received a frantic call from Masud's father to come and see him. When I visited him, there was a massive "palpable mass" in his abdomen. I knew from that moment - he had some cancer. It turned out to be a renal cell carcinoma with distant metastasis (stage IV).

His parents requested me - not to disclose this to Masud on my return to the USA, as he may abandon his quest for residency. I obliged. Masud asked me on my return about his parents, and I flatly lied - ke sab log theek hain.

His father died a few months later. Masud is now a practicing oncologist in the USA but has not talked to me in years. Sometimes I miss him too much.....He always is the first person to wish me Happy Birthday. I haven't celebrated my birthday in the last 15 years".

Kubhi kubhi kamina bohat yaad aata hai...saali ye sauhbat-e-barham!

*

The Catcher in the Rye

Nowadays, I am reading the famous novel The Catcher in the Rye" (hopefully, I will write a post once finished). Still, it constantly reminded me of one of my class-fellow who had immense dry humor, sarcasm, psychological dyslexia, "cheeni kum," but was simultaneously extremely funny. I miss you, man !! 

His famous Quote: "Meri aadhi batoN ka koi matlab nahi hota, magar un aadhi batoN ko - jin ka matlab hota hai - ko samjhane ke liye - un batoN ka janna zaroori hai - jin ka koi matlab nahi hota - Isliye zaroori hai - tum meri har bakwas pe dhiyan do"! 

My friend Arif Iqbal - now as a physician, I am sure you turned out to be one heck of a Catcher in the Rye!

*

Kaun bikta nahi zamane main - 2 (update)

Is blog pe main ne, Karachi main, apne us waqiye ka zikar kiya tha - jub hum gulshan-e-iqbal ke ilaqe main 'gana' sunne jaya kerte the - aur wahan aik larki mujh pe aashiq ho gayi thi (here). Us larki ka naam Gul-Shireen tha magar hum use Gul bulate the.

Main koi saal pehle Karachi gaya to Gul ko phir dhundhne 'bazare-husn' ke chakkar kaate magar woh nahi mili. Kuch dinoN pehle mera aik dost Karachi se wapas aaya to kisi tarah Gul ki khabar laya.....Gul khubsurat to thi hi, so wahin 'bangle' pe aane wale kisi shaks ne aashiq ho ker gul se shadi ker li. Ab uske do bachhe hain aur woh aik sharifana zindagi basar ker rahi hai.

Mujhe Gul ka 'mobile #' bhi mila. Main kafi dinoN is makhmase (confusion) main raha ke mujhe Gul ko phone kerna chahiye ya nahi? Mujhe ye dar tha ke kahin mere phone se uski bani banai zindagi main koi talatum (storm) paida na ho jaaye - magar aakhri mulaqat ka 'ghao' itna ghera tha ke main ne majboor ho ker Gul ko phone ker hi diya.

Mere phone dial kerne pe jub Gul ne hello kaha to mujhe koi aur baat nahi sujhi aur main ne kaha: "is waqt baat ker sakti ho?"

"Tum !! ....15 baras baad meri yaad kese aa gai"

"Hairat hai! itne saaloN baad bhi tum ne foran meri awaz pehchan li"

"Tumhari awaz to main lakhon main pehchan leti"

(Is ke baad bus rasmi 2/4 batain hi huiN thi- ke uska beta school se wapas aa gaya)

Koi kisi se itni mohabbat kese ker sakta hai. Koi kisi ko itna kese yaad rakh sakta hai. Gul jis 'profession' main thi, wahan aik se aik turram khan haazir hota tha. Main to bohat hi average sa, patla dubla lurka tha. Magar na jaane woh kiun aur kese, yun dil de bethi ke aaj tuk mujhe bhula na paai. Kaash main ne phone nahi kiya hota - Woh mujh per pehli mulaqat se bhi gehra ghao chor gai....

Ye dil saala bara harami hai !!


Addendum: I should have added this in post above but realized after reading uncle saugoree's comment. "...I think, more than loving me, she remembered me because 15 years ago my comment hurted her very much.....Zaban ka ghao talwar se ghera hota hai......"

Qabooliat ki ghari

Agar aap ko yaad ho to is blog pe main ne ‘parapsychology’, ‘meta-physics’, ‘spiritualism’, ‘new age’ wagera wagera se apni dilchaspi ka zikar kiya tha (here). Us ki asas (origin) zindagi ka aik aesa waqiya tha jo meri zindagi ki awwal awwal yadoN main se aik hai. Us waqt meri umar koi 6 baras hogi.

Amma hame magrib ke waqt masjid main darse-quran ke liya bheja kertiN. Sabaq se pehle hum masjid ki peechli sirhiyoN se masjid ki chat(roof) pe bhaga kerte. Un sirhiyoN ke neeche mayyat le jaane ke liye lakri ka aik khubsurat janaza parha rehta. Hum masjid ki peechli sirhiyoN pe charte huwe us janaze ko dekha kerte. Kabhi kabhi use dekh ke aik hulka sa dar bhi lagta. Aik roz kehlte huwe hamare saath ke aik bachhe ne kaha, ‘main marne ki acting kerta hun, tum log mera janaza banao’..hum sab ‘janaza janaza’ kehlne lage aur woh bachha lakri ke us khubsurat taboot main mayyat ban ke so gaya. Kuch der baad maulvi saab ne hum sab ko wahan se daant ke bhaga diya.

Dusre din woh larka mar gaya!

School se ghar aa ke woh bistar pe leta aur phir wapas nahi uttha!

Us waqiyeh ne mere andar maut ka aik ajeeb khauf bitha diya. Main taayi amma ke ghar therne jata to unke ghar raat ko ghup andhera rehta aur main para para sochta rehta ke, kiya qabar ke andar bhi itna andhera hota hoga…Is dar se nikalte nikalte mujhe bohat waqt lag gaya aur phir jesa ke main ne likha tha ke zindagi ka aik beshtar hissa main ne is dasht ki sayyahi main guzara! …

Hamari dadi kehti thin ke….. magrib ke waqt aik ghari qabooliyat ki aati hai. Us ghari dil ya zaban se nikli koi baat poori ho jaati hai.

Us bachhe ki maut aik ittafaq thi ya phir dadi amma ki baat sahi thi ke, qabooliyat ki ghari, us bachhe ke dil se nikli maut ki aarzoo poori ho gai

Allah behtar jaanta hai….

Sir Jazakallah!

Jab hum aathween (8th class) main the to hamare islamiyat ke aik ustad dusri school se transfer ho ker aaye. Naam to unka Sir Manzar tha magar jald hi woh school main Sir Jazakallah ke naam se mashoor ho gaye, kiunke woh har baat pe Jazakallah kehte the. Aik din main period ke beech main bathroom se aa raha tha ke unhon ne mujhe rok ke poocha: "Mian barkhurdar! ye period ke beech main kahan ghum rahe ho?" 

Main ne kaha: "Sir bathroom se aa raha hun" Woh bole: "Jazakallah" 

Main ne class main aa ker ye baat dostoN ko sunayi aur hum poora din unka mazaq urate rahe aur baat be baat pe aik dusre ko jazakallah bol bol ke haste rahe. Mere bare bhai cricket gazab ki khelte the. Itni shandar batting kerte the ke mohalle main 'Clive Lloyd' ke naam se mashoor the. Unke saath main bhi poora din jhulsa dene wali garmi main cricket khelne ghumta rehta. Aik aesi hi garmi ki dophar main shadeed dehydration ke baais mujhe 'kidney stone' ka aesa dard uttha ke nani yaad aa gai. Jub bhi peeshab kerne jaata aesa azar hota ke Allah ki panah! Us din Sir Jazakallah bohut yaad aaye. 

We take life's so many blessings as granted. Even having a healthy excreta is a blessing. Jazakallah!