Dukan aur Makan

Allah jannat naseeb kare, mere nana aik bari achhi baat kehte the: "Insaan ki dukan uthti hai to uth jaaye magar kubhi usey uska makan na bechna pare. Makan ki deewaron main insaan ki khushbu, khayalat, saansain, aarzuain aur batain rach bas jaati hain. Derina makan chorna pare to lagta hai jese apna koi hissa kut gaya ho. Ma baap ke baad makan ki chat allah ki dusri chaun, therao aur zameen se rishta hota hai. Jub tuk mumkin ho beta, apna makan na bechna".

Previous post on nana

Aqalbandi

Punjabi ki aik khawat hai: "Jade rub ruthe te aqal ruthe"

Mutlab jub allah ki rehmat ruthti hai aur jub insaan ki shamat aati hai to aadmi ki aqal band ho jaati hai aur woh pe-darpe bewaqoofi ki harkatain shuru ker deta hai !! - Aur aap sochte hi reh jaate hain ke ye achhe bhale insaan ko kiya ho gaya hai ?

allah insaan ko aqal-mand hi rakhe aur aqal-bandi se bachaye.

Shaukat Siddiqui

Shaukat Siddiqui urdu ke aese writer hain, jis ke baare main har subh zulfiqar Ali Bhutto puchte the ke, "aaj shaukat siddiqui ne kiya likha hai" (Shaukat Siddiqui Bhutto ke dor main aik akhbar ke editor the). Agar aap ne un ke do mashoor novel ya us pe bani TV serials "Khuda ki Basti" or "Jaangloos" parhi ya dekhi ho to aap ko andaza ho jaaye ga ke kese unhon ne muashre ke na'suroN pe nishtar aazmai ki hai.

Jub main ne unka afsana "Kaali Bala" * parha to mujhe pehla khayal ye aaya ke: "Ye afsana is sawal ka jawab hai ke kiun main ne aur mujh jese laakhon middle class logon ne pakistan chora. Hum nahi chahte ke hamari aulad ka bhi wahi haal ho jo is kahani main aik school master ke bachhon ka huwa".


(It may remind you of earlier posts like sam ne pakistan kiun chora and Aik kahani)

* Shaukat Siddiqui's "Kaali Bala" Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11

Bare Makan

Haseena Moin ki kahi hui aik baat aksar yaad aati hai ke, "agar makan bohut bare hon to insaan dur chale jaate hain". ...Kitni sach baat hai. Makan jitne bare hote jaate hain, utni ziyada deewarain bich main aa jaati hain.

Jis din se dekha hai tum ko sanam

Lately ! I am really enjoying this song of Mehdi Hasan (one of his best). Beautiful poetry, voice and music.

Saadat Hasan Manto

Jis ne Saadat Hasan Manto ko nahi parha, us ne urdu literature ko nahi parha.... He was the master of human psychology and probably the greatest of the sub-continent's short story writers. On top of that, though his language is very simple, he is so brutal....Main peechle 25 baras se Manto ko parh raha hun, aur har baar us ka qad pehle se aur bara ho jata hai.

Baqol mere aik dost ke: "Jis ne Manto ki 'kaali shalwar' aur 'thanda gosht' nahi parha, us ke dimag ka azarband abhi tak band hai"!


Taken from Khaled Ahmed's article (with thousand thanks to Raza Rumi)

"Before 1947, Muslims offended with the fahashi (obscenity) of Saadat Hasan Manto took him repeatedly to court, only to hear the Muslim judges under British Raj say that what Manto wrote was high culture, not obscenity. After 1947, every time he was dragged before the court for obscenity, he was convicted! The judge in Karachi gave him tea in the evening and told him he was the country’s greatest short story writer, but convicted him for obscenity in the morning".

Taa'rif

Kul kisi ne mere blog ki taa'rif ki to mujhe aik purani baat yaad aa gayi:

Aik no-paida 'journalist' ko us ke editor ne kamre main bulaya aur kaha, 'tumhare columns ke baare main jitne khat aaye hain sab main tumhari taa'reef hai'.

Journalist ne kaha: 'sir aap us aik shaks ko dhundhe jis ne khat nahi likha?'.

Editor bara satpataya aur bola: "aesa aik shaks kaun hai?"

Journalist ne kaha ke: "Main khud".

"Kiya matlab?"

"Matlab ye ke sir !, jub tuk log meri taa'rif ker rahe hain theek hai, lekin jis din main khud apne liye taarifi khatoot likhna shuru ker dun, woh din aapke liye lamhaye-fiqriya hoga"


Moral of the story: Dusre bhale insaan ki taa'rif kerte rahain magar behtar hai aadmi ko khud apni khamioN ka ilm rahe aur dusron ki tehseen se deewana na ho jaaye.

Comfort Inn

'Shazo' ne shayed theek hi kaha ke - Mohabbat bus aik comfort level hi hai ke aap kitna apne aap ko, bagair kisi khauf ke, kisi se - 'share' ker sakte hain !

Palmistry - whispering of witch!

Mere shuru ke blogs ziyada tar 1 ya 2 lines ke hote the, jis ka maqsad sirf apne liye waqiat ya cheezon ko yaad rakhna tha.

2 saal pehle main ne likha tha: "I classify 'ilm' (knowledge) of palmistry as whispering of witch !" Ye alfaz mere nahi the, kisi aur ke the.

Har naujawan ki tarah mujhe bhi haat ki lakirain dikhane ka shoq tha. Main Pakistan ke aik mashoor palmist ke paas pauncha. Ye sach hai ke unki batai hui bohut si batain, aage chal ker sach saabit huin. Kuch arse baad mujhe ilm huwa ke us palmist ne apni "practice close" ker di hai. Mujhe bari hairat hui. Main ne un se rabta karne ki koshish ki. Shuru main to unhon ne wajah batane se gurez kiya magar phir allah jaane unke dil main kiya aai ke is sakht waade pe ke, main unka naam kisi ko nahi batunga, unhon ne wajah batai: "Jis din se main ne apni aik nawasi aur aik pote ke haat main khudkushi (suicide) ki lakeerain dekhi hai, mera sara sakoon barbaad ho gaya hai. Na jaane main ne kitne hi logon ke dil ka sakoon cheena hoga. ....now I classify knowledge of palmistry as whispering of witch !"

Rasheeduddin ka khusion bhara gharana

Mere Pichle post main aap ne aik be-sukoon gharane ka haal parha, ab usse bilkul ulat kahani suniye. 

Asim se meri dosti kese hui, ye ab yaad nahi. Na to hum school college main saath parhe aur na hi woh hamare mohalle main rehta tha. Shayed doston ke doston se milte milate kahin dosti ho gai. Dosti koi bohut gehri to nahi thi magar aksar hum saath motorcycle pe beth ke lassi peene nikal jaate the aur gup shup lag jaati thi.

Aik sham, Asim bari ujlat main mere paas aaya bola - saath chalo ge? Main ne kaha - sub theek to hai? Qissa kuch yun tha ke, Asim ko apni walida aur bahen ko le ker kisi ke ghar jana tha aur maqsad larka larki ko shadi ki baat ki garz se milwana tha. Wese to larke wale larki ko dekhne aate hain magar Asim ki amma pehle se Taale gaye rishton se pareshan thi aur kehti thi baar baar 'bur dikhawwa' ho aur larki ki baat pakki na ho to mohalle wale tarah tarah ki batain kerte hain. To is baar Asim ki khala ne larke ke ghar hi chai paani ka bandobast ker diya. Asim dara dara sa tha, kher main 'moral support' ke liye saath ho liya.

Hum char log taxi main beth ke 'shah faisal colony' ki taraf rawana huwe. (Asim ke walid faut ho chuke the). Shah faisal colony karachi ki aik 'lower middle class' basti hai jo us zamane main punjabi-muhajir jhagron ke baais khub mashoor thi. Tang-o-tareek galion main se taxi guzarti rahi. Asim kagaz pe likhi directions taxi wale ko de raha tha. Koi ghante baad hum aik choti si gali ke sirahane paunche. Makan ka number check ker ke taxi wale ko rawana kiya. Neeche to dukanain thi, makan ooper tha. Main ne dil main kaha - kiya yahan larki bihain ge? Kher ooper paunche to larke ki amma ne darawaza khola. Bare tapak se milin. Makan kiya tha chota sa kamra tha jis main aik 'tube light' jul rahi thi. Aik sofa aur 2/3 chairs thi. Do konon pe 2 bister lage the aur aik pe kumbal orhe "larka" so raha tha ! Larke ki amma ne larke ko uthaya. Woh bhi mehman dekh ke harbara ke uttha. Aadhi neend main haat milaya. Larke ka naam tha Rasheed aur poora naam Rasheeduddin. Akela bachha tha aur us ke walid bhi faut ho chuke the. Larke ki shakal dekh ke main to bara satpataya. Koi 6 inch lambi daarhi thi

Larka mun haat dhone chala gaya. Asim ki aur rasheed ki amma batain ker rahi thin.

Asim ki amma: "Dekhain bahen, hamari aik hi beti hai. Koi ziyada dhan daulat nahi magar larki parhi likhi hai. Som-o-salat ki paband hai. Aap kahain gi to parda bhi ker le gi. Magar bus hamari larki khush rahe aur mekaa' hi bhool jaaye"

Rasheed ki amma: "Hume kuch nahi chahiye bus larki nek ho aur mere bete ka khayal rakhe. Ghar aap ne dekh hi liya hai. Sufed poshi ka bharam qaaim hai aur allah ke fazal se kisi ke aage haat nahi pehlate...." wagera wagera

Aur main idhar dil hi dil main sochta raha - ye koi pagal huwe hain jo larki ko is jhannum main dhakel rahe hain. Main apne aap ko bara 'modern' aur 'liberal' samjhta tha. Maulvion se ghin aati thi. Jub Rasheed kamre main wapas aaya to baal sanware huwe the aur bathroom se saaf suthra gehre kathai (dark brown) rang ka shalwar kameez pahen ke aaya tha. Main ne kaha; "Dekho Rasheed Bhai, achha hai larki aur larka khud aapas main baat ker lain. Koi baat aap inko kehna chahain ya shayed inko kuch kehna ho. Zindagi ka muamla hai". Rasheed ne jawab diya: "Dr. sahab (halanke main to abhi 4th year main tha magar asim ne raub maarne ki liye mujhe dr keh ker milwaya tha). Aap bilkul theek kehte hain. Mujhe koi aitraz nahi. Magar ghar aap ke saamne hai, yahan akele baat kerna mushkil hai. Neeche aik Khan shahab ka hotel hai. Achhi malai wali chai banata hai. Family ka alag intizam hain. App logon ko aitraz na ho to hum wahan beth ke shayed ziyada asani se baat ker sakain" (Sach poochain, ye baat sun ke mujhe hasi bhi aai aur bohut hairat hui - main daarhi waale maulvi se itni 'liberalization' expect nahi ker raha tha).

Asim ne apni bahen ki taraf dekha. Asim ki bahen ne dupatta orha tha. Us ne bhai ke kaan main kuch kaha. Asim ne uth ke amma ke kaan main kuch kaha. Aur phir amma ne jo kaha, mere pairon tale se zameen nikal gai. Amma ne kaha: "Aap logon ke baare main pehle se achha sun ke hi yahan aaye hain. Hamari beti ko kuch nahi poochna. Use larka pasand hai. Agar aap logon ko koi baath poochni hai ya kehni hai to keh lain aur munasib samjhain to baat aage barhain".

Rasheed ki amma ne use dekha to Rasheed ne bhi sir hila diya !!

Mian biwi raazi , kiya kare ga qazi

Asim ne mujhe dekha to meri aankhon main use poori taqreer nazar aayi ke - "gadhe aadmi ! ikloti bahen ko kahan dhakel rahe ho. Saari zindagi burqa pehnte nikal jaaye gi. Aur maulvi to wese hi biwion ki khub pitai kerte hain. Ooper se gurbat to dekho..... Bahen pe rahem karo.................."

Magar Rasheed aur asim ki bahen ka nikah ho gaya. Suhag raat us makan main kese hui, mujhe ilm nahi. Na mayon hui, na mehndi. Na jahez saja na waleema huwa. Thore se log aaye (ziyada tar daarhi waale) aur chupke se larki ki rhuksati ho gai. Main la hol hi parhta reh gaya.

Is shadi ke paanch baras tuk main Karachi main raha magar har baar yahi suna ke larki aur larka bohut khush hain. Asim ne kai baar kaha: "Rasheed khud maulvi zaroor hai magar meri bahen pe burqe ki pabandi nahi. Meri bahen susral main bohut khush hai". Yahi baat uski amma se suni ke "allah ne hamari laj rakh li. Beti khush hai". Unke haan beta huwa to main aur asim milne gaye. Usi chote se makan main cheezain nahi thi magar mujhe hur kone se khushi aur itminan jhalkta mehsoos huwa. Rasheed ne apne kirdar aur asim ki bahen ne apni burdbari se ghar ko jannat bana diya !!

Apni saari "modernity" aur "azad-khayali" ke bawajood main rasheed ki 6 inch ki daarhi ke aage maar kha gaya. Aaj jub parhe likhe logon main 'domestic unhappiness' ke qisse aur 'divorce' ki roz broz barhti sharah ko dekhta hun to Shah Faisal colony ke ikote kamre main rehne wala Rasheeduddin ka khusion bhara gharana bohut yaad aata hai. Hum ne jiddat-pasandi ke daastane to pahen liye magar kirdar aur halimi ki chadar utar di. Baqol Mustafa Zaidi

Bacha gai kai logon ko muttahid lehrain
Dubo diya hume payabiye tamanna ne
Main kis ke haat pe apna lahu talash karun
tamam shaher ne pehne huwe hain dastaane

Tasleem Apa

Asghar Bhai ne jab Tasleem Apa se shadi ki to dono ki umar 20 ya 21 baras se ziyada nahi ho gi. Ye mohabbat ki shadi thi magar koi 'zalim samaj' beech main nahi aaya. Shadi ke aik hi saal baad dono ke haan aik chand si beti paida hui. Uske baad yake baad digre do aur auladain huin. Aik chote se 'flat' main saas, susar simat kul 7 afrad ki zindagi guzarne lagi.

Ye aik aesi kahani hai jis ka agaz ooper diye gaye climax ke baad hota hai. Chota sa flat, qaleel si amadni aur shaksiaton ke tafarruqon ne ghar main aik musalsal tanao paida ker dia. Tasleem apa zaban ki karwi to thi hin magar mua'shi tangdasti ne unhe aur karwa bana diya. Baat baat pe Asghar bhai se uljhne lagin. Asghar Bhai ko mohalle aur khandan main khidmate khalq ka shoq tha aur is baat pe aaye din mian biwi main tu tarakh hone lagi. Suna hai aik aadh baar Asghar Bhai ne Tasleem apa ko 2 haath bhi jhar diye. Asghar Bhai ki walida yani Tasleem apa ki saas bhi thori sir phiri khatoon thin. Jab din main mard ghar pe nahi hote to saas bahu ki larai chalti rehti.

Ghar ke bare is baat se bekhabar the ke 3 bachhe ye sab kuch rozana apni aankhon se dekh ker uska aik ajeeb nafsiyati asar le rahe hain.

Tasleem apa ne apne masail se farar ka addiction 'binge eating' main dhundha. Motape (obesity) ka marz ho gaya. Ooper se stress ke baais blood pressure aur diabetes bhi lag gayi. Dawaai bhi waqt pe na khatin. Chirchira pan aur barh gaya. Mohalle ke log baat kerte huwe bhi katrane lage. Gharelu larai ne aik 'vicious cycle' ki surat akhtiyar ker li. Aur phir jese hi Tasleem apa ke heart pe se 'estrogen' ka 'protective effect' khatam huwa - aik raat 12 baje unhe jaan lewa heart attack huwa aur woh is duniya se chal basin.

Is baat ko kai baras guzar gaye. Main America aa gaya. Un ke bachhe bhi jawan ho gaye the. Aik din ittafaqan unki beti se yahan america main aik conference main mulaqat ho gai. Woh doctor ban ker yahan residency ker rahi thi. Hu bahu Tasleem apa ki shakal thi. Magar us se baat ker ke mujhe bara dukh huwa. Sirf 10 minute main mujhe andaza ho gaya ke us ke ander kitna zaher bhara hai. Pakistan se le ker mard zaat aur american airlines walon ke excess baggage charges se le ker hospital ke chief resident tak - hur kisi se us ko shikayat thi. Us ka jumla mujha aaj bhi yaad hai ke: "life is so unfair". Main chup raha ! Ye kehne ki bhi himmat nahi hui ke 'bibi shukar karo, america main residency ker rahi ho'.

2 baras pehle Pakistan gaya to pata laga ke ab Asghar bhai kahin africa main karobar ker rahe hain. Tasleem apa ke susar ko stroke ho chuka tha aur woh bister pe the. Main milne gaya to tasleem apa ki saas ki zaban ab bhi wese hi chalti thi. Asghar bhai ka bara beta dubai nikal gaya tha aur chote bete ke baare main mohalle main mashur tha ke hum-jins-parast (gay) ho gaya hai !

Ghar ka mahol be-haal ho to us ke asraat barson us ghar ki auladain bhugatti hain !

Baqol Ashfaq Ahmad: "Allah hum sub ko asani ata kare aur asani taqseem kerne ka sharf bakhshe"

On "Evil of Patriotism"

Jis din main ne pehli baar Pakistan chora to london ke Heathrow Airport pe transit ke dauran mujhe aik hindustani lurka mila - 'Raj'. We had coffee together but he paid the bill as he found me nervous first time in foreign land. Ye pehla din tha jab mere ander se 'narrow' ya 'black' patriotism ki deewar giri. Itne baras jub main america main raha aur mukhtalif mulkon, naslon aur mazahib ke logon se mila to aik naye falsafe ne janam liya - "Humanity is one".


"Nationalism is our form of incest, is our idolatry, is our insanity. Patriotism is its cult. It should hardly be necessary to say, that by “patriotism” I mean that attitude which puts the nation above humanity, above the principles of truth and justice; not the loving interest in one‘s own nation, which is the concern with the nation‘s spiritual as much as with its material welfare - never with its power over other nations. Just as love for one individual which excludes the love for others is not love, love for one‘s country which is not part of one‘s love for humanity is not love, but idolatrous worship" - Erich Fromm


Thanks to irving for posting above quote

The Sad Fate of the Comma

Interesting article:

"I have always liked commas, but I seem to be in a shrinking minority. The comma is in retreat, though it is not yet extinct. In text messages and e-mails, commas appear infrequently, and then often by accident (someone hits the wrong key). Even on the printed page, commas are dwindling...............But the comma's sad fate is, I think, a metaphor for something larger: how we deal with the frantic, can't-wait-a-minute nature of modern life. The comma is, after all, a small sign that flashes PAUSE. It tells the reader to slow down, think a bit, and then move on. We don't have time for that. No pauses allowed. In this sense, the comma's fading popularity is also social commentary......."

Read whole article here (By Robert J. Samuelson in newsweek)

Khawab

Agar aap ne USA main driving ki ho to aap ko ilm hoga ke left turn banane ke liye (agar signal pe arrow na ho to) saamne se aane wali garion ko 'yeild' kerna parta hai. Main jub bhi us ke saath driving kerta woh yeild wala left turn kubhi na banata bulke poora aage se chakkar kaat ke aata....main ne aik din us se poocha: "yaar ye kiya bewaqufi hai - why don't you just make left turn on yeild". Us ne mujhe bataya: "Mujhe zamane se ye khawab aata hai ke main left turn bana raha hun aur meri gari ka accident ho gaya. Jub bhi woh khawab aata hai, us khawab ki feeling itni real hoti hai ke main left turn banate huwe darta hun".

Aik din mujhe ittlah mili ke uska zabardast accident ho gaya hai. Gari chakna chur ho gai magar woh thori bohut choton ke ilawa bach gaya. Jub main ne us se poocha, kiya huwa to us ne jawab diya: "Left turn banane ki jurrat ki aur accident ho gaya. Sala khawab sachha ho gaya" !

On 'Paradox of Truth'

The investigation of the truth is in one way hard, in another easy. An indication of this is found in the fact that no one is able to obtain the truth adequately, while on the other hand, no one fails entirely, but everyone says something true about the nature of things, and while individually they contribute little or nothing to the truth, by the union of all a considerable amount is amassed. Therefore, since the truth seems to be like the proverbial door, which no one can fail to hit, in this way it is easy, but the fact that we can have a whole truth, and not the particular part we aim at shows the difficulty of it.

– Aristotle

dukh kiun aate hain

Aik shaks kisi sufi ko dhundhte dhundhte unke ghar pauncha. Hazrat-e-sufi ki biwi bari karwi zaban ki aurat nikli. Un ne shaks ko bura bhala keh ker rawana kiya. Us shaks ne bahar logon se sufi ka pata poocha. Kisi ne bataya, sufi shahab lakrian (logs) kaatne jungle ki taraf gaye the - wahan dhundho. Jub woh shaks jungle ke qareeb pauncha to hazrat sufi aik sher (lion) pe sawar ho ker lakrian laade aa rahe the. Sher ne sufi ko jungle ke bahar utara aur phir wapas jungle main chala gaya.

Woh shaks bara 'impress' huwa. Us ne kaha: "Aap itne bare sufi hain ke jungle ke janwar aap ki ghulami kerte hain. Magar mujhe afsos hai ke aap ki biwi iitni karwi zaban ki aurat hai".

Buzurg sufi ne jawab diya: "Woh hai to ye sab hai" !!

Moral of the story: Dukh aur taklif insaan ko ruhani tor pe mazboot kerte hain.

Hum-bister

Kuch log aik jumle main saari kahani bayan ker jaate hain. Jub Mazhar ki talaq hui aur aik din main ne us se poocha ke nachaaki ki bunyaadi wajah kiya thi to us ne jawab diya: "Jub mian biwi ke bister alag ho jaayain to ghar bhi saath nahi rehte" !

Apathy

"One of the evil associated with success is 'Apathy'. When you have stable flow of income and living in a good house and when your kids are going to private school, you stop worrying about other people"

(Per Dr. RC whom I never liked but should appreciate his thought)

Sala ye harami dil !

'Shazo' ke itne saare sawalon ka main kiya jawab deta. Is kaainat main kab saare sawalon ke jawab milte hain. Koi formula nahi chalta. Kisi mantiq ki chul theek nahi bethti. Hum saari zindagi jaanne ki tag-o-do main lage rehte hain magar saara kuch is dil ke maanne se hai. Agar dil ko qarar aa jaaye to koi maujiza naqabile yaqeen nahi rehta. Kuch bhi namumkin nahi rehta. Falsafa chale na chale magar jo baat, jo cheez is dil ki dharkan ki ley se murtaish (vibrate) ho jaaye - wahi haq, wahi sach !

Sala ye harami dil !!

Islam ki Dushman!

Razia apa meri dur ki cousin hoti hain magar bachpun se apne bhaiyon ki tarah rakha hai. Un ke shoher ka naam sharafat hai, aur hum sharafat bhai bulate hain. Kamal ki cheez hain. Hur cheez ko dekhne ka unka apna andaz hai aur logon ko lajawab kerne ke champion hain. Razia apa 1978 se america main hain. Main ne apna pehla july 4 (america ka roze-azadi) Razia apa ke haan guzara. Miami Beach ke kinare fire works ke baad, sharafat bhai ne beer ke can kholna shuru kiye aur aik can meri taraf barha diya. Main ne kaha: "Sharafat bhai ! main sharab nahi peeta".

Unhon ne jawab diya: "Mian sharab Islam ki dushman hai, ise pee ke khatam ker do" !