10 lessons

I received following as fwded e-mail (which we all do everyday) - but I think this one is worth sharing.



Marry a man/woman you love to talk to . As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

Don't judge people by their relatives.

Say 'God bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.

When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

Smile when picking up the phone . The caller will hear it in your voice.

Spend some time alone.

Sukh aur Dukh

Agar aap ko yaad ho to main ne is blog pe apne aik teacher Sir Aleem ka qissa likha tha ke woh apni nauiyyat ke alag 'islamiat' ke teacher the (here).

Aik din un ki class main 'Sukh aur Dukh' ke subject pe garma-garam bahes ho rahi thi. Hum sirf dasween (10th) main the magar bare maulvi bante the. Apni apni aqal ke mutabiq bahes ker rahe the. Tub unhon ne black board pe Hindustan ke kisi sufi ka ye sher likh diya (what a teaching - writing on black board scrpited that sher in my brain forever).

Sukh ne dukh doye, 'hazrat' likhya re piya
so dosh kisi ko naahi dewe maherban mera

Sir Aleem ne bataya ke is sher ki aik aam aadmi tashree ye kerta hai ke 'uper wale' (hazrat) ne sub ka sukh aur dukh likha hai is liye kisi ko kiya ilzam dena?

Magar baqol sir aleem, ye tashree theek nahi. Un ke mutabiq 'hazrat' ka lafz kubhi kahin kisi jagah 'uper wale' ke liye istimal nahi hua, bulke 'hazrat' khud insaan ko kehte hain - insan khud apna sukh aur dukh likhta hai, isliye 'uper wale' ko kiya ilzam dena ?

Woh aksar kehte, kisi ke saath aaj neki karo ge - kul kahin aur kaam aaye gi. Aaj achhe kaam pe paise kharch karo ge to kul daulat mile gi - Aur - kisi ka dil aaj toro ge, kisi ko aaj dukh do ge to - zindagi main kisi aur tarah nuqsan uthao ge. Dukh do wajah se aate hain. Ya to allah aazmata hai * ya phir bure amal ka payback! Bus dono se darte raho aur 'surah asar' ka wird kerte raho !


* Mujhe yaad hai is baat per main ne Ghalib ka ye misrah parha tha aur unhon ne muskura ke mere baal bikhar diye the - yahi hai aazmana to satana kis ko kehte hain !

Aameen !

Mere nana jab bhi akhbar main quetta ya murree main barafbari ki khabar parhte he to un ki zaban se nailata: "Al-hamdulillah". Unka kehna tha ke baraf-bari apne saath naik-shagoon le ker aati hai.

Suna hai peechle hafte, Baghdad (after 100 years) aur Rawalpindi main kai barson baad baraf-bari hui.

Allah kare ye naik-shagoon ho !


(If any reader from rawalpindi can tell, after how many years ? )

Sexiest dance ever!

If you ask me to identify the sexiest song ever made in Bollywood - I will say the following one - Who else other than Madhuri!

(I remember we roommates watched this song at least 100 times in a week when it was released, and it was pretty warming in Chicago's cold)

Pakki dosti ki dakar

Unhon ne mere saath khana khaya phir lumbi dakar (burp) li aur kaha: "Lo ab tumhari hamari dosti pakki ho gai"

"Mutlab?" main ne poocha.

"Agar aap kisi ke saamne bagair kisi hichkichahat ke dakar maar sakain to samjhain usse aapki dosti pakki ho gai".

meri palkon ko mut dekho

Aaj Pakistan, bulke mera Pakistan - jin halat main hai - Mustafa Zaidi ki ye nazam bohut yaad aa rahi hai. Yun lugta hai mustafa Zaidi ne mere dil ka haal likha hai.
Tina Sani also sung it so well , listen here


meri palkon ko mut dekho
inka uthna inka jhapkna
jism ka na-mehsus samar hai

meri aankhon ko mut dekho
inki aut main shame gareeban
inki aar main dashte azal hai

mere chehre ko mut dekho
is main koi wade farda
is main koi aaj na kul hai

ab us darya tuk mut aao
ji ki lehrain ruth chuki hain
us kunwain se lo na lagao
jis ki nabzain chut chuki hain

ab mere qatil ko chaho
mera qatil marham mrham
darya darya sahil sahil

qaziye shahr ka matha chumo
jis ke qalam main zahre hilahil
jis ke sukhan main lahle salasil
ab us raqs ki dhun pe nacho
ji ki gat per lut gaya qazi
jis ki ley per bik gaya qatil

bik gaya qatil
bik gaya qatil

meri aankhon ko mut dekho

Anandi

Is blog pe prostitution pe 2/3 post pehle bhi likh chuka hun, jese "Aik prostitute se mulaqat", "Kaun bikta nahi zamane main" , "Parveen ki Kahani, New York Times ki zubani" aur phir "laga chunari main daag".

Ab ki baar main karachi gaya to mere bhatije Noor Mohammad ne kaha: "Chacha ! aik baar to baazare-husn le chalain, aap to sirf qisse hi sunate hain" Main ne kaha, "Zaroor le chalunga magar pehle tumhe Ghulam abbas ka afsana 'Anandi' parhna parhe ga" ! Saizak ne bhi isi blog pe kahin comments main Ghulam Abbas ke afsanay "Anandi" ka zikar kiya tha.

"Anandi" bhi aik kamal ka afsana hai. Kahani ka theme ye hai ke kese bazare-husn ke baais shahr baste hain aur phir wahi basti wale un aurton ko basti se nikal bahir kerte hain. Is poore afsanay ki zaban is qadar shaishta hai ke kahin se afsana bazari nahi lagta. Aur lamha ba lamha jese kahani aage barhti hai woh parhne se taaluq hai aur hame batata hai ke likhne waala kitna bara writer hai.

Agar aap urdu rasmul-khat parh sakte hain to ye afsana zaroor parhiye. Aap ko andaza ho jaaye ga ke bazare husn ke ilaqon main is qadar raunaq kese lagti hai aur in 'bazari aurton' ke baais kese kai aur insaan apni rozi-roti kama lete hain!
Kehte hain kisi bhi afsane ke bare-pun ka izhar, uski aakhri 'punch line' hoti hai. Is afsane ki aakhri line bhi kuch aesi hi hai!

Read here ( I hope this link remain alive)

Nawaye sarosh

I was unable to find answer to a little glitch at one of our professional website. I went to bed thinking of it and this morning I woke up with a very clear answer. And NO I never knew that things can be done that way too ! I could not stop saying

Aate hain ghaib se ye mazamin khayal mein
Ghalib sarire-khama nawaye sarosh hai

(These thoughts emanate to mind from the 'unseen',
Ghalib! noise of your pen is actually the voice of an angel).


Related previous posts: 5 AM , Alarm Clock


* I think, concept of istikhara is based on this too.

4 Stages of life

So true - Man's 4 stages of life

Childhood - dependent on support (milk)
Younghood - Busy in fun (coca-cola)
Mid-life (crisis) - getting depressed - drinking - wtf my life was/is
Oldhood - Sickness / fragility - getting IV drip


Related previous post: Solomon Grundy

AH! - those roadside films

I watched this movie, "Tum Salamat raho" when I was 8 or 9 years old at roadside screen. 25/30 years back (ah! those golden days of Karachi), it was a tradition to erect open air screen with white cloth (call chandni)  on any good auspicious occasion. I had completely forgotten that part of my childhood. Thanks to youtube, where I found this amazing ghazal of Ghulam Ali. I was too young to understand movie, acting (watch Mohammad Ali - he is so natural), music and poetry at that age. Bus itna yaad hai ke jab film khatam hui to mujhe bara dukh huwa tha aur main bara 'sad' ho gaya tha. Bus dil ker raha tha ke meri zindagi ka ye khubsurat lamha kabhi khatam na ho !

Who else - Voltaire!

Sitare

Ye ittafaq to nahi ho sakta. Ye sitaron ka kesa khel hai... ?

Liaqat Ali Khan jub qatal ho ke Rawalpindi Hospital laaye gaye to Dr. Sadiq Khan ne unhe attend kiya.

56 years later....

Jub Benazir Bhutto qatal ho ke Rawalpindi Hospital layi gai to Dr. Sadiq Khan ke bete Dr. Mussadiq Khan ne unhe attend kiya.

Shayed Khan family ke sitaron main ye kaam kerna likha tha. Ye sirf "husne-ittafaq" to nahi ho sakta. Baqol Faiz:

Is tarah hai ke pase-parda koi sahir hai
jis ne afaq pe pehlaya hai yun saher ka daam

(Its like, there is a magician in the background
who weaved the mirage of magic over universe)

Benazir's Hand

I received this pic and following text in email from one of my palmist friend:

"Look closely, She has very short life line, abruptly finished (red), but very strong line of fate and fame (blue circle). Mostly, you find this combination in hands who get fame by destiny but die of unnatural cause mostly assassination or accident. Infamous Osama bin laden and famous princess diana have similar combination (OBL & Diana). I guess it was her destiny like her father".

P.S: Z A Bhutto himself had very keen interest in palmistry and famous palmist M M Malik was said to be regularly seeing his lines and actually was warned that election date of March 7, 1977 will lead to his death. Bhutto was aware of one fact - short life spans of Bhuttos. As Irfan Hussain mentioned also in his latest column (here): "Days after he announced that elections would be held in a couple of months in 1977, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was asked by a western journalist how many terms he expected to win.“I am not looking beyond the next term,” he replied. “The Bhutto men do not live very long.”
Click to enlarge pic

Subhe be-noor

Aaj Pakistan ki jo halat hai, mujhe Habib Jalib ki nazam, "aese dastoor ko, subhe benoor ko, main nahi manta, main nahi manta" - bohut yaad aa rahi hai.

Listen in Habib Jalib voice here (taken from windmills of my mind)

Click on image to see enlarge poster.

On Benazir's assassination & aftermath riots

Agar aaj ke daur main bhi nabi aate hote to woh dua kerte:
"Ya Allah! is jungli qaum ko neest-o-naabud ker de".

Maulana Hali hote to phir musaddas ko parhte

Ham hain qatal-o-garat main chalak aese
Darinde hon jungle main bebak jese

Bayan shamshu chole wale ka

Karachi ke ilaqe 'patel para' main aik shaks barson se chole chaat ka thela lagata hai aur naam hai us ka shamshuddin urf 'shamshu chole wala'.

Agar aap shamshu ke chole khane jayain to aap ko is baat ki ijazat nahi hai ke aap, chole ki plate milne ke baad chole mix ker sakain ! Jese woh aap ko chole ki plate haat main de, aap ko wese hi khani pare gi. Agar aap ne chole ki plate ko mix ker ke khane ki koshish to woh aap ko tok dega ke "chamcha mat maaro", kiunke shamshu chole waale ka khayal hai ke plate main chole aur masale mix kerne se us ka asli zaaiqa kharab ho jata hai !

Aksar logon ka wahan jhagra bhi ho jaata hai ke hamare chole hain, jis tarah chahain kha'ain. Ye baat 'shamshu' ko bohut nagawar guzarti hai.

Mere dil main 'shamshu' ki bari izzat hai kiunke woh sirf rupe kamane ke liye chole nahi bechta bulke apne kaam se ishq kerta hai.

Zara aik lamhe ko sochiye ke agar aap koi mussawir hon aur koi aap ki 'painting' khareed ke us per chuna pher de - to aap ko kesa dukh hoga. Bus jab koi 'shamshu' ki plate main 'chamcha maarta hai' to use bhi wesa hi dukh hota hai.

Jinnah ka asli Pakistan - kiya huwa?

Aaj Quaid-e-azam ka yaume-paidaish hai. Mera dil kerta hai aaj un logon ko yaad karun jin ki badaulat Jinnah ke banaye huwe Pakistan ka naam abhi tuk duniya ke naqse pe maujud hai. Ye woh log hain jinhon ne sach likha aur us Pakistan ka mafhoom zinda rakhne ki koshish ki jo Quaid-e-azam ka Pakistan tha, na'ke kisi fauji general ya Ziaul-haq ka islami Pakistan.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Habib Jalib, Eqbal Ahmad, Hamza Alvi, Dr. Mubarak Ali, Janab Tariq Ali, Ardeshir Cowasjee, Munnu Bhai (kuch naam) - ye woh log hain jinhon ne na sirf Pakistan bulke duniya main hur zulm ke khilaf awaz uthai aur musibatain jhelin. Ye log Zameer ke qedi hain. Inhon ne sachchai se apne sach ko likhne ki koshish ki.

Agar aap "History and Philosophy of Pakistan" ko sahi andaz main dekhna chahte hain to aap ko Prof. Hamza Alvi ka ye article zaroor parhna pare ga...


On Religion and Secularism in the making of Pakistan

"It was not until the mid-Forties, when the approach of independence began to look like a reality, that the landed magnates of Punjab realised, firstly, that they would not be given an Independent Punjab within the Commonwealth, which they wanted. Secondly they saw a mortal danger to their survival as a class, if independence came to the Punjab under the Indian National Congress. The Congress was fully committed to Land Reform, on which a Committee, presided over Pandit Nehru himself, had been working for some years. The Congress was fully committed to Land Reforms. For the survival of their class, the Punjabi feudals reckoned that Pakistan under the Muslim League was a workable alternative for them, the more so because they knew that if they joined the League, they would, in effect, take it over.They would control it. Mian Mumtaz Daulatana was amongst the first to see this and he joined the Muslim League in 1943. By 1945 virtually all of them had joined it except for a small misguided rump under Khizr Hayat Khan.

The situation in Sindh was similar to that of the Punjab. So by the time that independence came, the feudal landed magnates of Punjab and Sindh had taken over the Muslim League. No ideology except their concern forself-preservation was needed to draw them to the League. The Pakistan movement was not driven by any religious ideology. Many pirs in Punjab and Sindh were among the great landed magnates who opted for Pakistan. At their behest their mureeds celebrated the idea of Pakistan with gusto. From this a false impression has been taken by some scholars that it was the idea of Pakistan which had motivated them, whereas in truth what they were celebrating was the joy of their pir, when he joined the League and there by averted the threat of Congress land reforms."

Click here to read full article

Eid in west

What a remarkable and important post from Mezba


Eid Can Be Fun, No... Really!

Where's Montu?"

"Oh he's at school - he had exams today."

"Montu, why didn't you defer the exams? It's Eid!"

"Oh, I just wanted to get it over with. Besides, Eid sucks anyways."

If you are a kid growing up in the West, how will that kid appreciate Islam when supposedly the most fun thing associated with Islam - Eid - sucks?

Click here to read full post !

2 step conversation

"When I travel, I steal soap, shampoo, gel etc from hotels ".

"What? Are you crazy? Why you do that?"

"I always throw the hotel amenities into my bag. They were suppose to be for me right? When I get home, I put them aside to donate to a local homeless outreach program."


(any comments?)

BE SPECIFIC

A man got two wishes from GOD.

He asked for the Best wine and the Best Woman.

He had the Best Wine and Mother Teresa next to him the next moment.

Moral: BE SPECIFIC