سولہ سنگھار

Some people may find it interesting. Indian culture is well known with the word "sola singhar" for makeups used by women. When a woman has 16 singhar means she is fully 'beutified"!

1. مانگ کا ٹیکا
2. مانگ میں سیندور کی دھار
3. بندیا
4. آنکھ کا کاجل
5. جھمکا یا بالی
6. ناک کی نتھنی
7. کلائی کی چوڑیاں
8. ہاتھ کی انگوٹھیاں
9. ہتھیلی اور دوسرے حصوں پر مہندی کی نقاشی
10. کمر بند
11. بازو بند
12. عطر یا خوشبو
13. گجرا
14. پائل / پازیب
15. بچھیا (پیر کی انگوٹھی)
16. ہار۔۔۔۔۔

Nadan Insaan

Insaan bhi kitna nadan hai 

- pehli aadhi zindagi cheezain jamaa kerne ki koshish main laga rehta hai
~ baqi aadhi un ko bachane ki fikar main nikal deta hai...

A simple comprehensive guide

Irrfan died

What a deep soul he was!!!! - no words!!! - RIP my friend....You will always live in our hearts...You did your part way par excellence than all of us.

Note: Irrfan never liked Khan to be added to his name. I took Khan from his name. Also, I am not sure why he always insisted to use 2 r in his name.

Daffodils نرگس

Last year I was at the Lake District in England - where William Wordsworth wrote the all-time famous Daffodils poem. It's mind blowing beautiful there. Here I found the Urdu translation.

‎ایک دن

‎صورتِ ابر

‎آوارہ میں 

‎یونہی تنہا چلا جا رہا تھا کہیں

‎گوشہ نہر میں

‎نہر کی لہر میں

‎گھاٹیوں اور پہاڑوں سے مڑتا ہوا

‎بےنشاں راستوں سے گزرتا ہوا

‎دفعتاً

‎ جھیل کے اس طرف

‎یہ نظر جو اٹھی

‎دیکھتی رہ گئی

‎ان گنت

‎بے بہا

‎گل سنہرے تھے نرگس کے 

‎بکھرے ہوئے 

‎ہر طرف جابجا

‎رنگ بھرتے ہوئے

‎رقص کرتے ہوئے

‎جس طرح جھلملاتے ہوئےکہکشاں میں ستارے سبھی

‎اس طرح بھر لئے میں نے اپنی نظر میں نظارے سبھی

‎اور کچھ دیر کو بس کھڑا رہ گیا

‎حسن ایسا کہ بس دیکھتا رہ گیا

‎دیکھتا رہ گیا 

‎سوچتا رہ گیا 

‎رنگ اور نور کا کیا خزانہ ہے یہ

(!‎اے خدا بس ترا کارخانہ ہے یہ)

‎مدتیں ہو گئیں

‎میرے دل میں کہیں

‎وہ جو نرگس کے پھولوں سے مل کر ہوئی

‎وہ خوشی نقش ہے

‎دو گھڑی جو ملی

‎زندگی نقش ہے

‎آج بھی مضمحل میرے جذبات ہوں 

‎خواہ صدمات ہوں

‎یا کہ تنہائی کے چند لمحات ہوں

‎جگنوؤں کی طرح 

‎نرگس آتشیں

‎وہ حسیں 

‎ہم نشیں‎میرے دل کے بہت پاس آجاتے ہیں 

______________

‎اسنیٰ بدر

Daffodils - By William Wordsworth 

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

The Story of Richard Phillips

Aik din Salahuddin ne mujh se kaha tha: "...bahir azad phirne wala har koi naik nahi aur jail main band har koi gunhagar nahi. Insaan ka faisla kerne wali yahan ki adalat nahi, sirf Allah ki zaat hai"
(here)


Richard Phillips spent 46 years in jail for a crime (longest wrongful prison in the US history) he never committed. But what makes this story unique is how he faced that injustice, how he kept his soul alive with poetry and painting, and how he smartly learned to forgive people who framed him.

"He read art books from the prison library for technique and inspiration. He admired the work of Picasso, Da Vinci, and especially Vincent Van Gogh, another man who suffered, locked away in an institution, struggling to keep his sanity. Van Gogh and Phillips kept on painting...........The better he got, the more he enjoyed it. Painting became an addiction. He woke up and couldn’t wait to get breakfast, drink his watery orange juice, and come back to his art. By then his roommate would be gone for the day, in the yard or at work, and Phillips could turn on his music. Outside inmates yelled, guards barked, dominoes fell, ping-pong balls smashed, showers hissed, toilets flushed, televisions blared, but Phillips put in his headphones and drowned it all out. All he could hear was John Coltrane or Miles Davis, focusing his energy, guiding his next brushstroke."

Read the full story here: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2020/04/us/longest-wrongful-prison-sentence/

من آن ترک طناز را می شناسم - حضرت امیر خسرو

(Traslation done by Hazrat Sufi Tabassum)

من آن ترک طناز را می شناسم

من آن شوخ بد ساز را می شناسم

اس ستمگر، بتِ طنّاز کو پہچانتا ہوں

اس کی بے مہریِ انداز کو پہچانتا ہوں

شبم تازہ شد جان بدشنام مستی

تو بودی، من آواز را می شناسم

کل عجب کیف میں اک مست تھا دشنام طراز

تو ہی تھا، میں تری آواز کو پہچانتا ہوں

بہ بینید تا می توانید در دی

کہ من آن سر انداز را می شناسم

اس کی اس سادگیِ ناز سے بچ کر رہنا 

اس کے شرمیلے سے انداز کو پہچانتا ہوں

نہ بینم بسویش ز بیم دو چشمش

کہ آن ھر دو غماز را می شناسم

اس کے چہرے پہ نظر ڈالتے ڈر لگتا ہے

اس کے دو دیدۃ غماّز کو پہچانتا ہوں

ز من پرس ذوق سخن ھای خسرو

کہ من آن رہ و ساز را می شناسم

پوچھ مجھ سے کہ ہے کیا ذوقِ سخن خسرو کا

اس کی میں طرزِ سخن ساز کو پہچانتا ہوں

اردو ترجمہ: صوفی تبسم

نہ من بیہودہ گردِ کوچہ و بازار می گردم - مولاناجلال الدین رومی

نہ من بیہودہ گردِ کوچہ و بازار می گردم

 مذاقِ عاشقی دارم، پئے دیدار می گردم

​ میں کُوچہ بازار میں یونہی آوارہ اور بے وجہ نہیں گھومتا

 میں عاشقی کا ذوق رکھتا ہوں اور محبوب کے دیدار کے واسطے گھومتا ہوں

خدایا رحم کُن بر من، پریشاں وار می گردم

خطا کارم گنہگارم،  بہ حالِ زار می گردم ​

 اے خدا مجھ پر رحم کر کہ میں پریشان حال پھرتا ہوں، 

خطار کار ہوں، گنہگار ہوں اور اپنے حالِ زار کی وجہ سے ہی گردش میں ہوں۔

 شرابِ شوق می نوشم، بہ گردِ یار می گردم

 سخن مستانہ می گویم، ولے ہشیار می گردم

میں شرابِ شوق پیتا ہوں اور دوست کے گرد گھومتا ہوں، 

میں اگرچہ مستانہ وار کلام کرتا ہوں- دوست کے گرد طواف ہوشیاری سے کرتا ہوں 

گہے خندم گہے گریم، گہے اُفتم گہے خیزم

مسیحا در دلم پیدا و من بیمار می گردم​ 

 کبھی ہنستا ہوں، کبھی روتا ہوں، کبھی گرتا ہوں اور کبھی اٹھ کھڑا ہوتا ہوں 

 میرے دل میں مسیحا پیدا ہو گیا ہے اور میں بیمار اسکے گرد گھومتا ہوں۔

بیا جاناں عنایت کُن تو مولانائے رُومی را 

غلامِ شمس تبریزم، قلندر وار می گردم ​ 

اے جاناں آ جا اور مجھ رومی پر عنایت کر، 

میں شمس تبریز کا غلام ہوں اور دیدار کے واسطے قلندر وار گھوم رہا ہوں۔

مولاناجلال الدین رومی

Indifferent universe

I tend to agree with Carl Sagan:

"The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent."

(It makes sense. The universe is nothing but a huge medium of a spiritual journey. It's like a huge Petri dish to grow microbiological lives).

زی حالِ مسکیں ، مکن تغافل - امیر خسرو

زی حالِ مسکیں ، مکن تغافل ، ورائے نیناں بنائے بتیاں

کہ تابِ ہجراں نہ دارم اے جاں، نہ لے ہو کاہے لگائے چھتیاں

مجھ مسکین کے حال سے غفلت نہ برت، باتیں بنا کر آنکھیں نہ پھیر۔ اے محبوب ، اب مجھ میں جدائی سہنے کی تاب نہیں، مجھے اپنے سینے سے کیوں نہیں لگا لیتے؟

چوں شمعِ سوزاں، چوں ذرہ حیراں، ہمیشہ گریہ بہ عشق آں میں

نہ نیند نیناں نہ انگ چیناں، نہ آپ آویں نہ بھیجی پتیاں

عشق میں جلتی ہوئی شمع اور حیران ذرے کی طرح میں ہمیشہ آہ و زاری کرتا ہوں۔آنکھوں میں نیند نہیں، جسم کو چین نہیں۔  وہ  خود آتا ہے، اور نہ  خط لکھتا ہے۔

شبانِ ہجراں دراز چوں زلف چہ روزِ وصلت چہ عمر کوتاہ

سکھی پیا کو میں نہ دیکھوں تو کیسے کاٹوں اندھیری رتیاں

جدائی کی راتیں محبوب کی زلف جیسی لمبی ہیں، اور وصل کے دن عمر کے جیسے مختصر۔ اے سہیلی، اگر میں اپنے محبوب کو نہ دیکھوں، تو پھر یہ اندھیری راتیں کیسے کاٹوں

یکایک از دل دو چشمِ جادو بصد فریبم ببٗرد تسکیں

کسے پڑی ہے جو جا سناوے ہمارے پی کو ہماری بتیاں؟

آن کی آن میں دو جادوگر آنکھیں سو دھوکے دے کر میرے دل کا سکون برباد کر گئیں۔  کسے پڑی ہے جو جا کہ وہ میرے محبوب کو میرا حال  سنائے؟

امیر خسرو

Magic (and Love)

(Log kehte hain - 'Love at first sight' exist! - Shayed)

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."

Square is Actually a Circle

I have talked about my Maths teacher, Sir Zaheer many times on this blog (here, here).


Aik din Sir Zaheer class main aaye aur board pe ye jumla likh diya (Un ki entry class main aksar dramaii hoti thi)

" A square is a circle"*

Hum sab zor se zor se hasne lage.

Phir unhone ne board pe 2/3 pictures banaii aur wazeh kiya: "Square is actually a circle which get attached to two perpendicular surfaces at an appropriate distance". 

Hume kuch samjh aaya, aur kuch nahi.

Sir Zaheer hamesah math ko zindagi se joR dete. Kehne lage: "Hum sab bhi circle hain, jo zindagi ki chakki ke do pattoN main phans ke square ban gaye hain. Hum sab aik dusre ka izhaar hain. Jese square circle ki aik shakal hai. Jese tum sab apne parents aur tumhare parents tumhara izhar hain. Dekhne main shaklain alag alag magar hum sab aik hi golaii ka izhar hain. Mard aurat aur aurat mard hi ka parto hai.

(Hum sab hunaqqoN ki tarah un ka chehra dekhte rahe)

Zindagi bhar, Sir Zaheer ki aesi kai batain bohat yaad aain. Suna hai: ab bhi - federal 'B' area - ke usi makan main rehte hain

* Later I learned: Square is a circle is one of the most mysterious concepts in maths. Some think it can be done, some think it is impossible. Now it is more of a metaphor and a generalized concept.

Out of Box thinking

I was sent this yesterday. As nowadays the only thing I do is to work with COVID patients and recoup in my free time in isolation, I was trying to solve the above mystery. I was unable too. The only reason was that like 99% of people I never thought that numbers could be put differently besides the whole numbers. Let me give you a hint. The first box number is 3.5

Cadillac Mentality

Joe is an interesting character. He is one of the neighbors and my handyman for many years. In fact, he is like a family member. He is 76 years old but still very funtional. He is Afro-American. He has gone through the civil rights movement, had been to Martin Luther's speeches, served in the Vietnam war, been deputed as a mechanic to 12 countries under the US army. Whenever my mother visits me, he will make an excuse to stop by in his Ford 250 truck to have desi chai and samosas.

During COVID shutdown, whenever I get time from the hospital we hang out together and discuss politics, religion, society, black history in America, and will laugh on inner jokes black people have on brown people. He gets very excited telling jokes and for a moment I feel like I am again standing at a neighborhood corner of Bronx, NY, and dealing with a jovial black boy in his hood.

He is an immensely enlightened person. I asked him: 'Joe what's your take on this COVID business?'

He replied: "I don't know doc! if all this scare is real. You are a doc every day there, you tell me? But one thing I learned that from an individual to society, we all have a Cadillac mentality."

"What's that?'

"We all want to have Cadillac in our driveway, not knowing our house and world is falling apart. We all pay a humongous price for our Cadillac but we don't learn lessons. Doc I have seen many wars. I have seen bombs falling, bloodstains, mothers crying, kids dying and good human beings turning evils when situations get dire. All this because somewhere in the world someone is trying to protect his Cadillac in his driveway, without knowing we all are connected in one way or other".

I said: "Joe! I feel like puffing cigarettes with you today".

Thanks to Corona

The debate of reaction and over-reaction (Philadelphia vs St Louis model) to COVID is another story, but at a personal level, it gave me a pause to think of my idiosyncrasies. After many months, I sat down with my neighbor for more than an hour (deserve another post), an unusual thing in American society. I see more kids in the neighborhood and more people taking walk around the lake. And the best part, fewer people rushing to beat the race of life - and so the fewer cars on the road!!!

It's all about chai

"The Man in the Arena"

Due to the nature of my work, I am on the very front line of COVID patients. We are tired, exhausted, keeping a distance from our loved ones, and trying to recoup in our free time. One of my friends send me this quote of Theodore Roosevelt from his speech 'Citizenship in a Republic' (1910):

 "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

I felt gratitude in my heart.

The first sign of civilization in a culture

In the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, Amitabh Bachchan shared a story about what being civilized actually means.

“Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones. But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal. A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts".

Referring to his fans, he said, “ You are all the medics that repair that ‘broken femur’. “We are at our best when we serve others. Be civilized. be safe .. be cautious .. be in care ..” ”