From Krishan Chandar ...

 I think from technical perspective Krishan Chandar was a better short story writer than Minto.

"Krishan Chandar ke haan jazbaat ka aik therao hai. Minto ki tarah shiddat pasandi nahi."

"یوں تو میری شادی بھی ہو جائے گی اور بچے بھی ہوں گے میرے اور میں اُن کے لئیے ایک اچھی ماں ،اپنے خاوند کے لئیے ایک نیک اور اطاعت شعار بیوی بھی بن جاوں گی اور میرا گھر ہو گا اور زندگی کی ساری خوشیاں جو ایک عورت چاہتی ہے وہ مجھے نصیب ہوں گی مگر کہیں پر میرے اندر میرے بہت گہرے اندر اور میری کوکھ سے بھی بہت دور اندر جہاں کہیں عورت کی روح رہتی ہے وہاں تم ہمیشہ موجود رہو گے" 

کرشن چندر کے ناول غدار سے اقتباس

Men, women and heart

 If a woman thinks with her heart - it's her virtue. This is vice versa for a man. It becomes his weakness.

~anonymous 

Practice Makes Permanent

 Last week was reading Elizabeth McCormick's book 'The P.I.L.O.T METHOD". 

She is an interesting character and I was privileged to get her book free from her, and signed by her.

It's a quick read.

She says a beautiful thing: "Practice Makes Permanent".

[Good or bad habit - it becomes permanent with time].. so true.

Quote - the day

 

Roz ka aik imtihan

 Meri umar koi 16-17 baras hogi. FSc ka imtihan de ker farig tha. Aik din Amma ne kaha jao nana ke baal ketwa ke le aao....

Jese hi hum bazar ke nukkaR pe paunche, aik shaks apne bete ke saath khara khubsurat bansuri (flute) baja raha tha, bete ke haat main aik takhti thi jis pe likha tha: "Humare hunr ke mutabiq kaam nahi mil raha: bansuri suniye aur kuch madad kijye".

Nana ne jeb se 5 rupe nikale aur bete ke haat main thama diye - Us zamane main 5 rupe bohat hote the - aur ye wahi 5/10 rupe the jis se nana ne baal katwane the.

Main ne nana se kaha: "Ye kiya kiya nana ji!'

Nana bole: "Imtihan tha. Shukar karo kaam theek ho gaya"

Main bola: " Nana imtihan kesa?"

Nana ne jawab diya: "Insaan ki zindagi main roz aik imtihaan likha hai. Koi aesa kaam jo tumhari zimmewari na ho, magar jis se kisi aur insaan ka faida ho, woh kaam saamne aa ke khaRa ho jaaye. Wohi insaan ka imtihaan hai. Aaj ke imtihan se bach nikle."

Is baat ko 30-35 baras guzar gaye - magar aaj bhi roz imtihaan main fail ho jaata hun.

A quote

 

HHH of Health

During the fellowship, when I was rotating through Trauma and Neurosurgery, we treated patients with Subarachnoid hemorrhage using Tripple-H therapy which stood for Hypervolemia, Hypertension, and Hyperdynamic.

Dr. Garcia (here) used to tell us life is also all about Tripple H. Couple of days ago, I was sent the same joke in a meme. Though it is a joke if you think it is very accurate.

Zindagi, wasf aur Imtihan

 ‏زندگی آپ کے اسی وصف کا امتحان لیتی ہے، جو آپکے اندر موجود ہو، میرے اندر" 

"محبت تھی

 امریتا پریتم

"Life examines you on the virtue you have (the most). I had love" ~ Amrita Pritam

2 approaches

Interestingly two similar events on the same day but two different approaches

In the morning - a  friend while blowing the red light

"jahan itne kaam galat ho rahe hain, aik aur sahi"

In the evening - another friend by mistake -  took an extra item on a grocery cart without paying. As we reached the car, he said:

"Zindagi main bare kamine kaam ho rahe hain - kam az kam cheez wapas ker ke aik galat kaam to kum kiya ja sakta hai"

The paradox of 'everything is assessible'

سب سے زیادہ کربناک لمحات وہ ہوتے ہیں کہ ؛ جب ہر چیز مُیسر ہو 

"Nothing is more painful in life when everything is assessible"

Sounds like a paradox, but think for a minute if you have everything available to you, what kind of life you will have without any ambition, anything to achieve, and the only thing left is greed!

As Ghalib said:

na ho marnā to jiine kā mazā kyā

My Conscience Is Dying A Slow Death

 My Conscience Is Dying A Slow Death

By Javaid Jabbar. 

Sometimes in the darkest hour of the night, I call on my conscience to see if it is still breathing. It's dying a slow and gradual death

every single day.

When I pay for a meal in a fancy restaurant

an amount which is perhaps the monthly income of the guard who holds the door open, I quickly shrug away that thought. My conscience dies a little. 

When I buy vegetables from the vendor and his son "Chhotu" (a small child who should be studying at school) 

smilingly weighs the potatoes, I look the other way. My conscience dies a little.

When I'm all decked up in a designer suit (a suit that costs a bomb) 

and I see a woman at the crossing in torn clothes, trying unsuccessfully to save her dignity, I immediately roll up my window. My conscience dies a little. 

When I buy expensive gifts for my children and returning home I see half-clad naked children with empty stomachs and hungry eyes selling toys at the red traffic signal, I try to save my conscience by buying some. Yet, my conscience dies a little more. 

When my sick maid who can't come to work sends her daughter to work by making her miss school, I know I should tell the little girl to go to school, but then I look at the loaded sink full of dirty dishes and I tell myself that is just for a couple of days. My conscience dies a little more. 

When I hear about a rape or a murder of a child, I feel sad, yet a little thankful that it's not my child. I cannot look at myself in the mirror. My conscience dies a little more. 

When people fight over caste, creed, and religion and I feel hurt and helpless, I tell myself that my country is going to the dogs, and I conveniently blame the corrupt politicians, absolving myself of all responsibilities. My conscience dies a little more. 

When my city is choked and breathing is dangerous in the smog-ridden metropolis I take my car to work daily, not taking public transport, or carpooling. One less car won't make a difference, I tell myself. My conscience dies a little more. 

So when in the darkest hour of the night I visit my conscience and find that it is still breathing I am surprised because bit by bit, day by day, I try to kill it and bury it with my very own hands.

2 Diamonds

 *A Merchant wanted to purchase a gorgeous camel in the market and after spotting one began to settle for it with the seller!*

There was long bargaining between the merchant and the camel seller, and finally, the merchant bought the camel and took it home!

On reaching home, the merchant called his servant to take out the camel's saddle..!

Under the saddle, the servant found a small velvet bag which upon opening revealed him to be full of precious diamond gems ..!

The servant shouted, "Boss, you bought a camel, but look what came with it for free!"

The Merchant was also surprised, he saw diamonds in his servant's hands which were shining and twinkling even more in the sunlight!

The Merchant said: "I have bought a camel and not the diamonds, I should return it immediately!"

The servant was thinking in his mind "how stupid my boss is ...!"

He Said: "Nobody will know who the owner is!" However, the merchant did not listen to him and immediately reached the market and returned the velvet bag to the shopkeeper.

The camel seller was very happy and said, "I had forgotten that I had hidden my precious stones under the saddle".

Now you choose any one diamond as a reward!

The Merchant said, "I have paid the right price for the camel so I do not need any gift and prizes!"

The more the merchant was refusing, the more the camel seller was insisting!

Finally, the merchant smiled and said: In fact, when I decided to bring back the bag, I had already kept two of the most precious diamonds with me!

After this confession, the camel seller was infuriated and he quickly emptied the bag and began to count his diamond gems!

But after he counted with a heavy sigh of relief, he said "These are all my diamonds, so what were the two most precious ones that you kept?"

The Merchant said: ... "My honesty and my self-respect."

The seller was dumb-struck!

We have to look within ourselves to find out if we possess any of these two diamonds.

Do you have these two precious diamonds Anymore?

Anyone who has these two diamonds, *HONESTY AND SELF-RESPECT*, is the richest person in the world.

Probably true

I found the following statement somewhat true in my life.

 

 

Dedicated to immigrants

I came to Canada after two years due to the pandemic (still a lot of fuss at airports for COVID-19 papers). I realized that Canadians and Americans are on different trajectories. Canadians are more about values and a pluralistic society but struggle to meet ends as everyday lifestyle is relatively expensive. Americans are progressively more on a divisive path, more individualist, and spend money freely. I have been traveling between these two countries for almost 27 years now. The last two decades, particularly America's reaction to 911, indulgence in two prolonged wars, poor political leadership from both parties, and Trump's presidency, have done a lot of damage.

For the first time, I felt a little misfit in Canada. I took a little time off. I went to Woodbine Beach in Toronto. I spent a quiet time watching the sunset and full moon. It gave me a perspective of people who must immigrate to a new culture and survive with new values.

*

Mohammad Ali Says

 

Travel

 Travel

Italian poem by [Gio Evan]

Travel

otherwise you
become racist
and end up believing
that your skin is the only one
to be right,
that your language
it is the most romantic
and that you were the first
to be the first

Travel
that if you don't travel then
your thoughts are not strengthened
you are not full of ideas
your dreams are born with fragile legs
and then end up believing in television
and to those who invent enemies
that fit like a glove with your nightmares
to make you live with terror
no more greetings
nor thanks
nor "you're welcome"
nor "my pleasure"

Travel
that traveling teaches
to give everyone a good morning
regardless
from which sun they come,
travel
that traveling teaches
to say good night to everyone
regardless
of the darkness that we carry inside

Travel
that traveling teaches one to resist
not to depend
to accept others not only for what they are
but also for what they can never be,
to know what we are capable of
to feel part of a family
beyond borders,
beyond traditions and culture,
traveling teaches to be beyond

Travel
that otherwise you end up believing
that you are made only for a panorama
and instead inside you
there are wonderful landscapes
yet to visit.

in the box

 All my life I was fascinated with out-of-box thinking, but when I started my fellowship - one of the teaching attendings said a beautiful thing, which always makes me smile: 

"I am not here to teach you out-of-box thinking. I am here to tell you what is inside the box - that is more important. I don't think anything else matters!"

Trains

 "No vehicle gives you a more honest impression of a country than a train" 

~ source unknown to me

Pascal's wager

 This is an interesting 2x2 table developed by Pascal. It argues that believing in God has a better probability of a benefit than not believing in God. 

I am sure it means nothing but is still interesting. You can read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_wager 

I save this with the caption: LOL.

Nature and Art and Poetry

Just on a side note: A lot of yellows in Van Gogh's paintings are due to his treatment with medicine called digoxin/digitalis - a cardiac medicine but also used on those days for psychosis.