UPDATE Delhi Explosion in Mosque
Meerut on Fire, Karachi Burns

# 71
Zeemax, looking at the events of the last few days, yes I do see what you mean.

However at the end of the essay Camus writes this..

`` During the day the hall is protected by sloping wooden awnings. When the sun goes down they are raised. Then the hall is filled with an odd green light born of the double shell of the sky and the sea. When one is seated far from the windows, one sees only the sky and silhouetted against it, the faces of the dancers passing in succession. Sometimes a waltz is being played and , against the green background , the black profiles whirl obstinately like those cut-out silhouettes that are attached to a phonograph turntable. Night comes rapidly after this and with it the lights. But I am unable to relate the thrill and secrecy that subtle instant holds for me. ``

And further about a girl he had seen dancing ....

``When evening came, I could no longer see her body pressed tight to her partner, but against the sky whirled alternating spots of white jasmine and black hair and when she would throw back her swelling breast , I would hear her laugh and see her partner`s profile suddenly plunge forward. I owe to such evenings the idea I have of innocence. In any case I learn not to separate these creatures bursting with violent energy from the sky where their desires whirl.``

So perhaps there is no purpose, but one can hope for something good, something decent somewhere, sometime.

tahmed # 48:

Salamoona.

Please be very respectful of Salim Chauhan. He is a learned man of 24 years of age, educated in America, claims to be living in Turkey, married to a Shia Turkish woman (this could be an Alavi), but on the basis of the number of his posts on the Chowk (about 100 per day), one can safely assume he resides on Chowk. On top of it, between all those posts he posts on Chowk every day, he has found time to travel to those 220 countries (read his intro page).

I believe that he is an Indian posing as Pakistani. Sorry, wrong English. I believe he is an Indian, but posts a few anti-Indian messages (of no sincere depth in them) here and there that befools us into thinking he is of Pakistani origin.

;-)

#99 (Netizen)

``worry about the ``intellects`` like arjun singh, if he has his way narayan murthy/ratan tata would be running to china as fast as possible.....``

That`s the tragedy of Indian politics. Small minds holding big offices. We have a saying in Kannada which roughly translates to ``What would a monkey know about a mangalsutra``. It applies aptly to people like Arjun Singh.

News is that Devyani Rana (of the Nepal royal family massacre fame) is going to marry into Arjun Singh`s family. Perhaps we can induce her to go postal on her future in-laws. I`ll supply the milk if someone supplies the bhang.

#100 AhmedMadani Sahib

I can understand your ``protective`` spirit (being the father of two (young) daughters myself.)

But I must bring to your attention a fact I mentioned earlier to you (on another board) - it is this spirit of ``protection`` which has caused so many of the problems in the subcontinent. The best one can do for one`s children is to enable them to think on their own rather than filling up their minds with pre-conceived notions.

You should perhaps reconsider your wholesale stereotyping of poets based on the few that you may have observed. Some of the best works of literature were not prose - take Shakespeare for example - or Rabindranath Tagore, to name a few. (I put a few additional thoughts on this issue on Mr. Ozer Khalid`s board a few days ago.)

When I wish to understand how a writer wishes to project himself/herself, I read his/her articles - when I wish to know the personality of an individual, I read their poems, if available.

Consuming enormous amounts of tea is a subcontinental specialty - not limited to any particular occupation. In fact, in the USA, most people (but not desis) take their tea without sugar.

I agree that poetry can not be the sole basis for an occupation! But I also firmly believe that interspersing a few stanzas of poetry in between those calculus lessons will surely cheer up your student body immensely and spark their interest like never before!

Dr. Gill may be in a position to provide additional advice on this issue!

#113 by swarrier

....So perhaps there is no purpose, but one can hope for something good, something decent somewhere, sometime.....

Sure why not. As W. Somerset Maugham said in his `Summing Up` i.e. ``There`s only one thing about which I can be certain, that there is nothing about which one can be certain.

``Da`yem abaad rahey gi dunya;
Hum na honge`, koi hum sa ho gaa.``

(The world will always remain. I won`t be there but someone like me will.)

Recommended reading : `Aag Ka Darya` - Qurutul-Ain-Haider.

What is the common factor between Iraq and Pakistan? Suicide bombings. What kind of ideology propagates acts of mass killings? Extremists. Extremists can be in any form or shape, religious or non-religious. In the case of Pakistan, its a classic case of you reap what you sow, or what goes around comes around. Muslims are on the defensive politically, socially and culturally. Resistence to the attack is being led by extremists who have no respect of life or creation, most unfortunate part of this entire episode is the abject silence of the peace loving majority. Shia-Sunni sectarian riots, now we may have Sunni-Wahabi confrontation, fact is Mulsims are under attack from within and outside. This is just the begining, more is to come......

There is a petition put up in self-publish for rehabilitating earthquake victims. Some of you might like to take a look and interact/do something:

http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00006535&channel=self

Thanks

First of all let me make it clear, it is however true that MUSLIMs` nowaday are just playing silly all over the world. But we should all see where`s the difference, shias, sunnis were there even at the time of Mogul, Ottomans and Sulmania Empire but they never faught or killed any one. Suicide Bombers first originated from Japan known as Kamikaze.

Could any one tell me How can a person (a muslim person) kill some one ( other muslim believers) for the cause of Allah. As i see it, there were many incident in history where an israeli agency mosad made a prisoner to wear a bomb and made him to enter some leaders house to blow himself up, the condition put up by mosad was simple, do it or we`ll kill your family.

We should take lesson from history not repeat history, this is what happening in muslim countries. Trust me the bombers are some poor soul and i can even dare imagine the reason behind it.

#114 Ahmadzai, {``I believe that he is an Indian posing as Pakistani. Sorry, wrong English. I believe he is an Indian, but posts a few anti-Indian messages (of no sincere depth in them) here and there that befools us into thinking he is of Pakistani origin. ``}

Ahmadzai Sahib,
Correcto Mundo. With this type of detective work and brilliant deductions, one can safely assume that you are a noble Pathan. Ghol Makhora. :)

Salim:

Namustay, namooskaar.

And Dhunnaywaad.

Btw, I hope you visited France and returned during your last two posts.

;-)

pakher raghalay thay, ahmadzai saayb: Good to see you on chowk. Mr. Salim is no doubt flattered to be greeted with a namastey. Hell, all he has to do is give three curses to Pakistanis in general, and one to a selected ethnic group in Pakistan - and he is assured a safe passage the rest of the day on chowk. :-)

PS: The above is for you too Mr. Salim. I dont mind fair criticism of Pakistan - but your ridicule of Pakistanis and of selected ethnic groups who are not muhajirs (``punjus`` as you call us panjabis, which tells me a bit about what your parents taught you at home, or pathans as you just alluded to in case of ahmadzai). Such good sense of humor and such poor self-image that you try to overcome at the expense of other people. Sad.

#120 by discoverer on April 16, 2006 7:27am PT


Could any one tell me How can a person (a muslim person) kill some one ( other muslim believers) for the cause of Allah.


There you have it...Reductio ad ReligionOfPeaceum...we all know muslims could never kill other muslims..ergo the killers are non-muslim...

tell me..are we to assume that it`s not out of the ordinary for a muslim person to kill a non-muslim person for allah?

#122, ahmadzai, {``Salim:
Namustay, namooskaar.
And Dhunnaywaad.
Btw, I hope you visited France and returned during your last two posts. ``}

Khoocha Ahmadzai Salaam ba Shoma,
Namastey to you too,
Sir, I have been to France several times already, but since you mentioned it - I will be in Italy during May. I hope that I have your permission. Khan Sahib :)
Yes, I love to travel and have managed to travel quite a bit in my lifetime. I hope to travel even more as I get older. Some have time, some have just the desire, others have the time, the desire, and the funds.

#123 Tahmed Sahib,
I find it disappointing that you are disappointed in my ridiculing of Pakistanis. As a former fellow ``Paki tiger`` I hope you understand the transformation of barachota from famed injun fighter to punjoo hunter. When you have Pakis like Atif2, Khamkhwa, Scout, Saminasha, Succubus, and Sobia, it is easy to ``switch`` sides and feel good about the change. The intolerance and bigotry rampant among Pakis, especially against minorities like Shias, Mohajirs, Ahmedis, Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs, and even Baluchis, Sindhis, and Kashmiris is not only suicidal but also inhumane and just wrong.

I find our Indian neighbors to be much more tolerant, friendlier, and welcoming of people with differing points of view. I am now studying under the famous expert in Paki affairs, Mr. Arjun, to take up the mantle of truth should anything happen to him.

Thanks for your kind words.

Tahmed sahib,

(Mr. Kumar #98 Finally....I am glad some Indian finally spoke up (in addition to swarrier, that is). It is too easy for empty minds with nothing to write about other than ridicule and abuse to other communities that have no doubt kept chowk from growing beyond where it is today (which of course violates chowk guidelines, I may add).

You are completely wrong. If chowk can grown so big, it is becuase Hindians and Pakis, hanuds and Muslas find chowk a convenient place to hurl abuses on each other.

Regards

Mr. Tahmed Sahib and Ahmadzai Sahib,
It is very easy to label a fellow Pakistani as an Indian when you have to hear some bitter truths and need to dismiss them rapidly without wasting any soul-searching. Instead of looking for ethnic/national IDs, you should dwell on the issues raised by me. Simply assuming that, because I speak out against the policies of Pakistan’s ruling majority, I must be an Indian Hindu masquerading as a Muslim, or worse, an Indian Muslim masquerading as a Pakistani, is not going to solve the real issues that really exist. Attacking my family, my wife, my mother, and my father is not going to salvage what is left of Pakistan. Raising questions and providing your own answers about my domicile, my ethnicity, my international travel, and my wife’s religious affiliation (She must be an Alawite!) are not going to eradicate the numerous problems that exist in Pakistan thanks to the hegemony of the ruling majority.

May I remind you that at one time (circa 1970), Bengalis were patriotic Pakistanis, but no more? Today, Punjab is at war with Baluchistan, NWFP, and even with Gilgit/Baltistan. The slaughter of Mohajirs in Karachi and Hyderabad has been temporarily halted due to Mushy`s regime. Sindhis are not welcome as equal partners by the ruling elite. Who knows what will happen if the Saraikis start insisting about their inalienable rights in southern Punjab?

Forsaking your own people in Bangladesh and then calling them ``stranded Biharis,`` while trivializing their ordeal and ridiculing their suffering, is not going to instill confidence in Pakistani citizenship. Mr. Tahmed, please don`t joke about these ``stranded`` Pakistanis and then expect people to sincerely mourn the earthquake victims, who in your opinion are more deserving of sympathy. Is it because they happen to be ethnically closer to you? Please don’t tag people to wish away the truth. Also, please don’t take people’s patriotism for granted permanently. You have a unique way of turning many people from Mujib to Bangabandhu.

Your intolerance against minorities and those who disagree with you is the catalyst for the downfall and disintegration of Pakistan. People like arjun-m are merely trying, in their own polite way, to remind Pakistan of its promises, its sins, and its lost vision. I will be more than happy, for the sake of Pakistan and its unfortunate citizens, to take up his mission, should he depart, move on, or, khuda na khwasta, meet a truck not of his choosing. :)

In the future, while you and your countrymen use personal insults against my family and me to thwart my efforts, I will engage in a polite, civilized, and sincere manner to expose the hypocrisy exhibited by Pakistan and its ruling majority.