When the Lights Hurt the Eyes

CHUPKE CHUPKE RAAT DIN...

This is the best write up by Farzana so far. The sweet memories of the childhood are sometimes heart breaking. Really liked the following paragraph. I would say WOW.

``Can money know the joy of silk on your skin or the moistness on the lips, as mint-flavoured gloss brushes against it like a stolen kiss? Can money comprehend how much that cuddle with the cushion matters to you on sultry nights when the only static in the sir is on your TV screen? Can money buy you that unbearable lightness of being as you tiptoe on hush-puppies with the curtains drawn and perform a ballet with the mirror as your forgiving audience?``

And look at this; the irony and the depth of it:

``Being a goddess is relatively easy. What about us flesh-and-blood women – what is our wealth worth?``

This really brought back some really sweet memories:

``And then we would light those ‘bombs’, a string of red pellets that would go thatathatahataat, with the girls shrieking with mock fear.``

I remember one shab-e-barat when I was in Lahore with my parents. That is when I met her. She was 8 and I was 9. I still remember seeing the reflection of phul jhari in her big bright eyes that night. As if that was not enough she took me with her to their neighbors house the next day. The neighbor was Allama Inayat ullah Mashriqi who had died years before I was born but my father and uncles used to mention his name with utmost respect. And so was she when she told me where we were going. It was a pink winter afternoon. Allma`s daughter and her family were on the rooftop sunbathing as is the custom in our part of the world in winters. She held my hand and took me to the kitchen and stole two pieces of mango achaar from a big jar. She gave me one and licked the other one. I am not sure why I still remeber this little incident; whether it was Allama`s daughter who made the best achaar I ever had or it was my little thief who used to shut her eyes so closely whenever she licked the achaar and felt its sour taste.

Fatimah #208 ``Whaty nonsense you are babbling ?Pagal hogaye ho ...Go read Koran with Tafsir & take the other McAuleys Child from Motor city .After taraveeh,request the wise one to explain the meanings of the surah ``

Ha! Ha! ``Koran with Tafsir``, ``request the wise one to explain``. No wonder my words seem nonsense to you: You dont trust your own eyes or brains when reading the Quran; you need some bearded jerk, or that thug Maudoodi, to explain what God really meant to you. And all they know is superstitions and dishonesty and hatreds. Your religion is an inch-deep pool of stagnant water. God`s universe is a vast and mighty ocean that you and your teachers are incapable of comprehending.

tahmed321 #298

Quite Right.

Mona

tahmedji;

Good words sir...

:)

regards

Harpreet

nagnatheswar,

#301

A very very sad state of affairs in Chennai..That is my worst fear about India--this xenophobia of ``cultural contamination``--esp in relationship to the West. Just goes to prove that there is no shortage of Farangi-Kush clones in India.

Farzana, Do you know why there is protest against Sarhadein? So far, the story seems quite reasonable, and Amir Basir suits the role perfectly, while Smita Bansal is OK. What I liked is that typical jingoism is not there. Hope it can keep it that way.

Harpreet #282 ``You definately have Sikh blood in you. Sorry!?!``

I think Chowk lost my response to this. The response was: Not sorry, but honored, to be accepted as an honorary sikh. Now I can lay claim not just to the Muslim heritage but to the Sikh heritage as well!! Just as I also lay claim to my Hindu heritage, my Jewish heritage, my Christian heritage (since I am sure I have hindus among my ancestors too, and as a muslim am also part of the Judeo-Christian tradition). And I also lay claim to the entire 5,000 years of Chinese culture too (on account of being a human being). I will stop here from my acquisitions, and catch my breath... :-)

The good thing about appreciating all cultures rather than sticking to your own is that you can then take ownership of it all. Without taking anything away from anyone. Those who hate cultures other than the one they grew up in, on the other hand, are stuck with the rotten sections of just one culture.

DRUMZ #296 I think instead of trying to visualize God, we should simply look at the universe around us and in a drop of water. As the late Carl Sagan used to say, there are billions and billions of stars in a galaxy, and billions and billions of galaxies, and all sorts of weird heavenly bodies like quasers and neutron stars and zillions of other things we dont know of. And then check out the DNA, the Book of Life. And the mind of man. And the rest of Creation.

If we treat the works of a man is an extension of the man (we know Picasso through his paintings, the ancient civilizations through their discoveries and their monuments), we can also treat the works of God as an extension of God. And these works are awesome.

And people who can appreciate these works to the same extent are people of the same religion. Regardless of whether they are hindu or muslim or whatever. And since appreciation of the universe around us differs by level of education, it can be concluded that there are two religions in the world - that of the jahel (the taliban being an extreme case) and that of the truly educated people (people who have a love for learning and for discovery). Everything else is details.

Hamzad Afaqui #246;

Thank you for reminding us of the diversity Islam enjoys in its adherents. Just goes to show that Islam is not an Arab (read Philistine) religion but a multicolored, colorblind faith practised by one in every four people on this planet.

Farzana Versey;

I remember watching Katha and laughing my way through it at the crazy antics of those nutty chawl-waalas. My best ones were the couple with all those imported kitchen appliances and the son in Canada, the ones with the chilled beer.

I think we are very lucky to have people like Naseeruddin Shah and Farooque Sheikh, Shabana Azmi and Deepti Naval, Shyam Benegal and Sai Paranjipye and all the rest of that gang to show us what we are like. Through their art they act as mirrors, showing us the faces we acquire in the course of living with ourselves and each other, infused with a healthy dose of hope and shine.

Incidentally, there`s a new Shyam Benegal - Shabana Azmi feature entitled ``Hari Bhari``. Poignant, sad, instructive, it works on many levels. Would strongly recommend it to people on both sides of that infamous border (it is available in Pakistan, at Rainbow Center, Karachi).

Regards,

Aamir

DRUMZ,

(1)

``Aryan: I cant answer that ...``

Its `Dravidian` actually...!



(2)

``A subjective answer would be to meditate on the concept of ``KNOW THYSELF.`` The idea that ``there is nothing but Allah`` is useful here. Its easier to begin at a point where you question everything (descartes), eventually answering the question ``Who am I NOT.`` From there u can (try 2)find out who You are (a process which takes decades...). Practically I think we should Analyze then sythesize. By analyze, break down all the things which make U, u. Religiously we may consider the idea that truth is not genetic (we may wanna stop following a religion just cuz we were born into it). This takes courage... Then use both the mind and empiricle knowledge to get an idea of what this Life thing is all about. Refering to some of the ancients is of good use here. Dont put too much stock in this, im just a kid, ur better off speaking to a holy dude... Last thing, Form your own ideology based on what you FEEL is TRUTH. You inherently have an idea of what Truth is, otherwise ud never be able to find it...``.

Thanks for your ideas...but this is going nowhere...fast.

Lets take just one concept: Most religious people say `know thyself`, `self-knowledge`,`atma-gyan`, etc, etc.

What the heck is it ? Don`t I know myself ? Am I not anarayan ?

How can I `form an idea of what truth is` if I don`t know jack about it. I can fantasize off course...based on my readings of other people`s experience...but that is silly.

How can I `meditate on a concept`? Is that not the same as `concentration`...plain old `thinking` ?



macgupta,

That was a serious question (291). Expecting your answer.

Here is the question again:

``From your quote, it looks like `experience of truth` is a series of sensations. Can we not simulate it in the lab ?``

Thanks both,

THERE IS A LITTLE TALEBAN IN EVERYONE ,EVEN THE TAMIL INERT ,WAITING TO COME OUT



Chennai police bans discos



NDTV Correspondent

Saturday, November 24, 2001 (Chennai):

The Chennai Police has placed a blanket ban on discotheques across the city. The police has banned all the four discotheques of Chennai. The reason that is given for this decision is that discos do not conform to Indian culture.

``They have been licensed only to perform Indian cultural dance. I consider it against Indian culture. We don`t want these halls to be a haven for drunkards and drug addicts,`` said K Muthukaruppan, Chennai Police Commissioner.

The young in Chennai who were just beginning to enjoy the disco culture are now grounded by the moral cop`s action. Even so, they are not the only ones who are up in arms. The entire hospitality industry, which is the worst hit by this, are upset with the latest move.

``Youngsters totally depend on discos. On Saturday nights they want a place to hang out,`` was the opinion of one young lady.

``My friends go to the disco and it is wrong to generalise and say that all those who go to the disco are drug addicts,`` was another expression, which joined the common viewpoint.

Chennai`s date with disco culture has come to a quick end and it would be a long wait before young disco enthusiasts could shake a leg again.

RSaxena:

``...the number of complaints againts indian and pakistani players over the past 5 years is greater than the number for all other countries put together...i think that says something...but hey, finally a common enemy for india and pakistan to fight against...i read that the two cricket boards have decided to fight this together...``

....nothing like a gora to unite us...;)

Response To:

Wall Street Journal Editorial Oct. 19,2001

Review & Outlook

The review rightly warns American leaders of their past blunders in dealing

with Pakistan:

In 80s US turned blind eye, when pakistan was stealing nuclear secrets,

being her ally in fighting out Soviets. Today her nuclear arsenal has become

threat to the free world.

Today, Musharraf is playing double: He is co-operating with US out of

helplessness because of India`s offer of solid support to US against

Talibans. But trying to exploit the situation and strengthening terrorists`

outfit inside Pakistan and is daily hitting Indian Kashmir more ferociously.

US must be stern and hard on Pakistan and not appease her:if America is

really serious to eliminate terrorism.This time,US shouldn`t allow Musharraf

to befool her. Musharraf can be humbled if Powell knows how to handle him.

Prem N. Chopra



The Punjabiyats solidarity with Pakistan shows very translucently.

DRUMS----295

you said:

[That`s the etemology for Khuda not God. God comes]



Yes God from German Gott which from Aryan root:khoD & hence Khodaa.(Iran means Aaryan)

Khud in urdu/farsi is written as Khod but is pronounced as khud in urdu & KhOd in farsee.

Repeat:Only present-day Christianity & Hinduism has Trinity albeit of different aspects.

Hamzad: That`s the etemology for Khuda not God. God comes from the german word Gott meaning ``one who is invoked`` which doesnt do justice to most religious references...

Monism is hardly a Hindu concept. Sufis believe in literally the same thing. ``let us make man in our image`` is from Genesis, thus its held true by christians and jews. Brahmanism is not inherently false, we do have God in us (what muslims/jews call Ruh or the breath of God). Life is in essance a chance to reconnect with the 1 (why? i dunno). The problem I have with monism is that If God is everything, She is Good and Bad (then why try to lead a pious life?)

Aryan: I cant answer that objectively at all. A subjective answer would be to meditate on the concept of ``KNOW THYSELF.`` The idea that ``there is nothing but Allah`` is useful here. Its easier to begin at a point where you question everything (descartes), eventually answering the question ``Who am I NOT.`` From there u can (try 2)find out who You are (a process which takes decades...). Practically I think we should Analyze then sythesize. By analyze, break down all the things which make U, u. Religiously we may consider the idea that truth is not genetic (we may wanna stop following a religion just cuz we were born into it). This takes courage... Then use both the mind and empiricle knowledge to get an idea of what this Life thing is all about. Refering to some of the ancients is of good use here. Dont put too much stock in this, im just a kid, ur better off speaking to a holy dude... Last thing, Form your own ideology based on what you FEEL is TRUTH. You inherently have an idea of what Truth is, otherwise ud never be able to find it...

Zafar: You bring bad painful memories. Can you believe they put Gandhi in hell in a southPark scene. That just pissed the hell outta me...

``speaking of definitions: God is the space between the electrons?``

Yes and No. The paradox of God is that shes undefinable. Bullsh1t???