The Jihad of a Humanist

#1 temporal,
we need more sankurathris in this world``
then world would be better place to live in.constructive way to over come grief.

Urstruly #27

Indian govt. has nothing to do with Canadian case. It is the Canadian govt pursuing it. They believe more in the rule of law than Indian govt does.

If Pakistan can use nukes to prevent its disintegration so can India. You cannnot be so stupid.

I see Kashmiris, Sikhs and Sindhis at logger heads with Punjabi Muslims over water rights. It is the future.

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godot #49 if it makes you feel better, chowk never published two of my articles.

the first article i had written before 9/11 (thats how long I have been on chowk) after visiting pakistan. since i had been keeping an eye on a large madrassah for a few years, and had noticed this time that the maulvis being groomed in the madrassah were more aggressive than past years. i could almost sense the pot coming to a boil. in my article i had predicted that we were headed for a civil war within pakistan. events turned out a bit differently of course, and instead of a civil war where the maulvis tried to take over pakistan as i had feared we had the terrorist attack of 9/11 that resulted in the war on terror with the US taking the lead and musharaff jumping in line. so, in a way i think that was a prescient article anyway, since it correctly noted that the pot was reaching a boiling point. mullahs, being mullahs, overestimated their own capacity and instead of taking on pakistani society alone (where they may well have managed to take over) the idiots took on the US. so we got lucky. and that prescient article got rejected...damn!

the second article i wrote more recently on Ancient Pakistan - properly researched and everything with some new stuff that people are not generally aware off. maybe this one will get published. who knows.

hope this makes you feel better.

PS: urstruly is not responding to my posts. hope he is not offended by my poking a bit of fun at him. maybe he is. hope you are not offended at being compared to a tonga horse. maybe you are.

oh well. c`est le chowk interacts. and c`est le chowk articles...

Re: Veeresh, #48

Yes. Separating hits for an article versus its interacts would help gauge the interest in an article, and may help weed out bad writings (although it cannot prevent the author or his/her ``friends`` to keep clicking on the article to make it ``appear`` as if it is being read...but that`s besides the point).

Further, Chowk`s selection process of an article needs to be re-assessed, re-evaluated, and overhauled. The re-packaging of Chowk has done diddly to improve the quality of articles it chooses to publish. It`s not any different than fixing the dents and repainting an old car with shiny new paint and ignoring its engine. The engine remains cantankerous and dreadful.

Ref godot #46

[A complete silence to my post 36 leads me to believe that I may have spoken the truth and may have struck a chord among many...how tragic for Chowk.]

Turn in an article on the greatness of Jinnah/Mohammad Ghaznavi/Ibn Sina/... (add any number of Muslim names here and take your pick) and it will get published pronto! You have used this trick before and so has that dear boy Yasser Latif Hamdani.

Godot # 36, shall we ask chowk to place a hit-o-meter on the interacts, too?

dost-mittar:

Commendations on the wonderful account of an outstanding man who rose above the terror that nearly destroyed his life. I circulated your story among friends who were all most appreciative of your writing.

I wish Chowk writers could provide such uplifting stories every so often.

Isa Daudpota
12:20 am, 29 June 2003

HOW TRAGIC...

A complete silence to my post 36 leads me to believe that I may have spoken the truth and may have struck a chord among many...how tragic for Chowk.

Veeresh # 43

Thanks for producing Khuswant Singh`s write up. He is always refreshing.

South Asia lives in myths and myths and myths. At least the Pakistani history text books are not history but myths.

Turka is very much a part of our daily lives in Pakistan. It is that Turka that gives that ``oomph`` to the Daal.

As for that debate going downstairs on the quality and themes of Articles on Chowk:

Some people buy newspaper only to read Sports page.
Some only read the editorial.
Some read the magazine section.
Some buy magazines on technology.
Some only read erotica.
Some buy magazines on outdoor life and so on.

Chowk gives a sprinkling of all themes and tastes - which in my opinion is good.
As for the quality, if an article has a theme that I do not like, I will not read it and actually find it quite boring. I will also think that it is of a poor quality.

And Chowk is a place for exchanging views, let everyone write and enjoy and may be we need to be tolerant and encourage new writers - there are good writers and there are ordinary souls like me. After all, Chowk is not paying anything to the contributors.

So, by and large, I will say that the Chowk staff is doing a good job and Chowk is a good place to learn, interact, spend time and get entertained.

godot #48 dont worry. we shall find the finest tonga in rawalpindi for you to pull. then you can race down rajah bazaar with your head held high (as is expected from a prize racehorse) and THEN chowk editors will know what a stallion they rejected...i mean ejected. and no doubt urstruly will try to get a ride for himself, his wife, and his ten children on the tonga and will then tell the entire family to run off in different directions when they reach home, thus avoiding payment to the tonga wallah...

The truth behind aviation incidents so often gets obscured by the vividness of the tragedy. For some reason, aviation related deaths seem to bring out higher levels of group emotions, than compared to, say, marine or land.

I wonder why?

Meanwhile, for those who missed it, from today`s HT:-

History of one’s making
Khushwant Singh
June 27

Distorting history to suit the mood of the times is not an invention of Murli Manohar Joshi, the minister for education, and his pliable panel of so-called historians. It has been practised ever since people became aware of their past.

Indian scholars are not the only falsifiers of events. British historians indulged in it with equal zeal. Take, for instance, the Revolt of 1857. While the British call it the Sepoy Mutiny, Indians describe it as the First War of Independence. In fact, it was more than a mutiny of some sepoys of the forces of the East India Company. And it was by no means a war of independence waged by oppressed Indians.

A vast majority of Indians were opposed to it and large numbers of Indians helped to suppress it. Its Muslim supporters wanted

to restore Mughal rule and bullied a reluctant Bahadur Shah Zafar to become their leader. Even the poet, Asadullah Khan Ghalib, kept a respectable distance from them. Hindus who rose in rebellion were led by their erstwhile rulers who had been ousted by the British. The credit for making 1857 the year of India’s First War of Independence goes largely to the pseudo-historian, Jawaharlal Nehru.

A bigger fabrication is about our freedom struggle. Indian historians make it out as a war between British rulers and the Indian masses led by Gandhi, Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel, Azad and other Congress leaders. It was nothing of the sort. To start with, it was inspired by Englishmen like A.O. Hume (CIC) and leaders of the Congress loyal to Queen Victoria. Tagore composed and sang Jana gana mana in honour of King George V. A majority of Congress leaders were products of British universities and Inns of Court. No sooner had they returned home, they shed their frock-coats, top hats, ties and striped trousers and took to wearing khadi kurtas and dhotis. They changed their attires, but they did not shed their British way of thinking. Far from opposing British rule tooth and nail, at times they collaborated with them as junior partners, as in Provincial Congress-led governments in 1937 and 1939.

Another myth is that Indians kicked out the British. They did nothing of the sort. The Quit India movement launched by Gandhi in August 1942 was crushed within three weeks. The British were not evicted from India; they found it increasingly difficult to rule it and decided to call it a day. Shanmukham Chetty, independent India’s first finance minister, had the correct perspective when he said, “… we have secured freedom from foreign yoke, mainly through the operation of world events, and partly through a unique act of enlightened self-abnegation on behalf of the erstwhile rulers of the country…”

Pandit Nehru’s oft-quoted ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech in Parliament in August 1947 has to be taken with a large dose of salt. He said, “At the stroke of the midnight hour, as the world sleeps, India wakes to life and freedom.” For one thing, when it is midnight in India, in half the world on the other side of the globe, it is day time and people are not sleeping. What was a day of jubilation in Delhi was a day of mourning in Punjab and Bengal which had been sliced into halves with enormous amount of bloodshed and millions rendered homeless and impoverished. However, many people had reasons to be jubilant. Those in the defence and civil services got double promotions because the British and Muslim officials had left, industrialists who had made huge profit during the war were able to buy British companies and tea estates at throwaway prices.

Indians did say good riddance to the British; they continued to send their ICS and senior defence personnel for training to England. The truth is that though there was only one Briton to more than 2,000 Indians, they were able to rule over us for 200 years because we Indians found their presence in India worth our while.

I invite the attention of educated Indians to a short article ‘The Fables of Nationalism’ by Prof Indivar Kamtekar of JNU in the India International Centre Quarterly magazine. It is truly an eye-opener, thoroughly researched, well-worded and totally free of bias. He has done a great job of debunking myths on which we have been brought up. I am not aware if he has written a history of India, but I am sure if he does so it will be well worth reading. People who live on myths of the past of their own making develop a myopic vision of the present and imperil their own future.

Taste of India

Chhownk — I don’t think this Hindi word or its Punjabi version, tarhka, has yet found entry into the Oxford English Dictionary. Words like garnishing, seasoning and tempering are not adequate. It stands for a culinary practice common all over northern India and down to the Deccan to add to the taste to lentils and vegetables. When they are ready to be served, the cook takes a ladle full of pure ghee, adds onions, garlic, asafoetida, kari patta, red chillies or other chosen spices, heats them over the fire and pours the contents on the rice, dal or subzi. It produces a loud sizzling noise and aromatic smoke. It makes a noticeable difference in the taste of food pleasing both to the tongue and the nostrils. This is done in most homes and roadside dhabas but never in fancy restaurants or five-star hotels. Why not? They have sizzlers brought in steaming with spirals of white smoke; they have flambe pudding with blue flames produced by brandy or rum. So why not chhownk, with white top-hatted chefs pouring aromatic ghee on your dal-bhaat with a touch of panache as if performing some sacred Oriental ritual.

I am told that chhownk or tarhka is not practised in Muslim homes. Can this be true?

dost-mitterji,

Yes, we do need more like Dr. Chandra in this world. However, not as an effect of a tragedy like this though.

Nand Uncle:

Thank you for the update. I had no clue about this tragedy and got to read about the aftermath. We always learn about something new from informative readings.

On Chowk`s Policies and Procedures:
(Now, this is a personal observation and does not require or demand a tit for tat response)

As a cyber ezine, Chowk should include all types of write-ups vs. focusing on one kind of thought process. As far as favoritism goes that is true in general for human nature and I do not think that Chowk is run by robots. That`s why I do not find a single writer on this ezine or for that matter on any other ezine as my all time favorite. And that`s a personal view. Sometimes, there is life in the writings; whereas on other occasions they are completely off. The best way of saving yourself from the agony is to avoid reading the stuff that`s not worth the time and effort to respond. On the same hand to each person their words mean a lot and there is a sense of ownership and territorial-ism(!) To person X his vulgar jokes may mean a everything, whereas to person Y they may serve as a mirror to person X`s pagal pun. To each their own. In general, vulgarities only reveal the disgusting personas that are not worth a second glance.

End of Discussion.

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Re: tahmed, #37

Yes, I`m a race-car driver tryining to over-take tanga-wallas...and, oh, man it sucks...

No, I don`t feel like a race-horse rejected...but ejected prematurely...now that sucks...

urstruly #35 I see that you are trying to worm your way into godot`s good books by projecting your marital problems, not to mention your cheapness.

i understand you took your wife out to Mcdonalds for your tenth wedding anniversary, and then ordered a single small pack of french fries, saying to her ``kha ja! kha ja! paisayuN di purvah na kar!``.

and i hear that you are so cheap you go to bed at 7 pm in order to save on electricity.

i also understand that your idea of a night out to the movie with your wife is to stand with her for two hours next to the neighbor`s window, watching the movie they have on TV.

you think godot is impressed by you and thinks you are not a mediocrity like the rest of us? think again. this article of his that failed to make it on chowk (this is as humiliating for a Great Writer as a race car driver failing to pass the learner`s test) was titled: ``Urstruly: A Mediocrity among Mediocrities``. Chowk editors took pity on both of you and refused to publish it. Godot feels like a racehorse who has been rejected even by the rawalpindi tonga walas. Imagine how Shakespeare would have felt if Hamlet had been rejected by Chowk!! That is how godot feels. And he knows all this i am writing is very mediocre attempts at being funny.

Re: Urstruly, #35

Chowk exercises no discretion as far as the quality of articles is concerned that it puts on the front page. There appears to be no rhyme or reason as to what gets published. The Chowk’s approach to publishing articles appears to be ad hoc, haphazard, temperamental, and without a thought

If there is a method to the madness in publishing an article at Chowk, it appears to be two-prong: 1) Does the author personally know the Chowk editors or the editors have a soft spot for the author, if yes, then never mind the article, just publish it pronto; 2) Would the article make the readers act as a bunch of morons, if yes, then publish it pronto. Everybody else has to take a backseat and wait depending on what the editors were smoking when they read your article. If they feel good, you are in (that can take two days to two years), otherwise you can take a hike, never mind the fact that the not-favorite writer has wasted all of his/her time for something he/she is not even going to get paid!!!

Scanning the front page of Chowk, it’s quite obvious that Chowk editors play favorites. What matters to them is not what but who gets published; ergo, what gets published has very little to do with the quality of writing.

Is it any wonder that many good writers have left Chowk, and the readership is stuck at about 70-odd people? And it weren’t for the Unplugg, even that number would probably dwindle down to about 8 people.

It is a safe bet that most readers don’t even read the articles at Chowk anymore; they just click on the responses to read what an interactor is saying, and the interaction begins that rarely has anything to do with the article. The “Hits” for the article, then, are elusively deceiving: more hits do not mean that readers are bothering to read the article, but reflect a curiosity as to what interactors are saying to each other, this board being a case in point.

Dost-mittar is a favorite writer. You are not. Good luck.

Godot

Yaar, these chowk people have not published my article yet either which I submitted a millenium ago. I am sick and tired of their mediocrity. Dost mitter is mediocre too but at least he got published. tahmad on the other hand is cheap. Last week he got into a quarrel with his wife and when she nagged him to death he prayed ``Rabba meiN ais zindgi tuN tang aa gaya waaN meinu chuk lay (God I am sick and tired of this life; take my life).

His wife said ``Rabba meiN vi ais zindgi tuN tang aa gaee aaN meinu chuk lay (God I am sick and tired of this life too; take my life too).

tahmad sahib immediately said ``Rabba plz accepts her prayers``

Uurstruly:

``I am pro-Khalistan. As a matter of fact it is my core beleif that the only way to save Paksitan from Hindu religious nuts who are currently ruling the country, Pitribhumi freaks, and akhand bharat nutcases is to create a vibrant, self-sufficient, and Paksitan friendly Khalistan in Indian Punjab and Chandigar etc. ``

Well, I am glad to see that you at least acknowledge self interest of Pakistan in supporting Kkhalistan. I don`t think you realize that Khalistan as a hypothetical state is meant to have Lahore as its capital. Chandigarh is barely 30 years old. Lahore is the eternal capital of the Sikhs and the seat of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.


``The hijacking and destruction of INdian airliner was a great tragedy and the way the Indians and Indian government pursued to bring the perpetrators of this tragedy to justice in Canada, is commendable. However, they should have persued to bring to justice the perpetrators of genoocide of Sikhs in `80 with the same fervor as well, but instead all those genocidal maniacs were given special amnesty from the government last year. This is the stuff Khalistans are made of. ``

This is the truth. However bitter it may sound, there is no denying the veracity of this statement. BTW, the amnesty was given to cops of Punjab Police, who are about as genocidal as the Punjabi cops in Karachi. The people who should have been prosecuted are the Congressis respponsible for the 84 riots.

stuka #26 just passing time, buddy, as you said. ;-) i am indeed ageing rapidly after writing all these posts on chowk and will soon need to join an old folks` home...

godot #30 you say of my post that ``it`s way below average.``

sob! et tu godot? man, i am so mediocre i cant even write an average post on chowk.

Urstruly#27
This write-up is not for or against Khalistan. And yes, I agree that justice has not been done to the victims of anti-sikh riots in India.

Re: dost-mittar, #23

That Chowk is populated with very ordinary and mediocrity is the norm is not news to me. I`m glad that you have ``most important ideas``, and apparently one of the few writers at Chowk with the most. Everyone thinks his/her ideas are most important. However, what I`m questioning is the selection criteria at Chowk.


Re: tahmed, #24

Get a grip. Your post, contrary to what you are trying to be, is not only not-funny, it`s way below average. Now, close that garage door and stay inside before you make a further fool of yourself.

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TAhmed:

``The rest of us can only read your posts in Shock and Awe. ``

:) You kill me, man!! Waisey, when I joined Chowk, I thought you were an old man. I guess coz you were always so polite and considerate and would admonish anyone else who was not. (remember the running feud between me and Ali#1) But now I think you are probably in your 40s.

I am pro-Khalistan. As a matter of fact it is my core beleif that the only way to save Paksitan from Hindu religious nuts who are currently ruling the country, Pitribhumi freaks, and akhand bharat nutcases is to create a vibrant, self-sufficient, and Paksitan friendly Khalistan in Indian Punjab and Chandigar etc. In near future when the great war will break out between Iran and others, Indian oppressed Kashmir will definitely be annexed by Paksitan. The creation of Khalistan will close any corridor to the Kashmir in future. Also a strong Khalistan will provide the necessary strategic depth to Paksitan.

The hijacking and destruction of INdian airliner was a great tragedy and the way the Indians and Indian government pursued to bring the perpetrators of this tragedy to justice in Canada, is commendable. However, they should have persued to bring to justice the perpetrators of genoocide of Sikhs in `80 with the same fervor as well, but instead all those genocidal maniacs were given special amnesty from the government last year. This is the stuff Khalistans are made of.

Farzana:

Could you let me know the name of Hindi poet who wrote these beautiful lines:

``Madhuban khushboo deta hai, sagar saawan deta hai
Jeena uska jeena hai, jo auron ko jeevan deta hai...

Suraj na ban paaye tau banke deepak jalta chal
Phool miley ya angaarey sach ki raah pe chalta chal
Pyaar dilon ko deta hai, ashkon ko daaman deta hai
Jeena uska jeena hai jo auron ko jeevan deta hai.``

From Silicon Valley, I`m launching a campaign for South Asian Bone Marrow / Stem - Cell donor data bank for ``donate stem-cells donate life``. I would like to use this appropriate poem.

Thank you.
ANIL KAPURIA

godot #21 to dost mittar, ``Unlike for me, you have tons of Chowkies who sympathize with you.``

Worry not, Oh Noble Godot. Here is one Chowkie (not weighing tons though) who sympathizes with you. It must be so upsetting to have to associates will all of us mediocrites on chowk. Man, I am so mediocre I keep running into glass panes thinking I can go through them. In fact I am so mediocre when someone knocks at the door, I knock back in response. If the person knocks again, I knock back again. One day I became so mediocre that I started knocking at the front door from the inside even when no one was knocking outside. My wife asked me why I was knocking on the front door from the inside, I said I was trying to get it to open.
Another time I became so mediocre, I opened used the automatic garage door opener and almost fainted - the car was gone! I told this to my wife, and she said that I would find the car in the garage as soon as I drove it into the garage and stepped out of it. Man, did I feel like a mediocrity that time (this is true in fact).

Anywhere, it is an honor to have a brilliant individual like you on chowk. The rest of us can only read your posts in Shock and Awe.

godot#21
Chowk`s stated motto is a place where ideas and identities intersect. I think that you would agree that not everyone with an idea will have superior literary skills (if one does, it will, of course, be `sone pe suhaaga`). Some of the most important ideas and discussions take place in academic journals and most of the articles there would never get published if they insisted upon a high level of literary skills. What is important, however, is that the idea or ideas are presented and discussed in a clear, cogent and comprehsible manner.

‘Sooraj na ban paye to ban ke Deepak chalta chal”..It is my favorite song too …
And then these so many ‘deepaks’ together can make a big ‘sooraj’ hand in hand. Because we all can’t be ‘Sankurathris’ and yet we all can do our little bit…

Another nice one:

Jyot se jyot jalate chalo
Prem ki Ganga bahate chalo
Raah mein aaye jo deen-dukhi
Sab ko galey se lagate chalo

Jiska na koi sangi saathi
Ishwar hai rakhwala
Jo nirdhan hai jo nirbal hai
Woh hai Prabhu ka pyara
Pyar ke moti lutate chalo...
prem ki ganga bahate chalo

Asha tooti, mamta roothi
Chhoot gaya hai kinara
Band karo mat dwar daya ka
De do kuch to sahara
Deep daya ka jalate chalo...

Chaaya hai chaaron or andhera
Bhatak gayi hai dishayein
Maanav ban baitha daanav
Kisko vyatha(dukh) sunaayen
Dharti ko swarg banate chalo.....

Re: dost-mittar, #18

As evident from the Front Page, quality writings are the last thing on Chowk editors’ minds. You keep writing. Why should you be an exception?

Btw, in no way, shape or form, my article on hate has any similarities to yours. And I don’t hate “you”. But, again, some people will resort to such tactics when cornered to gain sympathy. You shouldn’t worry about that. Unlike for me, you have tons of Chowkies who sympathize with you. And a lot of Chowkies will defend mediocrity tooth and nail. Keep writing.

I agree with godot#3.

Why do we have to wait until certain cataclysmic event shakes our foundations? And there are as many stories in which a person, disillusioned by such events, directs his/her ire towards God. Although fictional, the character of Mel Gibson in ``Signs`` -- until Divinity intervenes again to make him belief again, which was nothing but a crock of shit. I`m sure there are real life instances of similar vein too.

The only good thing about this write-up was it`s brevity.

Cheers.

Thank you all who read and commented on this piece.
godot:
If I remember correctly, you once wrote an article on how you dealt with your hatred for a particular chowkie. This article deals with a similar topic.
As regards your hatred for this bad writer, I will leave it to you to find your own way of coping with it.

godot #3

``What`s the point of this absurd article? That one should become charitable and nice only if some great tragedy strikes him? ``

personal tragedy does focus your attention on what is important in life

Re: Farzana, #11, and my post #12

Farzana, I misunderstood the song you quoted and hence my “fake” response to it. The “fakeness” I was implying in my post has to do with fawning. Anyway, I liked the song and believe in it just as you do. But I do speak my mind...only sometimes...can’t help it!

A pleasure to read! Thank you.

dostmitter
short and gentle :) this reminded me of something i red last night which struck me as important; its somewhat relevent here too:

from warriorofthelight.com

The tragedy

Here I continue to reproduce excerpts from conversations with my master, from 1982 to 1986)

- Why is there so much tragedy and misery in the world?
- Tragedy and misery are different things, and very lengthy subjects. Which would you like to talk about first?
- At the moment, about tragedy. Why does man suffer?
- Read the Bible and you will find the following: ``that which is good, comes from You, my Lord. That which is evil, also comes from You, my Lord. Therefore what is there to fear?``
- Nevertheless, we do suffer.
- Certainly. But take this into consideration: of every ten problems we have, nine are created by our own selves - through guilt, self-punishment, self-pity. However, from time to time a great obstacle appears in our path, which was put there by God, and which is there for a reason. The reason is: to give us the opportunity to change everything, to move forwards.
``What is tragedy? A radical change in our lives, always linked to the same principle: loss. Suffering is always the result of a loss, either someone or something - such as health, beauty, or one`s financial conditions.
When faced with a loss, it is no use trying to recover what has gone. On the other hand, a great space has been opened up in your life - there it lies, empty, waiting to be filled with something new. At the moment of one`s loss, contradictory as this might seem, one is being given a large slice of freedom.
``But most men, when faced with tragedy, fill this space with pain and bitterness. They never think there may be other ways of facing the inevitable.``
- For example?
- Firstly, by learning the great lesson of wise men: patience, the certainty that everything - both good and bad - is provisional in this life. Secondly, using this sudden change of course to risk new things in daily life, to do things you always dreamed of.
- This is clear regarding material things. But what about someone`s death?
- We have spoken much about death, and you know that for the one who passes on, it does not exist - that person is enjoying the delights of a radical transformation. The sensation of death only exists for the one left here. Every dear person, upon departing, becomes our protector - after going through a period of longing, we should be joyful, since we are better protected. In the same way, one day we will be on the other side, protecting the people we love down here.
- And those we hate...
- Exactly as you imagine. They remain tied to us through the feeling of bitterness. That is why Jesus said: ``before going to the temple, go back and forgive your brother.`` One must be forever washing one`s soul with the water of forgiveness.
- But going back to tragedy...
- There is something which is impossible to measure: the intensity of pain. We know a person is suffering because they tell us, but we cannot evaluate exactly how much. We often try to compare someone`s attitude upon being faced by a tragedy, and we end up judging them to be stronger or weaker than they really are. Do not compare random pain with nothing; only the one suffering can know what he or she is going through.
``Therefore, when inevitable tragedy appears, we must remember these three things: to make the most of the freedom of loss, not to judge the pain, and to learn the art of patience. It will destroy 9/10 of that which you are, but the 1/10 which remains will make you an infinitely stronger person. ``

Re: harish_hyd, #13

It`s actually a compliment to me that I don`t make sense to people like you. Thanks!!!

#12 by godot on June 25, 2003 8:13pm PT

[Yes, Farzana, my tragedy is that I abhor bad, senseless writings, not the writers]

Well, if you can do any better, why don`t you try it? From your posts however, it`s difficult to believe you can actually even talk sense, let alone come up with original writing.

Re: Farzana, #11

Yes, Farzana, my tragedy is that I abhor bad, senseless writings, not the writers, although sometimes it`s tough to distinguish between the two (but I do want you to know that you are one of the best, if not the best, writers at Chowk...and this praise is genuine...)

No, I do not believe in that Hindi song you quoted. To be like that is fake, something I loathe even more than bad writings. But you`re right...I shouldn`t be so cruel...except that sometimes I can`t help it...

Re: ana_d, #7

Hi, there, ana! I`m doing good - still recovering from my accident. Why did you stop interacting on Tidbit`s litt. board?

dost-mittarji:
I have been fortunate to meet many such fine people, and what I like about them is they do it without much ado. Recently, Ustad Bismillah Khan was badly in need of money and he had to write to the PM to help him out with his medical expenses. I was told about some charitable organisations that gave some money, but they made a huge noise of it. I found it insulting to someone of the stature of Ustad saab.

godot:
No, you need not be charitable and nice only when a great tragedy strikes you, unless the tragedy is a writer you have problems with! On a more serious note, as rozaiba said, sometimes we need to be shaken to get some insight. We are too absorbed in what we call living. Life is more than that.

There is this Hindi song...
``Madhuban khushboo deta hai, sagar saawan deta hai
Jeena uska jeena hai, jo auron ko jeevan deta hai...

Suraj na ban paaye tau banke deepak jalta chal
Phool miley ya angaarey sach ki raah pe chalta chal
Pyaar dilon ko deta hai, ashkon ko daaman deta hai
Jeena uska jeena hai jo auron ko jeevan deta hai.``

#3

No. The point is that one can deal with rage and misfortune in different ways, positive as well as negative. That point is illustrated through an example.

How hard is that to understand?

Dr. Sankurathri certainly provides an example of how a good man can react to a vicious deed.

This article has a point. It`s great to see a person see a `purpose` in life. No matter who it is. Some are already blessed with the insight. Others are shaken into it.

Thanks for sharing it dost-mittar. By the way, around Sialkot area there is a village named `mittranwali`. Such a beautiful name. Serene place too.

I hope the word ``Jihad`` is always used in this context.

godot...
how are things with you?

...what does this have to do with jihad?....nothing at all...stop the spin please...

What`s the point of this absurd article? That one should become charitable and nice only if some great tragedy strikes him?

mittarji...
thank you for sharing this with us. we rarely hear about such gems. and indeed wouldn`t it be lovely if we had more of them.

dost-mittar:

We need more Sankurathris in this world.


amen!