Ramzaan Mubarak

Khair Mubarak!

I was told that a few Chowkies are locked inside for the duration of Ramzaan and allowed back in out only after Eid.

Anyway, Ramzaan Mubarak to you too. Also, two days ago was new moon and is also called Mahalaya (I guess it is the same as what Muslims call Ramazaan). This was the
beginning of Devipaksha - fortnight of the worship of goddess Durga, and start of Navaratri. On this day water is offered to our ancestors when we take shower/bath (or drink Rooh Afza for Iftari). Anyone can do that (any time) to any departed soul to quench their thirst. The act is called Tarpan. The simple mantra for that is A-Bramha
Stambha Poryonto Jagat Tripyatu - let all things from creator Bramha (or Allah) to the inanimate object be satisfied with their thirst quenched. It is a noble act. It will give you the satisfaction of offering, sharing, caring. I don`t think of it as a Hindu or Muslim or Wahabi act. It is universal.

Ramzaan and Navaratri Mubarak to all Chowkies.

Last night, as I was driving my wife back from her evening school, she revealed before me that it was first Roza. ``Really?``, I reacted, and then forgot about it again till I saw Aarzi bhai`s article on chowk.

My only good memories with Ramazan is the festival like air it creates. I might not have liked what the moulvi is reciting in taraveeh but since I didn`t understand it and heard it while I used to be in my room with a stomatch full with pakoras, dahi baras, fruit chaat etc., the ambience created is a priceless memory of my life. And then, those days when I was a boy and ran towards the local mosque on Asar`s time to pay my duties to the presumed creater and primarily so that I can kill the difficult time before aftaar.

Other than that, I remember that always on the first Roza, I saw people induldging in a fight over little things, because they were hungry. Poeple`s attitude is usually less tolerant in ramazan.

Eid was good as long as I was eligible to collect EEdi, but now it doesn`t sound that good too.

When I will return back to the motherland, I will become a social roza-daar with my own definition of roza which will let me have a couple of smokes and some water in long hot & dry days without breaking my Taqwa.

Happy Ramazan to everybody (my version of it).

haha. good one about the you`re supposed to be human 7/24.

why do women wear more headscarves in the days of Ramadan than in other days? Is it because they have to cook so much they rarely get time to wash? (just asking).

Why does everyone say Ramazan Mubarek? isn`t this the month that you are supposed to remember the poor and share their suffering. Is suffering something that we should be celebrating?

T-Bhai, a good write-up! The value of fasting has been well-recognized, especially in our subcontinent. Gandhiji used to practice it, so did Lal Bahadur Shastri. Unfortunately, the later crop of politicians (on both sides of the border) came out croppers – most of them were gluttons – and I don’t mean just the food.

I am afraid that most of the chowk crowd is of the shape profile that tends to rapidly (more than) make up for any losses of intake during the month of Ramzaan.

Any way, Ramzaan mubarak ho!

[The target here is the pseudo Muslim like me.]
I think YOU will do just fine!

Re#3
Who might be Aarzi bhai?

Re#5
Picky, picky!

kidbee:

if you are in GTA...come on over for a sumptuous iftaar...M`s cooking is delectable and i will even stand aside and let you do my assigned chores ... dishwashing!

lve

t

malik # 3:

same offer ( #7) for you and the missus

Beej:

aaarzi is temporary

rgds

t

#5, no no, it`s Ramadhan Mubarek or Rumzaan Mubaraak.

(go for it guys!)

temporal my good buddy if you break Iftaar next July I`ll be there guaranteed !! I never refuse free food!

on the other hand, if you or anyone else care to drop by white plains.. the cooking`s not good, but there`s always pizza!

temporal:
you might wanna try a slot on worship tv network - i am sure they will be interested in exploring the muslim-immigrant demographics and their concept of Allah and stuff.

kidbee:

a cyber hug! (it irritates the hell out of some deranged folks;)...)

no fast breaking next july....i know time flies!...but the next ramzaan in `06 will be around 9/22 or 9/23... but we can break bread...so july it shall be!... subject to regular myocaridal throbbings this end...

lve

t

T:

Thanks for the offer.

I am curious to know where in toronto do you dwell and what do you do for a living (I am sure there will be something other than poetry too) :-)

Just got this same sermon last Jummah...although not in these words exactly...:-)

In the Washington Post, October 6, 2005

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/05/AR2005100502507.html

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Pakistan Must Protect Its Women

By Yasmeen Hassan

Thursday, October 6, 2005; Page A27

Dear President Musharraf,

I was among the Pakistani and Pakistani American women you addressed on Sept. 17 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York on the issue of violence against women in Pakistan. You exhorted us not to air Pakistan`s dirty laundry abroad, meaning you do not want us to publicize cases of violence against women, such as those of Mukhtar Mai and Shazia Khalid, both of whom have been raped and both of whom have been denied justice in Pakistan. You threatened the women`s rights activists among us who are involved in international campaigns about violence against women in Pakistan and called us unpatriotic.

President Musharraf, you seem to want to cleanse the reputation of Pakistan without addressing the real issue: violence against women and the failure of the legal system to hold the perpetrators of this violence responsible. You keep reminding us, and the international media, that violence against women occurs all over the world, including in Western countries. You say that Pakistan should not be singled out for attention. But the issue is not that violence against women occurs elsewhere; it is how the government responds to such violence, what laws and other mechanisms it puts in place to protect women, and how well it implements such laws.

Pakistan has not only systematically failed to implement and enforce laws to protect women from violence, but the system that is in place re-victimizes victims of violence rather than delivering justice. The Hudood Ordinance requires a confession or the testimony of witnesses other than the victim to secure a conviction for rape, and rape victims can find themselves being punished for fornication if rape is not proved. You acknowledged the deficiencies in the system while talking about your stance in Mukhtar Mai`s case: You told us that you had issued instructions for punishment of the perpetrators of the gang rape of Mai regardless of the law. Pakistani women want the right to have the perpetrators of violence against them punished by the law rather than despite it.

You said legal reform was pointless because the personnel in the police and other agencies responsible for law enforcement were of a certain ``mind-set`` that would have to be changed before effective reform could take place. President Musharraf, the ``mind-set`` of the people of Pakistan did not stop you from committing Pakistan`s resources to hunting down al Qaeda supporters in Pakistan at the request of the United States. So why use the argument that we have to tread slowly and carefully on the issue of violence against women while we are waiting for ``mind-sets`` to change? Do the demands of the women of your own country (the ``weak sex,`` in your words) not match the demands of a superpower? Isn`t the fight against sexual terrorism that potentially affects approximately half of your own population at least as important as the fight against international terrorism on foreign soil?

Women who are victims of violence need immediate remedies and access to justice. Enactment and enforcement of progressive legislation that ensures women access to justice is a way to change mind-sets and to end the current system of impunity for perpetrators of violence.

Pakistan is a signatory of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, one of the seven major international human rights instruments, and has recently submitted its first report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. As part of the reporting process, nongovernmental organizations will submit shadow reports to this committee and, to the extent that your laws and practices do not conform with the standards of the convention, your representatives will have to engage in a dialogue with the committee.

If you do not want your dirty laundry aired abroad, please take urgent measures to wash it at home by repealing the Hudood Ordinance, reforming legislation on rape, enacting laws on domestic violence, effectively implementing laws on violence against women, and creating other systems and mechanisms that ensure women access to justice, rehabilitation and protection.

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The writer, a Pakistani lawyer, published the first study of domestic violence in Pakistan. She is employed by the United Nations, but the views expressed here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations.

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Re: # 2

are you in pak. how do you celebrated navratris/dusshera there? do you have ram lila?