Love in the Time of Kargil How unfortunate that happy instances like this one degenerate into book thumping, chest beating sermonising event whether the book is Quran or anything else. This is a marriage between two human beings and power to them to have the courage to break out of the narrow die cast moulds of religious bigotry and do what everyone else should be doing. Breaking out of their self imposed prison and be free. I wonder if Allah and Brahma are fighting over territory or the souls of human beings? We certainly are!

Congratulation Amitav and Mona and may the power be with you.

Reshma: Voice of Mother Earth Back in 1956-57, there used to be a programme on Radio Pakistan called ``Subh dum Darwaza-i-Khawar Khula`` at 8:30 am on Sundays. In one of those programme, the person known as payami [message bearer] introduced the new discovery made by the free lancers of Radio Pakistan, a voice which he termed then as as old as the land itself. That was Reshma recorded while singing a song at the Urs of Sehwan.

Radio Pakistan then recorded a lots of folks song in Sindhi, Punjabi and Saraiki which they played regularly. At this stage Reshma only knew to speak in Seraiki[I think] becuase I did not understand a word of Seraiki.

Later she went to England on a tour and on her return was interviewed by payami about the trip. And I remember her impressions of London as a ``city where the train goes under water and when one presses button thnigs work``.

I have followed here songs both sufiana and folks, and the voice though much practiced and refined still has the same rich timbre and earthiness which was there in 1956 and still has no rival.

Loyal to Pakistan? Why? Ahsan

Like your sentiments,I experience the same here everyday with the Pakistani community. And it is also true with the Lebanese, Palestinian, Bangladeshis, Afghanistanis, Saudis, Indonesian, Malaysian, Chinese, Bosnian, Croatian, Tunisian, Algerian and even British anglo saxon expatriats, you name it and I will include it here, communities. Every one of them talk about Australia as a moral, cultural, religious, social and ethical cesspit as compared to their own country but willing to live here for their children sake. I work with all these communities. I guess such wide spread occurence can only be termed tribally instinctive.

Another 20 years down the track when this cadre is dead and burried, their children will grow up to be decent Australian, American etc and will have no ties which will inhibit their mental elevation.

good to hear your point of view

Javed

Searching for my identity I am glad that you sat down and wrote how you felt about the clash of two cultures not in the real world outside but within you. All migrants go through this phase. Rarely do the first generation migrants, opt to throw the excess baggage out. In the end, as you said, their ideas, their values etc all become useless and nonsensical to their own children who had the benefit of being raised in a different outer culture. These children learn to question what is being said and do not accept [or even pretend to accept] what does not qualify for a reasonable and logical answer.

I am glad that you have sat down and discarded all that material which was of no use or value to you, I wish a lot more Muslims and especially a lot more Pakistani do this for the sake of their children. However this problem is instinctive amongst all migrants not just Muslims. First generation migrant tend to keep their anchors in their old world and let themselves drift only that far as the sense of security would allow them. While their children have the ability to lift their anchors and taste freedom.

You would not be labelled fundamentalist or born again; you have cleared the cobwebs of ignorance and superstition, which have been woven around you in the name of religion. Islam, if one understands it correctly, absolutely frees Muslims or those who adopt it as their way of life. I wish you well and I hope that you would be able to influence other of your generation to do the same.

Javed