Young and Old Dear Lokhi Menon,
We are with you in your grief; May GOD rest her soul in peace and give you the courage to carry on....

Regards,
Saman.

Young and Old Welcome Lokhi Menon!
Think this is your first contribution to Chowk?
Well, its beautiful and touching.
Touched a chord in my heart, which forever feels guilty for not being with my parents who live alone in their home, yearning for us to join them. Being the only child, I am the only one they look up to and I suffer guilt pangs day in and day out for staying with my family away from them, and visit them during week ends, even though we live in the same city. I know I would soon have to move bag and baggage to their house - given the wrinkles and the slow walk and the desolate looks on their faces. Thank you for sharing your feelings. Both you and your mom are fortunate to have each other.

Regards,
Saman Khan.

No longer Hydera-GOOD, its Hydera-BAD Deepak,
Well expressed!
Being a Hyderabadi, I fully agree with your views on the city going from good to bad to worse. It is an ordeal to be on the roads of the city. There is nothing but filth, debris and nerve racking traffic on the roads. Hyderabad has become a mini India with people from other states making it their home-base. The blame lies with the administration too - it was pathetic to see pictures of MLAs and their leader laugh at some triva at a meeting convened to discuss the recent bomb blast. We need a change, most urgently in our leadership.

No longer Hydera-GOOD, its Hydera-BAD Madani Sb,
I think just recently, a bridge that President Musharraf inaugurated two months earlier, collapsed in Pakistan.

The Paradox Cult For society to move forward, only non-violent movements work.

Right! Gandhiji proved it! The time is ripe for another one to lead us.

SK.

We are family Two stories on the same theme and both written well!
This has happened after a long time on Chowk, I guess!
Liked the way you presented each relative's feelings....
As Azure says, keep writing.

No Choice But This Very realistic portrayal, Sheela. Life is all about making hard choices.....
You must have been emotionally drained by the time u finished writing .....

Regards,
Saman.

24 Hours in Dubai - Dunes and Dinars Good write up but I am still waiting to read something about the dunes!
:)

Dilemma Over Spiderman rf786/tolkinin
Know what? Spidey is history; its Shrek III that has them excited now!
Thank you for you inputs.

Kaalchakra,
Thanks for the welcome; yes, its been a while!

Khamy1
Yeah, its saman, alright! And I think, Khamy sounds hep!

Bjkumar,
I am glad you liked it………
I was unsure if I had done the right thing…….Smitha, a friend called from Chennai the next day and put my dilemma to rest. Said she, children need to be made aware of such things to help them grow up with compassion; otherwise they will remain indifferent all through their lives……

Regards to all…
Saman.

Just a Woman #92
Whats this?! Do ankhein, barah haath?!

LOL!!


What next?
BJ 007??!!

Just a Woman #82 bjkumar

I must say your post has some how stirred me - though busy preparing news abstracts for the day my mind is wandering in search of topics to write about!
Thank you for the appreciation and encouragement.

A little confusion here:
I`ve been away from Chowk for quite a long time now and I am wondering if you are THE BEEJAY?!

Regards,
Saman Khan

Just a Woman #23 bjkumar

OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!

Indeed!!

Stopping the Clock Interesting perspective except for the chauvinistic take on the blondes, young girls and new colleagues. No wonder u r still unmarried!

So Long Farewell Dost-mittar ji,
Hausla afzai ka shukria. I haven`t submitted it to any other journal except Chowk.

I hope you like the movie.
Regards,
saman.

So Long Farewell Ijaz,
You are too generous in your praise!
I had feared this morbid piece would dampen spirits!
My spirits were literally down before I read your post. Thank you for lifting them up!
BTW, I had replied to your earlier post but am surprised to have lost it.

Urstruly,
Thankyou for the appreciation. I feel so encouraged.

Miriamk,
The Urdu verse is from the movie Fiza. The lyrics are by Gulzar and Jaspinder Narula’s rendition never fails to moisten my eyes. On the whole Fiza is worth a buy; do get an audio cd at least, if you can.
I am glad you liked the expressions. Thank you.

Faiza,
Your ‘Saman Saheba’ makes me feel like a mohteram hasti!
The description seems to be rich in words because it was a deliberate effort. I wanted to try my hand at some serious writing using rich words as you say. Remember the last time I was censured for writing something light and funny?! This was a test for me to see if I could write otherwise. I have always felt handicapped by my restricted vocabulary; my inability to go deep into emotions and describe the state of affairs and the surrounding was another drawback that always plagued my mind. Perhaps my light and funny take on things was responsible! This effort makes me feel like a grown up!
But the first par still makes me wince. It could have been better phrased.
Also, I wish the photo frame was on an étagère and not on the mantelpiece and a word or two about the dying candescence of the candelabrum would have been in place too!
What do you say?!

Regards to all,
Sameena/Saman Khan.

So Long Farewell t!
Nawazish!
Aur dekha aap ney, jab light aur funny hote they tau kankar pather jaaane kya kya baraste they, aur ab serious ho gaye tau koi nigah bhi nahi dalta!
Jayen tau jayein kahan?!
Or should it be, likhein tau likhein kya..........

A note about your letter to Allah Miyan...
My server was down so couldn`t interact on time........
Fikar not, He knows it all.............bus dheel day rakhi hui hai dono fareeqon ko!

Regards,
Saman.