Of Weddings and Disney Extravagant weddings may be one thing but have you heard of a `chehlum` organised (celebrated actually!) in a wedding hall?
Why? Because the house was small and the marhoom wished so (not the hall part but the chehlum itself)!
When my mother did not attend one in protest, all hell broke lose. While those who ate (chowkhi dinner at that) and left received bouquets, she was at the receiving end of the brickbats!
Can you believe it?
I am still fuming.

Mother Very touching and heart rendering, indeed.
Unable to say any thing more...............carry on.

Parveen and Asad The effort to translate (Ku ba ku) is commendable but it doesn`t do even half the justice.
The pathos of the original is missing.

Parveen and Asad Ku ba ku is unsurpassable.......the translation lacks its pathos and tishnagi.........

Reproductive Health Education Yes, sex education is a must.
And it should come from the mother. Children should know about their bodies, the hazards they might face and the measures to avoid them. They should know who can and cannot touch them and where.
Times are changing and teachers must evolve and not shy away from taking a lesson. My lecturer simply left the chapters on reproductive system for self study!
Before marriage too, the prospective bride and groom should be initiated into the topic, what it entails, the religious requirements etc through well meaning sensible member/s of the family or friends or the religious clerics.

Johnny Walker Good informative tribute. Gotta go, the masseur is waiting...

The Ghost of Urdu Woh bhi kya din they jab khilona, Bisween Sadi, Huma, Huda, Shama, Banu, the Ibn Safi series and The Illustrated Weekly of India and The RD occupied a pride of place in our house.
I owe my knowledge of Urdu to my ammi who introduced me not only to the language but also its poetry. I still fondly remember the mushairas that I have attended with her. My mamu and she still continue with their night out to enjoy one.
My qalu used to challenge me to come up with an English equivalent for `ishq` while I was doing my masters in English literature! He used to enjoy my failed attempts! True, the intensity and `lachak` of Urdu remains unmatched.
I am glad my daughters go to a school which has Urdu as an optional language along with Hindi and Telugu, the State language.
Urdu might be a neglected language today but it will survive.
To end on a cheerful note, back when I was in school, ammi`s cousin got to know that her daughter had not only been expecting but had also delivered only when she received the snaps of the baby. When she complained, the daughter said, ``But ammi, mein ne tau aap ko khat may likha tha``.
The daughter did not know the Urdu script and had written in Hindi which the mother was unfamiliar with!

I Recall ???????????????????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am Not a Patriot I have come in late but let me add my own two bits.

I was raised to believe that loving your motherland was part of Imaan - faith/belief. Thus I considered nationalism as part of religion. This talk of a difference between the two scares me.

I might disagree with the ideologies of some of my countrymen/women with the full knowledge that the feeling might be mutual.
I might not agree with the policies of the leaders at the helm.
But just as within a family, one learns to accept, adjust and accomodate inspite of the rotten apples that spoil the entire basket, isn`t it?
Does that mean I should denounce them?
Can`t I accept them as a package? And they do the same with me?

If I have not denounced Pakistan, I haven`t cried myself hoarse in its support either except when it was pitted against some other country than my own. Does that make me a less of an Indian?

Muslims seem to be suffering almost everywhere, so where do you suggest we go? Mars?

What we need is restrain, a look at the future without a dig at the past or controversial issues, adding more fuel to the fire.

Aik tha Chipkoo Amazing write-up considering its on the creepy crawlies that give one the heebie jeebies.
Good work, Moizza........keep it up.

In Loving Memory of Nazia Apa (aka Nazia Hasan) Nazia Hasan was everybody`s favourite. The entire nation was mersmerised by her voice in the wake of `aap jaisa koi`.
It was a crude shock to know of her tragic death. I still remember how fondly the Indian media had remembered her then.
Makes me shudder to know if a person of Nazia`s stature and family background could be made to suffer so much, what could be the plight of the ordinary woman.
A promising life snipped in the bud.
May her soul rest in peace.......

In Loving Memory of Nazia Apa (aka Nazia Hasan) Nazia Hasan was everybody`s favourite. The entire nation was mersmerised by her and later the brother-sister team.
It was a crude shock to know of her tragic death. A promising life snipped in the bud.
I still remember how fondly the Indian media remembered her then.
Makes me shudder to know that if a person of Nazia`s stature and family background could suffer so much, what could be the plight of the ordinary woman.
May her soul rest in peace.

Jinnah Hospital Very touching.......................

Jinnah Hospital Pathetic and touching................

An Open Letter to the Editorial Staff of Chowk Dear Ana,
ANA DOBARAH, PLEASE!

Dear m_souza,
Kindly refer to your post no 45.
If I have offended you by not addressing you in my responses, you`ll have to believe me when I say, it wasn`t intentional, as you have guessed.
I might be facing `colour discrimination` but I certainly did not make any `religious discrimination` while responding to various comments!
I did pencil down your name along with a couple of others who were equally kind and generous in praise, but thought the mail was exceeding its limit so thanked all chowkies in general...when I ultilmately did want to thank you specifically for empathising with my situation and assure you that indeed I was in the company of well meaning friends...my article was taken off!
And know what?
Going by your Chowk Id, I thought you were a Christian not a Hindu!
Now that I know you are a Hindu, chalte chalte yeh bhi batado ki male Hindu or a female Hindu!
Ciao!!
Saman khan.
PS: Please refer to me as Saman Khan or Saman but not `one SamanKhan!`

The Conversion Chiaroscuro Ms. Farzana,
A delicate as well as a controversial topic to handle but you have handled it well.
A person should convert if only he/she believes in it and not for any other reason whatsoever or else he/she would be insulting two religions as you have rightly said.
To discard the religion one was born into to marry another from a different religion speaks volumes about the character of the person, doesn`t it?.
If he/she could be disloyal to his/her deity couldn`t he/she be so to a mere human?

A close relative of mine is married to a Kashmiri Pandit; he converted to Islam...only on the paper...he has not openly declared his conversion nor taken the new name for it would hinder his career prospects! He doesn`t practice the religion at home either for his brother lives with them and his family is still in the dark about his conversion and he cannot risk disclosure even if it means the brother stays put for the rest of his life!
When his parents come visiting they rightfully perform all pujas and celebrate all festivals...how or whether or not he avoids them is still unknown...whether my relative is included in the rituals or not remains unknown...
The couple does not have children...intentional or otherwise...we don`t know...I guess they are contemplating which religion their offspring will follow or what names to give them...Hindu or Muslim?!
Just goes to show that he could neither be true to one nor do justice to the other...
Samankhan