White Charade anNY # 184,,

My heartfelt condolences to you , for the Great Loss you have mentioned.I ditto what Tahmed has write earlier in his post #186.

I wish sanity would prevail soon ... a single life lost is far too many in my opinion ...

I too shudder when i see the Doctors being attacked .... Reza Jafri , being the latest.I block my reasoning power there ....

Take care anNY,

love,

shirin

White Charade Urstruly # 179

Re: Lafz ley Lo Lafz....

That was a very beautiful piece .Ab is ki

``Daad `` kis ko dee jaie? `t` saheb ko jin key yeh alfaz hain ... magar jo behad ahista bolney key Qail hain, isi liye shayad apnee shairee ko chupae bethaien hain, bawajood public key israr pey. Kahin un ki sooch kuch aisee to nahin

`` Lafz girney na paiey hontu sey, waqt key haath un ko chun lein gein `` ....

YA

phir aap ko.. jinhon ney lafzoon ko chun key waqt key haathon mein supard kar diya ...

Khair, chalein is sey pehley key koi jang chirh jaie [ asal do main kiradaroon mein nahin , magar jo tained extras hain chowkwood key un mein ]aap dono go dey detei hoon :)

Bahut Khoob ...

sa:)

Desi Aristocrats Sameer JB,# 190

That was Great.I liked it, and i had not heard it before:)

Re: religion,I am a Muslim, lekin dil sey ziyadha , and as far as practicing the religion goes .... i tend to follow my own path. I listen to everyone , if there is something nice i can ``chunno ``, i do pick it up, but i adhere to my own faith very rigidly. My faith is based very much on ``Pehley Insaan, Phir Musalmaan ``.... I dont think it can work in the reverse ... phir us mein kuch zaroorat sey ziyadha milawat hooney ka khatara hai.[based on what we see around when we turn and take a look full 360 degrees] .

In the end , i think it is just between you and God ..... isn`t it ? At least i think so .

And Thanks :)

Regards,

shirin

The Indus that Strayed Mrs. Gomathy Venkateswar,

A very warm welcome to you on chowk. This is a beautiful piece, and I have not just read it , but felt it too.It was so vividly narrated and I felt moving along with it ,the entire way.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

I am also at that stage in life when the past becomes very precious, as we share it with our growing kids .

These days I am making an honest attempt at penning my childhood golden days into some sort of an orderly form .Having seen two wars, many close relatives and family friends held captives as P.O.W., listening to their gruelling experiences,living in different cities of Pakistan, as a result of my father`s postings , make friends, loosing some ,[ through sheer carelessnes] makes my mind feel like a bankful of experiences, and inspires me to write .

The Indus and its valley has always fascinated me.It is so rich in history and heritage .I was looking for a book to read with my children, and thought Imran Khan`s ``Journey through the Indus ``, was a pretty good one for kids to comprehend ,and the pictures did help in holding their attention.

Thank you once again. Do keep sharing your childhood memories with us here .

Regards,

Shirin

Desi Aristocrats A good one , thought I would share ...

A Fable

There was an old man, a boy, and a donkey. They were going to town and it was decided that the boy should ride. As they went along they passed some people who thought that it was a shame for

the boy to ride and the old man to walk. The old man and boy decided that maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions.

Later, they passed some more people who thought that it was a real shame for that man to make such a small boy walk. The two decided that maybe they both should walk.

Soon they passed some more people who thought that it was stupid to walk when they had a donkey to ride. The man and the boy decided maybe

the critics were right so, they decided that they both should ride.

They soon passed other people who thought that it was a shame to putsuch a load on a poor little animal. The old man and the boy decided that maybe the critics were right, so they decided to carry the donkey.

As they crossed a bridge they lost their grip on the animal and he fell into the river and drowned.

The moral of the story: If you try to please everyone, you will eventually lose your ass.

sa:)

Desi Aristocrats dost-mittar,

Thank you for the kind wishes for Canada Day.Same to you,temporal and all other canadians here with us .We had Great celebrations all over the city.They have the Folk Festival on these days.Basically it is organised by the Inter-cultural association here .It is held now annually over the last four years, and they tie the commencement of this event with Canada day.Lots of good live music, restaurants from different parts of the world are set up, and little shops , mainly from up island, and some from diferent parts of the world.It is a time of the year when the residents of ``Koh Kaaf `` wake up from their slumber , and a lot of activity is seen around. Like someone aptly remarked ``Lagta hai ab yahan pey curfew hata diya hai ``. LOL :)

Anyone who is close by , and can visit should do so around this time of the year .It is truly worth the visit .The festival ends on saturday july 8th .

Regards,

Shirin

White Charade Dear Urstruly,

no, no, friend , i did not detect anything unfriendly so please ...

The wrists have never been out of my thoughts..loved that piece and crack up just thinking about it !You truly are a gifted writer MashaAllah.

Yes this delivery of yours was quite an accomplishment :)will look forwards to your next ones ....

love,

sa:)

White Charade Dear Urstruly, # 125

I was by no means looking for areas to criticize in. just that having studied Forensic medicine a few salient features came to mind, just as a flashback of that horrid subject.As far as scratch marks go, they can be found on the vicim ,as well as the asailiaint[ indicates struggle].I think every woman does does attempt to save her honour , in such situations, no mater how out numbered she may be , unless tied and unable to move .It is just human instinct.

The reason I mentioned this, was despite your excellent homework, on the Forensic scene , since you are a writer, maybe these few bits might add to your next production. Anyways just a trivial thing , no issue to be discussed further.

And yes Inspector Sami should have had the finger nails inspected !

p.s. [ however i do enjoy your pieces on a lighter vein more , like Farzana said earlier , and i quote her `` how i miss those wrists `` ] :)

love,

sa:)

White Charade Dear Urstruly,

This piece has been well documented , with great details to Forensic Medicine.However my friend you overlooked looking under the finger nails of the poor victims .Lot of detail to investigation , could be sought there !just a help !

You could also have included a few scratch marks on the bodies of the deceased [indicating resistance ]!

Those white charades ! Allah Khair Karey .[Aameen ]

Consequences Dear Nausheen,

Welcome to chowk! Loved this piece .Very simply written, and well narrated.Keep up the Great style.I find simplicity in writing somehow brings out the best of talents.

So you are a dreamer like me !dont call it crazy.. pleasee ... i thrive on this state of mind ....

You must have heard the old cliche`of kissing a few toads before you get your handsome prince !So hang in there ... keep writing and keep sharing ... and in between do keep in touch through interracting too!

With every Good Wish for many successful, Happy and Blissful years ahead :)[Ameen ]

Love,

sa:)

Little White Pills FARANGI KUSH # 52

[[[``Mein khayal hooN kisi aur kaa,mujhay sochtaa koi aur hai.``

Ubaidullah Aleem?]]]

This beautiful nazam is of Saleem Kausar,not U.A. and Jagjit Singh has sung it . :)

Regards,

sa:)

Motherland Tales Farzana # 72,

[[[``And what music to they play in the village? Not Dumadum mast Qalander, I hope…that puts me in a Sufi trance and all vile thoughts disappear…``]]]

Somethings are best if they come as a surprise, hopefully a pleasant one :)

No, sweety it is far from sufi music ...

sorry i cannot contribute for sometime, am really tied up these days . will e-m u InshaAllah as soon as i get a chance to breathe !

lots of love ,

sa:)

Motherland Tales Dear Farzana,# 57

Very nice to see you back :) kahan thein aap ? I will InshaAllah put you on my mailing list, so prepare yourself ....

So sorrrrry for the [jee ]Well its better than `Aunt `, by which i had been referred to earlier! aur sunaiyae kaisee guzar rahee hai ?

Have an awesome holiday in Pakistan.Is it your first trip ? Well most have agreed with me that ``Pakistani men are definately one of the most good looking men ``... so zara tawajo sey .... secondly when you do find him, ask him to take you to `village` for kebab parathas .Maybe the music in the background will be the perfect setting for a romantic evening !

Good luck, Happy holidays .I dont want to spoil your mood by presenting the flip side .Just agree with everything that Krashid has suggested , and say YES !! to everything that anNY has adviced !

Lots of love ,

sa:)

She is Special Amna well written.Someone sent me something rather sweet , which i thought of posting here , but on second thoughts I thought it more appropriate posting it in ``Speakers Corner ``!

sa:)

Motherland Tales Temporal # 50,

Very touching!

Hugs from our kids are so special.Sometimes I wonder why we allowed them to grow up so fast ? my boys were off camping this weekend[as part of their outdoor challenge programme ] so Father`s day will have to be celebrated in a belated fashion. Something very odd though ,i called my father who is these days in chicago, with my younger sister to wish him. He was supposed to be here with us in Victoria, but due to some reasons his plans have been changed .Strange i did not miss him so much , as i missed the children not being around to wish their father !I love my father dearly, and am very lost why i felt like this ?.....

Maut Ka Kuwaan (Well of Death) anNY# 107,

Hello there.I`m back, sorry for the belated reply.

So you like vimto ? is it not one of the best drinks ?.I know exactly which shop u r pointing to, so InshaAllah will track it down in my next visit .anNY , benz was a fruit juicy drink, i think it was non carbonated [ mango flavoured ] extremely sweet.it was mango coloured[yellowish orange] and came in glass bottles.I think it was around the late sixties it was very popular. i never did like it , though i do know of people who would love to have bets , and the winner buys them a few crates of benz !

I am not a paya fan, at all , but I specifically inquired for you .Apparently there is a hotel in `Bolten Market ` which sells the best payas .I am not to sure about the location of Bolten market. U seem to know karachi inside out, so hope you find it .

Also usmania hotel [ in gulshan ] supposedly sells the best lamb roast , and there chapli kebabs are also worth a try .I have personally not tasted both these things there but people find Usmania quite good ! try it , and tell me what u thought !

I love elechees .... something i miss here , amongst so many other things .... we getonly the canned stuff here , which is no fun at all .Do u like cherries ? the cherry season is fast aproaching here ,and we have a cherry tree in our backyard .Any morning the hue will change from greenish pink to dark purple / magenta [whatever ]. I love all kinds of berries , though strawberries i feel is an overated fruit to some extent .Last summer we had stopped in England for a few days and saw a bit of Wimbledon. Without a doubt, i was questioned first whether i had strawberries and cream ? and about the excitement of the game as an afterthought .Thankfully i had some , and so could offer a smile :-

I think we have very well jointly discovered new eating places , and enjoyed the flavour of old ones ! and anNY ... of course i will make Faalsa ka sharbat for you ... infact next time InshaAllah we will drink it together !cheers :)

Rozaiba, aicha , Eklava , Aamir , and all , thanks for joining in the fun . It has been a pleasure interracting with all of you .

And anNY, [I dont like mangoes with the same passion as many others ]Shushhhh .... urstruly na sun lein ...... leney key denein parth jaien gae .......

Take care anNY ... God Bless , and lovely chatting with you .We sure have to meet now !

with all my love ....

shirin