Friday, December 23, 2005

Location::Karachi

I'm in Karachi now, and it took us 38 hours to get here. Here are details on the delays

Toronto - 3 hrs ( Plane wouldnt start)
Manchester - 3 hrs (Re-fueling took forever)
Lahore - 12 hrs (The pilot landed the plane in intense fog, but all flights were grounded as soon as we landed( I think he was from Lahore). So we spent most of the night playing 'dumb charades' and discussing random things with fellow strandees. Definitely a night to remember.

Anyway, all of yesterday was spent on un-jetlagging, wedding(s) and some chilling with the homies. It's quite disappointing to see that red apple( the chicken roll place in khadda market) is still on its way down.

more later,
[an]

Thursday, December 22, 2005

While we're on poetry...

One of my ultimate favs...

Are you looking for me?
I am in the next seat.
My shoulder is against yours.
You will not find me in the stupas,
not in Indian shrine rooms, nor synagogues,
nor in cathedrals; not in masses, nor kirtans,
not in legs winding around your own neck,
nor in eating nothing but vegetables,
When you really look for me, you will see me instantly
— you will find me in the tiniest house of time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?

He is the breath inside the breath.

- Kabir

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Mehdi Hasan

sung by Mehdi Hasan, poetry by Bahadur Shah Zafar(the last of the Mughals)

1. baat karni mujhe mushkil kabhi aisi to na thi
jaisi ab hai, teri mehfil, kabhi aisi to na thi

[It was never as difficult for me to talk, as it is now
Your gathering has never before been, like it is now]

2. le gayaa cheen ke kaun aaj teraa sabr-o-qaraar?
beqaraari tujhe, ae dil! kabhi aisi to na thi

[Who has taken away your peace of mind and patience
My heart, you were never as uneasy like you are now]

3. un ki aaNkhoN ne, KHudaa jaane, kiyaa kyaa jaadoo
yeh tabeeyat meri maa'il(attracted) kabhi aisi to na thi

[God only knows, what magic her eyes have weaved
My feelings for her was never as attractive as it is now]

4. kyaa sabab tu jo bigaD.taa hai 'zafar' se har baar?
KHoo teri hoor-e-shimaa'il kabhi aisi to na thi

[What is the reason, you get offended at 'zafar' all the time
You, the best angel, never had a habit, like you have now]

Dictionary : sabr - patience; qaraar - peace; maa'il - attracted;
KHoo - habit; hoor - angel; shimaa'il - the very best amongst the lot



p.s i got it off here

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

yawn * is it time to get up?

Firstly, why i've been MIA for more than a week.
1.Week before montreal
2.Montreal
3.Recovering from montreal
4.Work Work
5.Crazy weekend ( raptors - 9th row, salsa, v3 with the browntown crew)
6.Flu
7.Recovering from the Flu

As for all the requests about details on my trip to montreal, i've decided not to talk about it, cuz some day my kids might read this blog...lol

Random things that happened recently
1. Dad called and asked if he should swap his p900(cell phone) for a "blueberry", and if my "blueberry" was a good phone.
2. Zaed( of falak fame)sent their new recording of "Yaadein" to me....one word...amazing..pata nahi baychaaray canada mein kiyoun phans gayay hain..you must go check out one of their shows if youre ever in T.O
3. AP sent the "crush calculator to me, and being the smartA$$ that i am, i put in silly answers that went to someone else.
4. The raptors won!!! NO they did not...
5. I realized that I need a date for the office christmas party, which is in a week...
6. I started reading "Maps for Lost Lovers" by Nadeem Aslam, and all I can say after a hundred pages is "CRAZY SHIZZEL". This is "EAST is EAST" on steroids!! review to come soon.

Gotta run,

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Darfur, anybody?

So while we wait for Ali to share his Montreal experiences with us (along with other cool thoughts) , I thought I would share my thoughts-of-the-day...

I heard yesterday that:

- The UN called the Genocide in Darfur the 'worst humanitarian crisis' ever (this was before the Tsunami hit)

- 400,000 people have been killed

- 2.5 millions have been displaced due to violence

- 3.5 million are starving

- Countless others have & still are being brutally raped

(The facts are according to recent reports by the World Food Program, the United Nations and the Coalition for International Justice).

One day though, we will be able to sit around and figure out exactly what happened when they make a movie about it. Wasn't it the same with The Killing Fields, Hotel Rwanda, etc....?

I'm thinking that perhaps God should send them an earthquake.... what else would kick us into action?

Sunday, November 27, 2005

What It Is (Part II)

So by default, it seems that I have been assigned the role of bringing to light the 'realistic' aspect of Random-Realism. The aim now is to be more realistic than Ali is random :P

I would like to see this blog consist of some intellectual discussion on real (& sometimes unpleasant) issues that people face on a daily basis. Sometimes its too easy to get caught up in our lives which makes it that much easier to not think about or talk about what's happening out there! Breaking through some of the daily superficiality is, in my opinion, an important and much-needed task which I hope, this blog can contribute to.

So, I too, hope that people contribute and share ideas, feelings & attitudes along with some good 'ol fun!!!

Friday, November 25, 2005

Montréal

Off today to montreal with the homies. This is part of our bi-annual pilgrimage, and despite all the conversations, its always montreal. I dont want to talk much about it right now, except montreal is probably the best city in the world for a good weekend. It helps to have good friends (read bachpan ke dost) there too, but nevertheless its amazing.

might even take some pictures this time.

On a side note, since i havent blogged in a while, it feels like i'm writing emails at work. If you look at the post below, its got a very "office email" look to it. Be patient, i'll lose it soon. I'm consciously writing unstructured sentences.

another side note, I need to get a sense of the audience (if there is any), but it would be interesting to get a word or two on people or their inclinations.

So if you leave a comment, please use one word (this is completely voluntary, and you can post comments anonymously) to identify yourself e.g techie, eeyanh (this is a word that i invented/discovered, in a random conversation- fikar not, post about eeyanh people sometime this year), jihadi, pointless ,lost hehehe..and yes this is judging people by just one word they say(think of it more like a 'market survey')

Out,

what it is?

Ok, so i ask myself the question, what is this blog about, any subject, theme, and the answer is 'absolute nothingness'

However, this is a team blog, with AP providing food for thought, read the post below, and i will quite happily provide the 'random mailee comedy'. For random-realism, i'm the random part.

i believe its going to be a fun ride, cuz its going to be contrast of not just ideas, but attitudes.

There will be a host of ppl posting their little blurbs from time to time, and almost everyone is welcome to send a note to us if they want to put something up.

Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

My Debut...

Ok AN,

I made it here finally!!!! Be proud, my friend...

Khair, so I had a plan and everything about what I was going to post but then I had a very interesting discussion with my supy yesterday and I was telling him this story from Bangladesh(which I forgot about earlier). So, this one time I was at my neighbours house (who couldnt speak much english) and we struggling to have a decent conversation. Basically she just wanted to know what I cooked and what i ate, etc. and then suddenly she said "Do you take 'free showers'??" and I was like, "huh?" and then she whispered it again. So after I asked her what in the world those were, she said "you know, when you take a shower without your clothes on?"!!!! In an attempt to be culturally senstive I tried not to laugh and continued to figure out what it was. Essentially, many people in the more rural areas thought that you shouldn't take a bath with your clothes off b/c the angels that sit on your shoulders will see you naked and that of course, is shameful!!!!! Khair, there were quite a number of folks I met who did not take these 'free showers' ...

The point of this is that it got me thinking even more about the fact that the problem with muslims today (actually ONE of the problems with them today b/c there are many) is this literalism, where people forget the point of the story. I think the deal with the angels is to always remember that God is watching you; I dont literally believe that angels are sitting there. I think people forget the forest and start concentrating on the trees. It's the same thing with praying or hijab or men wearing their shalwars above a certain length and all those other things that cause so much confusion...

Anyhow, so that's what I was thinking of today!!!

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Shuruaat

Hi AP,
Yeh lo, hum ne blog shuroo kar diya, ab koshish yeh hai ke hamaray puranay afsanay bhi mil jaeein ta'ke un ko bhi hum yahan shaya kar dein.