Finished TV Series: Shehr-e-Zaat

Today, I finished watching a TV Series called Shehr-e-Zaat which means "The City of Self". It was just 19 episodes long, still it took me more than 2 months to finish. The series is very interesting and requires attention. The problem is with me, I cannot finish one thing before moving on. Anyway, it is based on a novel by the same name.


The title track, Yaar Ko Hum Ne Ja Ba Ja Dekha, of the drama was sung by Abida Parveen. It is haunting, devastating and stirring. It is somehow magical. I listened it time to time for several weeks, on loop. It made me Abida's fan.

I loved the series more because unlike most Indian TV shows I can very well relate it to our culture. And the message it conveyed about love, desires and relationships somehow applies to me, maybe all of us.

 It is about a very beautiful, modern, self obsessed and spoilt girl. And how she adapts simplicity, patience, humbleness and finally manage to get rid of unnecessary worldly and hollow pursuits.

Dialogues I remember:

• Dil ajeeb shay hai....Ajeeb cheezain mangta hai....Ajeeb kaam krnay ko kehta hai.
• Allah Ki Mohabbat Ke Siwa, Har Mohabbat Ko Zawal Hai.

Voted for Identity

It is not very normal for me to get up early on a holiday. Still, I decided to get up early to cast my vote before its too hot and crowded outside. It looked like a normal morning in Zakir Nagar with minimal traffic. It was after reaching Batla House Chowk, I observed something different. There were more than a dozen Policemen, two of them on Horses. Road was blocked for vehicles from one side to allow only pedestrians. Few people were sitting on a chair-table in a corner and were browsing through sheets of paper. I moved on towards Jamia School, my polling booth.

The whole School campus was full of security personnel. The buildings, walkways and atmosphere inside the School felt very familiar. Within seconds I went down the memory lane and imagined younger version of myself looking at me from one of the classrooms on the top floor. "It is my school", I thought and smiled. The Good old days. I spent four most memorable years of my life in that campus.

My Electoral Stain / Voter mark

Although I am yet to receive my Voter's Id card, my name was there in the list. After several levels of verification, I was inked and allowed to vote. I pressed a button, a red LED blinked with a sound. And the woman, who inked me, confirmed that my vote was successful. I thanked her, smiled and left with a sense of achievement.

The place was't very crowded. I found more women than men at the polling booth. Even while returning I observed women coming in groups or with their husbands. They all looked more excited than men. When I came out one man, while starting his scooter, said to another man sitting on his bike, "Umeed hai is baar kuch to Gandgi kam hogi", and smiled. The other person nodded. It was clear that he voted for a clean system.

I voted for identity and self respect. I hope well deserving and responsible people come to power. And I am so glad that this election season is over.

I live in Jamia Nagar and I am not a terrorist

Its not very often that you read about your locality in a national newspaper unless you live near 10 Janpath. It wasn't about a minister's well publicized visit or an advertisement about a new Mughlai restaurant. Not even just any negative news about petty crimes. What attracted me today was a statement from a veteran leader belonging to a national party, claiming our locality is a terrorist's hub. "Jamia Nagar is a safe house for terrorists", he claimed.

This election season all politicians in India have made all sort of allegations against each other. But Mr Malhotra went a step ahead and blamed a whole community for terrorist activities. Such irresponsible and baseless statement in order to polarize voters on communal lines will only harm his party.

I was shocked to read that such a senior leader thinks like that. Claiming someone to be a terrorist is not a small allegation. This is complete "Identity Crisis" for us, in our own country. Such inflammatory remarks can create social unrest. A criminal case should be registered against him.

This Election season, for most people, it is so simple to choose anybody considering the issues like Development. It is we who also have to face and prove many other things.

Now, you can imagine what made me write this sher in my Ghazal:

Naujavaan hun mujhko behka do, ya dehshatgard keh ke phansa do.
Ilzaam koi sangeen lagao, be-gunaahi ke saboot bhi mita do.

Meri kamzooriyan maloom karo, aur unhi pe mujhko aazma lo.
Sitam se sar na jhukega mera, Zillat se mujhko hara do.

References:

• http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Jamia-Nagar-Batla-House-terrorist-hub-V-K-Malhotra/articleshow/32685459.cms
• http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/congress-aap-slam-malhotra-remarks/

My first Ghazal

Image by : crdot

Sochne pe lagaao paabandi, boloon to zabaan jala do.
Ishq ki mujhko saza do, deewar me mujhko chunva do.

Naujavaan hun mujhko behka do, ya dehshatgard keh ke phansa do.
Ilzaam koi sangeen lagao, be-gunaahi ke saboot bhi mita do.

Meri kamzooriyan maloom karo, aur unhi pe mujhko aazma lo.
Sitam se sar na jhukega mera, Zillat se mujhko hara do.

Ilm se pehle hi bhut door hun, chand kitaaben hain unme bhi aag laga do.
Koyley bach gaye to deewaron pe na likh dun, is tarah jalao sab-kuch raakh bana do.

Namaazen bhut si qaza hain, Rozay bhi saare chudhwaado.
Duniya me maine khud ko tabah kiya, Aakhirat meri tum barbaad kara do.

Urdu Version:

سوچنے پے لگاو پابندی ، بولوں تو زبان جلا دو
عشق کی مجھکو سزا دو ، دیوار مے مجھکو چنوا دو

نوجوان ہوں مجھکو بہکا دو ، یا دہشتگرد که  کے پھنسا دو
علزام کوئی سنگین لگاو اور بیگناہی کے سبوت بھی مٹا دو

میری کمزوریاں معلوم کرو اور انہی پہ مجھکو آزما لو
ستم سے سر نہ جھکیگا میرا ذلّت سے مجھکو ہرا دو

علم سے پہلے ہی بہت دور ہوں ، چند کتابیں ہیں انمی بھی آگ لگا دو 

کویلے بچ گئے تو دیواروں پہ نہ لکھ دوں ،اس طرح جلاؤ سب کچھ راکھ بنا دو

نمازیں بہت سی قضا ہیں ، روزے بھی سارے  چھڈوا دو 
دنیا میے مینے خد کو تباہ کیا ، آخرت میری تم برباد کرا دو

 
Husn-e-Ghazal(Best 'sher' in Ghazal) bataiye?

That Awkward Moment

That awkward moment when your friend by mistake(or carelessly) uses your toothbrush. How should one decide? Either to take revenge or use your own.

This happened with me. And I finally washed my toothbrush 10 times and used it. I still sometimes feel, Errr..

Internet is full of Entertainment

At one conversation about "Religion vs Science", someone commented:

"Can you show me a software? Can you show me gravity? Can you show me electricity? You would just show me the effects. So, why do you want to see a soul to believe in it?"

There is lot more entertainment over internet than we can ever imagine. hmm... Yes, knowledge too exists.

Irreversible Destruction

Photo By: ShineALight

It is so damn easy,
To fake happiness, to fool ourselves.

I sat there thinking if being happy is a sin,
Loosing control over my body.

Feelings were getting awkward,
with every passing second.

I felt too clothed among attractive,
Like a sole spectator among performers.

Music started flowing in my veins,
Heart pumped at irregular intervals.

Colorful liquids were served in transparent glasses,
and caused people to shake legs madly.

Yes, I surrendered,
not sure to devil or to my true self.

Dreams and Reality are Related

There is something with dreams. At-least some of them in some way represent future. Few days ago, I met one of my childhood friends in a dream. The same day I received his friend request on facebook.

I don't understand how this works. And its not like all my dreams come true. Most of them are all rubbish. All major religions believe that divine messages are delivered through dreams. However, no religion would make sinners like me eligible for receiving divine knowledge.

Science also have an explanation for this. Its called "Deja vu". According to Wikipedia, "It is the phenomenon of having the strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has been experienced in the past, whether it has actually happened or not".

Whatever it may mean but it really feels good when your dreams become reality.