Khaandaan etc

This hilariously heart warming msg about the local Illahabadi vocabulary / dialect recently shared on social media by some nostalgic Illahabadis , which I shared with my folks too , and a cousin’s remark :

" Tum bhi to aadhi Illahabadi ho ... " 

( I was married into a family from Allahabad ) that got me thinking ... 

Ek insaan ke andar kitni jagah ki mitti khoon bann kar daud rahi hoti hai 

Kitni jaghoN ke paaniyoN ne uss ki khoobsoorti ko siiNcha hota hai 

Ek hi insaan kitney qabiiloN , kitney mazhaboN , kitney cultures ka chalta-phirta representative hota hai ... 

Equality among human beings is a very important point in theoretical Islam , but when it comes to human interactions one cannot deny the existence of sects , sub sects castes etc among Muslims also

And that illusion “ ours-is-the-true-Islam “ with which every sect "enlightens" the minds of their young ones remains a disappointing reality 

Fortunately I have grown up in a Khandaan that pretty much has been a wholesome pot of mixed ingredients ... like the delicious haleem where wheat , rice , barley are mixed with a number of daals and meat / chicken and cooked with spices ...

Our "Haleem" of relationships has an innovative addition of vegetables too , to add to its nutritional value 😀

My grandfather ( Dada ) belonged the Syed sect while Dadi was a Pathan 

My mother and my Chaachi belonged to Pathan families too

Mummy used to often jokingly say that her Saasu Mom chose Pathan Bahus , to ensure that her side of the genes becomes more prominent in the next generation 😜 ... and that we children are therefore 75% Pathan and only 25% Syed 😀 

So much for our seriousness on the matter of man-made differences between human beings 

No one took these differences to heart 

Even religious differences melted in the warmth of our family hearth 🤝🏼👏🏼💞💞💞

In my parents youth there used to be large joint families in almost every house , and many such houses in a mohalla , who were intertwined and interconnected like a mesh , sharing dialects , customs , clothes , arts , food habits and so much more in a heterogenous amalgamation 

Language laced with wit and mutual respect was the most interesting and visible colour that decorated the tapestry of our existence 

It would have made for a good peek into the culture and customs of a Khandaan in Uttar Pradesh , had someone cared to note them down somewhere because language is the window that opens the character of the people who make it a medium of their communication 

We know what it is like to have half of your clan lost in time because some "leaders of the people" wanted people to be divided !!!

Hence we value human relationships dearly

It is Mashaallah an extremely rejuvenating , enriching and beautiful feeling to share cultures and lives with people of different ethnicities as they find their way through your heart , to your family 

I hope and pray that sensibility and affection spreads even wider in my lovely and blessed Khaandaan ... and elsewhere ... And everyyyyyyywhere ... 😘😘😘

Aameen 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼