Maazi meiN jhaaNktey chaleiN

Had written this in May 2019 

Somehow it remained in my notes and could not be posted earlier 

***************************************

Recently a cousin of my late mother lost his wife 

He had migrated to the neighbouring "enemy" country many many years back and had taken a portion of my mom's life too with him 

And indeed a slice of his life remained alive on this side too :-)

On either side of the border the cousins must ve most longingly relived the same stories over and over a thousand times and more ... because what he left back here was his bachpan and adolescence

And what he had taken away was a part of my mom's bachpan and adolescence

Although politicians on either side who created this sinful divide are free to show hostility or friendship to each other as per their moods and requirements , the common man cannot lay claim to such luxuries 

Pakistan kya banaa rishtey aur Khaandaan sab buri tarah bikhar gaye ... Bachpan baNt gaye , jawaaniyaN alhadpana bhool gayiiN ... Budhapaa apne umar daraaz aaNsoo chhalkata rahaa ... 

Kisi qaum ke rehber ne nahi socha ke ghar to phir bass jaatey haiN lekin ujdey huay log chaahey iss paar hoN ya uss paar adhoorey ho kar reh jaatey haiN ...

Kuchh idhar reh gaye kuchh udhar chaley gaye ... Aur duuriyoN ke shuruaati daur ke uss shadiid dard ki , uss adhooreypan ki dheere-dheere aadat si ho gayi 

Zindgi ka safar chalta rahaa ... Chalta bhi rahey ga ... 😊

Lekin kabhi jab koi buzurg inn jhameloN se alwida kehta uss duniya meiN chalaa jataa hai , ki jahaaN koi bhed - bhaav nahi , tab baith kar kuchh der ko zaroor bachpan meiN suni apno ki kahaaniyaN bahot yaad aati haiN 

Kya aisa bhi koi daur guzra hai ... Yaqeen karney ko dil chaahta hai ... Aur ye bhi ke kaash wo din waapis aa jaaeiN ...

Wo shaaerana guftgoo , wo laziiz sense of humour , wo baasmati chaawal ki mehek , wo lakdi ki aaNch  , wo mitti ke choolhey , aur unn par tavey par siNkti rotiyoN ki soNdhi khushboo ...

Wo chamakta paandaan , wo leheriye waale malmal ke dupatte , wo aaNgan meiN phaili lal mircheiN , Naani jin ka achaar banaati thiiN ...

Wo anNgrez miyaN-biwi jo hamaare nanihaal ki kothi ke ek portion meiN rehtey thay , wo aamrood ka bagh jo Naani ke chhajje se dikhaai deta tha , wo Daadi ke ghar ke ahaatey meiN giant Neem ke ped , aur uss meiN padaa jhoola ...

Daadi ke ghar garmiyoN ki chhutiyoN meiN wo thaali-bhar gol gappe zeera-paani aur chatni , aur Naani ke ghar ki wo guava jelly ki khushboo jo aNgrez mem-sahiba banayaa karti thiiN ... 

Mummy ki generation ke saath ye aur naa jaaney aisi kitni hi dilnawaaz aur anmol yaadeiN bhi dafan hoti jaa rahi haiN  

Itney bikhar gaye haiN ... Log bhi , ghar-makaan bhi ... ke ab waapis puraani soorat bananaa naamumkin hi hai 

Bass itna karam rahey ke kabhi phone par apney-apney zindgi ke tukde jodd kar khush ho sakeiN 

Unn waqtoN ke mazaar par ek kamzor si shamaa jalaa kar apne guzrey buzurgoN ki yaadeiN raushan kar sakeiN

Unn bhooli-bisri mohabbatoN ke saaye meiN ghadi bhar aaNkheiN mooNd kar koi tazaa-dum khwaab kal waastey dekh sakeiN ...

 Subah to roz-marra jaisi hi hui thi 

Aur subah ki meri thoda-aur-so-looN waali chaahat bhi rozana jaisi hi thi 

Khidki ki jaali se chhanti hui dhoop aNdar rakhey money plant ke pattoN par waisi hi chamak daal rahi thi jaisey roz daalti hai 

To phir aisa kyoN lag rahaa tha ke mausam koi romantic sa geet gaa rahaa hai ... jaise Gulmohar Neem ke saath batiya rahaa hai ... 💞🌳💞💐💞

Shaaed raat koi pyaraa sa khwaab dekha hoga ... 

Tabhi to ye undefined suhaana-suhaana sa ehsaas iss garmi meiN bhi mere khayaaloN ki canvas par bhiigey-bhiigey bhiiney-bhiiney gulaabi-basanti-harey-zaafraani raNgoN se gulkaari kar raha tha 

Khwaab dekha bhi tha ke nahi ... 🤔 ... 

Yaad nahi hai bhai 🤗

Lekin halki-halki taazgi waali feeling badi delicious thi , jo chaai ko thaNda hi nahi honay de rahi thi 😍

Kisi khwaab meiN titli ki tarah udti hui maiN , 

zindgi ke aaNgan meiN bedaar ho kar , 

bahot saari khoobsoorat taabeeroN ki khwaahish meiN subah se saNwarti rahi , nikharti rahi ... 💃

Chaai piiti rahi ... 😄💖☕☕☕

Phir raNgoN ki ek tasveer WhatsApp par meri ek dost ne mere saamney rakh di , aur kahaa bataao iss meiN kya dikh rahaa hai tum ko 

Painting ke raNgoN meiN kho si gayi , kabhi kuchh nazar ataa , to kabhi kuchh chhup jataa ...

Chaai ke kai cup meri sochoN ko garma chukey haiN , kai baar wo ghazal bhi suun chuki hooN jis ke shaaer Google Bibi Ji bhi nahi bataa paayi haiN abhi tak ... !!!

Aur tabhi door bell bajti hai ... 

Mere khwaaboN ki malika , meri kitchen helper khadi muskura rahi hai 

😊😊😊

Ek reluctant cook and a lazy home maker like me ke liye ye koi kam khoobsoorat taabeer nahi hai ek aisey khwaab ki jo abhi tak yaad bhi nahi ayaa hai ... 😉🙏😄😄😄

Chaai bina chaain kahaaN re

 Tea is a thing that is subconsciously woven into our cultural and social fabric in an extremely inseparable way that in many many homes across the globe mornings are ushered in with keeping water for tea on the choolah first thing in the morning 

Some years ago I was rushing to catch a local from CST early in the evening 

It had been a rainy afternoon , but the rain stopped for a while at that time 

Crowded as the place always is , the daily commuters don't have much time to look here-and-there 

But being a home maker I am an occasional traveller , so I have the luxury to observe my surroundings 

Meri yaad se nahi nikalti wo aurat ... wet and hungry in her shabby clothes ... I gave her a packet of biscuits that I was carrying . But she didn't take it 

She said "Taai ! Mala ek cup chahaa de ga ... " (Sister ! Give me a cup of tea) !!!

I make such bitter-sweet , heartwarming and soul stirring memories wherever I go 😊😊😊 and Chaai has a way of making its way into almost all of the sweetest memories in my life 

I have collected a lot of sweet pic msgs about tea , and some thiik-thaak ones I ve made myself too 😄💖😍 !!!

They are all over in the photo gallery of my phone , but sab scattered haiN , so aaj socha ek unn pics ka album banaa looN 

Din bhi special hai naa tea lovers ke liye 😊

In 2019 , the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to establish May 21 of each year as International Tea Day

It is a globally recognised observance that celebrates this prosperous industry and the cultural significance and health benefits of tea 

We also take this opportunity to ponder over the conditions under which labourers work in tea gardens 

It is because of their hard work that we enjoy and spread the warmth of love and care through is amazing beverage 

Happy International Tea Day to my dear Chaivinists and to all friends 💖☕🥰💖☕🥰💖☕🥰💖☕🥰☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕

 She was asking me if I was enjoying my stay 

" Yes ! Yes ... very much ... " I replied in all honesty 

Then the feminine instinct that had been andar-hi-andar pestering me for the last few days for bringing only one set of warm clothes , nudged yet again , and I added : 

" But I have brought just one set of warm clothes ... So you ll get bored seeing me in a black sweater and black shawl every day and everywhere ... !!!"

" Oh ! No ... In fact each time I ve seen you , I find you wearing a different style of outfit , interesting colour combinations and patterns ... I wish we had more variety and colour too ... " She said 

" We are too bland " remarked her nephew 

This was arguably a most earnest appreciation of the vibrant Indian diversity which I had carried with me to a foreign land , and which reiterated for the Nth time , that as a country we are attractive and charismatic because we are so amazingly heterogenous , enriching our Janamabhoomi in our own beautiful ways without compromising our life styles , customs and values 

This was and will remain my Vishwa Guru Moment 

And it has been forever so because this is the culture I was born into and this was true of my parents 

Their parents 

Their parents' parents 

Their parents' parent's parents   

 And ... All the previous generations 

And will be so for all our future generations too ... 

Inshaallah

Ishq Insaaniyat

The concept of Ishq in Sufism is resplendently enriching and absolutely humbling 

Ishq is a canopy of blessings that shelters and soothes the restless 

It connects the seeker with The Sought , the wanderer with The Guide ,  the lost with Enlightenment

While Hatred / Nafrat is a whirlpool created by the Devil leading to a chain of destruction , Love / Ishq is the calm that God bestows upon His Creations when He wishes to bless them for their righteousness 

While everyone apparently longs for peace , yet the path of love , that is invariably the path of God remains less travelled since times immemorial 

Koi ek Gautam Buddha sadiyoN meiN janam letey haiN aur koi ek hi Samrat Ashok jaisey diggaj yoddha hotey haiN jo ahinsa ki raah paa kar dhanya ho jatey haiN 

Ahinsa and Sufism seem interwoven in the Eastern sabhyata , but somehow elude the human psyche 

It is extremely heart breaking to see peace being repeatedly and ruthlessly uprooted 

And vested powers infesting the minds of ordinary citizens with enmity and animosity towards the "other" that these powers create from among the vulnerable ordinary citizens only

Sab ko sanmati deiN Bhagwaan

Extraordinary is actualy ordinary

My children will remember that I used to sing "Naani teri morni ..." to put them to sleep 💤😴😊

( Maa kitna hi besura kyoN naa gaa rahi ho , bachchoN ko sureelaa hi lagta hoga 😉 !!! ) 

And when they grew a bit older they got to listen to a couple of "mere bachpan ke dilchasp qissey" as bed time stories 🤗😄😍

But we , as children never got to hear any bed time stories  

Lekin hamaari Amma would often take time out in the evenings to share stories , quotes and shaaeri with us ... 🙂 

In between normal conversations too her language used to be laced with wit and humour ... That most certainly came to her pretty effortlessly as a family trait 🙂

The stories she narrated to us were about ordinary human beings ... some real life , some folklore ... as I now realise , even the shaaeri that we heard from her in our growing up years was interspersed with thoughts that would infuse in us the ability to appreciate and respect everything ... living and non living ... that we come across in life 🙏

I remember some of them even now 🙂

Like this story from an imaginary place and time ...

Ek bahot ibaadat-guzaar shakhs apni biwi aur bachchoN ko chhod kar ghar se Khuda ki talaash meiN nikla ... taking with him what he thought were bare necessities of life for him : 

ek takiya , ek katora aur ek tasbeeh ... Bass itna hi !

Kuchh duur gayaa tha to uss ne dekha ek aadmi sar ke niichey haath ka takiya banaaye so raha tha 

Iss shakhs ne socha takiya bekaar hi layaa ... Faltu ka bojh ... Soya to aise bhi jaa sakta hai ... So takiya wahiiN chhod diya 

Aur aagey chalaa to dekhaa ek aadmi chullu se paani pii rahaa tha 

To iss shakhs ne katora bhi tyaag diya 

Faaltu ka ek bojh aur kam hua 

Khoob halka mehsoos kar rahaa tha 

Ab na takiya tha naa katora ... So kisi chiiz ki rakhwaali nahi karni padey gi aur ibaadat meiN dhyaan bhi nahi bhatkey ga 

Khoob khush ho kar din -raat ibaadat karta tha

Khoob tasbiheiN padhta tha 

Ek din uss ne do aurtoN ko baateiN kartey suna 

Gehri dosti lag rahi thi dono meiN aur wo kisi len-den ka hisaab kar rahi thiiN 

Kuchh der ki bahes ke baad ek boli ... 

"Chhod na ye ginti-vinti ... Thoda kam-zyadaa se kuchh faraq nahi padta ... Jan aapas meiN mohabbat hai to phir hisaab-kitaab kaisa ... !!!"

Ab to tasbeeh bhi bekaar lagney lagi

Jab dosti - yaari meiN hisaab-kitaab nahi hota to Khuda ki ibaadat meiN kaisi ginti ... kaisa hisaab ... !!!

Uss ne apne aas-paas hi issi duniya ke jhameloN ke biich Khuda ka nuur dekh liya tha 

Jaan liya tha ke Khuda apni har makhlooq , har takhliiq meiN basta hai

Uss ko khojney ki kya zaroorat hai wo to har pal hamaarey saamney rehta hai aur sachchi ibaadat Khuda ki banaayi duniya ko sajaney-saNwaarney meiN hi hai 

Ek dum se ussey apne ghar ka khayaal aa gayaa 

Uss ki biwi-bachche kaise reh rahey hoNgey ...

Kis haal meiN hoNgey 

... Aur wo waapis apne ghar ki taraf chal padaa  

Insaan ka janam jiina asaan nahi 

Kitna chhodeiN kitna pakdeiN iss duniya ko , issi kashmakash meiN subah se shaam ho jaati hai

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

Back then one may not have understood the philosophical connotations , but the moral of the story which was woven in how the situations were handled by the characters stayed back in one's impressionable mind , and it inadvertently keeps coming back , not just as nostalgia but many a time as guidance too 😊😊😊

I am so GRATEFUL that my mother NEVER told us the stories of KINGS and QUEENS

And FOREVER IN GRATITUDE that my father NEVER behaved like a KING in the house !!!

Happy Mother's Day to my parents in Heaven 

They could so expertly and adorably exchange roles 

I think all parents can 😊😊😊

Momzee

 Mummy ... My friend , my sweetheart , my first love ... She loved three things in life ...

Books , Chaai and Children ... 😊🥰💕💕💕

And they were all her first love 😊🤗🥰 

But she had no interest in watching  movies 😐 !!!

Before her marriage , as a teenager in her father's sprawling ancestral kothi in Shahjahanpur , going to watch films in cinema hall was a big No-No !

Back then , a close friend of my Nana's owned a cinema hall and he used to often tell my Nana , "Khan Bahadur Saheb bhej diya kariye khaandaan ki aurtoN ko , itni bhi koi buri chiiz nahi hai film dekhna , maiN pass bhijva dooNga " 😊

So , kabhi-kabhaar , accompanied by at least one family elder when the young burqa-clad girls of the family would excitedly go to Chacha Ji's cinema hall , Mummy would prefer reading or doing some household chores over this rare movie outing 😊

After her marriage , she moved from her small-town-broad-minded Muslim joint family to the nuclear family system in cosmopolitan and modern residential camp of Tata Hydro Electric Cos in Khopoli at the foot of the Sahyadri mountain in Maharashtra ... 

They used to have film shows every weekend in the colony club 

Away from the hustle n bustle of her huge khaandaan , Mummy gave in to the wishes of her friendly neighbours and soon adapted to a life that in time would give her opportunities to evolve into the human being that she wanted to be ... 

Films also found their way into her life , but still books , chaai and children remained her first love 😊💖🥰

As I grew up , books and later chaai and poetry entered my life like family heirlooms ... But Bollywood sneaked in from all corners of my being to claim my heart and before I knew it had become my second love ... 🩷🩷🩷 ... First to Mummy thiiN aur raheiNgi 😘😍🥰

So apart from the film shows in our colony , I wanted to see all the new releases in the nearby town 

But you don't go to the movies alone ... Right ... 

So Mummy used to go with me 🥰🥰🥰

We saw quite a number of films together ... till my husband , an equally unenthusiastic film-goer , came along and became the second love of my life ... 😊😊😊 ... First to Mummy ... 😉🤗😄

Of all the films Mummy saw in her life , "Teesri Kasam" and "Mera Naam Joker" she saw on her own and loved them immensely for their story and philosophy , and for a couple of songs too 💝🤗😊

Happy Birthday MomZee ! 

Remembering you so longingly ... 🥰🥰🥰

Aur yaad aa rahi haiN all those midnight maggie-chaai and jam-bread parties celebrating April-May birthdays in the summer holidays ... ☕🥪🍜🧈🍲

Wo bhi kitney massssssti bharey din thay ...

Aap ke paisoN se cake-biryaani khayaa kartey thay Mashaallah aap ke sab bachchey ... 💖🥰💕💕💕