Ye unn dino ki baat hai ...

 Some nostalgia ... 💝

Hamaarey bachpaney meiN , native place Shahjahanpur meiN generally gharoN meiN phones nahi hua kartey thay 

There used to be messengers who would take paighaams / invitations etc written or verbal from one household to another 

This was in the 1960s 

Lekin hamare Nana ke ghar par phone tha jo hum ne kabhi bajtey nahi suna 

Waise bhi it was kept in the men's section of the Kothi so we only got a glimpse of it once in a while 

Mummy bataati thiiN ke Miyan's ( my Nana , we used to call him Miyan ) trusted personal assistant was in charge of answering the phone calls 

To jab ghanti bajti thi and he used to go to get it , he would always say "aatey haiN " like one would say when someone knocks on your door 

Lekin phone to bajta rehta tha 

To wo naraaz se ho jaatey thay and would say ...

"Keh to diya hai ke aa rahey haiN ... Lekin suntey nahi haiN ... Bajaaye jaa rahey haiN ghantiyaN ... "

Jashn e wilaadat e Nabi

 

It is believed that Prophet Mohammed was born on the 12th day of the Islamic month of Rabi ul Awwal 

And hence the Muslim khaandaans of Shahjahanpur , Aligarh , Allahabad and Lucknow , traditionally celebrate the life of the Prophet reciting poetry in his praise and in praise of Almighty Allah for the first twelve days of this month 

Aur shehroN meiN bhi hogi aisi pratha 

But I am speaking for the khaandaans that I know 

Even when we stayed in Tata Power Company’s residential colonies , Mummy would kinda lead the recitation and my father and we siblings would repeat after her 

None of us were ever trained in music or singing , and it used to a bit of solitary celebration as the six of us would rise respectfully to sing the “ salaam” in the large hall of our bungalow , but it was definitely a spiritually enriching experience

Prophet Mohammed , who the Muslims believe belonged to the clan of Prophet Ebrahim , and is the last , hence the most beloved of all prophets , was sent to this world as rehmat al lil aalamiin ( mercy for the universe ) 

While on this topic let me add a little more from the recent past 

Now for about a decade  that I ve been interacting with people on social media , I understand that it is confusing , and rightly so , for non muslims to find an Eid popping up every now and then 

Some time back , year or more ago , I had written a note about this on Facebook also 

Eid and Milad are Arabic words 

Eid means feast 

Milad is celebration of birthday 

I don't know in what all contexts Arabs use this word Milad , but in India and also Pakistan it is now being used to mean celebration of Prophet's birthday ( Milad un Nabi )

Eid e Milad un Nabi = Feast celebrating the birth of Prophet 

However bachpan se le kar jawaani tak  Shahjahanpur / Lucknow meiN Eid e Milaad nahi balki "bara-wafaat" suna kartey thay 

It is believed by Muslims that our Prophet was born on the 12th day of Islamic month Rabi ul Awwal and he died (unhoN ne wafaat paayi ) on the same date 

I remember Mummy often used to say why do we not celebrate the day as his birthday , why do we associate it with his wafaat ?

So ... people in far off Arabia seem to have heard her 😄😄😄 ... We now have Eid e Milad un Nabi 

She lived enough to see this change in her life 😄

So till a better one word expression is found , "Eid e Milad un Nabi" , "Jashn e wilaadat e Nabi" se kaam chalanaa padey ga 😊😊😊😊😊

May the light of compassion , empathy , peace and camaraderie that was lit by prophets before him, and that which he brightened shine in our hearts and guide us all to be better human beings 

Sharing a beautiful version of the salaam that we used to recite along with Mummy ... Rafi Saheb ki paakiizah awaaz ... Akbar Warsi Saheb ka kalaam ... 🙏🌹🌺🌷💐💝💝💝

https://youtu.be/8Fqows4r5wo