mubinsmusings

The monsoons are back in Mumbai

2012-02-15T09:18:00.002+05:30

Its such lovely weather nowadays in Mumbai. The pleasant chill in the mornings, the nice long walks without getting drenched in sweat.

The monsoons are back in Mumbai.

And so are the frogs.

You can hear them croaking all over the place. Large frogs, small frogs, bull frogs, follower frogs. At every street corner.

Oh, what a noise they make!

And lest I think I can avoid them at home, now their croaking is also covered 'live' on TV - one bull frog on the day he is croaking the loudest. The other days are devoted to assembling a multitude of frogs together to create a cacophony masquerading as mating calls.

The monsoon also brings a great opportunity to wash all the dirty linen that has been accumulated since the last monsoon. It delights me no end to see the sense of community, where everyone spares no effort in helping each other in this washing.

The rain has stopped since the past two days, and the frogs have stopped croaking. But we are told to be prepared for a huge shower and consequently, extremely loud croaks for 2-3 days by a certain group of frogs from 17th onwards, before the monsoon passes by and the frogs retreat and the linen is pressed, folded and kept in the closets; till the next monsoon.

Till then, enjoy the monsoons. So long, folks!

'Me' Time

2012-02-02T09:47:00.002+05:30

Its been 8 weeks since I last wrote my blog. 8 weeks of whirlwind activity, late nights, travel, working while commuting and on weekends and catching up on sleep while commuting.

Phew!

The last weekend was the first in a while that I just took a complete off. Didn't even touch the laptop.

Went shopping with wifey, got some broken components fixed for son, played with daughter, chatted with mom, watched TV and generally just chilled out.

And I feel so mentally refreshed!

It also reinforced my belief that somehow - in this rat race - we are losing our grip on what we should value most; our 'me time'.

I now want to start exercising again. Can someone suggest how to a guy who leaves home at 7 am and generally returns only by 11:00 pm (not always out of choice)?

RIP, Dev Anand

2011-12-08T09:11:00.001+05:30

“Jiya O, Jiya O Jiya kuch bol do…”

But the Peter Pan of the Hindi film Industry will not say anything again.

The man who never grew up has now moved on to the Great Beyond, leaving us with memories of that fluffy hair, that unique walk (which taught me how one can convert a weakness into one’s biggest strength), that oft-imitated drawl.

Dev Anand was already past his prime when I was a baby (he really belonged to my parents’ generation) but I grew up watching his movies on Doordarshan.

How can I forget the song that I have mentioned above, where Dev Anand was sitting on top of the car romancing Asha Parekh while someone was driving parallel to the train? A song sequence that probably was the inspiration for the other popular song “Mere Sapno ki Rani” from Aradhana?

Or the Jewel Thief playing the drum to Vyjayanthimala’s “Honthon Pe Aisi Baat”?

Or the music at the lighting of the cigarette from Hum Dono? (I bet his fans who are reading this are humming it right now)

“Dil Aaj Shaayar Hai, Gham Aaj Naghma Hai, Shab Yeh Ghazal Hai Sanam”

What a life he led! The movies (though my grandfather hated CID – the only movie he saw. He was an inspector, and thought he was going to see a movie on his department!), the songs, the romance…

That is another thing that I remember. His ill-fated romance with Suraiya. A young handsome hero and an established heroine fell in love and wanted to marry, but were thwarted by her family due to religious reasons. (Why her family did not stop her from acting in films for the same religious reasons is something I cannot fathom, but that’s beside the point).

A heart-broken Suraiya never married, and died a spinster in 2004! Dev Anand went on to marry another actress and had two children, but by newspaper reports, the couple was estranged for years.

“Hum Bekhudi Mein Tumko Pukaare Chale Gaye”

However, as much as I would prefer to remember only the suave debonair romantic, also comes to my mind images of possible narcissist who did not know when to quit!

Starting with possibly Des Pardes, he continued making films that no one saw, and possibly no one even remembers the names of, trying to play hero when he should have graduated to grandfather roles, casting people young enough to be his children as his contemporaries, or even his elders in the movies.

It hurt every time I saw him announcing a new film or on a poster; of the man making a caricature of himself!

“Kya Se Kya Ho Gaya, Bewafaa, Tere Pyar Mein”

He lived life on his own terms, and I daresay even died on his own terms. According to a newspaper report, he had expressed a desire to not be cremated in India, so that his fans remember him as the die-hard young romantic. His death in London was possibly a fulfilment of that wish.

Possibly it is therefore only fair that I remember the Dev Anand of the Black and White era, the young romantic, the hats, the walking stick, the drawl, the style of drooping his face and shaking his hands…

“Main Zindagi ka Saath Nibhaata Chala Gaya”

RIP, Devdutt Pishorimal Anand, while your die-hard fans say,

“Abhi na Jaao Chhodkar, Ke Dil Abhi Bharaa Nahi”

Muharram

2011-11-27T20:39:00.001+05:30

Last night, the new moon heralded thebeginning of the New Year of the Islamic or Hijri calendar.

Today is the 1st of Muharram, 1433.

A lot of laypersons associate Muharram withactivities that would take place 10 days later. Known as Ashuraa’ (from Ashra’or ten in Arabic), that is the 10th of Muharram, and marks the day of one ofthe most heart-rending events that occurred in Islam – the martyrdom of ImamHussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Ashuraa’ is also associated with a numberof events of earlier eras. According to various traditions, it was on the 10thof Muharram that Adam’s prayer was accepted, Noah landed his Ark on Mount Judi,Abraham was saved from the fire in which Nimrod had thrown him, Jonah emergedfrom the belly of the fish, Joseph was re-united with his parents, Moses ledhis people across the sea and the Pharaoh was destroyed; apart from manyothers.

Due to all the above, in the era when ProphetMuhammad (SAW) lived, Jews used to fast on the 10^th of Muharram. Eventoday, quite a few Muslims fast for the entire 10 days of Muharram, and manyothers on the 9th and 10th.

However, the events that took place on 10Muharram 0061 (approx Oct 680 AD) overshadowed all other events.

Yazeed, a despot, tyrant and the total antithesesof Islam, proclaimed himself the Caliph or leader of Muslims. He asked ImamHussain to pledge allegiance to him, which was naturally refused.

In a nutshell, this refusal of Imam Hussainto pledge allegiance to the despot Yazeed led to various events, leading toImam Hussain leaving Madinah with his family and a few companions numbering 72men, and about 51 women and children towards a place called Kufah (in modern-dayIraq). This small group of people was surrounded by an approximately 30,000-strongarmy sent by Yazeed at a place called Karbala, near the Euphrates river.

After denying water for 3 days (from 7Muharram onwards) to this small group of people comprising women and children, includinga six month-old infant, Yazeed’s mercenaries mercilessly killed the men andcaptured the women and children. From then onwards, the 10th of Muharram ismarked as a day of mourning, remembrance and prayers by Muslims across theworld.

Is it just a coincidence that the Islamiccalendar begins with one sacrifice and ends with another? Or is it a messagefor us Muslims to be ready and willing to sacrifice their all for the will ofAllah?

Eid-al-Adha

2011-11-13T19:54:00.001+05:30

I had started writing this post lastSunday, to time it with Eid on Monday. But exigencies of work made me keep itaside without completing it as the relevant time had passed.

A chance remark by a colleague a couple ofdays after Eid about not liking this 'festival of slaughter' prompts me tocomplete it.

Let me narrate a story.

Many years ago, when Prophets walked onthis earth, there lived a man called Ibraheem. He was in his 80s when he andhis wife Hajara became parents for the first time.

The baby was still nursing when the Lordcommanded Ibraheem to leave his wife and child – Ismail- among the barrenplains of a desert and move on alone to spread His word. Placing his entiretrust in the Lord, Ibraheem did as asked. He left them in an uncultivatedvalley which did not have even water for a vast distance. His wife, who washerself a staunch believer in the Lord, accepted her husband’s decision, sinceshe believed that the Lord would take care of her and her child.

Within a couple of days, the food and waterthat she had was finished, and both mother and child started feeling hungry andthirsty. Hajara left her child in the valley and started walking briskly betweentwo nearby mountains trying to look for someone from whom she could get somefood or water. After she had moved between the two mountains seven times, she sawwater coming near her child’s feet, where he had kept hitting the ground withhis heel. (Another tradition also has it that an angel dug the earth near her child,and water came out).

Hajara had her fill of water and fed herchild, but the water kept coming out, and vegetation grew around it. Soon,sensing water, birds started circling the area, caravans noticed them and cameto the oasis, creating a settlement in the process.

A few years passed, and Ismail was oldenough to walk and play. Then, Ibraheem had a dream, in which he was told tosacrifice that which is closest to his heart. He sacrificed forty camels each overtwo days, but the dream persisted. Ibraheem realised that the closest to hisheart was his only child, Ismail!

He went to Ismail and told the little boy abouthis dream. The child replied, “O father, do as you are commanded, you will findme patient”.

Ibraheem took his wife and son and movedtowards a nearby place where he planned to sacrifice his son. As he neared theplace, the devil appeared to Ismail and whispered in his ear that his fatherwas taking him to be killed. Ismail responded by throwing some stones at thedevil.

A few steps later, the devil appeared toHajara and tried to appeal to her maternal instincts. Hajara responded the sameway that her son had.

Not one to give up, the devil then tried totalk Ibraheem out of sacrificing his son, but Ibraheem also hit the devil witha few stones.

Upon reaching the spot where Ibraheem haddecided to offer his son as sacrifice, he made Ismail lay down and moved hisknife on his son’s neck. However, even after trying to cut his son’s neckthrice, he could not succeed. Ibraheem threw away the knife in frustration atnot being able to offer the ultimate sacrifice to his Lord. At this moment, heheard a divine voice saying, “Ibraheem, your Lord has accepted your sacrifice”,and a sheep was sent down from the heavens to be sacrificed in Ismail’s place.

Eid-ul-Adha - or Eid-ul-Zuha - (Adha -meaning sacrifice) is a commemoration and remembrance of this willingness tosacrifice by Prophet Ibraheem (AS) – also referred to as Abraham - and hisfamily; possibly the greatest sacrifice made by man submitting to the will ofhis Lord.

The Lord loved the devotion of hisservants, Ibraheem, Hajara and Ismail so much, that he decreed walking between themountains of Safa and Marwa as well as stoning three pillars (Jamaraat) at Minaat the places where the devil had appeared to Ibraheem and his family anintegral part of the Hajj, or pilgrimage, that is incumbent upon every Muslim whohas the means to perform it. And Muslims across the world are ordered to sacrifice(not slaughter) an animal to remember the ultimate sacrifice made by theirProphet, and as an indicator that they would be ready to make whateversacrifice required for the pleasure of their Lord.

MayAllah grant us all the patience and understanding to submit to His will, sothat all our words and actions in future are for the pleasure of Him, and Him alone.Aameen.

Happy Diwali

2011-10-27T19:59:00.002+05:30

As I write this, we are in the middle of celebratingthe biggest festival of India – Diwali, the festival of sound.

It is a really festive season for usbetween September and November. In the first week of October, we celebrated Dussehra,symbolising the victory of sound over silence. Before that, in September, wehad Ganesh Chaturthi, where we welcomed noise to our houses and societies for10 days.

Seriously, what is this?

Festivals have lost their original meaningsand have become a means of out-shouting one another. Collection of donations isno less than extortion. No festival is complete without loudspeakers blaring atrecord decibel levels, and mindless beating of drums and other assorted objectsin the guise of music.

Had he known what it would lead to, I amsure Lokmanya Tilak would not have started the concept of community Ganeshpandals. Because what started off as a means to mobilise people against theBritish has now degenerated into an abject noisy show of political power.

I remember in the 80s when any such processionaccompanied by sound or music used to pass by a religious place of any otherreligion, they automatically used to stop playing music from a distance tillthey passed it by respectfully. Nowadays, the volume actually increases!

Dussehra has lost its original relevance ofthe triumph of good over evil, and has become a symbol of might is right.

And there is more noise and pollution inDiwali. The louder and more polluting the firecrackers, the better; seems to bethe new motto. The original concept of diyas or earthern lamps is nowrestricted only to photo-ops.

HappyDiwali, folks!

Buy Medical Insurance wisely (my personal experience)

2011-10-18T22:55:00.000+05:30

Life has this amazing knack of playingroulette with you!

I had planned to write about my experienceswith medical insurance on the first Sunday of this month, and a medicalemergency on that Saturday itself took the entire weekend. And this Sunday wasdominated by work.

Anyway, here goes. 6 points based on myexperience of what to do – and what not to do – while buying medical insurance.

Buy what you need – not what saves youtax: We have this amazing thing in India ofRs.15,000 tax saving under section 80D (we all seem to remember this section,as we save the entire amount on tax). Hence, we all end up investing only thisamount on Mediclaim. I did the same. But maybe it is not enough for some families.What if there are 3 children and aged parents to take care of? What if there isa medical history in the family that necessitates preparation through propermedical insurance planning? There are many possibilities. Always take intoaccount all these factors while deciding how much to invest. Rs.15,000 shouldbe the minimum, and not the only number. My own experience – my old policieshad lapsed and I had to take a new policy in 2007. I realised that I would haveto shell out a huge premium for my parent’s insurance, as they are both above60, hence in consultation with them, we decided not to take insurance for them.

Over the next two years, both of them required treatment, and we had to shellout of our own pockets!

Do not let your policies lapse: The second lesson I learnt. I had mediclaim till 2004, which weallowed to lapse when I went abroad. It would have cost next to nothing to keepit alive, but I allowed it to lapse. Result – when I came back and investedonce again, I had to pay higher premia as we had moved into different age brackets,and we also lost all no-claim benefits.

Buy a floating cover, it is worth theextra premium: The harshest lesson I learnt overthe past one year. I have insurance for myself, my wife and both the children.On seeing the difference in premium, I decided to go in for separate policy amountsfor each individual, insuring myself for the highest sum, followed by my wife,and then smaller amounts for the children. My daughter and I both neededhospitalisation this year. And while the amount for me was well within my insurancelimits, the amount spent on my daughter’s treatment extended well beyond. Thisnaturally took a huge chunk out of my savings. The funny part is – the totalamount for both our treatments combined is less than 2/3rds of the total insuredvalue for both of us. In other words, had I taken a floating cover, I would nothave spent a rupee (apart from the minor amounts that insurance companies ortheir TPAs love to deduct).

Find out what insurance companies havetie-ups with good hospitals near your home: And gowith only those companies which do. It is a simple but oft overlooked fact, butthink about it. Where do we rush to in an emergency? The best hospital nearestto our house. And if at that time we have to also run around for money? It canget extremely harrowing. Believe me; we have been through it in the past year!Remember, it is not only for ourselves but also for our family members, whospend the best part of their day near home itself.

Find out who offers cashless treatmentat a good hospital near your home: It follows fromthe previous point. You may get insurance, and everything may be in order, butif the hospital and the insurance agency do not have an agreement for cashlesstreatment, you could run around like a dog chasing its tail!

I had my accident on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the hospital and myinsurance company did not have a tie-up for cashless, and the hospital rules wantedus to pay Rs.1.4 lakhs for me to be operated upon immediately. And with my lefthand broken (for those unaware, I am left-handed), I could not even sign acheque. Even if I could, what use would it have been on a Sunday? It was onlythe emergency and possibly our family friend’s (who is a doctor known to thesurgeon) discussion that made the hospital accept that they would do thesurgery and we could make the payment the next day.

Everyone would not be as lucky!

Also, for me, claiming the money from the TPA was like getting money from a Jew!Have you heard of the saying “A fool can ask more questions than the wisest mancan answer”. I am sure the person who coined this saying must have had toanswer a doctor in an insurance company!

And the number of times they made me run around, I could qualify for theOlympics! They are expected to complete one process in 45 days, but you askthem about the claim on the 46^th day, and then they will startsending queries. The way the lady at the TPA counter acted aghast when I askedher how come their letters don’t reach our house when every other letter does,had to be seen to be believed. I get a strong feeling they do this only todelay payments.

I nearly gave up on one claim because I realised that I may end up spendingmore than 20% on taxi fare going back and forth, in addition to the huge wasteof time! And when I stopped responding, they sent the cheque home – one yearlater!

I learnt the advantage of cashless a while earlier when my brother had to berushed to hospital at midnight, and everything was taken care of likeclockwork.

Donot trust your insurance agent: Sound a bit harsh, but it is true. Remember, heis doing a job, which is to sell you a medical policy. He may end up saying yesto everything you say, with just the right pauses and intonations to drive youtowards where he gets more commission.

Decide your requirements, read the fine print and make your own decision.

After all, it’s your life – and your family’s.

Two little girls

2011-09-30T09:30:00.000+05:30

There are quite a few huts just outside my office, all of them inhabited by - I believe - a single community of Gujarati tribals.

Typical of such settlements, these huts too have the usual assortment of drunk men, screaming women, dirty kids, crap on the road etc. All the usual elements that make 'people like us' crinkle our noses, look in the other direction and walk away. Even when people stop to give their leftovers or alms, it is a sight to see them holding the leftovers at an arm's length.

Amidst all this, two little girls catch my attention daily. Aged possibly 6 and 3, they are possibly among the most adorable girls one could see. Fair (not a criterion for beauty in my sight, but am mentioning it as a differentiator among slum kids one sees who get tanned by being exposed to the sun the whole day), glowing skins, bright eyes, really cuddly like soft toys. And generally pretty clean!

Like most slum kids, they have the most carefree smiles, which adds immensely to their entire demeanour. Give them a nice bath, dress them right, and I challenge any human with a beating heart not to pick them up, cuddle them, hold them close and bless them.

Every time I look at them, I wonder about their future. What would happen to them as they grow up in that environment? All sorts of questions, all sorts of worries crowd my mind.

Sometimes I also wonder if it is possible to take them away and bring them up with my own children. Or maybe get them a good foster home. Give them a chance at a bright future.

And then I think - is it right to separate them from their parents? Maybe, my view of a bright future is a product of my environmental conditioning; and they may wither in that. Possibly, where and how they stay are their roots. Maybe God wanted them to be the wild flowers they are, and not the ornamental flowers in the four walls of a house.

Also, all those other 'societal' thoughts - how will their parents react if I talk to them; what will other people say; can I really take care of them; will - by opening their cocoons, I'll end up killing the butterflies inside?

But then, maybe again, maybe God has raised this paternal feeling in me to be the catalyst for a change in their lives...

Questions, thoughts, confusions. What do I do?

An Open Letter to Arif Naseem Khan

2011-09-21T09:30:00.000+05:30

Mr. Arif Naseem Khan
Suburban Guardian Minister
Mumbai

I read with a great sense of anguish about your rebuke to the RTO officials who conducted the raid on autorickshaw drivers who tamper with their meters.

You as a minister are expected to uphold the law and the moral fibre of the city and constituency you represent. And yet, here you are, reprimanding officials who are doing their job, and taking the side of professional strike callers and cheats.

Isn’t the very fact that 97 out of 150 rickshaws tested a clear indicator of who is at fault?

Have you, Mr. Minister, personally travelled as an ordinary citizen in an autorickshaw and seen what the public has to put up with?

Your statement, “RTO officials can initiate action against illegal meter shops but they must stop unnecessarily harassing rickshaw drivers” reeks of - well, let me not express it in words! But the next time the traffic police conducts any checks on drunk drivers, I believe they would say, “Raid the bars and liquor shops, don’t harass us”.

Your other statement, “We all know what happens at RTO offices and how things work” is another gem!

Your statements tell me simply that you are aware of “what happens” and yet, you have shirked in your duty as an elected representative of the people. In a private organisation, you could have been sacked for such wilful negligence of duty, but it is a travesty and a joke of our democratic process that you would be elected again and again!

Mr. Khan, take my word for it; go and praise the RTO officials, encourage them to do their work without fear or favour, ensure that errant autorickshaw drivers are punished. You would get more votes this way. After all, that is what you want, isn’t it?

Yours sincerely,

Mubin Khan

Travel Light with the King of Good Times

2011-09-16T20:20:00.001+05:30

I have always travelled light. And lately, being what airlines euphemistically term a ‘frequent flyer’, I have made it even lighter. I have a trusted Samsonite made to cabin baggage specifications which I dump my clothes and papers in, stretch the laptop bag across its handle and I am ready to go. Saves me a lot of time after alighting.

In the past few months, I have travelled on every single airline available in India, and have never been asked to check in my bag, except for three times. And I realise that it is the same airline – Kingfisher – every time.

The tone is the same – polite, turning politely threatening. “Sir, it is my advice to you Sir. It is better for you Sir”, “Sir, I shall put a priority tag Sir”, “Sir, you will have to keep it in front of your seat, and you will be uncomfortable Sir”, “Sir, I am trying to help you Sir, the cabin crew will keep it in the hold while you are boarding Sir”.

Once, when I agreed because they put a priority tag, my bag was almost the last to come out!

What I found most interesting was that all the three times, they gave me different reasons for wanting to check in my bag.

The first time, the person said that the flight was full, and there may be no space in the luggage bin.

The second time, she said that the flight was small and my bag would not fit!

But I think the reason I got just now takes the cake!

I am told that the flight is completely full and the bag would be too heavy, and the cabin crew might offload it!

Huh!!!

Too heavy for me to carry, but okay to put it in the hold?

I am awaiting boarding, as I write this, and eager to know how they will accommodate this ‘heavy’ bag.

Happy Teacher’s Day

2011-09-04T23:45:00.001+05:30

It’s Teachers Day tomorrow, and I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all teachers a Very Happy Teacher’s Day.

A lot of teachers have influenced me, and shaped the way I am today. Right from my school teachers to my Professors – Prof. Sudhakar, Prof. Dabholkar, Prof. Dharkar, Prof. Shetty, Prof. Borde, Miss Irani and so many others – my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to each and every one of you!

I’d also like to pay tribute to all of you by writing about three very special teachers, who I probably will never forget till the day I pass on.

First - Mrs. Agnihotri: My Marathi teacher in Rosary High School. Marathi is a subject most students – especially those studying in English convent schools – love to hate! But it was Mrs. Agnihotri who made me love this language.

She was in her 50s when she first taught us the language. Short, possibly just four feet nothing, with a back that was bent with age, she could reach only up to the bottom one-fourth of the black-board (which was later replaced by a green one). Maybe I am dreaming, but there were times when the chalk dust would fall on her glasses and she had to stop writing to clean them.

She insisted on speaking to us only in Marathi, and God help those who could not respond to her with proper grammar and pronunciation. Interestingly, I realized that it was the students having Marathi as their mother tongue who used to be at the receiving end most of the time.

Strange, but isn’t it true? The people who are worst at the grammar of any language are the people who profess it to be their mother tongue. I reckon that is because they tend to pick up the language as it is spoken ‘on the streets’ rather than in its pure form.

Anyway, I digress, as usual!

Mrs. Agnihotri introduced me to P. L. Deshpande, to spoken Marathi. She is the reason I get compliments for a good command over the language.

Thank You, Agnihotri bai!

Second – Mrs. Suzie Chacko: Possibly the best teacher a student can get! She taught us science in school. We used to fondly call her ‘Amma’ (mother). And a mother she was to us. It is nearly 3 decades since I saw her last (she had apparently left the school a few years after I passed out, to join her husband in Dubai, so I was told) but I still can see her vividly whenever I close my eyes and think about her. Dark, plump, speaking with the typical Malayalee accent, it was her eyes that first caught your attention. The eyes would smile when she was happy with us, and breathe fire when we were at fault.

I also know that a lot of students hated her. And they had a reason for that. They hated re-writing. You see, Amma had a unique style of teaching. In the 35 minute science class, she would spend the 6^th to the 30^th minute explaining the concepts of physics, chemistry and biology to us. And God help anyone trying to do anything except pay full attention to her. Asking questions, debating a point, arguing over a concept – all was allowed, even encouraged. But sharpening pencils, taking notes, doing something else invited a rap on the knuckles and kneeling at the door of the class.

The 31^st to the 35^th minute was for dictating notes very fast, which the students had to write down using their pencils.

That leaves us with the 1^st to 5^th minute. Ahh, now that was the fun!

The notes that she dictated in the previous class had to be re-written using the ink pen, with all the proper drawings etc. as homework. The handwriting and the drawings had to be perfect. These would be checked in the first five minutes of the next class. And any student who did not complete this homework had raps on the knuckles and had to attend the class kneeling at the door for the entire duration.

Not only did Amma instil a love of chemistry in me (which was later fanned by Profs. Dabholkar, Dalal, Shetty, Borde, Miss Irani et al in college) that lasts till today, she is also one of the people primarily responsible for my good handwriting.

Thank You, Amma!

I have lost touch with both Agnihotri bai and Suzie Miss. And I am not sure whether Agnihotri bai is still alive or not. But if either of you are reading this post somewhere, I would like to let you know that you are still in my heart and in my prayers.

Third – Mrs. Khan: She started off as a teacher in a municipal school and was a Headmistress when she retired. She has been an influence behind a lot of youth in areas like Nagpada, Madanpura and Dharavi growing to be decent, educated and well-respected people.

She was my first teacher. She taught me the alphabets – both English and Arabic. She taught me how to speak, how to behave. She instilled a sense of responsibility in me. She taught me to differentiate between right and wrong, to control my emotions. She taught me disciple and chivalry. She taught me Islam, and to respect others for their beliefs.

She is the reason for me being the man I am.

Whatever I am today, is because of her.

She is now in her 70s, and I still meet her everyday.

She is my mother!

Happy Teacher’s Day, Ammi. I love you!

Random thoughts - Anna Hazare and the Lokpal Bill

2011-08-29T07:21:00.005+05:30

Back to my blog after a gap of a fortnight.

Extremely interesting developments have taken place in the country in these two weeks, which I kept noting down as statements or pointers. Just putting them down here, as noted.

I was born two decades after Independence, and hence could not see Gandhiji. But seeing how people have rallied around Anna, I can imagine what must have happened in 1930 and 1942.

I have seen the angry young man taking on the system in Hindi films so many times; and over the past few days, seeing a hungry old man doing the same in real life. The hungry old man is so much more powerful!

Anna supporters now need to guard against letting emotions taking over rationale. We do not need a Chauri Chaura. (This was penned down somewhere around the sixth day of the fast).

The last time a Maratha had taken on the forces of Delhi was at the 3rd battle of Panipat (1761).

Loved the story my cousin sent about Vikram and Vetaal - A merchant had entrusted his wealth to an old man for safekeeping, and the old man’s son squandered all of it. When the merchant returned and took the old man and his son to the king, the king punished the son, but the merchant demanded that the old man also be punished. As usual, Vetaal asked Vikram for his comments. Vikram’s reply was, “Though the old man is innocent of the actual theft, he is guilty of dereliction of duty. The son’s crime was a straightforward one, the old man’s was a graver crime. He did nothing to protect the merchant’s wealth. Far from being vigilant, he failed to take action even when he was warned of his son’s misdeeds. Because of the old man’s laxity, the trusting merchant is now condemned to a life of penury. So, he should be punished!”. Apply that to our PM?

I guess being a good Finance Minister does not qualify you to be a good Prime Minister. Of course, I am not aware on the selection judgement criteria!

How support has been trivialised! Armchair support - like armchair friendship – is meaningless. Merely creating a facebook page or clicking on 'like' does not mean support. For that, you have to go out and take action.

Has everyone who 'supported' Anna pledged not to bribe anyone ever, no matter what the circumstances?

After winning this battle under Anna, let us not forget Irom Sharmila! After all, 11 years IS a long time!

Yeh Mera India

2011-08-15T16:32:00.000+05:30

India’s 65th Independence Day, and I was reminiscing about the various parts of India that I have seen.

Let me share my observations (nothing more – just observations) on traffic in two areas of this unique and varied country of ours.

Area 1: Chandigarh
The first thing that struck me about this city was the clean, wide roads and the lack of traffic on them. It took me a while to realize that there was actually a significant amount of traffic – be it cars, motorcycles, scootys, autorickshaws or even bicycles. Trucks were conspicuous by their absence.

The impression of lack of traffic was mainly because of the impeccable traffic sense of the people. No one crossed the white line at the signal, lane discipline was immaculate, overtaking was from the right side. In short, proper traffic discipline. Possibly the presence of CCTV cameras at virtually every signal contributed to this.

Also, apart from certain areas, it was rare to find dirt and muck on the streets.

That is one India.

Area 2: UP
I had the opportunity of travelling across the state; from Allahabad, to Lucknow, Kanpur, Rae Bareli and Aligarh. And the first thing that struck me – or nearly struck me – was the motorcyclist coming at full speed from a lane and trying to overtake from the wrong side of the road. A few seconds, and he could have been killed, or worse!

Across the state, the observation was the same. Daredevilry at its best, rash driving at its worst, no regards for road discipline or traffic sense. Signals are working, but being made a mockery of. And the traffic police was conspicuous by its absence.

Everyone seems to be completely ignorant of the traffic rules. Signals are rarely given at turnings, and even when given, are ignored by the guy behind. Turning right from the 3rd lane is as common as Vettel standing on the podium this year.

Speaking of Vettel, I do not think even he can open the door of his car, bend down and spit gutkha, at the same time driving straight at 50-60 kms/hour, as virtually every driver I saw could do with ease!

And that smell, that all-pervasive smell! Why would it not be? I was in Lucknow, near Charbagh, one morning. A BMW 5-Series was ahead of me. We had just taken the left turn on Kanpur Road, going towards Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University when the BMW stopped. No signals, mind you – except that its brake lights worked well. It just stopped. A gentleman emerged from the rear door, walked on the footpath, and proceeded to do his job right there while the driver was waiting for sahab to return.

For God’s sake, the public convenience was less than 100 metres away, in plain sight!

But this is not an isolated instance. Marking one’s territory this way - the way tigers do – is something common, I soon realized.

That is another India.

And we know where most of the drivers in Mumbai come from!

Jai Hind!

Ramadaan

2011-08-07T07:04:00.002+05:30

As salaam, As salaam, Ya Shahar-e-Ramadaan.

On Tuesday, the month of Ramadaan started. The 9th month of the Hijri or Islamic calendar, it is the holiest month of the year.

Everyone knows it as the month in which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Mumbaikars also know it as the month when everyone goes to Mohammed Ali Road for amazing delicacies all through the night.

Taking a little time off today, I thought I’d write about what fasting really signifies, and what this month means to me personally.

Ramadaan is not about just staying hungry and thirsty all day long. Rather, the fasting is a means to achieve ‘Taqwaa’, or piety. It is a way to build self-restraint in us, and to make ourselved more disciplined in our lives. Fasting is prescribed as a means of worship in virtually every religion across the world.

O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint (Qur’an 2:183; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

A person who is fasting is expected to also fulfill all other conditions of Islam, namely the five prayers, recitation of the Qur’an, giving ‘Zakah’(charity) etc. Also, what is very important is that the person uses this period for introspection, and checks his own behavior and actions. As a Muslim, he should avoid speaking or acting upon anything which is not allowed in Islam. Fasting of a person is irrelevant if his actions are not those of a good Muslim.

Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)" (Bukhari 3:31, Hadith 127)

Of all the acts of worship prescribed for a Muslim, fasting is the most loved prayer of all. Because all other prayers can be seen except fasting. Whether one is praying Salah (namaz), reciting the holy Qur’an or giving charity, all these acts are visible to others, and there could be an element of showing off (human nature!) But a person can always claim to be fasting, yet quietly eat or drink in private, and no one but he and Allah will know it. On the other hand, a person could fast all day long for the pleasure of Allah, and if he carries on his normal work throughout the day, again, no one but he and Allah will know.

Narrated Abu Huraira :
The Prophet (PBUH) said, “(Allah said), ‘Every good deed of Adam's son is for him except fasting; it is for Me. and I shall reward (the fasting person) for it.’” (Bukhari 7:72, Hadith 811)

One could go on about the virtues and merits of fasting and prayers in Ramadaan, where the reward of every good deed is multiplied at least 70 times. And the reward for fasting – only Allah knows!

As for me personally, this is the one month that I miss Jeddah the most. Both from a personal and a religious perspective!

The distance to Makkah made it so easy for us to perform Umrah in this holy month. And the revised office timings meant that I could reach home every day to break the fast with my family, and then go for the night prayers – certain things that tend to be a distant dream with the travel timings in Mumbai!

May Allah give us all the benefit of spending at least one Ramadaan at His House. Aameen!

Exchange of Words - Bloopers

2011-07-22T21:01:00.001+05:30

Today, a colleague, while showing me something on facebook, said that it is a "very allergic website". It took me a while, and some more statements from him, to realize that he meant that it is very addictive.

I am sure all of us have inadvertently committed such bloopers where we use one wrong word, changing the meaning of the sentence completely.

I remember in school, when we had just learnt the meaning of the word 'vocabulary'. After that, a classmate always asked the teacher, "What is the vocabulary of..." whenever she meant to say, "What is the meaning of..."

There are also times when we say innocuous statements that just don't sound right. Like the time when I had asked my HR team to source a female management trainee, and getting no response after a fortnight, reminded them thus, "Any progress on the search for a girl for me?"

There are also instances where people who are not conversant with English try to translate their thoughts verbatim, leading to amazing howlers. My father likes telling us about his Hindi teacher who used to tell his students not to make noise "in front of my back" and asked three students to leave the class thus, "Both of you three get out".

The most hilarious one was used regularly by an ex-colleague who nearly always started speaking with the sentence, "My telling is that..." (remember that the next time you say, "Mera kehna hai ki...")

There is one 'exchange of word' blooper of mine which still brings a wry smile to my face. I was in school, in Std. 9, learning bigger words, proper grammar (Thanks - Messrs Wren & Martin) along with the other interesting things that people at that age learn. Our (beautiful) Social Sciences teacher asked the class why do we have to clean foodgrain after we buy it (remember - those were the days of the PDS). Being the bright kid that I was, I immediately raised my hand and replied, "Because the ration shop owners commit adultery".

The stunned silence of the teacher as well as the entire class left me non-plussed.

After a while (either after she figured out what I meant or after recovering her poise - I don't know which), the teacher said, "Very Good Mubin. Class, as he said, the ration shop owners adulterate the foodgrains with heavy and non-edible substances, which we have to remove by cleaning before cooking."

It was only after what seemed like a full minute of giggles from the girls and laughter from the lads following this explanation that the actual meaning of what I had said dawned on me!

So, any bloopers you can think of?

I am going to steal something today

2011-07-09T13:14:00.001+05:30

I have decided. I am going to steal something today.

Something small, of not much value, so that nobody suspects me, and no one notices.

Shall I steal the magazine lying in the seat pocket in front of me? Maybe the safety instruction sheet – that’s something no one would think about!

Maybe I shall pinch five rupees from the cabbie on the way home.

But I shall definitely steal something today.

And then something again tomorrow, and then the day after.

I have resolved that I shall start stealing something every day from now onwards.

If someone starts noticing and creating a scene, I shall share a part of my spoils with that person, or find another person to share my spoils with, who will silence the first one and protect me.

Starting with small things, I shall – over the next few years – grow towards stealing bigger and bigger things, till after about 10 years; when I can commit large daylight robberies without any fear.

Because by then, I would have enough people supporting me in what I am doing. Either they would legalise my robberies, or someone would file a PIL, which would render me immune from prosecution for the rest of my life.

Because isn’t that what happens in Mumbai?

At least, I have grown up seeing this.

People steal a little bit of the footpath at night; and nobody notices. Then they steal a little more during the day; and even the people who notice, do not pay attention. Then they steal a little bit of water from the underground pipes, a little bit of electricity from the overhead wires, and start paying people to protect and support them.

After some years, when they have brazenly stolen enough, rich bored ex-actresses come and support them, and ensure that their daylight robbery is condoned. Then our brilliant politicians join the gang, and start mooting legislations to legalise their robbery.

And by the time all this is over, the people who started this have lived their entire life immune from any prosecution. Not only that, many of them have even been rewarded handsomely for stealing in the above manner.

For those who want to see how it is done, go and see under the new Byculla to Lalbaug flyover, where you will see the beginnings of this process, and then see the SRA projects, which are the culmination and rewards.

So therefore, I am going to steal something today.

Random Musings

2011-06-14T21:43:00.000+05:30

Just some thoughts that I've been reflecting on...

In the olden days, saints were known for having virtually no material possessions. Nowadays, 'godmen' have possibly more wealth than anyone else.

In the olden days, people of a certain profession had red lights above their houses. Nowadays, people of a certain profession have red lights above their cars.

What takes lesser time when a man is in a hurry to escape a police raid at 1:30 a.m.? To wrap a lungi and put on a cloth on his shoulder; or to wear a woman's Salwar Kameez?

What was a man doing in a woman's Salwar Kameez at 1:30 in the morning?

A month ago, we complained about the heat and the sweat. Now, we're complaining about the rains and getting wet. Why do we always crib?

Physiotherapy - when a beautiful girl holds your hand - and it hurts!

Will Chetan Bhagat's next book have the number 4 in its title?

Finally, will the bank that promises that they not only give home loans but also 'help you find a home', refund the processing charges they took from me by saying that my loan has been approved, and then not giving it?

People like him make me believe (Dreams!)

2011-06-01T09:32:00.003+05:30

Was watching snatches of a singing reality show on TV last night, and saw an amazing display of raw talent.

The participant was a 31 year old auto rickshaw driver who had migrated to Delhi from Kanpur in search of livelihood.

He had absolutely no training in music. Everything he learnt was by listening to songs. But he decided to come for the auditions - accompanied by his wife and little daughter - to 'fulfil his dream'.

For his audition, he selected one of the more difficult songs of Kishore Kumar. And he sang with such unbridled passion and such amazing command that there did not seem to be a single person who was unmoved.

One of the judges - a fantastic trained singer and one of India's most versatile singers himself - had this to say about the performance, "If I was a 31 year old who drove a rickshaw daily to earn a living, who had absolutely no training in music and was singing on stage for the first time in my life in front of eminent judges, I would not have been able to sing even half as well as you have done!"

But the real reason that compels me to write about this person is not his singing. Rather, it is his dream that moved me to tears!

On a stage where people stand up and proclaim their ambition of being the next Lata, Asha, Rafi, Kishore...the biggest thing in the Indian Music Industry; this man shared his simple dream.

Due to poverty, his wife could not complete her studies and achieve her aim of being a teacher. And all he dreamt about - and was working towards - was to enable her achieve her goal!

Even his participation in this reality show was a step only to achieving that dream!

What does one say to that???

Here was this person who comes from a state infamous for its male chauvinism, which ranks towards the bottom on virtually every development parameter, which has gained notoreity for its crimes against women, for female infanticide, female foeticide, which has one of the worst gender ratios in the country, and all he is dreaming of - and working towards, even to the extent of migrating out of that state to another city - is to help achieve his wife's aim of studying and being a teacher!

Hats off to you, young man!

It is people like you who make me believe, despite all our problems, in the potential of our country.

It is people like you because of whom I can proudly say, "I am an Indian!"

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans

2011-05-29T15:57:00.000+05:30

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans"

How apt these lyrics are. Seems like John Lennon was addressing me when he sang them.

Here I was, making plans to repair our house, working on the plans to achieve the next year's targets for myself and my team at office, dreaming and planning for the holiday with the family...

And then there was the accident.

All the plans went out of the window. Everything had to be re-organised, re-scheduled, re-oriented, re-prioritised.

Does it sound like deja vu?

It sure does to me.

I had moved to Jeddah with plans of working there for about 12-15 years, and retiring by 50. And less than 4 years later, I was back. Mom was ill and her need for us took priority over work and retirement plans.

Lest I sound like life always deals a cruel blow, let's make it clear - NO.

My plans of working in media planning changed when I got a good option in a media house, changing my career choice completely. The job offer from Jeddah came out of the blue, helping me clear off all my EMIs and get some savings to boot.

Doesn't it happen to all of us?

Just introspect. Have we become exactly what we had planned when we were in college? Are we doing exactly what we had planned just 5 years ago? Heck, what has happened to our New Year resolutions and plans just 5 months later?

It applies to organisations too. I remember reading an article by a leading businessman, in which he had said that it had never happened that his company worked exactly according to the plans made at the beginning of the year.

'The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft agley' (Robert Burns)

But does that mean that we should not plan? After all, life could deal a different hand the next instant.

Quite the contrary.

Life will always take some sudden twists and turns; we may not achieve everything that we start off planning to achieve, but it is these plans that we make - and the work that we do to achieve them - that will take us from our present state to the next, possibly better, state in life. It is what we plan that make us the person that we are.

Look at all the successful people around us. In their introspective moments, they will all confess that everything never went according to plan, but it is their plans, their dreams and their hard work that has made them so successful.

One could write so much more, and it would all revolve around the same. But instead of boring you will all of that, let me ask you to share your thoughts in your comments.

As for me, I can tell you one thing. Most of my plans may have come to naught, but working towards them has helped me achieve a huge amount of satisfaction as an individual, if nothing else.

Time to Slow Down?

2011-05-08T22:55:00.000+05:30

I have been noticing during my daily visits to the physiotherapist that a number of people who come in for treatment are quite young. And they are not coming for accident-related physiotherapy, but seeking treatment for stress-related ailments!

I mentioned this to my physiotherapists, Dr. Hardik Patel and Dr. Swati, they shared certain information with me, which makes me really concerned! The numbers below may not be specific to all hospitals / physiotherapy centres across Mumbai, but I believe they surely could be a pointer to a larger syndrome.

More than 70% of the patients who come in for physiotherapy are not accident-related at all. And 5 out of these 7 patients are below the age of 50, with a large majority being in their late 20s and early 30s.

In fact, the youngest patient I saw was a girl of about 23, and I am told that she is not an exception!

All of these young people are coming in seeking help for ailments related to stress.

Apart from the usual suspects – IT and Software Industry; quite a significant number of patients are from Finance, especially Insurance Sales, and other salespeople across industries.

Most IT and Software Industry Professionals face issues with relation to the physical stress; the usual suspects - repetitive stress injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, slip disc, vertigo (BPPV) etc. Salespeople are also seen suffering from Overuse Syndrome, where the shoulder and neck muscles are affected due to their habit of carrying their laptop around throughout the day.

But to my mind, the big worry is in the increasing number of cases that are related to mental stress.

Mental Stress for 20 and 30 year olds?

Yes! And it is getting manifested in stiffness of muscles; pain in the neck, shoulder, head and back etc.

And there is increasing agreement among doctors on the fact that these issues are all related to the mental stress and anxiety brought about by targets and deadlines!

We have all heard phrases like, “The reward for good work is more work”, “It’s a rat race out there” etc.

The intense competitive environment, as well as the unreasonable pressure put on today’s youth by themselves and their organisations to prove their relevance virtually daily, is resulting in their youth being spent between the office and the doctor’s clinic. One is also seeing an increasing trend among youth to take shortcuts (jugaad, as a research aptly termed it). This is a pointer to the effect the environment is having on their minds too. And the long-term effects will really only be known about 20 years from now.

The Pharaohs of Egypt were known to drive their slaves to death.

Are we becoming the Pharaohs of today?

Is it time we stopped and pondered about the ill-effects of high – maybe unreasonable – targets and deadlines on today’s youth?

Is it time to slow down? Before the problem becomes unmanageable?

Taxi Drivers (again!)

2011-04-24T08:44:00.000+05:30

A lovely Sunday morning, a steaming cup of tea after a nice long bath, and my wrist now allowing me to type enough to put down my thoughts - even if slowly and with breaks. What a feeling!

My first post after my accident, and suddenly the rush of thoughts I had on the many things I wanted to write about seems to have rushed away. :-)

Gathering these scattered thoughts of the past couple of months is an exhilarating exercise in itself. So many thoughts, such feelings, experiences, people met etc. that one wants to write about.

I resumed office on April 5. And due to the fact that I still have the problem in the knee and muscles, I have been using taxis and autos to travel to office and back. And what an interesting mix of taxi drivers I have met!

Nearly every taxi driver who has taken me to office and back had to ask me the same set of questions, “Accident? Kaise Hua (How did it happen?)”. And then the standard “Chalo kam mein tal gaya. Aur ho sakta tha (Good it was only this much. It could have been worse)”.

It is interesting how we tend to look at the positive of life. I mean, here I have a broken wrist, broken toe, missing toenails and a crushed kneecap. And it could have been worse! Someone is in hospital with a serious ailment where he would take months to recover. And it could have been worse!

But then, it is this positive outlook that takes us through the ups and downs of life!

Anyway, as usual, I digress.

After the standard questions – which I have now learnt to answer in about 9.37 seconds – the drivers launch into sharing their own experiences for the rest of the journey. And that has my hair standing on end.

Virtually every driver has a horrific accident story – if not his, then of some other driver closely known to him. And these stories are around broken ankles, shin bones, femur etc. It is as if nearly half of Mumbai’s taxi drivers are driving around with some injury or the other. One driver even took advantage of a traffic signal to show me the scars on his stomach and right leg, and believe me, it was as if he had come out of a war zone!

It frightens me to be sitting there in the front seat of a half battered car with a driver who should be eligible for a disability pension, and yet, driving away with the zest of a Sebastian Vettel!

And for all those Mumbaikars who have the experience of flagging down an auto or a cab, only to find the driver refusing your fare, I must share that I am not in that league any longer. Just the sight of my crutch and splint are enough for them to open the door without even asking the destination. I’ve had only a couple of drivers refusing, for genuine reasons, and they were so apologetic, I had to pinch myself. One driver ferried me from Wadala to Lower Parel, and only when we reached my office did he mention that he had to go to Sion – exactly in the opposite direction!

A few drivers have even got out, helped me out of the cab, and carried my crutch and bag for me right upto the office lift.

Made me change my opinion about whether these drivers had feelings!

But there is one thing on which my opinion has not changed. Irrespective of the nature of the passenger, and the lovely stories he has shared with him, some drivers have to cheat on the fare.

What else explains the 25% variation in the fares that I pay for the same distance?

India’s Madame Tussauds

2011-02-06T14:16:00.000+05:30

Hi blog.

I know I’ve been away from you for a really long time – more than 6 weeks!

It’s been a hectic time. First, the two weddings. Then the travelling and looooong days. I just wanted to sleep whatever little time I got.

And the few times that I really sat to write, my fingers just started writing about two incidents of January that I really do not wish to write about here – the demise of a young person I had met just a week before her accident, and an incident that I witnessed while on a tour in Rajasthan.

It took me a while to bury them somewhere deep in my system.

Anyway, we keep going to Pune and Lonavla very often, and pass by the Celebrity Wax Museum at Varsoli.

A fortnight ago, on a whim, my wife and I decided to step in – and were bowled over by what we saw. Real, life-like wax sculptures of various celebrities - Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Satya Sai Baba, Babasaheb Ambedkar and so many others.

The scultpture of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi is so life-like that for a moment, I felt she would get up and hug me in that famous embrace of hers. And A.R. Rahman with his Oscars...

My wife had a ball getting herself photographed with Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussain and Micheal Jackson!

It is a very small museum – one can go through in less than 15 minutes. At Rs.75 per entry, possibly one might call it a bit expensive. And some of the sculptures are possibly not 100% accurate (e.g. of Shivaji Maharaj; though on the whole they are definitely very good). But when you bear in mind that all this is the work of just one young man – Sunil - and he did not have access to any of these celebrities – with the microscopically precise 3D measurements that people give to Madame Tussauds, I could not help but doff my hat to his skills.

Am going to try and post some pictures on my facebook page, as well as here. And I would urge you to go to the museum once, if only to encourage such artists. It is not very far from Lonavla – if you are going from Mumbai, just cross Lonavla on the Expressway and get down at the other (Pune) end on NH4 (the old highway). Puneris can get down onto the old highway just before Lonavla, at Balaji Restaurant.

The wax museum is just about 300 meters on the right side, before the NH4 toll gate.

(And no, Sunil has not paid me to write this. Nor does he know that I am writing it :-))

My wife at Saddam Hussain's trialDr. Babasaheb AmbedkarThe sculptor with his daughter

I’ve joined the League

2010-12-19T19:48:00.000+05:30

After nearly 15 years of having a mobile phone, finally I have joined the League of people whose mobile phone has been stolen!

It happened in Kolkata last Monday, and I admire the person’s guts. He stole it from right under my nose – the phone was kept by my side, along with my tie and glasses. And within less than a minute, the phone was switched off.

I immediately went to the nearest Vodafone Store and got a replacement SIM card. The executive assured me that it would be activated within 4 hours. We then went to the Nokia Store to block the phone using the IMEI number.

And here’s a lesson, folks. The IMEI number blocking is a sham!

The store owner himself said that it would be worthless blocking the phone, because the thief would walk up to the grey market and erase the IMEI number, making the phone usable all over again!

I said a prayer, got a temporary old handset, and life continued.

At night, I checked the phone. The SIM was not activated yet.

In the morning, I checked it again. Nope, no activation yet. I was with a colleague, so that made matters easy. At about 10, another colleague called up, saying that he tried calling me up, and the thief had picked up the call. He was using my number.

And that led us on a wild goose chase for about 45 minutes. We called the thief, who said that he would return the phone, but kept giving wayward directions, before I finally gave up and decided to go to the police. My worry was not so much about the phone, but about the possible numbers the thief may have called. Nowadays, you never can be sure...

We stopped over again at the Vodafone Store, where the same executive was about as helpful as a clerk in a Government Office. He had sent the e-mail to Mumbai, and that was the best he could do, etc.

So unlike Vodafone Mumbai!

After finishing my client meetings, at around lunch time, I called up Pallavi, our Vodafone Relationship Manager in Mumbai. In less than one hour, the old SIM was inactivated and my new SIM was on. Thanks, Pallavi!

We then went to Shakespeare Sarani Police Station, who said that while the place where the theft took place, though closer to their station, was in another jurisdiction. Upon hearing that I was a visitor to their city, they went out of their way to be helpful, coming along with me to the crime scene, and then escorting me to the Beniapukur Police Station, under whose jurisdiction the theft took place, in their vehicle. The Sub-Inspector at this Police Station was even more helpful, as well as extremely apologetic about a visitor having to face this problem in his city. He helped us in writing the proper report, and got it logged in very quickly.

Thank you, Mr. Vaibhav Shroff of Shakespeare Sarani Police Station and Mr. Nazrul Islam of Beniapukur Police Station!

Anyway, now I am still using the temporary old handset. Still undecided on which handset to buy!

Ahmedabad

2010-12-12T15:15:00.000+05:30

What a change this city has seen!

In the 90s, when I stayed here for a while, and then kept visiting regularly, this city was no more than an overgrown village. The airport resembled a railway station, with crowds, congestion, and absolutely no facilities to talk about. Traffic sense was non-existent, possibly because roads were pathetic.

The changes over the past decade are just amazing, to say the least! Wide roads, organized traffic, eating places, malls…the works! And the airport can now be bracketed with possibly some of the best in the world!

However, beneath all this glitz and glitter, I also notice a strong underlying current of disquiet. People are generally wary of trusting each other. One particular community in the city has been clearly pushed into ghettos, as it were!

Makes me wonder. What would I choose?

A city where people trust each other and feel safe, but which lacks infrastructure, basic needs, quality of life. Or one which boasts of great infrastructure, a high quality of life, but where a person would not trust his neighbour, and always be worried for his and his family’s life!

A Morton’s Fork, isn’t it?

“Allah loveth not those given to excess”

2010-11-22T19:48:00.000+05:30

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As:
Allah's Apostle said, "O 'Abdullah! Have I not been formed that you fast all the day and stand in prayer all night?" I said, "Yes, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "Do not do that! Observe the fast sometimes and also leave them (the fast) at other times; stand up for the prayer at night and also sleep at night. Your body has a right over you, your eyes have a right over you and your wife has a right over you." (Bukhari 7:62, Hadith 127)

Someone very dear to me was hospitalised last week. He had fainted at his office. His BP had fallen to critically low levels. After a battery of tests (including MP and CBC! I wonder why MP and CBC when it was low BP? Maybe the doctors and insurance companies know better!)...

Anyway, as usual, I digress...

After a battery of tests, they have diagnosed a problem in his inner ear, and it would need to be operated upon. This problem was also diagnosed a few years ago, but was taken lightly by the person.

This person is also actively involved in a few social causes which take up a lot of his time – sometime at the expense of his family, in my reckoning.

And despite our repeated entreaties, pleadings and even admonishing from his mother, he is adamant on following his lifestyle, which we all know his detrimental to his health.

Consider the weeks leading up to his hospitalisation. The social organisation for which he gives of his time had organised a seminar / workshop on Oct 29-31. He was running around for it for a couple of weeks during the day, and was at office at night. Sleep – about 2 hours daily. Some other jobs came up the next week, and he volunteered for them. No sleep again. The weekend before Eid, some people had come from out of town. Who will take care? Who else? And when he had some time off, you could find him online.

Not only that, he also fasted for the 8 days leading up to Eid, and wanted to also fast on Tuesday while in hospital. It was only because of a trick played on him by my wife, the hospital staff and I that he could not do so.

All of this, I daresay, with complete disregard to his wife’s feelings and concern, and his own health.

On Eid, the doctor agreed to our requests to release him for two hours so that he could attend the Eid prayers. We drilled it into his head that he has to go with us to the masjid, sit in one place, pray and accompany us back.

Do you think he did that? Oh, quite the contrary! Knowing that we could not scream at him and stop him in front of everyone at the masjid, he went ahead and did his own thing, till I finally had to lose my cool.

I know you are reading this, my dear brother, and wanted to highlight the above Hadith to you. You are disregarding the above words of Rasool Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) completely! And I hope you change. Do what you are doing, but stay within limits. Do not go to the extremes that you are going now.

After all, at various points, the Qur’an highlights that Allah does not like those who transgress limits. And you know that much better than I do!

What next?

2010-11-18T22:19:00.000+05:30

Just read in today’s daily that the Mumbai Police have booked a woman who blew the lid off her husband’s misdeeds. The reason given – she did not go the police earlier, therefore, she must be abetting him.

Wondering what will they do next? Will they book a citizen who reports a crime in his neighbourhood for not calling them while the crime was being conducted? They could make him an accomplice in the crime because he let the criminals get away before calling them.

And it happened on the same day that they removed Borude from his job!

To use a tennis terminology – Mumbai Police has scored a winner and hit an unforced error!

Speedy

2010-10-31T12:25:00.000+05:30

She came home one rainy afternoon in the monsoon of 2007 – dripping wet, extremely famished and very pregnant.

There she was in our backyard, with a piteous face, either too weak or too proud to make a sound and ask for something. My wife, having a soft corner for her species of the feline family, prepared a fresh chapatti, ground it in milk and offered it to her. She gulped it down quickly, looked up as if to say thanks, and ran off.

Three hours later, she was back again!

The routine went on for two days; and the third morning, as I was leaving for office, I realized I could not take the car out of the garage. Because there she was, with four cute little babies, who most probably were born early that morning itself.

My son – who loves fast cars – decided he would call her Speedy. My daughter – who loves to agree with her brother on most things (which irritates him no end!) – concurred. My wife – who anyway loves cats – decided to feed her till the babies grew a bit. My dad – who loves his daughter-in-law – decided to protect the babies from the neighbourhood stray dogs. My mom – who, incidentally does not like cats – decided to take pity just this once.

And that’s how Speedy came into our lives.

It has been three years now, and the house has seen an assortment of cats, due to Speedy’s propensity to have a litter every four months, with an amazing variety of experiences for all of us.

While they are generally very well-behaved, the babies have spoilt my mother’s carefully tended plants from time to time. Speedy has once walked into the kitchen and spilt all the milk. The feline family has torn away my expensive car cover. And the tyres of my car, my brother's mobike and the children's bicycles are their favourite nail sharpeners.

Every day, Speedy has to sit on the kitchen window sill and look through the glass at my wife or my parents, till she sees them preparing her milk and chapatis, or getting the pieces of chicken. At the point they do so, she jumps down from the first to the ground floor in the agile way that only cats can do, walks through regally through the back door, out the front, to have her food.

My father gets mutton from the neighbourhood butcher every alternate morning, and it is a sight to see the cats following him with their tails up in the air till he reaches their designated eating spot, and waiting for him to empty the contents of the bag before slowly starting to eat their fill.

It has also led to regular daily visits by the neighbourhood cats and stray dogs, with mixed feelings.

I have had to answer my children’s questions and have also been a witness to my son’s hilarious explanation to his sister, cousins and other neighbourhood kids on ‘how are her babies born’. After crying bitterly for days when some babies died initially, my daughter has now accepted death as an inevitable part of life (which sometimes frightens me!)

And now, three years later, we can safely say that Speedy and her children can now count me, my wife, parents, brother, our neighbours and the assortment of our children, and those of the neighbourhood – as their pets.

The Verdict is Out!

2010-10-02T06:48:00.000+05:30

Sikandar ne Porus se kee thi ladaai
Woh kee this ladaai, toh main kya karoon

While travelling back to office yesterday afternoon after a spate of cancelled meetings, I decided to take the train from CST to Parel. It was around 3:00 in the afternoon, and the train was crowded with prime rush hour traffic as nearly all offices had declared a half day due to the expected verdict. The crowded train was the best place to observe the expressions and reactions of various people and try to analyse their feelings.

The train was packed with travellers of all religious denominations, castes and creeds; and the expressions on the faces of each person reminded me of the above song.

There was nary a person who seemed remotely interested in the verdict from a religious perspective. Everyone seemed completely detached from its socio-political implications.

On the contrary, there was a sense of wariness, a worry on their faces – worry whether their daughter has reached home from college, worry whether their son is sitting at home or is roaming outside, worry about whether they have enough rations stocked up for a couple of days, worry about the goons who masquerade as social workers or political party workers in their area, worry about the disconcerting sms they had received from their neighbour in Thane or wherever.

Seeing those reactions made me realize once again that while certain interested parties might create a ruckus about this issue again, and the media might play on for their TRPs, the ordinary man on the street, irrespective of his religious or social standing, is so frightened! Frightened for his family, his security, his next square meal.

Their expressions could actually be summed up very aptly by the opening lines of another very famous song…

Saari umr hum mar mar ke jee liye
Ek pal toh ab humein jeene do, jeene do

But seriously, Anthony Quadros!

2010-09-12T22:34:00.000+05:30

About a fortnight ago, a city tabloid carried an interesting interview with the general secretary of Mumbai Taximen’s Union, Anthony Quadros. In that interview, he raised a few very interesting demands, which left me in splits for a long time.

He demanded...I wonder why every union leader only demands? Can’t they request, suggest, discuss? Demand – huh!

Anyway, I digress. And let me write this in first person to Anthony.

Anthony, you demanded rest places, taxi stands, transit points, urinals, a place to have their meals and an ‘engaged’ taxi board, which can be used by the driver at the time of rest.

All very valid demands, except that they all already exist!

Let’s talk about urinals first. In case your taxi drivers have not noticed, Anthony, there’s one large urinal just opposite CST. Take the JJ flyover from there, and there’s one at Byculla market – about 10 minutes drive from CST. The next one is at Parel, near the Railway Colony. Move ahead, and you’ll find one at Dadar TT, under the bridge. Four urinals that I can show you in a stretch of about 10 kilometers – there may be more. And in case your driver has to take a right at Wadala towards Bhakti Park, there’s one large urinal right next to the Customs Ground on Anik-Wadala Road. But this one, I’m absolutely certain, is invisible to your taxi drivers. After all, hundreds of taxis are parked all around this urinal, water is used from there to wash the taxis, but one always finds the drivers standing on the side of the road doing their thing all around the urinal but not going inside.

What next? Rest places, taxi stands, transit points. Can you explain to me the differences between the three? Because the 4 taxi stands that exist between Koparkhairane Sector 6 and Vashi Sector 17 – a distance of 5 kms (lesser, if you actually measure it, Anthony) have rest places, are also transit points and have rest place – and also have enough places around for taxi drivers to have their meals.

Anything else? Ah, the engaged taxi board. But then, doesn't the existing ‘half-down’ meter signify that the taxi is engaged?

You also mentioned that your taxi drivers refuse to ply certain passengers because they need to take some rest. I am unable to fathom how a taxi driver who refuses to take me from Phoenix Mills to Doordarshan because he wants ‘to take some rest’ is immediately refreshed when the person next to me asks him to go up to Bandra or Andheri! Please let us know the secret of this immediate energy - it will be very useful for a lot of people like me.

But seriously, Anthony Quadros!

Vipassana and Eit'kaaf

2010-08-22T15:51:00.000+05:30

Hi everyone. I’m back after a long time, seriously long.

Been a hectic couple of months, with the Maharashtra State Summit (which went off very successfully), then the travels to North and East on work, then Taizeen’s illness.

A Very Happy Ramadaan to everyone. Ramadaan Kareem.

A while ago, someone was talking to us about Vipassana, and how it has helped him. And he was recommending it to all of us. He was strongly recommending doing the 10 day course at Igatpuri.
Just a quick recap of what Vipassana is, and certain requirements (Source: http://www.dhamma.org/en/vipassana.shtml)

“Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation....

...There are three steps to the training. The first step is, for the period of the course, to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual activity, speaking falsely, and intoxicants. This simple code of moral conduct serves to calm the mind, which otherwise would be too agitated to perform the task of self-observation...

...Separation of Men and Women
Complete segregation of men and women is to be maintained. Couples, married or otherwise, should not contact each other in any way during the course. The same applies to friends, members of the same family, etc...

...The entire practice is actually a mental training. Just as we use physical exercises to improve our bodily health, Vipassana can be used to develop a healthy mind.”

I was intrigued by the similarities between this course, which runs for 10 days, and Eit’kaaf (I’tikaaf).

Eit’kaaf literally means applying oneself sincerely, diligently and persistently to something. In Islam, it means staying in the mosque for the specific purpose of worshipping Allah. It is a a Sunnat (manners, behaviour, method and fundamentals. Used in Islam as meaning the actions, manners, behaviour, method and fundamentals of the Prophet, PBUH).

It was observed every year by the Prophet every year in Ramadaan, and Muslims are encouraged to follow this Sunnat and seclude themselves in a mosque away from all worldly desires, family, friends, relatives etc. during the last 10 days of Ramadan, with the sole purpose of praying to Allah and seeking his blessings.

Here are some rules of Eit’kaaf.

For a man, Eit’kaaf should be done in a masjid, secluded away from the world. A woman can designate a place in her house and observe Eit’kaaf there
One should refrain from idle talk during Itikaaf
However, to remain completely silent during Eit’kaaf is not permissible. If one remains silent after zikr and recitation, this is fine. Remaining silent is not a form of worship
To indulge in unnecessary worldly activities during Eit’kaaf is close to forbidden
Fasting is a prerequisite of Eit’kaaf
(Source: http://www.inter-islam.org/Lifestyle/Itikaaf.html)

If performed right, Eit’kaaf will help a worshipper build immunity (if I may use this word) against unnecessary worldly pleasures and desires, get closer to Allah, and build soundness of his own heart. After all, as the Prophet (PBUH) has said,

“Beware, in the body there is a piece of flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound and if it is corrupt the whole body is corrupt, and hearken it is the heart.” (Muslim: Book 10, Hadith 3882)

It's that time of the year again!

2010-06-16T06:48:00.000+05:30

It’s that time of the year again…
Of walking by the sea face, willing the wind to blow in my face
Of getting drenched in the huge waves, caring two hoots for hygiene when the salty sea water goes down my throat

It’s that time of the year again…
Of avoiding the showers on the way to office, and wishing they allowed us to wear capris or bermudas and sandals to work
Of getting caught between the desire to get wet, and the need to keep the mobile phone and diary dry – the latter winning over, leaving a pain in the heart

It’s that time of the year again…
Of going to sleep listening to the bullfrogs calling out to their mates
Of waking up to the patter of rains on the plastic chhajja outside the house

It’s that time of the year again…
Of bhuttas and hot bhajiyas with tea
Of jamuns that make my mouth go purple

It’s that time of the year again…
Of getting caught in the traffic jam, and cursing the municipal corporation
Of playing again like the child I was, when I get caught in water logging on the weekend

It’s that time of the year again…
Of getting caught between the desire to splash water on people while driving by
And thinking, “Would I have liked it if someone else had done that to me”

It’s that time of the year again!

World Environment Day

2010-06-06T19:27:00.000+05:30

Coming back from office yesterday, I saw a ‘Save Environment’ rally taken out by a leading political party. Leading the rally was a premium open top car – one of those guzzlers – followed by another premium car, the Rs.70 lakh plus range ones – another guzzler.

This was followed by a few more gas spewing 4-wheelers, then about 20 token bi-cyclists, with an ambulance and a large police van bringing up the rear.

They were moving on at a fair pace, not stopping to talk to people or informing them about the Environment Day, as one would presume. But to be fair, all the cars and the bicyclists had some greenery tied to some part of them - a few branches probably broken from a tree at the last minute. After all, people are smart enough to understand what that means, right?

I don’t know why, but seeing all those guzzlers and the tokenism reminded me of a certain political personality. Someone who had created an oxymoron about something being necessary for something opposite. Something to do with peace, if I remember right!

Anyway, Happy Environment Day, folks!

Freedom and Responsibility

2010-05-30T20:01:00.000+05:30

This post is an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg and his team at Facebook. However, the contents are equally applicable to a lot of people across all walks of life.

Dear Mark,

Hi! I’m a regular user of Facebook (though I do not log on daily) and I have re-connected with a lot of old friends, thanks to you and your team.

Lately, I’ve been seeing with a lot of consternation the misuse of facebook by a group of people, and hence I am writing this letter to you. I do not know how to send it to you (cannot send you a message on your facebook page), hence I am going to post it on my blog in the hope that it reaches you.

This month saw an “Everybody draw Muhammad Day” on facebook. Needless to say, as a Muslim, it hurt me like hell! And I can assure you; it hurt every practicing Muslim who saw, read or heard about it.

A lot of people also wrote to each other about banning facebook. It would have been the easiest thing to do for me.

But, I believe, these sorts of reactions are possibly the reason why we have so much angst in the world today.

God has made us humans unique, in the sense of giving us the freedom to choose, to think and make our own decisions.

But at the same time, this freedom comes with a responsibility – the responsibility of doing the right thing.

And anything that has the potential of hurting 20% of the people of the world – I’m sure you’ll agree – cannot be right!

Mark, everything has a potential of amazing use for good, as well as for wrong ends. Likewise, on facebook. Your invention has done an amazing lot of good in helping people re-connect; do not let it be misused by a small group of people for their petty ends.

I read with delight your donation to Diaspora. It shows your strong belief in freedom as well as the responsibility to guard that freedom. And that is what makes me believe that you will do something about not letting facebook be a medium for people who do not respect the religion or wishes of others who have a different approach to our Creator from theirs.

Yours sincerely,

Mubin

The Concept of Hijaab

2010-05-23T13:44:00.000+05:30

Newspapers over the past few weeks have been flooded with articles related to the ban on Hijaab in some country or the other. Issues raised have related to women’s emancipation, their independence, equality, their status in society, and lately, about Hijaab being a threat to security!

For this post, I intend to look at the concept of Hijaab or Purdah, from five angles. And then leave it to you, dear reader, to arrive at your own conclusions.
A. Definition of Hijaab in Islam
B. Extent of observing Hijaab in the manner of dressing
C. Removal of purdah and the effect on society (no moral preaching, just a few thoughts)
D. Hijaab in other religions
E. Hijaab for men

So here I go.

A. Definition of Hijaab in Islam
The Arabic word ‘Hijab’ literally means curtain or cover. Most Islamic legal systems define this type of modest dressing as covering everything except the face and hands in public. According to Islamic scholarship, Hijab is given the wider meaning of modesty, privacy, and morality. (Wikipedia)

In other words, it means to either hide oneself or be modest in the manner of dressing in front of strangers of the opposite gender. At the same time – and this is often forgotten - it also means avoiding looking at strangers of the opposite gender. (Strangers here would mean any person who one can technically marry).

When I am watching a movie and gaze upon the actress on screen, both she and I are guilty of not observing Hijaab.

B. Extent of observing Hijaab in the manner of dressing
Dr. Zakir Naik, in his book, “Answers to non-Muslims’ Common Questions about Islam” has succinctly mentioned the types of clothes to be worn, and I quote-

According to Qur’an and Sunnah there are basically six criteria for observing hijab:
1. Extent:
The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered. This is different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is to cover the body at least from the navel to the knees. For women, the extent of covering obligatory is to cover the complete body except the face and the hands upto the wrist. If they wish to, they can cover even these parts of the body. Some scholars of Islam insist that the face and the hands are part of the obligatory extent of ‘hijab’.
All the remaining five criteria are the same for men and women.
2. The clothes worn should be loose and should not reveal the figure.
3. The clothes worn should not be transparent such that one can see through them.
4. The clothes worn should not be so glamorous as to attract the opposite sex.
5. The clothes worn should not resemble that of the opposite sex.
6. The clothes worn should not resemble that of the unbelievers i.e. they should not wear clothes that are specifically identities or symbols of the unbelievers’ religions.
(Unquote)

The following verse of the Qur’an sums up the requirement of Hijab from believing women.

Waqul lilmu/minati yaghdudna min absarihinna wayahfathna furoojahunna wala yubdeena zeenatahunna illa ma thahara minha walyadribna bikhumurihinna AAala juyoobihinna wala yubdeena zeenatahunna illa libuAAoolatihinna aw aba-ihinna aw aba-i buAAoolatihinna aw abna-ihinna aw abna-i buAAoolatihinna aw ikhwanihinna aw banee ikhwanihinna aw banee akhawatihinna aw nisa-ihinna aw ma malakat aymanuhunna awi alttabiAAeena ghayri olee al-irbati mina alrrijali awi alttifli allatheena lam yathharoo AAala AAawrati alnnisa-i wala yadribna bi-arjulihinna liyuAAlama ma yukhfeena min zeenatihinna watooboo ila Allahi jameeAAan ayyuha almu/minoona laAAallakum tuflihoona

And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss. (Qur’an 24:31; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

There is another verse that explains the manner of covering of a believing woman.

Ya ayyuha alnnabiyyu qul li-azwajika wabanatika wanisa-i almu/mineena yudneena AAalayhinna min jalabeebihinna thalika adna an yuAArafna fala yu/thayna wakana Allahu ghafooran raheeman

O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Qur’an 33:59; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

One of the Hadiths of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) clearly mentions the extent that a Muslim woman should cover herself.

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin:
Asma, daughter of AbuBakr, entered upon the Apostle of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) wearing thin clothes. The Apostle of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) turned his attention from her. He said: O Asma, when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it does not suit her that she displays her parts of body except this and this, and he pointed to her face and hands. (Abu Dawood: Book 32, Hadith 4092)

To sum up, the most important term in the manner of dressing is that it should be such that even if a stranger sees you, it should not (sexually) attract him or her towards you.

C. Removal of purdah and the effect on society
A Marketing Head of a music channel, sharing the results of a study they had conducted in 2008 on the youth of today, summed up of the attitudes of girls in a single statement, “Let me show you what you can’t have”.

In the guise of openness, isn’t this moral turpitude?

As I’ve mentioned earlier, I’m not going to preach, so let me just ask some questions, which my readers may answer for themselves.

When we see beauty contests, Fashion TV and similar TV channels, Film Awards shows or even the kind of photographs of actresses, models, WAGs etc. that keep being printed daily in respectable ‘family’ newspapers, do we look at those women as individuals, or as “...mmmmmmm”?

What first strikes our mind when we see a demure looking girl in a nice loose dress walking down the street vis-a-vis when we see a similar girl in a cleavage revealing, figure-hugging dress?

Finally, have things like dancing, stage shows, small dresses, bikinis etc really made women equal to men, or elevated their position in society?

D. Hijaab in other religions
Both Christianity and Judaism have laid emphasis on the veil. Till the 12th century, Christian women traditionally wore veils. The exception was young girls (note the similarity to Islam?). It was only from the 15th century onwards that veils were replaced with hoods, and then slowly over the next 500 years, we see what we see today.

Judaism requires both men and women to substantially cover their bodies. Men are generally required to wear long trousers and long-sleeve shirts, and women wear blouses with sleeves below the elbow and skirts that cover the knees. Women are also required to wear loose clothes and not trousers in the presence of men. Men and women of the conservative Haredi community still do not wear tight clothes, skirts with slits, thin or bright clothes etc. (again, note the similarity?).

Similar to Islam, Judaism also follows the concepts of ‘Yichud’ – the non-permissibility of a man and a woman not married to each other being allowed to meet in seclusion – and ‘Negiah’ – non-permissibility of physical contact with a member of the opposite sex, except for one's spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, and grandparents – people one cannot marry.

We have a strong Jewish community here in Mumbai. Do we remember seeing Jewish men and women without proper loose-fitting dresses? I, for sure, don’t!

As regards Christianity, let me just begin and end with this quote.

But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. (Corinthian 11:5-6, King James Bible)

Buddhist, Jain and Hindu nuns have been either covering or shaving their heads for centuries.

E. Hijaab for men
Which brings me to my last point. Is Hijab only for women in Islam?

While we all keep talking about covering women etc., Hijaab is as strictly enjoined for men in Islam – maybe even more strictly.

Regarding the manner of dressing, certain types of dresses and ornaments that would make women attracted towards them are forbidden for men. There are numerous Hadith to that effect. Let me quote two.

Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri:
AbdurRahman said: I asked AbuSa'id al-Khudri about wearing lower garment. He said: You have come to the man who knows it very well. The Apostle of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: The way for a believer to wear a lower garment is to have it halfway down his legs and he is guilty of no sin if it comes halfway between that and the ankles, but what comes lower than the ankles is in Hell. On the day of Resurrection. Allah will not look at him who trails his lower garment conceitedly. (Abu Dawood: Book 32, Hadith 4082)

Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib:
The Prophet of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) took silk and held it in his right hand, and took gold and held it in his left hand and said: both of these are prohibited to the males of my community. (Abu Dawood: Book 32, Hadith 4046)

Clearly, Muslim men are also required to cover their body from the navel upto the ankles. Additionally, Muslim men are forbidden from wearing gold jewellery, silk or any similar things that could be considered as a display of wealth on one’s body.

That’s not strict!

But the strict part of the Hijaab for men is not in their dress. It is in this verse of the Qur’an.

Qul lilmu/mineena yaghuddoo min absarihum wayahfathoo furoojahum thalika azka lahum inna Allaha khabeerun bima yasnaAAoona

Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. (Qur’an 24:30; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

In the Qur’an, men are strictly ordered to lower their eyes in front of strange women, and not to look at them in the face.

Difficult?

Now let’s see what the Bible says about it.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (Mathew 5:27-29, King James Bible)

This post has become much longer than what I’d envisaged when I started writing it. But let me end this post with a story from the Ramayana that I’d heard when I was a child. I do not have a reference for this; yet I’m mentioning it here - as an apt ending to this topic.

This was after Sita was kidnapped by Ravan. As he was carrying her to Lanka, she started dropping her jewellery one by one to guide Ram and Lakshman. When the jewellery was shown to them, Ram recognised all of it as Sita’s. But Lakshman could not recognise any jewellery – necklace, earrings, bangles. The only jewellery he recognised was Sita’s ‘bichiyas’ (toe rings worn by married women). When questioned, he said, “How could I look at Sita’s face when she was a strange woman to me? All my life, I have only looked at her feet, and I’m sure that these are her bichiya.”

(References and Acknowledgements: Al Qur’an; The Books of Hadith; ‘Answers to non-Muslims’ Common Questions about Islam’ by Dr. Zakir Naik; The Bible; Wikipedia; yaqb.org. Thanks once again to my brothers and cousins)

The Power of Music

2010-05-09T16:02:00.000+05:30

Name one thing synonymous with Hindi Movies (or any Indian movie for that matter).

You’re right, it’s music! Virtually no movie is complete without it.

And therefore, after my previous post on movies, it is only apt that my next post is on music.

However, it is not about film music, but about music itself.

It is said that music has the power to relieve tensions (though some types of music work the opposite!). Music attracts and unites people, irrespective of caste, creed, beliefs, attitudes, geographical boundaries...

And that is where I end this post – geographical boundaries...

With a link to a little film that I saw on youtube, courtesy my friend, A.G. Danish (Thank You, Danish!). Actually I wanted to just post the link, but I realised I hadn’t bored all of you for a while, hence these few lines.

Enjoy!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2tFfQyv4uM

(P.S. Apologies to my friends who are not from India. This tune is very unique to our country)

Hindi Films behind the Veil

2010-04-24T08:49:00.000+05:30

Hi everyone,

Been a long time since my last post! A combination of work (lots – both at office and at home!), Windows crashing (Thank You, Mr. G.) and a temporary writer’s block (miniscule) led to this.

However, things seem to be back to normal (lots of work is now normal – and I’m loving it :-)), so here’s my latest – on Hindi Films Behind the Veil.

Sometime in 2004, I was travelling between Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Upon entering the flight, I saw an elderly, distinguished looking Saudi gentleman in my place, animatedly talking to the gentleman next to him. Realising that he could have made a mistake, I said, “Excuse me Sir, I think you’re sitting on my seat.” He gave me a beatific smile and responded, “Young man, I know I’m sitting on your seat!”

My consternation must have been immediately visible. Seeing me flummoxed like that, he explained that the gentleman on his left was an old friend from his youth. They had lost touch, and had bumped into each other after nearly 25-30 years, and were catching up on all the lost time!

Then he asked me, “Where are you from?” I still remember his words when I said I was from India. “Aah! The land of Amitabh Bachchan.”

Huh!!! I mean, I know that a lot of people across the globe love Hindi Films, and a lot of people would recognize Mr.B. Egyptians, for instance, are crazy about him. But this was Saudi Arabia.

Conservative, puritan Saudi Arabia.

Where films are not made, there are no cinema theatres and expats watch movies from their country on their DVDs at home.

And virtually no Saudi understands Hindi.

I must have showed my amazement on my face, to which the gentleman explained that there were cinema theatres in Saudi Arabia earlier. He had grown up watching Hindi films on his 16 mm projector in the Old City of Jeddah, and was a big fan of Amitabh Bachchan, having watched all his films from Zanjeer onwards.

I thought that possibly the older generation of Saudis - who had seen some Hindi films – must have some knowledge about our cinema. But for the younger ones, who have grown up on American culture and swayed to Lebanese pop music, our films must be as alien as possibly someone from Alpha Centauri.

That notion changed about a year later, when my wife and I were out shopping in Azizia, Jeddah – an area populated by people of the countries of our sub-continent.

Those who know Jeddah would know that the Pakistani populated area of Azizia is one of the best places to get pirated CDs. One can get decent quality CDs within a day of the movie releasing in India, and sometimes even the day before – from hawkers, who are discreet when they have some ‘information’ and pretty blatant otherwise, spreading their wares on sheets on the footpath.

Well, coming to the point, my wife and I were shopping for some fresh vegetables, next to this hawker of CDs, when a group of 5-6 very excited Saudi girls chatting animatedly came up and asked the hawker for the latest “John Ibraheem film”.

???

After they’d done their purchase and moved on, the hawker shared that after his shirtless debut in Jism, our Abraham was the latest heartthrob of Saudi girls, and he actually had to stock better quality, extra CDs of John’s films.

Well, well, well! I wouldn’t even have dreamt of that!

How many friends do you have?

2010-03-21T20:57:00.000+05:30

How many friends do you have?

Let’s think! School friends, college friends, friends in office, friends at home, at places we frequent regularly, and then some phenomena possibly unique to Mumbai City - train friends.

Then there’s the new technology-driven revolution. Facebook, Orkut and other social networking sites, through which we now have hundreds – if not thousands – of friends!

The measure of a person’s popularity is the number of friends he has.

But just wait. Are these friends? Or are they acquaintances, colleagues, neighbours, associates etc?

The Oxford Dictionary defines the word ‘friend’ as ‘a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations’.

I believe this simple definition is not enough! It falls far short of the real understanding of the word.

I read a nice poem (I don’t know the author) which defined friendship as follows-

A friend is a tender shoulder
On which to softly cry
A well to pour your troubles down
And raise your spirits high

A friend is a hand to pull you up
From darkness and despair...
When all your other “so called” friends
Have helped to put you there

A true friend is an ally
Who can't be moved or bought
A voice to keep your name alive
When others have forgot

But most of all a friend has a true heart
For from the hearts of friends
There comes the greatest love of all!

And a much more profound definition of a friend was given by Aristotle, who said, “What is a friend? A single soul, dwelling in two bodies”.

I remember having read a very nice story of a businessman who had just one friend, while his son had hundreds. The son used to keep telling the businessman that he would have succeeded much more in life if he had more friends, and used to keep referring to himself and his friend circle.

Then one day, the businessman told his son, “Son, let’s check if your so-called friends are really your friends. Tomorrow morning, go to all your friends one by one and tell them that we have lost everything in our business, and we’re destitute – on the streets. Tell them that you need their help. Ask them for a place to stay and food for our entire family and some of our servants for one month. Tell them that we would manage on our own after that.”

The next morning, the son did as he was told. He went to each of those hundreds of friends and asked them for help. But under one pretext or the other, he was turned away by all of them. Each one – except for two.

He returned home and narrated the entire episode to his father. The businessman asked him about the statements of the two friends who had agreed to help him. He replied, “Dad, the first friend asked me, ‘How many people are you?’ When I gave the answer, he asked me to come on over and stay with him. The second friend said, ‘Come on over. By the way, how many of you would be there?’.”

The businessman told his son, “See, you have possibly just two friends. Nurture and cherish their friendship, especially of the second one. Because he could be possibly your only friend.”

While the son had got the message, he was still puzzled as to why his father still said that these two were ‘possibly’ his friends. So he asked his father. And the businessman said, “Now let me show you what a friend really is. Go to my friend and tell him the same story.”

The son went to his father’s friend. Upon hearing the story, the father’s friend said, “Son, you come in and rest, while I go and fetch your father and everyone else. And you need not worry about one month or whatever. You can stay here for as long as you want. And I’ll help you and your father to build your business again.”

So, how many friends do you have?

The Qur’an on the Cosmos

2010-03-16T17:11:00.000+05:30

It has been a fortnight since I’ve written the last post, and what a hectic fortnight it has been!

Added to that, when I sat down to make my notes related to this post, it ran into more than 20 pages!

It has taken a lot of editing to bring this post down to manageable size, although I’ve had to leave a lot of references out.

What I’ll try and do in this post is to mention a few theories, relating to the earth and the universe, prevailing in the 6th century AD or later, give one or two references (if needed) on each, and mention what the Qur’an has to say about them. Later in the post, I shall specifically mention a couple of celestial phenomena that were completely unknown when the Qur’an was revealed – phenomena discovered only in the past 40-odd years – and see if the Qur’an has any references to these.

Theory 1: The Universe is without beginning or end

As late as the first three decades of the 20th century, scientists believed that the universe was static - without beginning or end. Even Albert Einstein, in his general theory of relativity, added a cosmological constant to his theory to try to force it to allow for a static universe with matter in it.

The idea of the universe expanding was proposed by Hubble only in 1929. And it was only in the 60s, with the works of Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose that the majority of cosmologists accepted the Big Bang theory, where the universe began a finite time ago.

On this point, the Qur’an says,

Awa lam yara allatheena kafaroo anna alssamawati waal-arda kanata ratqan fafataqnahuma wajaAAalna mina alma-i kulla shay-in hayyin afala yu/minoona

Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe? (Qur’an 21:30; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Revelation – 6th century. Acceptance by scientists – 20th century. And an interesting use of words – ‘clove them asunder’. Striking resemblance to the Big Bang, isn’t it?

There’s another verse which has a clear reference to the Big Bang.

Thumma istawa ila alssama-i wahiya dukhanun faqala laha walil-ardi i/tiya tawAAan aw karhan qalata atayna ta-iAAeena

Moreover He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: "Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly." They said: "We do come (together), in willing obedience." (Qur’an 41:11; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Another verse clearly mentions that the Universe will come to an end.

Yawma natwee alssamaa katayyi alssijlli lilkutubi kama bada/na awwala khalqin nuAAeeduhu waAAdan AAalayna inna kunna faAAileena

The Day that We roll up the heavens like a scroll rolled up for books (completed),- even as We produced the first creation, so shall We produce a new one: a promise We have undertaken: truly shall We fulfil it. (Qur’an 21:104; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Each of these verses pointed to things that were unknown till the last couple of hundred years to humans!

Theory 2: The earth is static and the centre of the universe

Around 150 AD, Ptolemy theorised that the earth was static, and that the Sun and all other planets revolved around it.

Around 1543 AD or so, Tycho Brahe proposed a geo-centric universe, with a static Earth at the centre of the Universe with the Moon and the Sun orbiting it, with the rest of the planets going around the Sun.

Two key proponents of the theory that the earth is not static and not the centre of the universe - Copernicus (around 1543 AD) and Galileo (17th century) – were both accused of heresy. While Copernicus’s book was banned, Galileo was given life imprisonment and was under house arrest till his death. Remember, both these events happened during the Renaissance!

To be fair, the idea of a heliocentric system had actually already been proposed around 200 B.C. However, Aristotle had asked some very simple - and very logical – questions; way earlier, around 350 B.C. This father of formal logic had asked, (1) If the Earth spun on an axis, why didn't objects fly off?; (2) If the Earth was moving (around the Sun), why didn't it leave behind the birds flying in the air?; (3) If the Earth was orbiting the sun, why didn't the stars appear to change their position since they were being viewed from a different perspective? And these seemingly logical questions held sway for a geo-centric system till the Renaissance.

And then this theory turned around on its head, to another theory.

Theory 3: The Sun is static and the centre of the Universe

First Copernicus and then Galileo propounded the heliocentric theory of planetary motion. This theory was supported by Yohann Keppler, who, around 1609, showed that planets revolve around the sun and also rotate upon their axes.

However, post these discoveries, it was thought that the Sun was stationary and did not rotate about its axis like the Earth.

On both these theories, the Qur’an says

Wahuwa allathee khalaqa allayla waalnnahara waalshshamsa waalqamara kullun fee falakin yasbahoona

It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course. (Qur’an 21:33; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Simple line, yet very profound!

This is re-stated in the Sura Ya-Seen.

La alshshamsu yanbaghee laha an tudrika alqamara wala allaylu sabiqu alnnahari wakullun fee falakin yasbahoona

It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each just swims along in its own orbit according to Law. (Qur’an 36:40; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Theory 4: The earth is flat

I allude to this theory also because of one of my readers – swap – who has mentioned this in his/her comments. (Just an aside for swap - it would be great if you could identify yourself. You could e-mail me at khanmubin@gmail.com).

While Zaffer has replied to this, giving references in his reply, let me refer to two verses from the Qur’an which prove this theory wrong.

Alam tara anna Allaha yooliju allayla fee alnnahari wayooliju alnnahara fee allayli wasakhkhara alshshamsa waalqamara kullun yajree ila ajalin musamman waanna Allaha bima taAAmaloona khabeerun

Seest thou not that Allah merges Night into Day and he merges Day into Night; that He has subjected the sun, and the moon (to his Law), each running its course for a term appointed; and that Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do? (Qur’an 31:29; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Khalaqa alssamawati waal-arda bialhaqqi yukawwiru allayla AAala alnnahari wayukawwiru alnnahara AAala allayli wasakhkhara alshshamsa waalqamara kullun yajree li-ajalin musamman ala huwa alAAazeezu alghaffaru

He created the heavens and the earth in true (proportions): He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night: He has subjected the sun and the moon (to His law): Each one follows a course for a time appointed. Is not He the Exalted in Power - He Who forgives again and again? (Qur’an 39:5; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

The English translations of both these verses really fall short of explaining the true meaning of the Arabic words.

In the former verse, the Arabic word 'yooliju' refers to the night slowly and gradually changing to day and vice versa. Such gradual changes can happen only if the earth is round. It stands to reason that if the earth was flat, this change would be sudden and not gradual.

In the latter verse, the Arabic word ‘yukawwiru’ literally means ‘to overlap’ or ‘to coil’. As eloquently explained by Dr. Zakir Naik many times, this overlapping or coiling is in the way a turban is wound around the head. The overlapping or coiling of the day and night can only take place if the earth is spherical.

But wait, I’m keeping on proving that the earth is round, but it really is not. We have found in the last century that the earth is flat at the poles – egg-shaped, as it were!

So what does the Qur’an say?

Waal-arda baAAda thalika dahaha

And the earth, moreover, hath He extended to a wide expanse (Qur’an 79:30; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

The key word in this verse is ‘dahaha’, which means an ostrich-egg. Anyone who has seen an ostrich-egg will see the resemblance with the spherical shape of the earth.

Do we need any more proof?

I realise that the post has become quite long, and I’ve not even touched the tip of the iceberg which is the minefield of scientific information in the Qur’an. So let me quickly move to verses pointing to three phenomena which really have been discovered only in the past 3-4 decades.

Phenomenon 1 – The Universe is expanding

Waalssamaa banaynaha bi-aydin wa-inna lamoosiAAoona

With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of space (Qur’an 51:47; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

When translated word for word, the literal meaning of the verse is ‘And the sky/space We built/constructed it with power/support, and We are extending/spreading (it)’. The key Arabic word here is ‘moosioona’ which means ‘expanding’.

Phenomenon 2 - Presence of interstellar matter

I remember studying in my physics class in school that space between two celestial bodies is a vacuum. And I went to school in the 80s! Only recently, astrophysicists discovered the presence of plasma - consisting of completely ionized gas containing equal number of free electrons and positive ions - in this interstellar space.

In the 6th century AD, the Qur’an said,

Allathee khalaqa alssamawati waal-arda wama baynahuma fee sittati ayyamin thumma istawa AAala alAAarshi alrrahmanu fais-al bihi khabeeran

He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between, in six days, and is firmly established on the Throne (of Authority): Allah Most Gracious: ask thou, then, about Him of any acquainted (with such things). (Qur’an 25:59; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

‘All that is in between’? Why does the verse not stop at heavens and the earth? Interesting, isn’t it?

Phenomenon 3 - Pulsars

First discovered in 1967, pulsars are highly magnetised neutron stars that emit beams of radiation. These radiations from the pulsars make sounds like a knock or of a hammer. Scientists have also discovered that these radiations have the ability to penetrate or pierce anything, including the earth.

Nearly 1,400 years before this discovery, the Qur’an said,

Waalssama-i waalttariqi. Wama adraka ma alttariqu. Alnnajmu alththaqibu.

By the Sky and the Night-Visitant (therein); And what will explain to thee what the Night-Visitant is? (It is) the Star of piercing brightness. (Qur’an 86:1-3; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Two key Arabic words in these three verses accurately describe pulsars. ‘Taariq’ means ‘knocking sounds’, reflecting the sounds emitted by pulsars; and ‘Thaaqib’ means ‘penetrating waves’, accurately describing the beams of radiation of a pulsar.

Is it any surprise then that the chapter itself is called ‘At-Taariq’?

And for someone who wants to debate on the ‘six day’ comment, it would be worth remembering that the Arabic word for day is ‘youm’, and it could stand for different measures of time, from a day to an eon.

There are a few verses in the Qur’an which point to this fact. Consider these-

TaAAruju almala-ikatu waalrroohu ilayhi fee yawmin kana miqdaruhu khamseena alfa sanatin

The angels and the spirit ascend unto him in a Day the measure whereof is (as) fifty thousand years. (Qur’an 70:4; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

WayastaAAjiloonaka bialAAathabi walan yukhlifa Allahu waAAdahu wa-inna yawman AAinda rabbika kaalfi sanatin mimma taAAuddoona

Yet they ask thee to hasten on the Punishment! But Allah will not fail in His Promise. Verily a Day in the sight of thy Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning. (Qur’an 22:47; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

For educated people like us, who now know that a day on Earth is not the same as a day on Mars, which is different from a day on Saturn, this concept should not be difficult to grasp.

Even after editing, I realise this post has run too long. I trust it would hold the attention of readers of my blog.

And let me end with a reference to the one verse that all Muslims – and most non-Muslims – know. It is in the first chapter of the Qur’an, and it says,

Alhamdu lillahi rabbi alAAalameen

Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds (Qur’an 1:2; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

I have always found this to be a very interesting verse. Why did Allah not choose the word ‘Al Kawn’ (The Universe). Why did He choose to use the word Aalameen (the worlds). After all, He has mentioned that He created the universe, and the description is similar to the Big Bang theory (we’ve read that earlier in this post).

Is this a signal to mankind that there is extra-terrestial life elsewhere in this Universe?

(References and Acknowledgements: Al Qur’an; The Qur’aan and Modern Science-Compatible or Incompatible by Dr. Zakir Naik; The Bible, The Qur’an and Science by Dr. Maurice Bucaille; www.islam.about.com; Wikipedia; www.windows.ucar.edu; yaqb.org and many other websites, books, notes and presentations. Thanks to Zaffer, Mudassar, Naeem, Waseem, Khalid, Irfan and my other brothers and sisters who have been feeding me with information over time and enriching my knowledge of our religion )

Sachin Tendulkar's Performance Appraisal

2010-02-27T11:17:00.000+05:30

A howlarious e-mail sent by my friend, Luke de Noronha, immediately after Sachin scored his double ton had me in splits, and I just had to share it with all of you!

Thanks Luke, for letting me do so!

How would Management appraise Sachin Tendulkar's performance?

Sachin Tendulkar: 200 Runs, 147 Balls, 25x4, 3x6

Agree you have done well……BUT

25 x 4s = 100
3 x 6s = 18

It implies that you have done 118 runs in 28 balls

And
12 x 2s = 24
58 x 1s = 58

It means you have done all 200 runs in only 98 balls

So you have wasted 147-98 = 49 balls

Considering only 1 run scored on each of these balls you could have earned 49 valuable runs for our team

Manager’s Comment: You Met Expectations and NOT EXCEEDED (though anyone else of our team could not do it) and your Grade is C

Training Recommendations: Learn how to STEAL singles

Congrats Sachin, but I wanted more!

2010-02-26T10:06:00.000+05:30

Words fail me when I want to congratulate possibly the best overall batsman (and a good but under-utilised bowler) in world cricket today!

On the way to a meeting, listening to the commentary on AIR, I was rooting for Sachin to complete his double century and create a new world record. And when he eventually did, I stopped the car to clap, whistle and do a little jig right there, at the junction of Hiranandani and Kailas Complex, Powai.

But I must confess that I was a tad disappointed! Not much, just a miniscule - I think the disappointment was somewhere in the range of 2.96 parts per trillion.

Because when he had reached 186 in the 43rd over, and runs were coming in torrents, my expectations had increased.

I wanted him to then take more of the strike and score 230.

Because, that would have then been the world record for the highest score in any recognised form of one day international cricket.

Beating Belinda Clark's 229*, for Australia v/s Denmark in the Women's World Cup in Dec 1997; which was incidentally scored at Sachin's home ground - MIG, Mumbai!

That's the problem about this genius. The more he does, the more we fans expect. But really, he does not disappoint us, does he!

Congrats once again, Little Master!

The Qur'an on Embryology

2010-02-23T20:41:00.000+05:30

During the course of an online discussion last week, a non-Muslim acquaintance made a sweeping statement about the Qur’an needing to be updated. While I immediately corrected him about making a statement without having read it or knowing about it, it set me thinking.

So, from this post onwards, I’ll try for every alternate post on the Qur’an for a while. And at the end of a few posts, I’ll let him decide.

So, RD, this is for you!

In one of my earlier posts (July 09), I had written about the water cycle. In that, I had mentioned that I would write about human embryology later. So, let’s start with that.

In approximately 610 A.D., the first verse of the Qur’an was revealed. And it says-

Iqra/ bi-ismi rabbika allathee khalaqa. Khalaqa al-insana min AAalaqin

Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created. Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood. (Qur’an 96:1-2; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

The word ‘alaq’ in Arabic has multiple meanings. One of them is a drop of congealed blood. Another meaning is something that clings – a leech-like substance.

Describes the state of the foetus in the first two weeks very succintly, doesn't it?

There is another verse, which says-

Inna khalaqna al-insana min nutfatin amshajin nabtaleehi fajaAAalnahu sameeAAan baseeran.

Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight. (Qur’an 76:2; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Mingled? Now what’s that?

Possibility one – we know that the zygote is formed from the mingling of the sperm with the egg. And most people even in the ancient times knew this. So what’s new?

But consider the word – mingled sperm. Sperm. Not mingled liquids, but mingled sperm.

Only in the past half a century or so, with advances in medical research and the invention of powerful microscopes, do we know that the semen doesn't just contain sperm, but fluids secreted by several glands during ejaculation.

During the sexual act, semen travels from the epididymis through the vas deferens, where it picks up a fluid rich in fructose - a sugary substance that acts a bit like rocket fuel. Other fluids kick in along the way to the urethra, from the prostate gland, the Cowper's glands and the seminal vesicles - each one having a role to play.

The finished product contains approximately just 10% sperm. The rest consists of enzymes, vitamin C, calcium, protein, sodium, zinc, citric acid and fructose sugar.

It gets more interesting.

Khalaqakum min nafsin wahidatin thumma jaAAala minha zawjaha waanzala lakum mina al-anAAami thamaniyata azwajin yakhluqukum fee butooni ommahatikum khalqan min baAAdi khalqin fee thulumatin thalathin thalikumu Allahu rabbukum lahu almulku la ilaha illa huwa faanna tusrafoona.

He created you (all) from a single person: then created, of like nature, his mate; and he sent down for you eight head of cattle in pairs: He makes you, in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness. Such is Allah, your Lord and Cherisher: to Him belongs (all) dominion. There is no god but He: then how are ye turned away (from your true Centre)? (Qur’an 39:6; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Three veils of darkness.

Modern studies in embryology have proved that the foetus in the womb is covered first by the anterior abdominal wall of the mother, the uterine wall and then the amnio-chorionic membrane.
Let’s look at a couple more verses before I end.

Walaqad khalaqna al-insana min sulalatin min teenin. Thumma jaAAalnahu nutfatan fee qararin makeenin. Thumma khalaqna alnnutfata AAalaqatan fakhalaqna alAAalaqata mudghatan fakhalaqna almudghata AAithaman fakasawna alAAithama lahman thumma ansha/nahu khalqan akhara fatabaraka Allahu ahsanu alkhaliqeena.

Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay). Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed. Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create! (Qur’an 23:12-14; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

4 stages clearly mentioned: Alaqah (leech-like) - which is how the foetus implants itself in the uterus; then a mudghah (lump) – which is really how it looks after a couple of weeks of absorbing nutrients; then flesh and bones – which starts from about week four onwards; and then finally the birth.

Falyanthuri al-insanu mimma khuliqa. Khuliqa min ma-in dafiqin. Yakhruju min bayni alssulbi waalttara-ibi.

Now let man but think from what he is created! He is created from a drop emitted. Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs (Qur’an 86:5-7; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Let me copy from Dr. Zakir Naik on this - In embryonic stages, the reproductive organs of the male and female, i.e. the testicles and the ovaries, begin their development near the kidney between the spinal column and the eleventh and twelfth ribs. Later they descend; the ovaries stop in the pelvis while the testicles continue their descent before birth to reach the scrotum through the inguinal canal. Even in the adult after the descent of the reproductive organ, these organs receive their nerve supply and blood supply from the Abdominal Aorta, which is in the area between the backbone (spinal column) and the ribs. Even the lymphatic drainage and the venous return goes to the same area.

There are many more verses, but not many people read long posts (or even long news articles) nowadays. Hence, in reader interest, let me stop here with two thoughts that I leave behind.

How could an unlettered – illiterate – person living in the desert of Arabia could have known all this?

More importantly, if this book, revealed between approx. 610-633 A.D., contains such verses that are in perfect harmony with modern medical science, does it need to be updated, or does our knowledge of it needs to be improved?

More on Cosmology in the next post, Insha Allah. Till then, just think about this!

(References: The Qur’an; ‘The Bible, The Qur’an and Science by Dr. Maurice Bucaille; The Qur’an and Modern Science by Dr. Zakir Naik; The Qur’an, Knowledge and Science by A. Abdallah; www.thesite.org)

Justice

2010-02-10T00:43:00.000+05:30

Two thoughts about our judicial system have been swirling in my mind for a few years now. The incidents that happened in the past one week - the Haveliwala drunken driving, and the Rathore stabbing - make me pen my thoughts down.

Before putting down my thoughts, let me categorically state that there is no intent or attempt at contempt of court, just my personal thoughts on our judicial system.

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied:
This oft’ used phrase never rung truer to me than when I had lodged a case regarding payment made for purchasing a house which I did not get possession of. I lodged the case in court in 2000, and had nothing but ‘taareekh’ (dates) till 2007. Except for once when I went to court and the Honourable Judge just saw my face; neither the builders nor I even had to go to court once till we went together to withdraw the case. The builders were honest fellows who had gone bankrupt, and when they recovered sufficiently, they themselves called and returned my money.

But just consider - if there was not a single hearing in a clear open-and-shut case for seven long years; had the builders not been honest, would I have ever got my money back?

The 1992/93 riot cases, the 1993 blast case are all still somewhere in some ‘fast-track’ court, while the main accused are all roaming scot-free! Someone who was caught red-handed by the army – no less - has won elections and become a minister, getting protection from the same policemen who were supposed to arrest him. And I don’t think anyone even remembers about the status on the 1984 police strike cases!

I’m not sure whether the student who stabbed Rathore was mentally unsound or not, but see the circumstances – 19 years!!!!

Certain cases like the Jessica Lal case, or the Ruchika case, catch our attention due to the media coverage they have got, but just consider this – as many as 3.14 CRORE cases are pending in Indian courts (as on June 2009), possibly in many of which the defendents or the complainants have passed away waiting for justice!

In our Quest to be Just, are we being Unfair:
To my mind, the Qasab case, the Haveliwala drunken driving case, the Salman Khan accident case are all open-and-shut cases. More than enough proof, enough witnesses, and yet, the police has to sew up every thread.

Why do the police have to check out Nooria’s driving record in the US? And how does it make a difference whether there was 457 mg of alcohol in her blood or 45.7 mg. Isn’t it enough that she was drunk and driving? And even assuming for a moment that the alcohol content was within limits, the fact is that she ran over two people. Enough witnesses, clear proofs to support it. Why does the case have to involve sub-cases of in-camera proceedings, media involvement et al? (There’s something else that I’d like to ask her father. Alcohol is haraam in Islam; have you done your duty as a good Muslim father? But that’s another story altogether!)

Why is the Qasab case going through so many twists and turns? The man has massacred innocents on camera – and we’re getting more twists in his case than in an Ekta Kapoor soap!

Why does the onus of proving and re-proving guilt ‘beyond doubt’ even in clear cases like the two above, have to fall on the prosecution? Why do the accused get the benefit of the rarest of doubts, even in cases – and some have been mentioned on court records by some honourable judges – when the honourable judge believes that the person is guilty?

Is it our endeavour to not let a single innocent be proved guilty, even if some guilty people go off scot free? Or is it our endeavour to show to ourselves and the world that we deliver absolute justice?

In both these cases, is it not that we are being over-benevolent to the accused at the cost of traumatising the complainant or the victim? In this case, are we not being unjust really to the victims?

Is it therefore, any surprise that criminals cock a snoop at the legal system?

Are these the reasons for ‘encounters’?

Methinks sometimes that the old days of the rajas that we read about were better – one hearing, clear discussions, quick decisions.

Maybe in a rare case, some innocents may be pronounced guilty (although I would trust our judiciary that such a thing would not happen). But isn’t that a chance worth taking to ensure that justice is not only served, but delivered on time?

Because, at the present moment, for sure, in our quest to be just, we are just being unfair!

(P.S. In case you have liked my post and would like to share it with your friends, I’ve made it easy for you by adding some links at the bottom of each post. Please feel free to just click and share it with others.)

Happy Republic Day

2010-01-26T22:31:00.000+05:30

Hi everyone, and a Very Happy Republic Day to you.

Or let me put it another way – A Very Happy one of two days in the year when we remember that our flag is the Tricolour.

Because all other days, I see all kinds of flags – of various hues, shapes, sizes, designs – I see everything but the tricolour!

Every day, when I stop at the Suman Nagar signal, I see three tall poles – one with a saffron flag, one with a blue flag, and one with a blue, saffron, green and white flag.

Walk down Govandi, and you will see flags with a star between the crescent moon.

Certain areas in the city are dotted with green flags, certain others with green and saffron ones.

Flags with lotuses, flags with elephants, flags with palms, flags with moon and star.

And God forbid if anyone even dares to touch or desecrate any of those flags – there would be a riot!

People would be killed, houses would be burnt, children would be orphaned, all for those flags!

As for the tricolour, watch out for the municipal sweepers cleaning the streets on Jan 27 and Aug 16!

Happy Republic Day!

Dreams

2010-01-14T07:14:00.000+05:30

“Itni shiddat se tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai
Ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai”

(I have tried with such extreme intensity to get you
that every atom has conspired to make me meet you)

“Kehte hain agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaaho to saari qaaynaat tumhe usse milane ki koshish me lag jaati hai”

(It is said that if you desire something with all your heart, then the entire universe endeavours to get it for you)

Gosh, translations have a way of taking the entire romance out of a couplet!

Anyway, remember this dialogue by Shahrukh Khan in Om Shanti Om? There are other variations on the same theme. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is possibly one of the best stories on this. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne talks about the Power of Attraction. One could go on and on.

But is it really true? Does wishing for something with all your heart and soul, with all your intensity of desire, really make it happen for you?

We’ve read about amazing success stories which started from such dreams. I’m not talking about long ago, but recent ones – in our lifetime. Microsoft, Google, Apple, Virgin etc. And closer to home, there’s Infosys. (Read Sudha Moorthy’s “How I taught my Grandmother to read and other stories”). Then there’s Reliance!

Ahh, all of them are too big! It took geniuses, it took a few miracles, there was something else also, etc.etc....

Maybe true. Such stories do not happen to everyone.

But then, it could also have something to do with the dream that you have. Let me give the examples of two boys - one the son of a clerk who lost his job in the union strike in the 80s, and the other the son of a taxi driver. Both started off their lives in chawls in Nagpada (Google 'Nagpada' in case it sounds unfamiliar, and I'm sure you know what chawl means.)

Today, the first boy is a CA who is now working as a CFO at an MNC; and the other has his own successful contracting business, and who also runs and virtually single-handedly funds an orphanage for girls.

Which brings me to today's story. Of a boy who was also born and brought up in a chawl in that same area. In a 180 sq.ft. tenement with four toilets to be shared between 20 similar households. He lived in an area where most boys dropped out of school, and the better ones went on to pass their Std.10, and just a handful actually went on to complete their education. His mother was a municipal school teacher. And that allowed him and his two brothers to study for free, as the municipal corporation would pay their fees. He had to come 1st or 2nd in class, so that he would be eligible for scholarships that would help buy books, stationery and uniforms for the next year. Even with that, the brothers would have only only one set of uniform each for the entire school year.

One set of new clothes would come on Eid. And they had to be taken care of for the entire year. Imagine three growing boys starting off the year wearing loose shirts and trousers, which would be so tight-fitting a year later that the stitch had to be altered.

He participated in - and won - elocution competitions, debates, quizzes, but did not get through in athletics; maybe something to do with the diet - or lack of it!

He made a virtue of attending his school parties in school uniform when all classmates were in their best dresses.

When the time came to go to college, the issue was not of fees or books - he knew he would get the scholarship to take care of that - but of what he would wear! But he went through, with clothes borrowed from and shared with his uncle!

Immediately after college, he had to work since scholarships stopped after graduation, and there was not enough money to go in for higher education. His attempts to get into management were thwarted through a series of getting through CATs, GDs and failing in interviews. He did not know why then, but he possibly realizes now.

But amidst all this, he dared to dream!

Dreams which seem small now, but which were unachievable then!

Dreams of a large house ("with a kitchen as big as the house we are staying in, Ammi!"), of a car so that his parents would no longer have to wait for the bus or train in their old age, of enough money so that his wife and children would never lack what he, his mother and his brothers did.

And worked towards realising those dreams.

His mother pledged her Provident Fund, and along with his own savings through the period that he worked after graduation, he got through for post-graduation in Advertising and PR at IIMC, New Delhi. Upon reaching Delhi, he realised that the bank draft that he was carrying with him would take 15 days to encash, while the fees had to be paid in cash within 3 days!

And then, the dreams started coming true!

The universe conspired and endeavoured to get him what he wanted.

A friend of his mother had given him a letter to be delivered to her uncle in Delhi. He had never met this gentleman, they did not know each other, and a mixture of pride and embarrassment would not allow him to seek anyone's help. But somehow, when he went to deliver the letter, this gentleman realised something was amiss, found out the details, and not only paid his fees but also gave him some spare money to tide over till the draft was encashed and he could repay the loan.

That was the first instance!

From an advertising agency, he moved to a media house when it was considered infra dig to do so. Within 3 years, he got ESOPs, which partially helped fund his house!

That was the second instance!

When he tried his hand at a business and was swindled in it, he got a job in the Middle East, which not only helped him recover his losses, but also enabled him to perform Haj - a privilege that most Indian Muslims only keep dreaming about!

That was another!

If I write all the instances where the universe conspired to help this boy who just dared to dream and work towards it, it would take a book!

As my brother likes to say, "Dreams are a manifestation of your inner ambitions. They help you fix the aim / target / destination.....or the intent."

These dreams are the one that you dream in daylight!

So dare to dream - and then don't stop at that. Just go single-mindedly towards achieving your dreams, and the universe will endeavour to help you!

Anyway, what happened to that boy?

He now stays in a house which - as his wife says - is a dream house. The kitchen is not bigger than the tenement he grew up in, but his bathroom is definitely larger than the area that he and his wife used to euphemistically call their "bedroom". He drives a car that none but possibly the top 1% of urban India would drive.

Then, about a little more than a year ago, he stopped dreaming!

And...nothing changed for him.

Nothing at all!

There is no movement.

On the outside, he is reasonably successful, happy, "arrived" - as they say in Mumbai. But internally he realises that the past year could have been much better used. He could have gained much more - more knowledge, more work, more self-fulfillment!

He knows that the realisation has come in time. He's still young! He has started dreaming again - and working towards it.

This is not the 'Happies Endings' yet.

Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost!

(Postscript: I wanted to start the New Year with a blog that will hopefully inspire people to dare to dream, think positive and work unwaveringly towards achieving their dreams. Written over 10 days, this post is a culmination of that. Even if it helps one person achieve his/her dreams, that excruciating catharsis that I underwent in penning this would be worth it.)

Marathi

2009-12-20T20:41:00.000+05:30

We’ve been seeing this major ‘Marathi’ campaign over the past few weeks. Actually, the past few years, but it has intensified over the past few weeks.

I may disagree with the means, but I am in complete agreement with this theory of being able to speak Marathi. Absolutely right!

After all, I firmly believe that you should know the language of the state you live in. Every Keralite speaks Malayalam, every Bengali speaks Bangla, every Andhraite (at least till now) speaks Telugu and so on.

And yet, every time I converse with someone in Marathi, there is a sense of disbelief, bewilderment, amazement, wonder etc.

I am besieged with questions like “How can you speak Marathi so well?”, “Where did you learn to speak such good Marathi?” and the best one – “Aadnaav Kaay?”

This question – I believe – is unique to this part of the Deccan – Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Ahmednagar - “Aadnaav Kaay?” (What’s your surname?)

How does it make a difference? No one every asks a Abdul Rehman Pookutty his surname, no one asks a Akbar Patel or a Ghani Choudhury his surname, but come to our part of the world and speak Marathi, and sure enough, “Aadnaav Kaay?”

Konkani Muslims speak mainly in Konkani, and no one asks this question in Raigad or Satara, but come up North and speak Marathi, and it will crop up!

“Aadnaav Kaay?”

Why, oh why? Will someone explain? I mean, you want people to speak in Marathi, and then ask him for his surname if he does so.

I digress.

Let’s come back. There are two issues.

The first one is – Why can’t I speak Marathi? Just because my name is Khan? It would have been okay if it was Khanvilkar, but since it is Khan, it has to be accompanied by wonder and disbelief. Why?

And the second - “Aadnaav Kaay?” Why do we have to ask this question and bracket people? This is not a religious thing – it is about caste equations! And is it that important! Can’t people avoid this question? Not with me – just avoid it, okay?

I guess I’m only venting my spleen. And everywhere I go, this will continue. So, let’s grin and bear it.

Hey, I also speak Hindi, English and Urdu as well – probably better. Will someone get amazed at that too? :-)

Bees Saal Baad

2009-12-15T22:28:00.000+05:30

What happens when people meet after 20 years? Wonderment (hey, is that you?), glimmers of recognition (I was thinking...), reminiscence (hey, where’s so-and-so?), fond old memories (remember the Alibag picnic?)....

And now imagine what would happen when not one or two, but more than 35 people meet after 20 years....

Which is what happened last Saturday (10 days ago) when our class of ’89 met for a reunion. Some of us were meeting each other after more than a few years, some us after a decade and some of us met each other for the first time since our graduation!

A couple of people had come in from other cities just to meet others for a couple of hours, and a few who are now abroad had sent in messages.

And the icing on the cake was some of our professors joining in – some of whom have retired and came especially for the function.

It was overwhelming, to say the least! When asked to introduce themselves, one could see some people choking on their words, some holding back tears that were threatening to brim over, there was a sense of elation in some, while others remembered all the joyous times we had spent together.

It’s amazing, isn’t it? Now when my rational mind remembers it, all the time we had spent all those years ago was not paradisiacal, but when we met after two decades, all we remembered were the good times we had spent together. It was as if the negative memories were wiped out from our minds, leading us to remember the utopian world that existed, as it were.

And now it is time to start reconnecting with people – to chat, pick up lost threads, make new connections with their spouses, sometimes even with them.

After all, twenty years IS a long time!

The Blood Donation Drive is over

2009-12-05T09:26:00.000+05:30

The blood donation drive officially wound up on Dec 1 (There is still a camp being held at MegaMall, Andheri - today and tomorrow). There is more than enough blood now in the blood banks - as Mr. Vinay Shetty of Think Foundation informed me - and I am satisfied!

This entire exercise gave me a fair bit of interesting learnings. I'm just going to mention two of them.

If you're sincere about wanting to something, there will be enough people coming forward to help you. Remember the dialogue of SRK in Om Shanti Om when he receives the award? Something similar just happened, where Francis and Mohd. Gaus of our marketing team came up and handled all the logistics flawlessly, Vinay Shetty of Think Foundation (I didn't even know this gentleman till before this activity) organised all the blood banks without me even having to worrry about them, Dhrub (from our sales team) just went ahead, spoke to mall owners and organised camps there, Sumit handled the advertising...it was amazing to see this chemistry !

And thanks also to the teams from Future Group, Oberoi Mall, Mega Mall, K-Star, Kamala Mills, to the various blood banks and their volunteers, the railways....Thanks guys, each and every one of you!

The second learning - if you want to really do something like this which involves being pricked by a needle, no glamour and photo-ops; count on the middle and lower middle classes. These were the people who came forward and donated blood, and who got others to do so. With a few honourable exceptions (like the gentleman who came all the way from Kandivli to Goregaon - Mr. Jeswani, if I remember), upper class Mumbai does not care! We've seen it in the turnout during the two elections held recently, and we've seen it now during blood donation drive.

There was a lot of pompous self-grandeur - concerts, candle-light vigils - all events where they could get out of their air-conditioned cars, have an opportunity to rub shoulders with the haut monde, shed a few mls of glycerine and go back. But when it came to a de-glam event like donating blood, the emptiness was deafening! And you should have heard the reasons - from the ridiculous to the absurd!

Clear lesson - the next time I want to organise a blood donation drive, I shall first organise a sponsor, a lead actor / actress who will say that s/he is going to be there, ensure a few photo-ops and then start the drive.

So, there we are.

Till next time, folks...

Homosexuality – Revolt against nature

2009-12-03T09:54:00.000+05:30

This post has been written by Mudassar Khan, who had written this e-mail to me in September as a response to my post then.

Sorry Muddu, for not posting it earlier.

---

Allah SWT is the creator and the Lord of the whole universe. He gave existence to everyone and everything and He gave a natural system for His slaves. Whenever this natural system is broken, chaos set in.

Allah SWT has kept the natural system of sexual relations between men and women, which grant physical and mental solace and give material and spiritual pleasure. It also acts as the means of propagation of the human race. As a result of which the society remains at peace and happy.

On the other hand, men forming relationships with men and women with women is a serious crime, which is disliked by each and every religion and by every cultured person. These kind of relations harm the society, give rise to and spread fatal diseases like AIDS and destroy humanity as a whole.

Homosexuality is such a serious sin that it is a collection of all other types of immodesty. This is a revolt against nature. It is a sign of being away from the mercy of Allah SWT and invites the wrath and anger of Allah SWT.

the nation which was involved in this, the Ummah of Hadhrat Lut (Peace be upon him), was punished by Allah SWT in different ways. In the last part of the night, an angel gave such a shout that it destroyed them. A population of 4 million i.e. 40 lakhs was lifted up to the sky and thrown headlong. Then stones were rained on them which wiped them away from the slate of existence.

The Holy Quran mentions this incident in many places. The reason is that people should realize that if they are also involved in this sin, then the wrath of Allah SWT will destroy them as well. Allah SWT says:

And We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): then see what was the end of those who indulged in sin and crime! Surah A’araaf – (7:84)

It is given in Surah Ankabut:
And (remember) Lut; behold he said to his people: "Ye do commit lewdness, such as no people in Creation (ever) committed before you. Surah Ankaboot (29:28)

To highlight the disgusting and nasty nature of homosexuality, here in the Holy Quran, the word “Al-Faahisha has been used.” At another place, for adultery, the word “Faahishatun” has been used. The intended meaning is that adultery is one of the types of immodesty and indecency, but homosexuality is a collection and compendium of all types of immodesty. This disgusting act has been termed as “Al-Faahisha” 3 times in the Holy Quran:

We also (sent) Lut: he said to his people: "Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? Surah A’araaf (7:80)

In Surah Naml:
We also sent Lut (as a messenger): behold, he said to his people "Do ye do what is shameful though ye see (its iniquity)? Surah Naml (27:54)

In Surah Ankaboot:
And (remember) Lut; behold he said to his people: "Ye do commit lewdness, such as no people in Creation (ever) committed before you. Surah Ankaboot (29:28)

This is such an act of immodesty, that all religions, cultures and cultured persons hold it to be so.
Apart from this Allah SWT has declared homosexuals to be those who break the rules of Allah SWT and Islam. Allah SWT says:
"Of all the creatures in the world, will ye approach males. (165) "And leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your mates? Nay, ye are a people transgressing (all limits)!" Surah Shuara (166)

And in Surah A’araaf:
"For ye practise your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds." Surah A’araaf (7:81)

Among all the evils of the society and the kinds of immodesty, there is none worse than homosexuality. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has given strict warnings about this act:

Translation: It has been narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Abdullah bin Abbas (May Allah be well pleased with them), that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: May Allah SWT curse the person who does what the nation of Lut (Peace be upon him) had done. May Allah SWT curse that person. He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) repeated this thrice. (Musnad Imam Ahmad, Hadith No: 2677)

There is a Hadith in Kanz Ul ‘Ummal:
Translation: The nation of Lut (Peace be upon him) was punished because of 10 bad practices. My Ummah will be involved in one more bad practice. They had homosexual relations between men and men and this Ummah will have homosexual relations between women and women. (Kanz Ul ‘Ummal, Hadith No: 13014)

There is Hadith in Jame Tirmidhi, Sunan Ibn Majah and Mustadrak ‘Alas Sahihain:

Translation: It has been narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Jabir (May Allah be well pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: What I most fear about My Ummah is the act of the nation of Lut (Peace be upon him). (Mustadrak ‘Alas Sahihain, Hadith No: 8171)

Homosexuality – Takes one away from the Mercy of Allah SWT.

There is a Hadith in Al Mojam Kabeer and Majma Uz Zawaaid:
Translation: Hadhrat Jabir bin Abdullah (May Allah be well pleased with them) narrates that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: When the Dhimmis (non-Muslims under Islamic rule) are oppressed, then the enemies will rule. When adultery will become too much, then there will be too many prisoners and when those who do what the nation of Lut (Peace be upon him) did, then Allah SWT will remove His hand of Mercy from the creation. Then He will not care in which valley they are killed.

There is a Hadith in Mojam Ausat, Shu’abul Iman and Majma Uz Zawaaid:

Translation: It has been narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be well pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: There are 4 persons whose days and nights are in the anger and wrath of Allah SWT. Among them is the man who has sexual relations with another man.

There is a Hadith in Jame Tirmidhi and Sahih Ibn Hibban:
Translation: Allah SWT does not even look at the person with mercy who has homosexual relations with men or women. (Sahih Ibn Hibban, Hadith No: 4418)

There is a Hadith in moa Tabarani and Majma Uz Zawaaid:
Translation: It has been narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be well pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: Allah SWT curses 7 from His creation from above the seven heavens and repeats His curse thrice on each one of them. Who does what the nation of Lut (Peace be upon him) is cursed, Who does what the nation of Lut (Peace be upon him) is cursed, Who does what the nation of Lut (Peace be upon him) is cursed. (Mojam Ausat, Hadith No: 8734,Majma Uz Zawaaid, Vol. 6, Pg No: 272)

Personal and social loss of homosexuality:
One among the wisdoms of keeping marriage as permissible is that the race of humans, which is the cream of all creation (Ashraful Makhlooqat) should not end. If human beings satisfy their sexual desires through some other way, then the mentioned benefit of the Shariah will not be gained. These kind of relationships may prove to be start of the end of the human race.
The sexual relations between men and women are not only for fulfilling the sexual desires, but children are sought through it. Satisfying sexual desires through homosexuality is to fall from the heights of humanity to the depths of the animals.

Imam (May Allah be well pleased with him) (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) writes in the Tafseer of verse no: 81 of Surah A’araaf:

Translation: The wise Lord has granted extraordinary strength to the womb of the women to absorb the semen. When a man performs this act (in the natural way), then all the drops of semen are absorbed by the womb of the woman. But when a man does this with a man, then as the anus of the man is not granted this strength, some drops of semen still remain in the genital organ, because of which the organ swells and suffers from many diseases. These details can be known only through the science of medicine. (Tafseer Kabir, Surah A’araaf, verse no:81)

Giving legal status to homosexuality is to push humanity towards destruction. At this stage, when AIDS is already swallowing innocent people, providing legal status to homosexuality is to promote AIDS. Humanity is struck as to how the new generation will survive when men will marry men and women will marry women, that new generation, who is the future of the nation and the world. If the cover of legal status is granted to this revolt of nature, then new problems will be created in the society which will shake the very foundations of the society. Many sections of the society are supporting the decision of the government and are declaring it as modern culture, free thinking etc. When this is culture, we don’t even want to know what uncultured means.

It is the responsibility of each and every religion along with the government to curb these attempts to build a virtuous and harmonious society. We hope that the government will not accept this as per article 377.

Blood Donation drive starts today

2009-11-26T09:41:00.000+05:30

Our blood donation drive starts today, with 5 locations across Mumbai. I'm hoping and praying it goes off well, and we get a lot of response from Mumbaikars.

I'm counting on all my readers to take action on this - either by coming over and donating blood, or at least by forwarding the message as much as possible to others who will do so.

The venues for the next 5 days are-
Nov 26: Big Bazaar - Malad (Near Station-West), Big Bazaar - Phoenix Mills, Big Bazaar - Thane (Kapurbawadi Junction), Big Bazaar - Mulund (LBS Marg), Oberoi Mall, Goregaon East

Nov 27: Big Bazaar - Phoenix Mills, Big Bazaar - Mulund (LBS Marg), Oberoi Mall, Goregaon East

Nov 28: Big Bazaar - Phoenix Mills, Big Bazaar - Mulund (LBS Marg), K-Star Mall - Chembur, Ghatkopar Station

Nov 29: K-Star Mall - Chembur, Ghatkopar Station

Nov 30: InOrbit Mall - Malad, Kamala Mills Compound - Lower Parel, Dadar Station

Dec 1: InOrbit Mall - Malad, Kamala Mills Compound - Lower Parel, Dadar Station

More venues will be announced soon. Details will be available in DNA Mumbai (www.dnaindia.com)

Keeping my fingers crossed!

Let’s give of what we can

2009-11-22T20:42:00.000+05:30

One year to possibly the most horrendous attack on Mumbai! I wanted to do something, and also get people involved.

Not the usual candle light marches or the concerts etc., where people would come, join, leave and forget about it.

I wanted something more meaningful...where people would give something that would make them more involved, and hopefully therefore it would be a proper commemoration of the events of 26/11 and the people who gave their lives.

Hence, with the support of my organisation and a few like-minded people and organisations who are giving their time and space, we’re organising a blood donation drive in Mumbai. Comprising lots of blood donation camps across railway stations and malls, we intend to have this drive from Nov 26 for around a fortnight.

Coincidentally, while this drive was being organised, I read last week that Mumbai’s blood banks are nearly running dry, to the extent that surgeries are being postponed. And I thought – what an apt time to do this.

By the way, did you know that donation by one person does not mean that this blood will be given to only one person? One person’s donation will actually save maybe three or four lives – as the blood donated by us is separated into parts - usually red blood cells and plasma, since most recipients need only a part and not all the blood.

Hopefully, Mumbai will show its spirit once again, and we’ll be able to collect a lot of blood.

Keeping my fingers crossed. Will keep updating you with more details. And I hope some of you will also contribute by walking up to the nearest railway station or mall and help save some lives.

Lessons from the Ashes

2009-09-19T18:08:00.000+05:30

First of all, Eid Mubarak everyone – in advance.

Getting back to my blog today...actually posting some quick thoughts that I had written nearly a month ago, when the Ashes were won by England, who pocketed the last test with a day to spare.

It’s possibly a very wrong time to post this, as it seems like Australia is going to whitewash the English in the ODI series, but the Ashes victory held a few lessons for me, which I thought I might share, so here goes...

It was a very interesting series. Australia looked distinctly the better side, and statistics clearly point to it. However, the better side does not always win, as happened in this series. And this led me to think about the lessons one could learn from it.

Lesson 1 - It is not only about being consistent; it is about seizing the moment: As Andrew Strauss, England Captain, said, “When we were bad we were awful, but when we were good we managed to be just good enough”. And being just that good enough was enough to deliver.

Consider this – Australia scored more runs, lost fewer wickets, had 7 out of the top 8 scoring batsmen and the top 3 wicket taking bowlers. And yet they lost! The turning points? English bowling when it mattered. 7 out of the top 10 bowling performances in an innings and 5 out of the top 7 bowling performances in a match were by the English bowlers. English bowlers also claimed 5 wickets in an innings 4 times compared to 2 by Australia. Which brings me to the next lesson.

Lesson 2 - Work to your strengths that would lead to actual deliveries: It is no secret in cricket that batsmen can save you matches, but to win a match, you have to take 20 wickets. And England did that when it mattered.

Lesson 3 - Be positive, and results would come: Despite the fact that they were outscored by Australia in both batting and bowling, the one area where England were distinctly superior was in their Strike Rate, or Runs per Over. Definitely a sign of positive intent – they were not willing to retreat or go into a shell. And yet...

Lesson 4 - Dig in deep, even when nothing goes your way: Consider this – chasing 239 to just avoid an innings defeat in the first test, and at 70 for 5; it all looked to be over. But Paul Collingwood refused to give up. 74 runs was not a huge amount, but the 245 balls faced and the 344 minutes of occupation of the crease stood between England and defeat. But possibly the clearest indication of how the series would progress came in the final 40 minutes of the test. 12 overs to play, all Australia needs is one good ball, and a bunny by any standards at the crease. And yet, the way Anderson and Panesar blocked out every ball and saved the test must have played on the Australian’s minds in the 2nd test.

Lesson 5 - When things go wrong, take a break, and use it well to re-group and strategise: After the debacle of the 4th test, not even the most die-hard of English supporters would have thought of England winning the Ashes. But the team took their break right, worked out their weaknesses, took a few strong decisions and ‘Trotted’ away to glory.

What an eventful month

2009-08-23T10:18:00.000+05:30

I’m back, writing my first post after what have been an eventful 4 weeks, and possibly the last for the next 4 weeks.

Before I regale everyone with the last month’s tales, I wish everyone a blessed Ramadan. Ramzan Mubarak.

And so, just I, me, myself today...

I had decided that I would devote an hour every Sunday to this blog. But the awesome August! Ufff!

The first weekend went by in a blur. Saturday was a working day. On Sunday, the women (my mother, wife and sister-in-law) decided to do some shopping, and of course, yours truly was the driver and nanny for 4 kids. And what a shopping day it was!

We started at about 12:30 (getting up late, of course! It was a Sunday, c’mon!). A leisurely lunch was followed by more than an hour in the first shop, which culminated in the purchase of one dress (wow!!! They bought one). Then the drive to another shop in Vashi, and another couple of hours, where the growth of purchase improved by 100%.

By this time, it was already close to 5 pm, and the kids were getting restless, so yours truly – in a fit of inspiration – decided to be the good ayah and take them to the garden so that the women could shop in peace.

And there we go off to Vashi sea shore, where the children indulged – till the shower struck!

And we were far away from the car.

And we all got drenched to the core.

And if there’s one thing I dislike, it is getting into the car when wet!

But what do we do?

A quick run to the car when the shower reduced its intensity (may have been after about 15-20 minutes, but felt like an hour or so), and a call to the women if they were through, and the drive back to the market, where they were still shopping...

And we waited in the car for another good 30 minutes – sopping wet!!!

Women, I tell you! :-)

But jokes apart, that was the first time in my life that I saw my mother and my wife indulging in shopping like this. Not their usual get in the shop, pick up somethings, pay and rush, like an episode of a TV serial.

The day was not over yet.

We rushed home, changed, picked up father and then went for dinner. By the time we returned, it was past midnight, and I couldn’t wait to hit the sack!

Bye bye blog!

The next weekend (Saturday, Aug 8) was my cousin’s wedding, in Pune. And much like the film of the same name, that was another series of episodes. While the folks went earlier, I reached on Saturday for the marriage, only to find the groom’s mother crying.

Hey, mothers of brides cry, not mothers of grooms! What happened?

Turned out that my cousin’s (the groom’s) friends had an accident in the morning, around dawn. The car turned over on its side, with three guys inside. Amidst their pain, one of them had a brainwave and called the last dialled number – which happened to be my cousin’s.

Our hero decided to go to their rescue. And those who know Zahir can guess what he would have tried to do.

Yes, before the ambulance or other help arrived, he tried to get the car upright by himself. The car did turn upright, but in the process, he slipped and hurt his entire back and shoulders!

Shaadi to shaam ko thi, subah mein hi baraat nikaal di.

Thankfully, it was not very serious for him, so the wedding proceeded with the groom wincing in pain and the greetings thereafter – you can imagine everyone trying to hug him, someone standing behind stopping them, and a couple (including me) managing backslaps....

Saturday was not over yet! By the time the wedding was being celebrated, my five year old nephew, Emaad, had extremely high fever. We rushed him to the doctor, who – being ultra-cautious – directed us to Naidu Hospital.

What?

Suspected swine flu?

And who tells my parents and others that?

We being smart decided to keep our traps shut till the results. Everyone at home was getting worried that my sister-in-law and cousin are not back yet, and my uncle and I kept reassuring everyone that there are lots of patients at the good doctor’s.

Till finally, two hours later, they call. It was a false alarm. Thank God for that!

And we had decided to go rapelling to a waterfall on Sunday.

Aren’t we brave, folks! I mean, the city is hit by swine flu, and we go not only for the wedding, but also for a picnic the next day.

So, the Don Quixotes leave the next morning for the waterfall, with a few children in tow, so that they could enjoy in the rain.

And enjoy we did! For those who have seen the photographs, eat your heart out!

But how could the day pass off without an incident?

One cousin’s kid – the naught monkey – decided that he had to be the hero for the day, and promptly went and fell on the rocks near the water. Had to get stitches on the back of his head.

It was evening by the time we returned to Pune from the picnic, and past 1 am when we reached home in Navi Mumbai.

There goes week two without my blog!

The rest of the week went by in a blur, with a lot of work at office. By Thursday, I was feeling pretty weak and restless, and by the time I reached office on Friday, I had the cough and high fever.

Sure enough, I was given the marching orders, and by the afternoon, I was back home and at the doctor’s, who gave me the best medicines he could prescribe for my cold, which put me to sleep from Friday afternoon till Sunday evening.

I could not look straight, leave alone writing a blog!

Bye bye, week 3.

Monday and Tuesday were spent coughing in office, and then the fever returned. By Tuesday evening, I was feeling so weak that I kept praying to God to let me drive home safely.

This time, my friendly neighbourhood doctor got my blood test done. And the result – malaria!

What? After going to its capital, spending two days there, meeting people, getting drenched – and I do not even catch the flavour of the season? All I get is this measly kiss from a female Anopheles! How boring!!!

And what a boring week it turned out to be. Sleep, eat, have medicines, and sleep –Wednesday to Saturday.

Feeling better today, so decided to post all the happenings of the past month for your enjoyment.

Hope you liked it folks – all those who know my family and those who do not.

With that, signing off for possibly another four weeks, till the end of Ramadaan, with a request to remember me in your prayers. I’m still not fully fit yet, but hope to resume office tomorrow.

Homosexuality

2009-07-26T22:28:00.000+05:30

Well, India has become the latest in the list of ‘enlightened’ countries which are allowing homosexuality in the name of equality. And we have so many ‘intellectuals’ among us who advocate accepting this, as it is ‘hereditary’, ‘natural’ and what not.

The immediate provocation for this blog was actually an article that appeared in a leading newspaper which quoted someone named 'Saleem Kidwai, author of Same Sex Love in India, a Muslim'. In that article, he says, “I can quote numerous examples of Muslims, including saints and poets, who were venerated even though they supported homosexuality or were gay themselves. Mir Taqi Mir is one example. Look at Sarmat Shaheed aka ‘Hare Bhare Shah’ whose grave is at Delhi’s Jama Masjid. Thousands of Muslims go there to pay respects though Shah’s homosexuality is well-known.”

Stop this BS.

Don’t use examples of people doing something to prove a point that has been clearly pointed out as an abomination in the Qur’an. Do I use the Qur’an – which I believe is the word of Allah – or these two examples of individuals that this person points out? I am not aware of Hare Bhare Shah, but I am clear on one thing – either this person is not a homosexual or he is not a shaheed / holy man. We have all seen how incidents are corrupted and people deified over time, especially in our part of the world.

Since Saleem Kidwai has quoted two examples - neither of which really stick - let me quote only two verses from the Qur’an here.

Walootan ith qala liqawmihi ata/toona alfahishata ma sabaqakum biha min ahadin mina alAAalameena. Innakum lata/toona alrrijala shahwatan min dooni alnnisa-i bal antum qawmun musrifoona.

We also (sent) Lut: He said to his people: “Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you?” “For ye practise your lusts on men in preference to women : ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds.” (Qur’an 7:80-81; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Just two verses in Chapter 7 (Al-A’raf), clearly stating that homosexuality is transgression beyond bounds.

And what happened to the people of Lut who transgressed?

Waamtarna AAalayhim mataran faonthur kayfa kana AAaqibatu almujrimeena

And we rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): Then see what was the end of those who indulged in sin and crime! (Qur’an 7:84; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

For anyone who needs more proof, I would suggest reading Chapter 26 (Ash-Shu’araa), Verses 161-174, which relate the entire episode of Lut and what happened to the people who chose homosexuality over legal married life.

And as for myself, I shall repeat a prayer said by Lut himself.

rabbi onsurnee AAala alqawmi almufsideena

"O my Lord! help Thou me against people who do mischief!" (Qur’an 29:30; Translation by Yusuf Ali – part of verse)

That is Islam’s stance on homosexuality. What about the other major religions?

Let’s look at Christianity? Only 2 verses again.

Do you not know that the unrighteous and wrong doers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived, (misled); neither the immoral and impure, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality, Nor cheats - swindlers and thieves; nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

And most predominantly Christian countries count homosexuality as natural!

Judaism? I personally found this to be strongest in its denouncement of homosexuality. And I shall content myself by sticking to two verses once again.

And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. (Leviticus 20:13)

Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination. (Leviticus 18:22)

And this is where I find what I mentioned earlier as the strongest denouncement.

The Oxford English dictionary defines abomination as a cause of disgust or hatred. In other words, one can read the above verse as lying with a male as with a woman is a cause of disgust or hatred in the eyes of God!

Now consider the position of this verse. It is interspersed between two other verses – one referring to child sacrifice (Leviticus 18:21 - And thou shalt not give any of thy seed to set them apart to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD) and the other pertaining to bestiality (Leviticus 18:23 - And thou shalt not lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast, to lie down thereto; it is perversion).

The Jewish word for abomination is ‘Toaiva’. Let us consider some other acts in the Jewish religion that are also considered ‘Toai’va’.

Eating non-kosher foods is also called a Toaiva-abomination, so is incest (specific mentions in Leviticus for the interested), child sacrifice to their gods, using a seer or magician to contact the dead or predict the future.

If there was a clearer proof of the abhorrence of such act, I am yet to see it!

Hey, but I am referring to all the three monotheistic religions. And we’re in India, where all these three religions are in a minority. C’mon folks, haven’t we seen Kama Sutra, Khajuraho etc.

Right, and then some people have seen the ancient Hindu religious and moral texts, like the Manu Smriti for instance, which says-

A kanya [unmarried woman] who pollutes (another) kanya must be fined two hundred (panas), pay the double of her (nuptial) fee, and receive ten (lashes with a) rod. But a stree [married woman] who pollutes a kanya shall instantly have (her head) shaved or two fingers cut off, and be made to ride (through the town) on a donkey. (Manusmriti 8:370-371)

Giving pain to a Brahmana (by a blow), smelling at things which ought not to be smelt at, or at spirituous liquor, cheating, and an unnatural offence with a man, are declared to cause the loss of caste (Gatibhramsa) (Manusmriti 11:68)

I have again restricted myself to two verses here, but again, it is interesting to see the punishment for a homosexual coming immediately after that of someone committing bestiality. See the parallel with Judaism? Those interested could check out Manusmriti 11:174-175.

And as for Saleem Kidwai and others of his ilk, I would only say-

Summun bukmun AAumyun fahum la yarjiAAoona

Deaf, dumb, and blind, they will not return (to the path). Qur’an 2:18; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Thank You, Mr. Yadav

2009-07-26T22:20:00.000+05:30

I had decided that I would post a blog every Sunday, but I missed last week, for a very simple reason – the phone was dead!

Typically what happens when it rains, the phone went dead last Sunday. I asked my father and wife to register the complaint, and as usually happens, realised on Wednesday that the complaint was still not registered.

So, like all net-savvy netizens, I decided to register my complaint online. And realized that while my internet connection works beautifully, the same cannot be said of the MTNL website.

The fault complaint booking page asks you to register your telephone number and your CA number to proceed to register your complaint. But the funny thing is that it does not accept more than 8 digits! So you can’t move ahead and register.

So I did the next best thing. I clicked on ‘Contact Us’ and sent an e-mail stating both – my complaint as well as the problem on the complaint page.

Promptly, I received a response. It said –

This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification.

Delivery to the following recipients failed.

navimumbai.helpdesk@mtnl.net.in

So there we were - back to square one. And three days had passed.

I again requested my father and my wife - separately this time - to go to MTNL and register a complaint, hoping that one of them might do it; which my wife did - on Friday.

And she was told that there are a lot of complaints so it might take 4-5 days to attend.

I braced myself - considering that yesterday was the 4th Saturday.

And then came the surprise!

This morning (Sunday) at about noon, Mr. Yadav from MTNL rang our doorbell. He had come to repair the line. Upon asking, he mentioned that due to the number of complaints, he and his colleagues decided to attend to some complaints that they thought would possibly be small issues on the weekend so that they can sort the big problems quickly between Monday and Tuesday. Within 10 minutes, he had identified the problem (loose connection due to heavy winds last week) and corrected it.

His fees - Nothing. No chai-paani (bribe) or anything of that sort.

Thank You, Mr. Yadav!

Now if only they set about improving their website’s complaint page...

Sunil, you are so right about disciplined and evolved citizenship at its best

2009-07-12T20:47:00.001+05:30

Sunil, you are so right about disciplined and evolved citizenship at its best.

The chaos that Mumbaikars created at the Bandra-Worli Sea Link had to be seen to be believed. Hour-long queues to get on to the Sea Link, stopping to take photographs, taking U-turns at will, unmindful of the problems they were creating for others.

All because it was free!

And since the day the toll has been levied, we have no more than 15,000 cars using the Sea Link daily.

I remember the last ‘free’ day (Sunday). I had to go to Four Seasons for dinner. After idling for a while at Worli Chawls, I parked my car at the side of the road and started walking. (Four Seasons is slightly less than a kilometre from there). While walking, I noticed the BEST buses waiting in the jam, which I knew pass by Four Seasons.

When I reached the hotel, I just turned and looked back. Forget about passing, the buses were still nowhere to be seen. They had not even reached the Worli Naka signal!

The funnier (?) part is – when I left the hotel at about 11:30 p.m., the traffic jam was still there! And I again noted a couple of BEST buses, which did not overtake me even when I reached my car!

How much more crazy can we get?

Talking of crazy, let me leave you with possibly the most lingering image of the opening day.

Sunil, you are so right about disciplined and evolved citizenship at its best!

Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny

2009-07-05T17:12:00.000+05:30

Sitting by the banks of the river Indrayani last fortnight, watching the first drops of rain of the season and soaking in the smell of water touching the parched earth – possibly one of the best fragrances known to man!

Within a fortnight, this river, which had turned completely dry, is full of fish, frogs are singing their songs of love all through the night, crabs overrunning the place, making my daughter go berserk with excitement...

Isn’t it marvellous? I mean, can you imagine how many miracles I am witnessing? The rain, the life emerging from barren land, the dew that spread a sheet of shimmering silver over the land this morning...

This riverbed was so dry that my children played badminton on it. Where did these fish come from? And the rain...

All this keeps confirming the other miracle that came into existence more than 1,400 years ago, and continues to this date – The Qur’an.

Consider these verses:

Wamin ayatihi yureekumu albarqa khawfan watamaAAan wayunazzilu mina alssama-i maan fayuhyee bihi al-arda baAAda mawtiha inna fee thalika laayatin liqawmin yaAAqiloona

And among His Signs, He shows you the lightning, by way both of fear and of hope, and He sends down rain from the sky and with it gives life to the earth after it is dead: verily in that are Signs for those who are wise. (Qur’an 30:24; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

Waarsalna alrriyaha lawaqiha faanzalna mina alssama-i maan faasqaynakumoohu wama antum lahu bikhazineena

And We send the fecundating winds, then cause the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance), though ye are not the guardians of its stores. (Qur’an 15:22; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

The Arabic word used here is lawâqih, which is the plural of laqih, which means to impregnate or fecundate. In this context, impregnate means that the wind pushes the clouds together increasing the condensation that causes lightning and thus rain. (Ref: Dr. Zakir Naik)

Now that’s a fact not known to humans 1,425 years ago!

In fact, this is completely at variance with the prevailing notion in those times.

“In the seventh century BC, Thales of Miletus held the theory whereby the waters of the oceans, under the effects of winds were thrust towards the interiors of the continents; so the water fell upon the earth and penetrated into the soil. Plato shared these views and thought that the return of the waters to the oceans was via a great abyss, the ‘Tartarus’. This theory had many supporters until the Eighteenth century, one of whom was Descartes. Aristotle imagined that the water vapour from the soil condensed in cool mountain caverns and formed underground lakes that fed springs. He was followed by Seneca (1st Century AD) and many others... (The Bible, The Qur’an and Science-Dr. Maurice Bucaille)

A similar description is found in another verse:

Allahu allathee yursilu alrriyaha fatutheeru sahaban fayabsutuhu fee alssama-i kayfa yashao wayajAAaluhu kisafan fatara alwadqa yakhruju min khilalihi fa-itha asaba bihi man yashao min AAibadihi itha hum yastabshiroona

It is Allah Who sends the Winds, and they raise the Clouds: then does He spread them in the sky as He wills, and break them into fragments, until thou seest rain-drops issue from the midst thereof: then when He has made them reach such of his servants as He wills behold, they do rejoice! (Qur’an 30:48; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

A complete description of the water cycle, which confirms to latest research on hydrology.

And another one which refers to the entire description of the water cycle, and refers to the electric charge of lightning in a simple way.

Alam tara anna Allaha yuzjee sahaban thumma yu-allifu baynahu thumma yajAAaluhu rukaman fatara alwadqa yakhruju min khilalihi wayunazzilu mina alssama-i min jibalin feeha min baradin fayuseebu bihi man yashao wayasrifuhu AAan man yashao yakadu sana barqihi yathhabu bial-absari

Seest thou not that Allah makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap? - then wilt thou see rain issue forth from their midst. And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is hail: He strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns it away from whom He pleases, the vivid flash of His lightning well-nigh blinds the sight. (Qur’an 24:43; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

There are many more such references which confirm to the miracle that is the Qur’an being the word of my Lord. One can go on and on – about the water cycle, about geology, about astronomy, about the animal kingdom, and - most interestingly - about human embryology...

Aah, human embryology! Now that’s something that was discovered only in our lifetime! And now we’re talking about things that are invisible to the naked eye - and there were no microscopes in the 6th century AD.

So, let me end this post with one of my favourite verses:

Fabi-ayyi ala-i rabbikuma tukaththiban

Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny? Sura Rehman (Qur’an 55:13; Translation by Yusuf Ali)

(References and Acknowledgements: Al Qur’an; The Qur’aan and Modern Science-Compatible or Incompatible by Dr. Zakir Naik; The Qur’an-Knowledge and Science by A. Abdallah; The Bible, The Qur’an and Science by Dr. Maurice Bucaille)

Who writes your script?

2009-06-22T09:27:00.000+05:30

"Who writes your script?", Graham Gooch had asked about Ian Botham, way back in 1986.

Fast forward to 2009, and the eternal scriptwriter sitting up there has written another improbable one.

Two countries, torn by internal conflicts and ethnic strife. One country facing a virtual seige by other cricket playing countries due to safety reasons, the other country empathising and agreeing to undertake a tour, and mid-way through the tour, their team bus gets attacked by terrorists!

Months later, these countries playing in a World Cup final!

How much more poetic can you get?

Congratulations, Younus Khan and Kumara Sangakkara, for the lovely game of cricket and for the spirit in which it was played considering the recent history.

A lot of us (myself included, I must confess) had not counted on Pakistan and Sri Lanka contesting the finals. But then, were we wrong? In the short history of this format of the game, these are the two best countries. After all, a 77% W/L record for Pakistan and a 70% W/L record for SL is not something to be sneezed at, is it?

Compare that to India. Notwithstanding our last championship win, we just have a 56% W/L record, and are 5th in the placings. (Count that 4th, because Netherlands with 3 wins out of 5 are statistically above us).

And yet; we eat, drink, sleep and dream only cricket.

An indication of this - on the day when the T20 World Cup final took place, another momentous event in Indian sport unfolded on the other side of the world. Saina Nehwal won the Indonesian Open Super Series badminton title beating the World No.3 in the final. Saina herself is ranked 8, and aims to be in the top 5 by the end of this year.

Here’s a little analysis of the coverage given to each event by 3 major English broadsheet dailies in Mumbai.

Look at that – an Indian winning a major sport played across the world had much lesser coverage than a sport played by a handful of countries, and where India was already out.

I wish I could do a comparison of TV channels too, simply because I flipped through news channels for about 45 minutes this morning, and could find news coverage, scrollers etc. repeating T20 ad nauseum, but not a single mention of Saina Nehwal’s victory.

We keep mentioning about how we need to promote sports other than cricket, but when it comes to practicing what one preaches, it is obvious that TV channels and mainstream English dailies (with the exception of DNA) are way behind.

Apart from a Paes, Bhupathi, Sania and Anand, it is rare to see a mention of any sportsperson other than a cricketer. And that was also after they became too big to be ignored.

We write in salacious details about Dhoni’s and Yuvraj’s love lives, but we are mum when it comes to the sporting achievements of champions in other sports. Net result – most people would not even know the names of sportsmen who have brought laurels to the country in their sports.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a test. I am mentioning the names of 29 Indian sportspersons who are champions at their respective sports. Let’s see how many can you guess?

Abhinav Bindra, Akhil Kumar, Al Lakra, Anjali Bhagwat, Anju Bobby George, Anwar Sultan, Armaan Ebrahim, Dinesh Kumar, Jaspal Rana, Jayanta Talukdar, Jitender Kumar, Karan Malik, Koneru Humpy, Limba Ram (he lives in a garage today), Mahesh Chandran Panchanathan, Manavjit Singh, Mangal Singh Champia, Mansher Singh, Mary Kom, P Harikrishna, Parimarjan Negi, Parthiva Sureshwaren, Rahul Banerjee, Ravi Dixit, Sandipan Chanda, Saurav Ghosal, Suranjoy Singh, Tania Sachdev, Vijender Singh

I rest my case. Thank You.

Should Traffic Police be given incentives for fine collections?

2009-06-15T22:55:00.000+05:30

As promised, I’m back this week – though without all the thoughts put together – I must confess!

Interestingly, there is an added incentive to me to really get angry and pour all my vitriol in this post. Between Friday and Sunday, the rear of my car was kissed twice; once by an auto and once by a Sumo. Thank Allah there was no major damage – just a few scratches.

So, let me start this blog with an incident that took place in Switzerland, about a decade ago. A colleague of mine – let’s call him Raj – was there in winter; around late Dec-early Jan. One night, he had to go to someone’s house for dinner. It was past midnight when he was returning, it was snowing heavily, there was not a soul on the roads – just him, and the taxi driver.

At a junction, the driver stopped. Raj exhorted him to move on, pointing out that there was not a single vehicle coming from any direction, not a single person, not even a stray dog! Added to it, the junction was not manned by any policeman or a camera. Yet the driver refused to move till the signal turned green!

Imagine, stopping at a red signal knowing fully well that there is no problem if he jumped it! When Raj asked him, all that the driver had to say was “There was a red signal and I had to obey it”.

This was one extreme example of people obeying traffic rules. On the other hand, I have seen instances abroad where drivers were caught and fined for a simple offence like moving on to the shoulder of the road, when not allowed. The stick ensured compliance.

Moving from that, why is our mentality related to traffic the way it is? With the clarity of distance (Thank You, David Rock and RCS) and asking the 5 Why’s (Thank You, Sakichi Toyoda San), let’s try to understand it.

So, the fact is that we break traffic rules with impunity
Why – Because everyone else does it
Why – Because we know we can get away with it
Why – Because we can bribe the policeman
Why – Because he is underpaid. (I read somewhere once that a ‘gataari kaamgar’ – a person who cleans the drains – in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation has a higher salary than a constable. Can someone please remind me of the reference or correct me if I’m wrong?)

Got that in 4 why’s.

There is also another way to look at it.

So, the fact is that we break traffic rules with impunity
Why – Because everyone else does it
Why – Because we know we can get away with it
Why – Because there would be no policeman to catch us
Why – Because there are not enough policemen. (Tried opening the website of the Mumbai police to ascertain the number. Most pages do not open! Finally, on one page, I read this line – “The Traffic Control Branch has now grown to a strength of over 2,000” (Ref: http://www.mumbaipolice.org/traffic/org_fun7.htm) . And the Navi Mumbai Traffic Police chart shows a staff strength of 277. Yes, you read right, just 277. (Ref: http://www.trafficpolicemumbai.org/Navi%20Mumbai%20Traffic%20Police%20Zones%20&chowkies.htm)
Again, got that in 4.

Imagine, 2,277 policemen, including inspectors, senior policemen et al, for an area comprising the entire population of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia!!!

Have a heart, folks, for the overworked and underpaid policeman.

So, in short, policemen accept bribes because they are overworked; and because they are underpaid. In other words, monetarily dissatisfied. And here is an easy way out to earn some additional bucks, and possibly get back in some oblique way at the establishment.

So, why don’t we give them their due – and in the right way?

Just a thought. Increase fines to high levels, such that people will think not twice, but multiple times, about breaking rules. I mean, Rs.1,000 for driving in the wrong lane (I’d love to see those truckers on Vashi Bridge lining up), Rs.3,000 for overspeeding, Rs.5,000 for a jumping a red light...

And have an incentive scheme for the policeman – just like most salespeople have. 25% straight on every fine earned for the policeman, 5% for the superior officer. Keep 20% for quarterly incentives for the policeman / police station. That still leaves 50% of the amount that goes to the kitty of the traffic police for modernisation etc. Make all this amount tax free, and have strong rules on policemen caught over-charging commuters – or worse still, yet accepting bribes. A simple rule – dishonourable discharge.

Have surprise checks to ensure compliance, and get the college youth involved in this. NSS – here’s a chance to do something really visible, and earn grace marks.

What say, folks? We could put our collective heads together and present it as a case to the Jt. CP – Traffic. Simple, implementable thoughts on traffic management, including possibly-
Incentive schemes for policemen
Alternate days for vehicles to come on the roads
No four wheeler with only one driver / passenger in the morning / evening peak drive times to be allowed
Come to think of it – hologrammed number plates installed directly by the traffic police. Revenue for the police, and a way out of the number plate mess that we have. Incidentally, have you noticed, most cars having ‘fancy’ / regional number plates also have a symbol of one of the four major political parties?

Maybe it could be a way out of the mess that we have, maybe not. Maybe there would be all the bureaucratic rigmarole that would drag us down, maybe not. But we would never know till we try, right?

So folks, I’m adding two polls to this post. Do you think that incentivising policemen for fine collection is a viable idea, and should we take up some similar thoughts and present them to the Jt. CP – Traffic. I shall look forward to your comments and your votes.

Finally, some action by the Municipal Authorities

2009-06-07T23:18:00.000+05:30

Finally, all the roads around our house are being re-laid and paved. Even the broken drainage pipe near our house has been replaced. :-)

I’d like to believe that the blog worked, but it was more due to the efforts of my mother and my wife. I’ve lost count of the times they went to the Ward Office, called up the Ward Officer and other officers and generally made sure that their voices were heard.

They do really deserve a treat for this!

And Waseem, you’re right in your comment about our mentality related to traffic. Your comment has brought to the fore some thoughts that have been simmering at the back of my mind for quite a while now.

I’m going to try and put them in some semblance of order by next week. A couple of them sound a bit radical to me, and I would like the opinion of all of you on whether I should take them beyond the blog into some sort of action.

Watch this post next week.

Impinging upon a media planner's work

2009-06-07T23:07:00.000+05:30

Was at a meeting with some media planners last week, trying to convince them that they should use our media vehicle for their plans, when one of the young planners turned around and asked me, “Mubin, do you really think we’re not convinced about your publication?” When I answered that I believed they were quite convinced, he queried next, “And do you think we would not take it if we had the choice?”

And that had me stumped!

I mean, it is an unspoken truth that media planners are arguably the most overworked and least paid group in advertising. And here was a young planner who was now hinting (and overtly – I might add - in the ensuing discussion) that there were not only pressures from the client, but also otherwise, that were impinging upon his work.

Media Planning has seen a huge exodus over the past few years, to the extent that most agencies are now working with a couple of senior level people, and then a lot of ‘bachchas’. Clients are screaming about the lack of quality; and we all know the reasons why – and are turning a blind eye to it, in the immediate interest – the here and now.

And now this new angle, which I could clearly see was turning a young (2-3 years of work experience) media planner into a cynic.

I’m afraid, very afraid!!!

Politics in India

2009-06-02T19:37:00.000+05:30

Politics in India...has finally...

...gone to the dogs :-D :-D :-D

Traffic Signals

2009-05-26T21:08:00.000+05:30

Maybe it is the initial rush of thoughts that were in my mind over the past few weeks, but here’s another post, despite promising myself that I would post only once a week – so that there’s no writer’s block.

For the Mumbaikars, have you noticed how people start moving their vehicles slowly ahead at the traffic signals? Especially the motorcyclists and auto rickshaw drivers, who are normally halfway through the road even at the red light, jamming up the oncoming traffic.

Idling at those signals, I always wonder why they do this. And is there some way that we can stop it.

And I realised that one of the key reasons why they do it is actually the placement of the signal. Nearly all our junctions have two sets of traffic lights – sometimes even three. One set is placed at the spot where traffic ought to stop – at the stop line. And the second is placed on the opposite side of the road – on the other stop line of the oncoming traffic.

People can see that light, and hence start moving ahead even earlier, knowing fully well that they will possibly be the first to move when it turns green.

Add to that the LED informing us about the time left, and we have given our local Schumachers all the incentive they need to start breaking the rules on the stop line.

Just wondering – would it not be helpful if those indicators and the second set of signal lights were removed from all junctions? To some extent, the drivers who move forward may wait as they won’t be able to see the signal change. And secondly, for whatever it is worth, electricity consumption by the traffic signals would be down by half.

Just Wondering

2009-05-25T22:04:00.001+05:30

Just wondering...

Is this year’s F1 Championship already buttoned up?

Thank You

2009-05-25T20:10:00.000+05:30

Thank you everyone, Thanks a ton for your comments, advice and words of encouragement!

I can’t name a single person as the e-mails were too numerous, and writing individual names would take up a lot of space.

A heartfelt thanks to all of you again!

Normally, whenever someone does something, there is an inspiration behind it – or a reason.

One of the inspirations behind me starting a blog is a young lady who I have never met; who I don’t even know.

One fine day, a long time ago, I got an e-mail from my cousin Junaid, which was a forward from this young lady, who had a question. While replying to it, I also marked a cc to this lady. Since then, I’ve been an avid reader of her blog.

Thank You, Ms. Mifrah Abid.

People may want to visit her blog - http://mifrahabid.wordpress.com/

My first blog - with thanks

2009-05-21T22:52:00.000+05:30

Hi there everyone!

After weeks of deliberating, here's my first blog. Just an introduction about myself and what my blogs are going to be all about -

I'm pretty bad at introducing myself, but still, here goes.

Mubin Khan, 41 years old, stay in Navi Mumbai, work in Mumbai in Media Sales. Also have worked as a media planner and media buyer, and dabbled in research. Like my field of work (media), like cricket (most Indians do - yawn!), passionate about Islam and about religions (have studied comparative religions - Hinduism and Christianity). Get hugely irritated about a lot of things that one sees on the streets daily - and you'll soon know what I mean by this.

Enough of I, me, myself. Here's what my blogs are going to be about-

I'm going to write about topics that concern me - and make me the person I am. Also, about things that bug me, and things that hopefully I can do something about - change for the better, hopefully. These would mainly cover my country, city, religion, work and passions. So there you are - my blogs would cover India, Mumbai/Navi Mumbai, Islam, Media (planning, buying, selling and research) and training and coaching.

It is an accepted fact that people generally like to inaugurate any new venture at the hands of some VIP or the other; whether a film star or a politician. And then there are all the "Thank You" speeches. So why should I be different? Let me also inaugurate this blog with none other than the Honourable Chief Minister of Maharashtra. And here's my "Thank You" speech...

Thank You, Mr. CM, for giving us a dream - a dream of the city of the 21st century! And thanks for giving us such amazing reasons in the last century to convince me to move here - lock, stock and two smoking barrels!

Thanks, Mr. CM - for giving us this amazing city, where there is no electricity for 3 hours daily. Thanks for preparing our children for the harsh world that awaits them.

Thanks Sir, for giving us training for the Moto GP through the dug up roads. The road between Sectors 5 and 6, Koparkhairane is dug for the past 2 months, ostensibly to put in a new water pipeline. I'm not exaggerating - 2 tankers have nearly overturned, 1 truck had its load thrown off, a lady broke her leg, and the road is not repaired yet! Hutments have sprung up, local goons have already broken the pipeline and started stealing water - and all this within 300 meters from the Ward Office, and the Ward Officers do not know!

Thank You for the video parlour and liquor store within 20 meters from a school (I thought there was some law about it somewhere?). Makes life so easy for all of us, na!

And we are seeing this daily and grinning and bearing it! Thank You, Mr. CM, for teaching us patience!

Thank You Sir, for the unruly auto rickshaw drivers who stop as they wish, using 3/4th of the road (no jokes!!!) leaving less than a lane for traffic at Teen Tanki, right outside the police chowky, while there is not a single policeman to be seen!

Thank You Sir, for the 90 minute drive from office weaving through trucks and tourist buses who make it a point to use 2 lanes on the right side at Vashi Bridge, while there is a police van standing right at the start of the bridge.

And lastly, Thank You Sir, for charging me Rs.30 everytime I have to go into Mumbai and Rs.30 everytime I return home (which is daily), just for the privilege of staying in this wonderful city of the 21st century.

(Disclaimer: This is not a personal note to the present CM. He was not even in politics when I was swayed to move to this city. And also, despite all the above, Navi Mumbai is a lovely place to be in - just get used to sharing your living space with stray dogs and mosquitoes - that's all!)