Alienation

B: "Just tell me one thing, dad, you used to be interested in running and sports etc, so where has this 'Tabla' come from? Ok you tell me, is there anyone like this among the cousins?"

I: "Ask Allah" (Are you by anyway challenging Him?)

Blue Brain

Blue Brain is a project that began in May 2005 in Switzerland. The aim of this project is to simulate the human brain down to the molecular level. By the end of 2006, the team has successfully simulated a rat neocortical column (column: functional unit of brain, 2 x 0.5 mm). A column in rat contains 10,000 neurons. To construct this biologically accurate, functional model of the brain they have used IBM's Blue Gene Supercomputer, considered the most powerful computer in the world. Would this model be able to work like an individual human brain? In their own words: "The Blue Brain project is the first comprehensive attempt to reverse-engineer the mammalian brain, in order to understand brain function and dysfunction through detailed simulations. It is an attempt to reverse engineer the brain, to explore how it functions and to serve as a tool for neuroscientists and medical researchers. It is not an attempt to create a brain. It is not an artificial intelligence project. Although we may one day acheive insights into the basic nature of intelligence and consciousness using this tool, the Blue Brain Project is focused on creating a physiological simulation for biomedical applications."

Feast of Love

Another heart relenting movie. A stimulator of lacrimal glands (and at places sweat glands). Not solving ofcourse but adding more to the intricacies of love. Love will remain a mystery for ever. Following dialogues are worth noting:

* There is a story about the Greek Gods; they were bored so they invented human beings, but they were still bored so they invented love, then they weren't bored any longer. So they decided to try love for themselves. And finally, they invented laughter, so they could stand it.

* Sometimes you don't know you've crossed a line until you're already on the other side. (Does that not occur for the first time only? The second time you know that you are crossing the line.)

* Harry: "Its been lonely for you I know and Im sorry. Theres just the two of us now. One day therell only be one of us. Its an unbearable prospect."
Esther: "Thats why we have to love each other as hard as we can now, while we still have the chance."

* (On the tragic demise of Oscar while his wife, Chloe is pregnant)
Harry: "It was awful wasnt it? Too sad. Unspeakable. God is either dead or he despises us."
Bradley: "You dont really believe that."
Harry: "May be. I just saw a young couple making love. I watched for longer than I should have. I was envious. And then I felt sorry for them. There's so much they don't know. Heartbreak they can't even imagine"
Bradley (sighs) : "Well even if they knew, it would'nt change anything."
Harry: "How so?"
Bradely: "Well, Chloe knew what was gonna happen to Oscar. She went to some psychic lady who predicted the whole thing."
Harry: "She believed her?"
Bradely: "Yes Harry. She did. And she didn't run away. She didn't crawl into a hole. She found them a house and she married him. God doesn't hate us, Harry. If he did, he wouldn't have made our hearts so brave."

* The unexpected is always upon us. And of all the gifts arrayed before me, this one thought at this moment in my life is the most precious. And so, we begin again.

The history of Arain

The only period in life when a person's caste assumes importance is when his parents set out to find a perfect daughter-in-law. A Rajput likes to marry a Rajput, a Butt would want a Butt and a Gujjar would have a Gujjar as life partner [of course we are talking about arranged marriages only. Love is blind; they cant even see that they belong to different castes. lolz]

Years back I asked my grandpa (may he rest in peace and may Allah shower all His blessings upon him) who are we and where we come from. He gave me a book by Ali Asghar Chaudhry entitled Tareekh-e-Araiyan published by Ilmi Kitab Khana, Urdu Bazaar. Its a 7"x10", 627 paged massive book. I never read it completely but it was through it that I came to know my history :) After describing the histroy, this book enlists in detail the Arain families from all over Pakistan and in the end from India. Among the families of Lahore the book names my great great grand uncle and my great great grand father which my grandpa had marked with a pen. (Thank you grandpa, I wish you were here and I could get more from you). I describe it briefly below.

In the Ummayad Dynasty (660-750 AD) there was a city, Areeha which lied on the road from Damascus to Jerusalem (now in modern Israel, close to the Dead Sea). For the protection of Damascus this city had geographical importance. Keeping in mind its importance, such people were given lands in Areeha who belonged to the superior families of Banu Ummayad or who were loyal to the Ummayads. These people were natural fighters, physically the fittest. Their ancestors were adept in wars. Not only they were skilled warriors but they were also good at agriculture. They cultivated the land of Areeha and it flourished. (Areeha is also called Jerico or Yareeho. Areeha is from Areeh which means aroma, Areeha means garden)

When Hajjaj Bin Yousaf decided to send his men to conquer Sindh, six thousand best soldiers were selected from Areeha along with smaller number of soldiers from other parts of Syria. They entered South Asia under the leadership of Muhammad Bin Qasim, defeated Raja Dahir, conquered many parts and introduced Islam in the region. After the death of Hajjaj Bin Yousaf and Caliph Abdul Malik, Caliph Suleman came to power. He had some family conflicts with Hajjaj Bin Yousaf. The new governor took revenge against all who were close to Hajjaj. Suleman owed political support to opponents of Hajjaj and so recalled Hajjaj's successful general Qasim while his men were forced to stay back.

Those who stayed never went back to the present day. Accoding to their origin they were Areehai which later took the form of Arain. After Qasim's return they chose a new leader, continued their attacks on other regions, established their governments in Sindh and Multan regions. Their families started growing in the region. Later a large part of the armies of Mehmood of Ghazni, Muhammad Ghori, Sher Shah Suri and the Mughal Emperors comprised of Arain people.

There are however other theories of the origin of Arain which the book refutes by giving proof. It may not have any significance today but for the sheer knowledge of it, there are four main rankings (not sub-castes) which refer to the wealth held by the Arain namely Mian, Malik, Chaudary, and Mehar. The rankings among Arain are not birthrights (such as those among other castes) and one can freely ascend/descend according to changes in personal wealth. Many gotras or sub-clans of the Arains bear names that indicate soldiering as an occupation. For example: Ramay (archers), Rattay (bloody, red, ferocious fighters), Ramday (red -eyed soldiers), Jatalay (victors), Qutub Shahi: (soldiers or their offspring who accompanied Qutubuddin Aibak), Bahalwan (driver of a chariot) and Bhutto (dwellers of high places).

A study by the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences on blood types of the major ethnicities in the Punjab showed that O is the most common blood group (among all ethnicities), except among the Arain where B is most common.

Proud to be an Arain :-D

Anatomy

Good bye anatomy. For the next three years atleast. Though I didnt like you so much but still having passed two solids years with you, I'l miss you. You were tough. And its time you used some contraception; you've got a really big family; gross, general, embryology, histology. Ufff...I dont know how I did ALL that. Anyways Ive got so many memories with you; demonstrators' wrath, professors' revenge, waking nights, one day preps, dissecting those poor dead bodies (I remember their faces), the tinge of formaline penetrating everyones' nose and eyes, the skiagrams, bones, models, dissection hall....just everything. And I can't thank you enough for never disappointing me throughout these two years.

Medical Exams

Just like a wet cloth is twisted to squeez away all water from it, the examiners squeeze us until we are turned and twisted and all dry.

Just a glance

Another poem by Amir Khusro, sung by many singers.

Chhap tilak sab cheen li ray mosay naina milaikay.
Prem bhatee ka madhva pilaikay
Matvali kar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay …
Bal bal jaaon mein toray rang rajwa
Apni see kar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Khusrau Nijaam kay bal bal jayyiye
Mohay Suhaagan keeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Chhap tilak sab cheen li ray mosay naina milaikay

(I found this translation somewhere)
You’ve taken away my looks, my identity, by just a glance.
By making me drink the wine of love-potion,
You’ve intoxicated me by just a glance;
I give all my life to you, I want to be like you,
You’ve dyed me in yourself, by just a glance.
I give my whole life to you Oh, Nijam,
You’ve made me your bride, by just a glance.
You've taken away my looks, my identity, by just a glance.

Empress in waiting

"Her lips were pale, as though she had not slept - or perhaps she had been crying. I thought in that moment that she looked older, more elegant; she had an element of that beauty which only age can confer upon a woman, and I imagined I was catching a glimpse of the Erica she would one day become. Truly, I thought, she is an empress-in-waiting!"

Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist

A woman only gets beautiful with age.

Forgive me

Please forgive me. I cant stop loving you. I tried, I swear I did.

Mango, mustard and beloved

I came across this beautiful piece by the sufi saint Amir Khusro. The poetry itself is ecstatic. Flowers, basant, yellow mustard, happiness, this poem describes the arrival of spring season. The composition by Sabri brothers was an extra treat.

Sakal bun phool rahi sarson
Umbva phutay, tesu phulay
Koyal bolay daar daar
Aur gori karat singhaar,
Malaniyan gadhwa lay aayin karson,
Sakal bun phool rahi sarson
Tarah tarah kay phool lagaaye,
Lay gadhwa haathan mein aaye.
Nijamudin kay darwazay par,
Aawan keh gaye aashaq rung,
Aur beet gaye barson.
Sakal bun phool rahi sarson.

Its difficult to convey the same meaning in any other language but Ive tried a rough translation. (Just the words sarson and mustard evoke different thoughts in mind)

The mustard flowers bloom in every field,
Mango buds sprout, and tesu yield;
The cuckoo chirps from branch to branch,
And the maiden puts her make-up and jewellery,
The gardener-girls have brought bouquets.
Planted flowers of all kinds,
Brought bouquets in our hands
To the door of Nizamudin
My beloved went away promising to come back,
But years have passed since that.
The mustard flowers bloom in every field.

Woman's body

Hearing my friends discuss the depressions and elevations of some woman celebrity today, I remembered Mohsin Hamid:

"It is remarkable, I must say, how being in Pakistan heightens one's sensitivity to the sight of a woman's body."

The reluctant fundamentalist


:-D