tishnagee

what a deal!!

2006-01-12T09:19:00.000-08:00

I was reading the newspaper and got jammed at one news. Still wondering where to categorise this one as...celebration for someones freedom or an applause at the business of Justice .
To start with it is a real story of a man who spent 54 yrs of his life in a mental asylum.This may sound a usual story.

All of you there must be wondering what makes this news to be highlighted on a blog. Well at first it seems to be a daily story but what made me write on this is that a man named Machel Lalung had to spent over a half century in a mental asylum inspite of being certified as mentally sound.He was only 23 yrs old when he was taken to the mental asylum..and probably he must not be even aware of the fact that world around him would never be same for him if he ever came out .See the irony he was declared fit twice by a mental hospital.Mere negligence of few people made him lose 54 yrs of freedom.Imagine sharing a day or rather one hour with mentally ill person (with due respect to people with mental instability)and this man had to spent more than half a centuary and that too being normal.Any sane person would go insane if he is made to put up with insanity for so long.

On that to cover up their insanity ,intellectual brains who are supposed to be well versed with Law and Justice and impart Justice bought Machel's 54 yrs of his so called life by making few other intellectuals to pay him 3 lakhs and providing free(inturn word would have been appropriate)) medical treatment for life(he is 77 yrs old by now).By this time Machel must be wondering or comparing where in reality insanity exist---------inside those four walls where the insanity could identify itself or outside those walls where sanity itself is in identity crisis.

ode from the old world

2005-09-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

Abraham lincoln to his son's teacher

He will have to learn,i know, that all men are not just,
all men are not true.
But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish politician,
there is a dedicated leader...

Teach him for every enemy there is a friend
steer him away from envy,
if you can
teach him the secret of quiet laughter.
let him learn early that
the bullies are the easiest to lick...
teach him,if you can
the wonders of the books...
but also give him quiet time
to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun,
and flowers on a green hillside.

In the school teach him
it is far honourable to fail
than to cheat...
Teach him to have faith
in his own ideas,
even if everyone tells him
they are wrong...
Teach him to be gentle
with gentle people,
and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son
the strength not to follow the crowd
when everyone is getting on the band wagon...
Teach him to listen to all men...
but teach him also to filter
all he hears on a screen of truth,
and take only the good
that comes through.

Teach him if you can
how to laugh when he is sad...
Teach him there is no shame in tears,
Teach him to scoff at cynics
and to beware of too much sweetness...
Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to highest bidders
but never to put a price-tag on his heart and soul

Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob
and to standand fight if he thinks he is right.
Treat him gently,but do not cuddle him
because only the test of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have courage to be impatient...
let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself,
because then he will have sublime faith in mankind.
This is a big order, but see what you can do...
he is such a fine fellow,
my son!

i read this ode somewhere and wanted to share it,hope you people like it.

unsung teachers

2005-09-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

i am going to mention some of the faces which i often see on roadside .Although i am not in any relation with them but yet i can recognise those people anywhere anytime.Surprisingly these faces infact prooved practically what i had only heard or ever imagined.You guys out there might be thinking what a roadside dweller can teach us but believe me atleast for me they were pretty demonstrative.So here i gibber..''

1 . There is this man aged 30-35yrs (may be younger than this,,,aging process exceeds his actual age). I have always seen him selling pomegranates in a round basket,some of the fruits r cut ,exposed with flies on them n some kept covered in a cloth.Few days back when it was raining cats and dogs i happen to pass by him.I remember his act made me laugh for sometime but then i realized that i wasnt laughing at him .Who could be the subject to laugh at?Let me tell u what was he doing----he was trying his best to fit himself in that fruit basket ,after that he kept all the pomegranates on his body ,rolled the cloth ,adjusted it on a small edge ,rested his head and went to sleep.I was taken back by his spirit to adjust in adversities and one more thing that he taught me ---shelter is a necessity.

2. Next is a young girl say age of 18-2o yrs.She lives on a pavement.Should i call that living....NO.I have never noticed any facial expression on her face. I had always seen her sleeping or lying on that pavement ,covering herself with a old bed sheet. One day while passing that street i saw her sitting with her hair covering the face,,could be a deliberate hide .I hated everything around there because her covering was missing and she was sitting all naked and debauching comments were being showered on her with all generosity,didnt know whom to blame......but here again she taught me----clothes r not just luxury ........

3. There is this woman with 4 children ,living under a fly over bridge. Once i saw her distributing food to her kids.She distributed equally in first round but nothing was left for second round and kids started to grumble but then they too stoppped.Then she scratched the pot and and negotiated with her satiety centre. I got another lesson, food.,another necessity.

4 Here is another begger --dowdy lady with burn scars on her face,,i happen to see her very often and now she has also started acknowledging me. She smiles when we see each other.I find her face very genial,ingenious- seen her giggling .She has a kid of 1,1.5 yrs n she is always playing ,kissing him.I thinkwhat makes her laugh ,giggle is the love for her child and makes me understand that another necessity is love to live.

5.One of most horrendous sight i have ever seen is of a human being with a beating heart,blinking eyes, functional brain ,hearing ears---------but without a single limb. I was shocked to see that torso placed in a corner of a busy road. I couldnt find any expression on his face ,his eyes blinked when someone dropped a coin in that plate.He was aware of his unwholesome torso and the passers by who never missed another chance to look at him but hats off to him,his muscles of facial expression chose to not to act and he kept his eyes gazed on the plate placed in front of him, he did teach me something but cant get that intangible message.

irony of blind love

2005-09-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

JHANDA OONCHA RAHE HUMARA

tears

2005-09-08T00:53:00.000-07:00

If i were a tear in your eyes,

I would roll down onto your lips
But
if you were a tear in my eyes

I would never cry
as
i would be afraid to loose you

who is that girl

2005-07-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

One day while going to Mumbai central,i happened to pass so called notorious area Nagpaada,although i passed it in few minutes but those faces peeping from the street -railing are still haunting me.I recall very familiar faces which i usually see on that pavement--------a middle aged emasciated woman,with red lipstick ,powdered face,,dark complexion, leaning against the stinking wall and trying to gaze at every passerby.Then a young girl dressed in a skirt and a shirt ,red lipstick,with a bun in hair,resting her arm on the railing and talking to a fat middle aged man .YOU can see so many like these standing on the way -----------to sell their anatomical souls for some pennies.
I wonderwhat must be going on in their minds when they make themselves equivalent to anyother commodity in day today's life.They are available in market just as other household articles. As we go out to shop for grocery------see all the brands,their cost prizes,their ingredients,their wrapper, mfgd. date and expiry date-----same goes for a sex worker standing on the road displaying everything what a customer wants before buying .She tries her best to look good,attractive,young and customer friendly.

What do they think when they get ready for marketing.Do they really want to look great ?Do their lipstick colours and dress colours genuinely need to be matched by them?Do they try 100 hairstyles before entering on the ramp, do they see each tiny blackhead while looking into the mirror,do they admire themselves for their looks,or they just apply anything for the heck of the application?
What do they feel when they see a customer coming close to them?Are they worried about his flat nose,short height ,stinking shirt,torn shoes,bad hygiene and speaking skill or they just eye on his pocket and forget everything,or they ever notice all this and deny some customers?
How do they feel while negotiating for single 10 Rs note for hours,and how do they confront those debauching ideas from somone who doesnt even have a single word of appreciation for them?Do they still want someone to make them feel special as a women?Do they feel humiliated when caught in a raid or is it just another day's affair?Do they ever want to poke those dity eyes or they get used to it?
How do they feel when they come to know about their conception for the very first time?Do they long eagirly to see the face of their child or does it remind them off the hell they are living in?Do they have any view on paternity dispute and what do they tell the child about his/her father,does the child have a pictionary thought of so called father?

How do they feel while telling the child to close the books and play outside in the customers presence?How do they feel while paying for child's school fee?
These all are the difficult questions to answer,but after all the commodity is a human being and has all emotions wheather expressed or supressed but they do have them and we should not overlook them just because she is made not to act like a protected woman.

My experience as a patient

2005-07-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

To be on the other side of the table really made me realize and notice those not so important little things in a patients life.

I can still remember that not so bright day when i felt the discomfort of being unwell.Mom's ,dads concerns were as usual ----worrying but trying their best to hide their foreheads furrows.I thought it to be another viral fever which vanishes on its own. Dad decided to consult a Dr.I felt like ghar ki murgi daal brabar(history repeats).so there we were sitting in a clinic waiting for our turn .the attendant called my name like we see in court scenes in bollywood movies I could see and feel the despair on peoples faces sitting in the waiting lounge everytime the attendant shouted for someone else's name. I noticed the different expressions on their faces when they came out from inside.it was a mixture of surprise, --grief,--satisfaction,-joy,anger,.We went inside,doc seemed to me like an angel whose magic wand does wonders to those people in waiting lounge.He examined me and i examined his facial expression and my dad examined boths.He scribbled on the prescription pad and advised some tests as soon as possible and told my dad to call him up later on.We came home and had discussion on clinic ,doc ,his clean curtains, examination table,his attendant but on the diagnosis-- may be was too young too divert them.I could sense the special attention given that day-----was no longer a daal--was a ghar ki murgi---at last.

Next day was my day out to a clinical lab. Although tests were to be done empty stomach but mom got the silver spoon with curd....was wondering if i was going for third world war. I was standing in the long queue waiting impatiently for that not at all fascinating syringe.To get it out of my mind i started staring at a lady standing ahead of me.
Everytime some one yelled of pain she closed her eyes and turned her head to side.I could hear the patients talking about their symptoms,weather,best doc. in the town,lab hygiene,and what not. Now it was her turn (the lady before me),as she was made to sit on the chair and cuff was tied on her arm -no sooner she saw the syringe smiling at her she closed her eyes and turned her face to the side ---------seemed like a horse who closes its eyes on sudden encounter with a lion-Oooooo!!! came the voice followed by a smile-may be she was patting herself or celebrating the departure of the lion.Now i had to face the lion and so horse ghost haunted me but more than me it preferred my dad, i still remember every niche of the spirit swab which i never wanted to throw (i was the one who used to take it off the patient's arm mercilessly after the sample was taken without considering their sentiments to that that inanimate object)
Reports were collected very next they needed the magician's approval or disapproval for further journey.Doc. read the reports with all possible expressions and poses---with his specs. on and off,with ring on and off his finger,in sitting and recumbent posture, holding his pen with cap off and on-------. dad also changed his postures and expressions to synchronize with his.the magician wanted me to stay in his wonderland for a week.
So there i was in hospital and was taken to the room where i had to spend seven daysss.Hospital never appealed so homely and hospitable to me.My daily routine had some new elements like waiting for the magician for his round ,smiling at cafe boy who delievered tea every morning, listening to all possibles cures, looking at the flowers on sisters' counter (they couldnt look prettier any where else --indicating patients' faith on magician and god---indiacting another successful survival),being visited more by my fellow patients than my friends and relatives.I realized the people inside that big wall give birth to new life,new relations, irrespective of your intellect ,status-----there is only one relation but without any tag and this relation made me undesrtand that sometimes the only reason to thank God is that we are alive.So never overestimate your grief . This i learnt in hospital corridors where i was startledto see the patients on verge of death talking about life.
Being in medical field i never noticed or rather never bothered to notice this aspect in a patient's life(was not taught also) but now everything taught me to see sometimes the things which mind doesnt know.
I end up with a shair----

Koi samjega kya raz-e-gulshan jab tak ulje na kantoo se daaman.

AAJ JAANE KI ZID NA KARO-ONE OF MY FAV. GHAZALS BY FARIDA KHANUM

2005-07-03T04:02:00.000-07:00

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo yhoon pehloo mein baithe raho

haaye mar jayyenge hum to lut jaayenge -aisi baatein kiya na karo
aaj jaane ki zid na karo
Tum hi socho zara kyun na roke tumhe jaan jaati hai jab uth ke jaate ho tum
Tumko apni kasam jaan-e- jahan baat itni maan lo
Aaj jaane ki zid na karo yhoon pehloo mein baithe raho
haaye mar jaayenge lut jaayenge--

waqt ki qaid mein zindagi hai magar chand gadiyaan yahi hain jo azzad hain -
inko kho kar meri jaan umar bar na tarsate raho
Aaj jaane ki zid na karo---------

Kitna maasoom rangeen hai yeh sama husan aur ishq ki aaj meraaj ha
kal ki kisko khabar rok lo aaj ki raat ko
Aaj jane ki zid na karo-------