Miss Teen USA 2007

Mullah Luis sent me this link with the following message: Is any president ever going to do something about how stupid this country is becoming?

Q: 1 in every 5 Americans can not locate US on the World map. Why do you think that is?

Check out the answer......



Tommorrow Mullah is going to give a sermon on this issue and would end it by saying " you mark my words man, in a few years this girl is going to be a millionaire!!"

Me think if we had allocated 1/5 of the war budget on education for world's children, we could have developed a human race far superior to anyone that showed up before us .....(and that includes Iraqi children also!)

Disclaimer...

Every time I write this blog, about a half a dozen claimants respond to me saying that I am writing about them etc etc. While it is flattering for a writer to know that readers identify with his thoughts and words, please exercise some caution – as that may not be the case.

I was born and brought in a free country; and now living in an “almost” free society, so if I want to express my feelings to someone they would hear directly from me…

Khulta kiyoon kisi pe mere dil ka maamla ?
Sheron ke Intekhaab ne Ruswaa kiya mujhe - Ghalib

Happy Reading...

Yun Hua....

Tum ye kaise juda ho gaye?

Har taraf, har jagah ho gaye!

Jaane wale gaye hain kahan?

Chaand, suraj, ghata ho gaye!

Be-Wafa to na woh hain na hum

Yun hua.....Bas Judaa ho Gaye !!

---- Nida Fazli

Thakur....

Casual Fridays are really casual at work. Most of the white collar America spends a good amount of time on Friday discussing plans for the weekend. Today “ Front Page News” was our stop for lunch; and we had fun talking about the filmy charaters we used to play as children.

I believe that finding out what games we played or who impressed us most as children, can really help unravel a few layers of our personalities. Most of the team including Mullah had played Superman or Batman or a John Wayne. I was the only one who had no clue of what filmy roles I enacted in my childhood. So I called A, my oldest friend west of Atlantic Ocean and inquired whether we enacted any filmy roles when we were children?

A: Yeah we sure did…
Me: What film was that?
A: Sholay…
Me: Really, Oh man…. and what character I used to play?
A: You used to play Thakur…
Me: What? Thakur… Do you guys realize you wasted some top-notch talent man? Did it not occur to you that I was a Hero material, why didn’t you let me play an Amitabh or Dharm for God's sake?
A: You did play Jay a few times but your role of choice was always Thakur…

Maa says “ Poot ke pair paalne main”….in my case even though paalna was a little filmy, but it sure gives a glimpse of what kind of a child I must have been. I chose to play a handicap Thakiur instead of a Hero who gets girl at the end…….hmmm!

I must have been < 8 years old when Sholay was released (for the mathematician in you, “<” means less then, it could be anywhere between 1 – 8!! Ha!), I wonder what prompted me to pick an old Thakur instead of dashing Veeru? Why did Thakur capture a young impressionable child’s imagination? Was it Sanjeev Kumar’s finest acting or Javed Saab’s dialogues, or I was just an old jebroni even when I was < 8 years old?….

I don’t know…

However, now I know why I always have this insatiable desire to oppose tyranny and injustice wherever I can find them…

“Shaid Khatron se khelne ka shaouk hai mujeh….says Thakur…

Peace….

Paagal...

There are two days that make me seriously emotional for various reasons. One is the Eid Day and the other is August 15. For me the drive back home after praying Eid namaz is always a roller coaster ride. I would like to skip Eid ka kissa but sure can share the other one.

I spend 364 days in a year trying to be a World citizen who does not believe in any man-made borders, walls and numerous instruments of discrimination that have been devised by our enlightened leaders , but August 15 makes me an Indian only.

Instead if rejoicing the liberty and freedom that came as a result of the end of British occupation, I get emotional and reflect on those days of begging, fighting and getting killed for something which was ours to begin with. I think about freedom fighters, their families, their lovers and wives, kids and friends that never made it to the headline news. Every year I promise myself that next year will be better, as I would grow up to be a wiser man in control of my emotions…. Every year I fail…..

This August morning as usual on my way to work I was listening to National Public Radio which aired a small segment on India’s Independence Day celebration. This jebroni from California Public Radio was online talking about Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and “Dama Dam Mast Qalandar”, freedom struggle, sacrifices, partition..…. one thing lead to another and soon I was in the middle of the same feelings which I was trying to avoid.

l reckon too many people sacrificed their lives, love, and days of their youth only to rotten in British jails, so that we can breadth in a free world. We all pay homage to the brand names of freedom struggle, and its cool, but what about those nameless jebronis who participated with whatever they had to offer. One story readily comes to mind.

Those were the days in early 40s when Simon Commission was in Lukhnow and we were protesting his visit. A large demonstration was planned with black banners and flags but authorities broke it and made arrests. The occupiers whisked away the entire Simon delegation to Lukhnow Garrison or Firangi Mahal and stopped folks from proceeding towards “Green Zone” of those days. There is always a Green Zone be it Lal Qila or well the “Green Zone”!

Luckhnowites were frustrated and angry as hundreds of them were arrested. Suddenly this paagal came up with an idea. He told the gatherings that since air is blowing towards Firangi Mahal, we can fly kites with our message on it, do a kite battle and cut it so that the kite falls right where the Englishmen have gathered. His idea was taken up immediately. In a few hours hundreds of kites were flown and landed right before the delegation. History does not tell us who this “confirmed paagal” was. ..But sure he too participated in the freedom struggle with whatever he had to offer….

Those were the days when mahobbaten were put on hold for mother-land, careers were jeopardized so that new generation can have good careers, child bearing was postponed so that we can have children in peace. The women of those days were brave, and used to encourage thier men to give up all luxuries for watan. Blood used to be red in those days.....

It is easy to forget those unsung heroes when GDP is growing at 8.5% per annum, when money is relatively easy and materialism seems to be the mantra. We are living the dreams that those freedom fighters saw, yet we have a long way to go...

I do not know how many times I played this song on my I pod today...

Ishwar Allah tere jahan main Nafrat kiyoon hai?
Jung hai kiyoon?
Tera Dil to Itna bada hai, Insaan ka dil
Tang hai kiyoon?

Qadam Qadam par Sarhad kiyyon hai?
Saari Zameen jab Teri Hai?
Suraj Ke Gird Phere Kart i hai
Phir bhi Kiyoon itni Andheri hai?

Is Duniya ke Daaman par Insaan ke Lahoo ka
Rang hai kiyoon?

Happy Independence Day ....

Dear Imran...

Dost ne poocha Tanhayee tumhen kiyoon itni piyari hai?
Tanha ho kar zindagi basr karne ki kaisi ye taiyyari hai?

Kiyoon tumhen armaan nahi iski bhi koi shakl bane?
Khubsoorat sa dil ho koi is ka, accha sa ek jism bane?
Chudi saje un hathon main, hath bhi mehndi wale hon?
Maathe pe chaand sa teeka, palkon pe kuch khwab saje
Ho Baaliyaan un kaano main jn main tumhara dil lage

Phone rakh kar jab main apni gallery main jaa baitha
Udaasi ne aa ghera mujhe aur dil mera bas doob gyaa
Dekh meri mayusi ko chalti hawaayen ruk si gayeen
Pedon se hi aah nikli, phool bhi kuch khamosh hue
Aasman bhi neeche utra aur dil pe mere chaa sa gyaa
Baitha raha main wahan kab tak, Jane kitna wakt gyaa?

Khushboo si aayee achanak, naam mera kisi ne liya
Dekha to who chai liye darwaaze par ruk si gayee thi
Paas mere who aa baithi aur hath mera yun thaam liya
Chudiyan saje hath the uske, hath bhi mehndi wale the
Chaand laga tha maathe pe, kaan bhi baali wale the
Palkon pe the khwaab saje, khwab bhi mere wale the

Boli, Janu, kiyun tun itna apne dil ko rulate ho ?
Main hoon saath tumhare phir kiyoon jaan jalate ho?
main ne khud ko tum par kitni baar lutayaa hai ?
Kitni raah taki tumhari tab jaa ke tumhen kahin paya hai
Meri chahat , meri ulfat pe kiyoon tum ko naaz nahi hai?
Main hi tumhen chahati hoon ye bhi koi raaz nahi hai.


Kaise kahoon yaaron woh chai liye jo aayee thi ...
Woh mehbooba, Who Jaan meri, to Tanhayee thi!

PS: Dear Imran, thank you for that long phone call. Here is the response. Rest assured atleast this will NOT disappoint. It will also mean the same anytime, everytime, all the time!!!

Cheers...

(C) Shahid Sayed, 8-11-2007, Photo: Andy Wear

Rafiqi Reccommends...

Our In - house MBA, Rafiq Batcha realizing my “jaahiliyat” and a habit of sitting in the dark room like a photographer, watching “negatives” develop, keeps turning on the lights. This time he recommended these bulbs….oops books….

Tim Ferriss’s “The 4 hour work week”, is a must read for tomorrow’s leaders and a treasure for an entrepreneur’s library. It takes “outsourcing” to the extremes in order to save time, make money and live in a borderless World. When a modern day war can be outsourced, why not our personal engagements? It is a revolutionary work. (Unfortunately he does not recommend outsourcing mahobbaten and its paraphernalia…woh kambhakt khud hi karni hogi!!)

Alan Wiesman’s “The World without us” is an imaginative scientific curiosity and it looks at the world when we, all 6.2 billions of us would disappear. He travels all over the globe and makes some interesting observations. For example, he mentions about how the New York subways would flood coz there would be no one to pump the water out, and how the tall buildings would corrode and then fall. Nature will reclaim everything.

I think this book would not do well in Mumbai. Mumbai - wallahs see their version of “The world without us” every monsoon. When monsoon approaches they prepare for another 7/26, another round of flooding, another round of building collapses and another round of walking on the submerged roads in the middle of the night and not getting mugged. If Mr. Wiesman Had spoken to any Mumbaikar before writing this book, he would have dropped the idea, as anyone in Mumbai can tell you that “The World without us” is not that bad after all. Where else can you get a chance to meet people you would not otherwise, to hold their hands while soaking wet, and eat Chicken Biryani, Aloo Gobi and Masala Dosa depending on whether you are in Bhindi Bazar, Shivaji Park or Matunga respectively?..baad main garam chai bhi milti hai...

Seriously speaking, just think about it. ALL of us gone - Forever....nada! What it would be like? On some level, I feel so relieved and content with this thought, coz it would take away all those unscrupulous, greedy, scheming, satanic minds from dear earth. Which means no more aggressions, no more mental violence, no crimes against man and nature, no corruption, no scandals, no lies and manipulation, no rapes and murders. Only Peace…as was envisioned by the Original Author.

But this also means no more heart and its dilemmas. No more sweet bitter memories, no more shared laughers, no more glorified stupidities, no more heart to heart talks, no more kisses on the foreheads and no more hugs without expectations! A world without hearts can be a scary place brother! Hearts are like a safety deposit boxes in a bank where we keep depositing yaaden, wade and everything in between.

I think I have gone off on a tangent, so let me end this one. But before I go, please open the window of the room you are in, take a deep breadth, look outside and imagine…a world without us!

Wouldn’t it be cool?
Oh Yeah….

Peace….

IF...

Phir se.....

For the benefit of those that want to see the trailers again....this time they all are in one place....
Bas?

Barry Husain Obama....

Barrack Hussein Obama, US presidential candidate and a likely vice president in 08, would be celebrating his birthday tomorrow. His page on my space has received many messages addressing him as Mr. President.

I always believed and even wrote on my blog a few months ago, that followers all over the World wait for their leader to show up, and as soon as he arrives, they just follow him. (I must be smart!)

This also proves one more theory, and that is there is only one man and one woman in this World. He / she changes names and titles but when the world has done enough damage to itself he / she occurs.

This 46-year-old jebroni, has excellent qualifications and I wouldn’t be surprised if he delivers. Mullah is a fan of Obama simply coz he is a reader and has authored many books.

I hope Barry Husain Obama is that Leader that the World has been waiting for.

We will find out...