Can't I just be a musician? Screw grad school. I should've paid more attention in violin class back in the day, or in choir, or just practiced more regularly.
This has been stuck in my head all day - especially the part where NFAK sings: "Masjid, mandir, yeh maikhaane. Koi yeh maane. Koi woh maane." Meaning, 'the mosque, the Hindu temple, the house of wine. Some believe in this. Some believe in that.' I think that sentiment is absolutely beautiful. Myself, I love the maikhaana and all the Sufiana thought it symbolizes - and there are some wonderful Ghalib verses on that theme. The way NFAK sings it though just makes it that more beautiful.
Add to this the fact that it reminds me of the wonderful Summer I spent in Lucknow, and of listening to this early in the morning while drinking Shukla-ji's morning lemony-sugary chai, and grinning throughout the entire session at the beauty of it all...
I miss Lucknow, and my dhobi (washerman - Tahir), and my darzi (tailor - Noorallah Sahab), and my rickshaw-wallah (rickshaw driver - Premji) and my clothing dude (Raja) and his father (uncleji - of course) who got all excited that I knew what nankhatai were (the most amazing cookie ever!) and then brought a massive box of fresh nankhatai (that were super different from the type my mother makes) for the entire institute and also gave me some khatti imli lollipop-type things...omg...so good! Makes me salivate just thinking about them.
If you've never had khatti imli, I feel sorry for you.
And don't get me started on the mangoes. The best thing about being in India during the Summer/monsoon season and in Lucknow - the mangoes. Mmmm chaunsa and lakhnavi safeda...
Ok. Enough digressing and reminiscing. Listen to this:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Selfistan - a land, well webpage, where all you see and read is stuff that I want you to see and read. Inspired by my constant ramblings and thought processes and by Salman Rushdie's quote on Selfistan in "Shalimar the Clown", Ramblings From Selfistan looks at the deeper and the not-so-deep aspects of life as I see it. Welcome to my world...
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Ghalib says:
Ta'at men ta rehey na mai e angbin ki laag
Dozakh men ddal do koi lei kur bahisht ko
This Qawwali is amazing. It hits upon those eternal truths that make Him a treasure worth seeking. Especially if one gets all the allusions:
Our paradise is our God. Our highest delight is in our God for we have seen Him and have found every beauty in Him. This wealth is worth procuring though one may have to lay down one’s life to procure it . This ruby is worth purchasing though one may have to lose one’s self to acquire it. O ye, who are bereft, run to this fountain and it will satiate your thirst. It is the fountain of life that will save you. What shall I do, and by what drum shall I make the announcement, that this is your God, so that people might hear? What remedy shall I apply to their ears so that they should listen? If you belong to Allah, rest assured that Allah will belong to you.
(Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Kashti Nooh. Riyaz Hind, 1902. Roohani Khazain xix. 21, 22).
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