Friendship

And a youth said, “Speak to us of Friendship.”

Your friend is your needs answered.

He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.

And he is your board and your fireside.

For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you withhold the “ay.”

And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;

For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.

When you part from your friend, you grieve not;

For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.

And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.

For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

And let your best be for your friend.

If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.

For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?

Seek him always with hours to live.

For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.

And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.

For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

By Khalil Gibran

Comments

I recently left a couple of comments on another blogger’s post. They were comments that did not agree completely with their post, though the disagreement was civil.

Now there are other comments there that make it seem like I am not getting the human rights violation angle… It makes me wonder if they are thinking of me as a villain, as someone who will trample upon other people’s rights…

Then someone told me this today: “What others think of you is none of your business.”

Great advice. Don’t you think?

Playing

Let me dance now
Let me play now
There’s hell round the corner
Still, let me dance now
Let me play now
Let me sing now
Deliverance can wait
Salvation can wait
Let me dance now
Let me play now

I’m Nobody! Who are you? by Emily Dickinson

Wanting to do what Achala did, here’s a poem by Emily Dickinson I like very much:

I’m Nobody! Who are you?

by Emily Dickinson

I’m Nobody! Who are you?

Are you – Nobody – too?

Then there’s a pair of us?

Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!

How dreary – to be – Somebody!

How public – like a Frog – 

To tell one’s name – the livelong June – 

To an admiring Bog!

An Admission

Two days ago I read a comment on a popular site that said M. F. Hussain has painted Gods and Goddesses having sex with animals.

 I am not comfortable with that.

I don’t know if Hussain has indeed made such paintings. I do understand he has artistic compulsions. 

I can understand the hurt, and can imagine how the nude Saraswati could have sent some flying into rage. I am ok with a nude Saraswati, I think, though I haven’t seen it. But I am not so ok with Gods and Goddesses having sex with animals.

But I think taking up arms and hounding a human being and making his country unsafe for him is worse. Much much worse. How do violent activities better Hussain’s purported wrong? I don’t think he had malice in his heart but even if he did, isn’t violence nastier? (It’s worth reading the exchange of ideas in the Comments section on Uttara’s blog.)

It’s totally possible that some people are ok with the paintings which show Gods and Goddesses having sex with animals. It’s all relative.

I feel that people have a right to file cases in the court. That’s better than taking the law into one’s own hands. Home Minister’s assurances of safety have come a little late. (Do Secretary level bureaucrats and Ministers of key ministries, including Law and Justice, Culture and Home Affairs deliberately bumble through these issues?) It seems that most of the court cases against Hussain have been taken care of, and only a few are pending in the Supreme Court.

So, what do those who don’t want to go to court or take up arms do with their impotent rage? I don’t know.

(Thankfully I am not raging, and I am not as upset anymore. Perhaps hurt tends to become less and less if you just leave it).

Jihad

Allah, Farid, juhdi hamesha
Au Shaikh Farid, juhdi Allah Allah.

Acquiring Allah’s grace is the aim of my jihad, 0 Farid!
Come Shaikh Farid! Allah, Allah’s grace alone is ever the aim of my jihad.

(Baba Guru Nanak Sahib to Baba Shaikh Farid Sahib)

PS: I think the English translation has added a word where there was none. I think Baba Guru Nanak meant acquiring Allah (rather than Allah’s grace).

Thanks Uttara

When I first started reading blogs (I am still more of a blog reader than a writer), it was because of the Mad Momma. We have been friends for many years, and I was visiting her that day. I think Bean was only a few months old then. MM mentioned that Tehelka had quoted her in a piece on blogs. At that time I did not know what a blog exactly is, and I asked her the url.

I got hooked. Not to every blog I went to, but to some. Through MM’s blog, I reached the Mumbai Girl’s page. And I think ever since, whenever my day has started with logging on to a computer, I have read whatever she has to say. And a few other blogs too.

 I haven’t met Uttara but I get a sense that she is a lot like me, only better. I love her honesty, and her fearlessness. I love her views on religion and how she feels the need for dialogue to resolve conflicts between communities. I love the fact that she is spiritual. I find that she naturally, instinctively cares for human rights.

I wish I was as articulate as she is, and had read as many books as she has, and knew about the intricacies of music as she does. It would be great to meet you some day, Uttara. You are the kind of girl who I would love to have as a Best Friend Forever!

 And before I forget, thanks for awarding me the Superior Scribbler Award. I hope to continue scribbling, though I am not sure of the frequency (a good friend had once told me that I am the laziest person he’s ever known!). But some days I am truly totally wordless. And I wonder if more and more of my posts would qualify as boring rants. (The same friend had also said I am quite a whiner.)

I humbly accept the award you have given me.

I must pass the award on to five people:

Nino’s mum: She is lyrical. Writes between the lines. And comes across as a genuinely loving person! I wish she would write more often. But if less blogging means spending happier times with Nino and Nino’s dad, Nino’s mum, please let it be that way. I would love to meet you!

Gurpreet: I don’t think she knows that this blog belongs to me. I have been a regular reader of hers, and sometimes what she writes leaves me thinking way beyond my time at the computer. I love the fact that she comes across as smart, lively, and vulnerable all at the same time. I love her honesty too. I wish she would write more often too!

Atmapreeta: A more committed seeker of God than I am. I love her confidence, and the fact that she is so comfortable with who she is. Atmapreeta, I have got your book, and I would love to read it. Thanks for offering to take me to The Mountain! Inshallah, one day I will! Hopefully, the husband will tag along  🙂

Anamika: It was MM who told me about this friend of hers. I am really happy to find her blog. I haven’t read all her posts. But the few I did touched my heart. I wish she too would write more often.

The Mad Momma: For being the person she is: warm, helpful and spontaneous. Ever welcoming! She writes with such ease and finesse, that I read her posts without a pause. I got to know you better through your blog, MM. And I am so glad that I got to know you better, and love you more.  

I look forward to reading all the other blog sites Uttara has awarded.

The rules of the award (to be followed by the awardees) are:
* Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.

* Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.

* Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award.

* Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!*

*Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

Isn’t that heartening?

Muslim youths take out rally for return of Kashmiri Pandits

“Pain is pain, whether it is of Muslims, Jews or Hindus. We want to show solidarity with the Pandits who have suffered for years,” Raina said.