Pangs of an Indian Pakistani

On departure at Indira Gandhi Airport, New Delhi her father, a man with steel nerves, exclaimed with a mask face, in a matter of fact manner, “Now that you are going across, own the place, own the people, and own the problems the way you have owned the man from there.” Without a trace of [...]

Osteoporosis ~ a silent thief

Before reading the information on Osteoporosis below, please take this Pre-Test : http://thinkloud65.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/osteoporosis-the-silent-thief-pre-test/ Osteoporosis literally means porous bones, or thinning of bones. Calcium is laid down in the bones for strength. However, for various reasons, calcium deposition may becomes less, leading to thinning of bones. Why a silent theif? Bones are weight bearing organs. The thinning [...]

Please pray for us too, Mr President !

Just a few weeks ago I was moved to hear an ex Indian Chief Election Commissioner say to Najam Sethi: “Hamara Makkah Medina to aap ke paas hai.” (Our Mecca and Madina are with you). After retirement he had come to visit the holy places of Sikh in Pakistan, the Nankana Sahib and other holy [...]

The story of Siachen

With the tragic news of 150 Pakistani soldiers  buried alive in an avalanche in the Pakistan base camp at Siachen, it brings back to  memory the bitter truths about this conflict. The glacier: Siachen means ‘the place of wild roses’. Siachen glacier is the great Himalayan watershed that demarcates central Asia from the Indian sub-continent, [...]

It’s just a Menopause !

Menopause simply means: *A woman will not be having periods anymore. Hence she will not be able to get pregnant. It certainly does not mean that she has lost her womanhood or feminity. Menopause is that point in time when periods stop forever. You can know that you had a menopause, only after a year has [...]

When hate or peace become a business

In my last trip to India, I was strolling for window shopping, in one of my favourite spots in New Delhi, when I heard some loud speaker announcements nearby. I saw a Yogi on a big screen, speaking with utmost tranquility. Some of the words I could recall are: “Want is always hanging on to [...]

O’ the wandering mind ~Kabir

Kabir has hardly spared any animate and inanimate examples to ridicule the bigots who have great illusions about their self image and through their beliefs repeatedly,  make a fool of themselves. In the same spirit, I came across yet another simple yet interest verses. Poem 1:  Apanpo aap hi bisaro. Says Kabir, they  fall prey [...]

Learning the art of peaceful protest from Gandhi’s Dandi (Salt) March

This is a unique and simple story that changed the course of Indian Independenc movement. No destruction, no chaos, just a peaceful protest for a cause. Though it is impossible to summarize it in a few words… ‘On March 12, 1930, Gandhi along with the protesters set out, on foot, for the coastal village of [...]

Painfully Humane

Published in TheNewsBlog on January 31, 2012. http://blogs.thenews.com.pk/blogs/2012/01/31/painfully-humane/ A couple of days ago I met a neighbour outside the house, walking her two cute cocker spaniels. We exchanged New Year Greetings and as a ritual I asked: “So how did you spend your new years eve?” “Oh I spent my evening feasting with my girls.” she [...]

Daring to cross the love border

Published in Aman Ki Asha, The News on January 24, 2012. Ilmana Fasih shares some stories of building cross-border bridges through the social media A world without borders was my childhood dream. The desperation and the need for this dream to realise, came out in the open when I embarked on my ‘pyar border paar’ [...]