An old man I knew.

In memory of late Saifuddin Uncle Lotia…

There was an old man I knew,
He had the smartest walk in town,
A walk, so straight and tall,
Yet, he wasn’t proud, at all.

A man so humble, in his words,
Yet, sarcasm filled the air,
His smile, so light and fresh,
That no one minded, what he had said.

A man a teacher not,
Yet he taught me a great more lot,
Not by words or formulas that I saw,
But in, the character and shape he sought.

He was a silent man, with a lot of work,
A space in corner, in his office, I recall,
His chair is silent, but something lives,
On his table, his presence still reverberates.

On his funeral, the town had crowded,
For his service and work in society was known,
Not in boast, or words that he would have said,
But by what he did, was evident and shown.

No phrases, or words, could ever define him,
For he was more, than one could say,
He lives inside, who knows him by his place,
A place small, yet everything on its own.

From an MSBian,

Ruqaiya Lokhand.

My Saify Phuppa!

‘Saify Phuppa’, said Mustafa bhai, warmly smiling like his father as I gave him my condolences on the great loss, and I could say nothing more except, ‘Sabar kijyega’, while my eyes were filled with tears remembering the kindered soul.

When my friends learned about it they all had the same question for me, ‘were you close to your uncle?’ I believe they asked me this because at times people aren’t attached to their aunt’s husband as they are to their aunt and I was not offended by it and replied that, after my aunt’s demise, it was his presence that reminded me of her and consoled that someone is there to represent her even when she is not physically among us. But, as I thought through, I realized that’s not the only reason why I adored my uncle, to say the least, he was a complete gentleman with a warm and kind smile always there, like a priceless jewel spread from ear to ear. Whenever anyone asked him how he was he had the same words like a beaded tasbeeh to his tongue, ‘Shukar hai Parwardigaar ka’. Never have I ever heard him being ungrateful or speaking of his troubles and I was always left with the thought that how could a person’s life be so calm and composed at all times. Never have I ever heard him being loud, or being irritated by someone, his nature becoming so difficult for me to understand that why does he never get angry on us being unruly, like other elders do?

While leaving the premises of the Masjid after giving condolences, an aunty asked me about who passed away and I said Saifuddin Cyclewala, but she couldn’t recall so I said, ‘do you know Mexico dry cleaners?’ And she immediately realized who I spoke of, and this isn’t the first time I’ve experienced explaining my Phuppa to anyone, most people know him by that in Sadar because he was so dedicated to his work, but to what degree, that I learnt it on the day of his demise. My cousin told me that he took the expensive and sensitive clothes that came for dry cleaning to home and would wash by himself in this harsh and cold weather, and I was awestruck, a man in his 80s, facing so many issues with illness could be so thoughtful for his customers.

But that was my Phuppa, who through his optimistic approach was liked by so many people that the Masjid was full when I arrived to recite the last verses for him, it is often said that a person is known by how many people appear for his funeral, and I knew that was right, for a cold morning like this, at 9 am, one could only come out for a loved one.

When Phuppi passed away he was sitting silently, and in a low but strong voice he said, ‘Zulekha (my aunt) looked like a bride, like how I married her, in the white kafan’. As much as I am broken by his death, I’m comforted that Phuppi will be reunited with him in Jannah and I only pray for both of them to receive the highest ranks in Heaven.

While I get flashbacks of the times I’ve met him, I can mostly think of me passing by his store and doing my greetings and he smiling and saying, ‘beta ghar pe upar ao na’, and I refusing to do so like every time saying, ‘phir kabhi aungi’ and leave his shop. What did I know there would be no phir kabhi and I’ll find his shop empty the next time I arrive.

Your ungrateful yet loving bhatiji,

Ruqaiya Lokhand.

February 2013: The Month of Celebration!

February. 
Out of all the 12 months. This month has always been special to me. It is not only my favorite because of the soothing moderate weather it possesses but is also awaited the most because of the special occasions it brings along. Yes! Of course, the Valentine’s day, then my birthday and both the Milaad this time was a cherry on top. So I would like to tag February 2013 as ‘the month of celebration’.

Commencing with the ‘Red Day’; the Valentine’s Day, I wonder about the magic of that day that swirls it’s wand on every individual’s heart and charms the surroundings as the ‘Reds’ and ‘hearts’ rule all over the places that get wonderfully decorated. The chocolatiers keep floating on the clouds and the streets get occupied by the red balloon hawkers and the rose sellers, who have sparkle in their eyes because of the total income they know they’ll get at the end of the day.

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From children to old people; may it be a heart shaped card, a rose, or a gift; people heartily try to please their loved ones. And this time I tried too! I tried to do everything I could to plan a surprise for my parents (even with a terrible flu). 😛 So to remind them that they are and will always be special and ‘can’ have a peaceful romantic dinner at home in despite of the presence of three mischievous kids:D, I planned a candle lit Chinese dinner, fancy chocolate coated strawberries as starters, some decor and music in the background. “Splendiferously memorable! Had never expected such lovely arrangements by you children. You made our day!”,  uttered my parents after filling their tummies and we just couldn’t wait for the gifts to be exchanged.

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Now coming to birthdays, on every birthday of mine I never miss a chance to jot down the number of people who wished me and the special things that happened. This might be strange to you, eh? But it makes me smile when I skim through it later on. So yesterday, I did the same. But morosely, this time the crisp page was unexpectedly half empty. I really had nothing at all to write except about the birthday wishes. Albeit, I was grateful about the lovely way people wished but it made me sad. Sad and cranky to it’s height! Know why? Because of the unexpected strike I could not even celebrate with my friends and make the most out of ‘my’ day! So I studied. I slept. I gussied up the blog. Did everything I could to forget that it was my birthday, which nevertheless made me more grouchy and I felt low as the time passed. In the evening there was suddenly a loud knock at my room’s door. And here the crack-heads were singing the birthday song at the top of their pitch the moment I was at sight jumping with excitement! I couldn’t stop grinning and eventually got to know that they spent the whole afternoon baking a cake and cooking pasta and stuff for me! We had a blast and after a while they left, leaving behind a warm glow on my face. 🙂

Personally all these occasions really matter to me. In fact, why shouldn’t they? We’re so engrossed in our diurnal routines that we forget to appreciate the ones that matter. We forget to express ourselves to them and take it all for granted. So whether it is Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Teacher’s Day or whatever, here’s a day when one can ‘make’ others feel special by a load of greetings, lots of attention and love. It gives us a perfect opportunity to splash out our emotions and creativity with a beautiful lasting memory in the end. Now you know, the importance of celebrating is immense so lets vent out all the way and make the most out of the relationships because if someone means to you then you should say it right then. Say it out loud. Say it a lot. As people forget or the moment just passes you by.

Sarrah Mustafa Malirwala

P.S: Really hoping for a better birthday in 2014. 😛

A House divided against itself can not stand.

This phrase is from the Bible which clearly states that a house that is divided cannot stand as one. A place where unity is not present and there are fights and differences among each other cannot remain to be stable.

The mosques in the world remain to be in their places for thousands of years. How do you suppose that happens? This happens since Muslims come together in their mosques for the same purpose-to pray in front of Almighty Allah, especially when Muslims from different parts of the world come in the month of Zilhajj to perform pilgrimage. The Holy Ka’aba is a magnet that attracts pilgrims to come there and every year, the percentage of the people performing pilgrimage keeps increasing. The Ka’aba is a house more over a home that knits bonds of brotherhood among Muslims.

Or even the golden temple where the Sikhs rotate around the temple. Even though they are divided amongst themselves with problems but this particular place unites them when they come together with a single cause.

These are the holy places in which, the house itself unites the people. But, in our house we ought to make this balance by ourselves. The United States of America has a combination of 50 states in it. But, before it was divided into two sections the north and south. The southern Americans promoted slavery however the north Americans did not. The president of that time, Abraham Lincoln was deeply troubled because of this; he used this phrase in his speech that; ‘a house divided against itself can not stand’. He knew that the Americans were divided among themselves because of this hindrance, half slavery-half free. There was a solution needed to this problem and so he put an end to slavery so that the members of the house, meaning the inhabitants of the country would live together as one. And, for that he was assassinated. Lincoln sacrificed himself to bring his people together. Or else the Americans would still be facing this problem.

Today in Pakistan, people are sitting on roads, crying out loud, protesting against the terrorists who have taken thousands of lives. There is no one answering them,no one ensuring that they will be given their right. Karachi-the city of lights has become a battlefield. Each day starts with firing and ends with a bomb blast. Everything seems to be at sixes and sevens! The death rate keeps on increasing day after day. But still, there is hope that this would soon be resolved. May Allah bring back the liveliness of this country and may it prosper in near future! Ameen.

Dilemmas and problems never end in our life but we must know how to tackle them. Sacrifices are a part of it that clinches in strengthening the bond.

Ruqaiya Lokhand.

Cricket Fever!

My brother, although being an eight year old, always proves to be a great one to pass time with. I adore him for being so passionate and energetic- the strings of our similar personalities join at this point. His antics, the amazing sense of humor and spontaneously charming ways astonishes everyone-his teachers, my family, my friends, the neighbors, everyone! And this is just not it! The thing which awe-strikes us all is his uncontrollable ‘cricket fever’.

Yes, I know cricket is unofficially our national game. It’s indubitably full of thrill. It’s incredibly unpredictable. I’m also a cricket fanatic but Hussain? He is the ‘craziesssttt’ amongst us all!
His life revolves around cricket. Whenever we play the verbal game ‘Name Name’, he responds with the most complicated names of the cricketers and keeps up with the game level. Instead of watching cartoons and stuff, he sticks to the idiot box watching cricket for hours and sometimes begins his own non-stop commentary or starts bowling around with his ball. Whenever he’s at sight, most of the time we see the imaginary cricket game going on by his actions. And the whole day, all he awaits is for the specific time when he goes out to play cricket with his overexcited friends.

Recently we went to watch the movie ‘Ferrari ki Sawari’. The tickets were especially booked for him, to keep up with his cricket passion. I was staring at him throughout the movie as I found his gestures more interesting to look at. His eyes were fully bright with amusement, twinkling all the way.

Hussain always wanted a cricket kit as a reward for his top grades. So this time my dad finally bought a fully accessorized kit for him. He was on the moon immediately after seeing a glimpse of my dad carrying the huge bag in his hand. Also specifically to mention, that night he slept with the cock ball beside his pillow. 😀

Now, most of the time I see him with the helmet on his head and the rest you can imagine… 😛

-Sarrah Mustafa Malir