Sometimes it takes ages to find that some special person of life!And sometimes that one person is always there, right in front of you...But it takes ages to identify! “When do you know its love?”
I am sure... “It was then I started loving you!” looking back to find some clue... “when was it that I started loving you”
was it when you first wore, that black dress of yours... or was it when You came in and gave me solutions and cures!
Was it when I first noticed how your cheeks come over and cover your cute little eyes every time your smile shower!
Or was it then when we first messaged each other late at night or was it when our first mails got exchanged on net's delight!
Was it when you first commented “that I look good in this blue shirt” or was it when I noticed how pretty you look in that pink teenage skirt!
Seems as if its been ages since we both had been in love I am just trying to make a note to keep it in memories all above!
I think... “It was then I started loving you!” looking back to find some clue... “when was it that I started loving you”
There is life in every passing moment just because you are a part of it!
“love” is a word of lesser degree to describe my association with someone as precious as you!
(PS - This is a work of fiction - my first attempt on label - dedication )
The following write up is a story that I wanted to share with the readers of my blog! Something that I read this morning in one of the newspapers!! The issue of terrorism and its adverse effect on cultural and social aspects of life stays in my mind a lot many times , supporting the cause by spreading the thought! Is what I am trying to do here!
The four-hour drive from Islamabad to Saidu Sharif, capital of the Swat Valley, and the adjacent town of Mingora is not long enough to prepare me for arrival. The world of Swat is altogether different; it’s a bit like a first-timer landing at Heathrow or the JFK airport in New York from a remote town in Pakistan.
I drove to Swat after the Pakistan National Assembly endorsed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation on April 14, which was then signed by President Asif Ali Zardari. The resolution, passed without any debate in the assembly, was opposed only by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which chose to walk out, and by a PML (Nawaz) member. The PPP (People’s Party), and the ANP (Awami National Party) agreed to the regulation, with the hope of achieving peace in Swat.
And there was peace while I was there. The bazaars were buzzing with activity till late at night, which was obviously not the case during the days of war.
The people appeared happy to me, but when I pointed this out to local friends, they replied this was to be expected after months of non-stop war. All shops were open but not a single female could be seen anywhere -- neither in the markets nor elsewhere in the Valley.
A few Taliban walked around, but with dandas instead of their usual Kalashinkovs. The police were absent, except for the two cops trying to clear traffic jams. The army could not be seen anywhere but one knew of their existence as their bunkers were perched on tops of many hills, and guns peeping from behind sandbags on the rooftops of a few buildings.
There is hardly a police station or check-post left in the Valley. Almost all the major buildings have been destroyed or damaged. Almost every second house had bullet marks, especially in the town of Kanju, outside Mingora.
The most depressing aspect is the systematic destruction of almost all the schools (more than 200 are said to have been destroyed); and it is not confined to girls’ schools. A few tented schools have been set up, but a majority of children have no school to attend.
All major hospitals were looted as the militants moved equipment, including the beds and medicines, to establish hospitals for their comrades, and to prevent the armed forces from using these facilities.
The agreement signed by the ANP-led provincial government in the frontier with the Tehreeke Nifaze Shariate Mohammadi on February 17 must be credited with bringing about the present peace. But it stipulates implementation of the Shari’ah in the Malakand Division, which encompasses more than one-third of the Frontier Province.
Militants have assumed control of a vast area in the neighbouring district, Buner. Private property is being seized and looted, and young men being asked to join the Taliban movement.
The people of these underdeveloped and poor areas are depressed, and have lost trust in the law-enforcement agencies to provide them security. Pakistani rulers have failed to give the people a stake in the system and the country.
If they do not have food, clothing, roads, electricity, jobs, schools, or hospitals, and now, not even security of life and limb, then what interest do they have in this system? What difference does it make to them who is in power in Saidu Sharif, Peshawar or Islamabad?
(The author is a freelance columnist, and an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.(CONTRIBUTOR))
On little lanes of little town
somewhere in my memories
my soul still rests...
Energetic and dramatic!
When drenching in rain
cycling through wet mud,
those splash of water...
Dirty and delightful!
That six I missed
those goals I scored
memories of evenings..
Blissful and playful!
Bunch of buds hanging
a sun that never set
the fun that never ended..
talking and planning!
That beautiful face
her caring gestures
her support and trust..
innocent and innocuous!
Those hallucinating nights
when dreams use to come
my ambitions of visions..
broken and betrayed!
The little stupid fights
that used to seem so big
only memories remain..
faces and phases!
-(13,April,09)
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This poem is dedicated to My memories... days gone by... (2005)
The time when I was in the beautiful town of sahranpur!Those were the days... I miss it all!
Its been years, still somewhere my soul is still there, searching in The current days for its lost essence, for My little sis Nilima, for My dear friends of colony! Kartikey,Rohit and many other.. this one is for all of them... who made me what I am!
“ Some tunes never fade away... “ This is the third article of mine under the series of “Creative Tragedies”, which highlights the life of Artists who died in pain and vain at an early age! First one was on the life of artist “Vincent Van Gogh”, second on Janis Joplin and now Nazia Hassan(April,3,1965-August,13,2000), an iconic Pakistani Pop singer. Known by many for Her song "Aap Jaisa Koi" from the film Qurbani that made her a legend and pop icon in India in the 80s where she is admired and loved even today, several years after her death. Born in Karachi, Nazia's professional career started at the age of fifteen with Indian producer-director Feroz Khan! The song was a huge success in India and despite Nazia being a Pakistani, she gained overnight fame here!
ON TOP OF CHARTS AND HEARTS!
POPULAR TRACKS AND MUSICAL MEMORIES - She collaborated with Biddu, a UK-based Indian music producer who was also the composer of Aap Jaisa Koi, on numerous other projects.
In 1981, Biddu released Nazia's first mega-hit, Disco Deewane. The album broke record sales in Pakistan and India and even topped the charts in the West Indies, Latin America and Russia. Her later albums also had vocals of her brother, Zoheb Hassan. These included Star/Boom Boom(1982), Young Tarang (1984), Hotline(1987), and Camera Camera (1992).
LEGACY OF SUCCESS - Pakistan's vibrant contemporary music scene owes itself to Nazia Hassan's redefinition of pop.
Nazia also had a seismic impact in India. India Today magazine voted her as one of the 50 people who helped change the face of India. She has contributed to the development of the present isomorphism of Bollywood music and pop: “She set - well ahead of its time - the personal album trend in India”, spawning the likes of Alisha Chinai,Lucky Ali and Shweta Shetty!
such was Nazia’s success that in Bollywood there is an intriguing story stating that she outdid both in terms of sales and popularity the Indian playback singer, Lata, Mangeshkar. ” Lata's biographer Raju Bharatan poses the following question: “Were there, then, no serious challenges to Lata Mangeshkar in her long singing career?” The answer surprises: “…there was a happening in Lata's life and times that made a mere teenager a near despair for her. That teenybopper was Nazia Hasan.” He continues, “Lata’s film Aasha…just could not catch up with Nazia's Aap jaisa koi for 14 weeks running, hard as it tried! The year 1980 in Hindi film music thus belonged to a UK based Pakistani singer – a slip of a girl who came to India via England to capture subcontinental hearts. There was no way even the velvet voice of Lata could scale down Nazia during that spell.”
Biddu composed a song titled "Made in India" and wanted Nazia to provide lead vocals for it. However, Nazia turned the offer down. She told song-writer and music director Biddu that she could not bring herself to sing something that was likely to offend both Pakistanis and Indians. Despite Nazia being a Pakistani, she was able to gain immense popularity in India too and was also a recipient of the prestigious Filmfare Award!
The song was eventually offered to Indian singer Alisha Chinai The song was a huge success and is considered to mark the beginning of the era of Indipop.
NAZIA HASSAN FOUNDATION and HER WORK FOR HUMANITY -
Besides music, Nazia has the honour of starting a noble trend of working for the under privileged and poor. All their money earned from music was spent for charity. Nazia supported the “Inner Wheel Club” of India to help with funds for them. In Pakistan, an organization “BAN” for fighting against the curse of narcotics was established. She belonged to many charity organizations and worked with her mother Muniza Basir in the low income areas of Karachi to help the needy and sick.
She went to a very large number of schools to collect toys for the poor children and gave talks on the subject of social awareness for the under privileged. Nazia never forgot the love and support of all the schools and always spoke with great affection for them
She completed her education in the UK, got a law degree and then worked in the United Nations in the Security Council. Nazia continued her social work even in New York and worked for children from the UN platform.
She is known to be the "Sweetheart of Pakistan" and "The Nightingale of East". Nazia Hassan is still the symbol of grace, sacred beauty and innocence and is frequently compared to Princess Diana as she was known to possess a heart of gold
THE SAD AGONIES OF HER LIFE -
She got married in 1995 and started a new life. Her Family, friends and fans wished her the best of luck; she received nothing except sadness. Barely one month after her first (and only) child, Araiz, was born, her in-laws threw her out of the house. After that, it was a tough phase, on the path of destruction, carefully constructed by her in-laws, especially her husband, industrialist Ishtiaq Baig. One by one, every secret was revealed to Nazia including his extra-marital affairs (especially the one said to be with actress Zeba Bakhtiar), his immoral acts.
Bearing mental torture is hard enough, but dealing with disease as well makes every moment of life a living hell, and that’s precisely what her life was like when suffering from cancer twice which eventually took her life. At that time, she complained that her husband did nothing for her. Let alone standing by her side, he didn’t even pay for her treatment. She filed a case in a Pakistani civil court and refused to die as his wife!
THE Nightingale WILL NEVER DIE IN OUR MEMORIES -
She had a style of her own that was unique in all sense! Toe-tapping beats, quality Music and catchy lyrics. each song went on to make history. She had been honored with the Highest Civilian Award of Pakistan! Each song cast a magical spell, never to be broken. Popular around the world for angelic smile of hers, full of contentment and satisfaction, She had always been Quoted as Woman of Pakistan. she walked all the steps, which had been ordained for her by an authority, which is greater than any human agency" God Almighty had showered Nazia with all the bounties, except length of age. Queen of Pop Nazia Hasan is remembered today with a vengeance that is far greater than the music she made. Nightingale from Pakistan!
That distinct stretch of vocal nodes, her soul involving slow notes and everything related to her sense of music was a challenge to the definitions of a Muslim eastern girl that everyone around the world have framed in their mind! I had decided to write an article on her about two weeks back but was not just getting the desired kick to do that! It was when I saw a heart sobbing visual on a Hindi news channel where a pashtun girl was spanked brutally by a Tabilani extremist in north province of Pakistan for an offense of meeting a stranger(a person not belonging to her household),It was then I thought its the right time to share the story of this boldly talented girl! This article is dedicated to thousands of womens and children of Pakistan and Afghanistan who are suffering continuously while dealing with conservative social extremism! I believe that within each one of them lies a flame similar to the voice of Nazia, that wants to be acknowledged and heard!
(WITH REFERENCES FROM nazia hassan info @ wikipedia,nazia hassan foundation's official website,following articles on nazia :- A, B)
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