Open up your mind and your potential reaches infinity…

Archive for January, 2011

TO BOTH THE LANDS I BELONG…


Yeah, my heart throbs alike for the two lands

Yeah, my love is equally blind for the two places

Yeah,  my voice   sings  songs  in  the two languages

Yeah,  my eyes see identical dreams for the two people

Yeah,  my lips whisper the same prayers  for  the two  nations

Yeah,  my mind worries for the peace  between the two neighbours

Yeah,  my heart aches on hearing  the hatred screamed by the two faiths

Yeah, my tears roll witnessing   the venom  spewed by  the two communites.

Yeah, I feel no difference between two names the world  calls  INDIA & PAKISTAN.

For,  the  hammock of my life hangs between these  two HOMELANDS.

“My deep connection to the land that is Pakistan had been renewed. I felt lucky to have both countries; I felt that I’d been given what partition had denied many. For me, it meant the possibility of a different education, of embracing the three-tier history of India whole, perhaps an intellectual troika of Sanskrit, Urdu and English.”

~Aatish Taseer in his book ” Stranger to History”

INDEED IT IS BEING LUCKY TO BELONG TO BOTH THE COUNTRIES.

A feeling which you can ‘feel’ only if you ‘ live’  it. But mind you , it doesn’t come in easily. One has to rise above a lot of prejudices, a very many stereotypes and take a lot of crap from so called ‘patriots’  from both the sides before you attain this feeling.

P.S. Unlike Aatish I  respect the reality and the existence of political border between the two countries but  dream of  ‘psychological’ borders’  erased between the two peoples.

I hope I live to see such a day.

Ilmana Fasih

17  January 2011

(Background: Am an Indian married to a Pakistani man, with two ferociously patriotic Pakistani kids who say:” We love India but we own Pakistan.”   As for me I love and own both the places).

Category:

India, MY POETRY, Pakistan, Personal, Poetry

SATAN LAUGHS, GOD CRIES


Dedicated to Dr Binayak, Salman Taseer, Wali Khan Baber, Julian Assange who suffer for their right cause and the scores of nameless target killed souls who pay the price of their mere existence.

When:
Standing for the oppressed turns you a rebel
Speaking for the repressed calls you an infidel
Seeking for the facts shows you the grave
To gag the truth these bigwigs crave
Born a different sect gets you killed
City’s morgues, with bodies, get filled

Then:
The good takes a backseat, the evil drives
Truthfulness suffers, falsehood thrives
Corruption becomes a vice, honesty a sin
The common man loses, the powerful win
And Barbarism lives, as Humanity dies
Alas! The Satan laughs, and God cries.

Ilmana Fasih
17 January 2010

Category:

India, International, MY POETRY, Pakistan, Poetry, Politics

ADINKRA SYMBOLS


Adinkra are visual symbols, originally created by the Akan of Ghana and the Gyaman of Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa, that represent concepts or aphorisms. Adinkra are used on fabric, walls, in pottery, woodcarvings and logos. Fabric adinkra are often made by woodcut sign writing as well as screen printing. They also can be used to communicate evocative messages that represent parts of their life or those around them. There are many differeny symbols all have unique looks and meanings.

Category:

CULTURE

QUOTE


UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL

Category:

Quotes

Bhala Hua Mori – Farid Ayaz Qawwal


Category:

Kabir, Music, Pakistan

Sahib Hain Rangrez- Shobha Mudgal


ahib Hai Rangrej Chunri Mori Rang Daari
Syaahi Rang Churaye ke re Diyo Majitha Rang
Dhoye Se Chhute Nahin Re Din Din Hote Surang
Bhav Ke Kundi Neh Ke Jal Mein Prem Rang Dayee Bore
Dukh Deh Mael Lutaye De Re Khoob Rangi JhakJhore
Sahib Ne Chunri Rangi Re Preetam Chatur Sujaan
Sab Kutch Un Par Vaar Dun Re Tan Man Dhan Aur Pran
Kahat Kabir Rangrej Piyare Mujh Par Huye Dayal
Seetal Chunri Orike Re Bhayee Haun Magan Nihaal

Translation
The Master is an expert Dyer, He has colored my veil
Removing the dark stains, he gave that color of love
By washing which fades not but becomes brighter by the day
Using water of affection in the tub of feelings, He poured the color of love
Rinsing away the bodily sorrows and dirt, the Expert dyed it deftly
The Master who dyed the veil is expert, beloved and great
I surrender everything to Him : Body, Mind, Wealth and Life
Says Kabir, The Beloved Dyer is benevolent on me
Covered with this cool veil, My being is blissfully fulfilled.
Explanation
In this wonderful love song, Kabir brings into focus the sense of completeness, fulfillment and realization of the Truth within.

Most of the worldly acquisitions (referred as colorings) lose their luster over time. In other words, even though they may attract us immensely in the beginning, they lose their charm as time progresses. For example if we buy a new car, we feel so thrilled to have it as our possession. Even other people compliment us on our new acquisition. We take extreme care that it doesn’t get dirty, stained or scratched/bumped by another vehicle. But as time progresses, it slowly becomes just like any other possession we have.

Kabir, in this song, points how a spiritual or inward-directed coloring is the onlyreality that actually grows in its beauty and luster with time. The veil, in this song, represents the sheaths of perception that cover our innermost being. These sheaths, in turn, are the mechanism of how we perceive reality. The coloring of spirituality (given to us by the Guru) indeed permeates all these sheaths. While normally our perceptions are covered by a myriad of worldly colors, the spiritual coloring, on the other hand, is unique, one-pointed and singular. That is, it replaces our dispersed perspective by a single color of love for God. This oneness removes confusion and cleanses the root of all maladies. And once an unalloyed clarity emerges even this color disappears, making us the display the glorious radiance of our inner being in all its purity and joy.

August 12, 2001Maalok

Category:

India, Kabir, Music

WHO KNOWS WHAT LIES DEEP INSIDE THE HEART


A baby smiles at his mom
A bee sits on an orchid
An azure sea spans across the horizon
A doc looks at the sick patient
A moth stares at the lamp
Truth is in what you see
Who knows what lies deep inside their hearts.
…
The baby coos at his mama
The bee buzzes over the tulip
The wave screams as it hits the hard rocks
The doc counsels his sick patient
The moth whines over the light
Truth is in what you hear
Who knows what lies deep inside their hearts.
…
The baby clings to his mummy
The bee drinks up the nectar from the rose
The wave retreats back from the shore
The doc operates on his sick patient
The moth burns with the flame
Truth is in what really happens
Who knows what lies deep inside their hearts.
…
The baby feels calm sleeping in his maa’s lap
The bee feels contented with the honey it makes
The wave feels agitated as it hits the hard rocks
The doc feels proud as he treats his sick patient.
The moth feels hurt as it vanishes in the flame
No one sees, hears, or knows how they feel.
Because who knows what lies deep inside their hearts.

Category:

MY POETRY, Poetry

ABIDA PARVEEN SINGS KABIR


Category:

Abeda Parveen, Kabir, Music

MUSIC WITHOUT BORDERS 3: LOTUS FEET ON GUITAR + TABLA+ FLUTE


Category:

Instrumental Music, International, Music, Uncategorized

MUSIC WITHOUT BORDERS 2


Steven Siro “Steve” Vai (born June 6, 1960) is a three time Grammy Award-winning Italian-American rock guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and producer. After starting his professional career as a music transcriptionist for Frank Zappa, Vai recorded and toured in Zappa’s band for two years, from 1980 to 1982. The guitarist began a solo career in 1983 and has released 13 solo albums as of 2008. Apart from his work with Frank Zappa, Vai has also recorded and toured with Public Image Ltd., Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake. Vai has been a regular touring member of the G3 Concert Tour which began in 1996. In 1999 Vai started his own record label, Favored Nations, intending to showcase, as Vai describes, “…artists that have attained the highest performance level on their chosen instruments.”

Category:

Instrumental Music, International, Music