Its Emperor Shahjahan who made the expression of love so vulgarly expensive.

Otherwise, keeping it simple is classy and priceless. Overdoing it appears gawdy and trashy.

Once I had a funny conversation with my son Ismail.
He said all his friends in college had girlfriends and “thank God I don’t have one”.
I asked, “Why?”
He said, “They were giving my friends headaches.”
I asked him, “Headaches? Why ?”
He replied, “Because they are gold diggers.”
I gave him a good scolding. “Why are you being so mean. As if your friends are gold mines? “

But he insisted they want expensive presents. Am not sure what’s the general trend among the youth these days, but its only much later in life that love-struck couples realize that the real happiness is in keeping things and expectations simple.

These precious picture of Joe and Jill Biden, the most powerful couple of the world symbolically speak a thousand words on what really counts in true companionship.
You don’t need diamond necklaces, or big bouquets to keep the bond of happiness strong.
Its small acts of care that make all the difference.

A lesson or two for the whiny and grumpy middle aged and old husbands of Desilands on how to add some sweetness & romance to your old bland or sometimes even bitter marital lives.

I miss Fasih so much today. He wouldn’t hesitated to do something as cute too.

“Travelling-it leaves you speechless, and then turns you into a storyteller.”~ Ibn Batuta

Here’s the story: Sheikh Ilmuddin Ansari was a bright young man, from an educated family of Chiniot. He was taught philosophy, Arabic and Persian at home. Then he went on to study Indigenous Indian Herbal Medicine aka Hikmat from a renowned Hakim called Hakim Da’vi in the times of Emperor Jehangir. Sheikh Ilmuddin wanted to shine as a Hakim, and hence moved from Chiniot, to Lahore to Delhi to Akbarabad in search of success. In due time he came to be known as a brilliant healer and was given access to the Mughal Palace, where he became friends with Prince Khurram. There is an interesting legend which tells the story of how he got access to the Palace: “Empress Nurjehan was unwell and she could not walk. Jehangir was very worried, and he sent out a word that if anyone will cure Nurjehan without seeing her or examining her, will get a huge reward. Weird as this precondition may sound, brilliant Hakim Ilmuddin offered to treat her.
To first diagnose her ailment, he asked that Nurjehan walk on a layer of ash on the floor. He then examined the footprints and figured out there was a an abscess/blister in her sole which was the culprit. So next he asked her to put her foot on sand shaped as her footprint, where he strategically placed a sharp object in the area of the blister. This caused the blister to burst. After that, he asked her to place that foot on hot sand so that her ruptured blister was disinfected with heat. In few days Nurjehan recovered and Hakim Ilmuddin Ansari was given loads of money, jewelry and a title of Wazir Khan.”

Wazir Khan was so moved by the honor that as a mark of gratitude, he made a secret holy vow( mannat) to build a mosque.

Wazir Khan remained close to Prince Khurram, perhaps because of their common love for poetry, languages, architecture and aesthetics. Even when there was a rift between Jehangir and Khurram, he sided with Khurram and became his attending physician in prison. Later as Khurram became the Emperor Shahjehan and Wazir Khan became one of his important ministers. As an important minister of Shahjehan he created various architectural marvels. Here we mention two of them.

As we walked into the old walled city of Lahore ( Andaroon Lahore) through the Delhi Gate, our first stop was Shahi Hammam( The Royal Bath). This place is a marvel of science and technology of Mughal times. The Royal Bath had three main chamber: the dressing room, the warm baths, and the hot baths. Also there are rooms for males and others for females. Besides these three main rooms, there’s also a reception area and a quaint prayer station. .

It is situated adjacent to Delhi Gate. And as informed by our wonderful guide Baber, royal guests would come from Delhi to Lahore. The Delhi Gate in Lahore faces Delhi, and the Lahori Gate in Delhi faces Lahore. It took the travelers several days to arrive Lahore and they were exhausted and covered with dust from the way. So before they went to the Shahi Qila to see the Emperor, or to tend to their business matters, they stopped by at the Royal Bath to take bath and freshen themselves up.

The Hammam was lost out of sight, over centuries, and lost its use as a bath in Sikh and British rules. In British times, it had become an office of the bureacracy in Lahore. However, in 2013 the ambassador of Norway, decided to fund it, to excavate its original structure. Norway is known for its saunas and spas, the ambassador was taken by surprise of the idea of royal bath and hence funded its excavation. The hot furnaces under the bath which used hydraulic system to bring up hot water is a marvel to watch. PS: First few pics are from the royal bath.

In order to fulfill his old holy vow( mannat) he constructed Wazir Khan Mosque near Delhi Gate in the walled city of Lahore.

Masjid Wazir Khan is a relatively small mosque, as compared to other monuments in Shahjehan’s era, but this mosque is very elaborately embellished with decorative art work from various regions and design styles. This small mosque in itself beats all the artistic decorations of any other structure of Shahjehan era. In fact it is known to be the most ornately decorated mosque of that era using various decorative styles from India to Persia to AlHamra. This is the first monument to have used Persian tile work called Kashi-kari, and used motifs from Persian style like grapevine, star shaped flowers and cypress trees, using Persian-style colors: lajvard (cobalt blue), firozi (cerulean), safed (white), sabz(green), naranji(orange), zard(yellow) and banafsh (purple). The façade of the entry portal facing Wazir Khan Chowk is decorated with elaborate tile work and calligraphy that includes verses of the Quran, verses of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, prayers for the Prophet, and calligraphic insignias.The main prayer hall entrance has Surah Baqarah inscribed on it. The underside of the dome feature frescoes depicting trees in pairs, pitchers of wine, and platters of fruit, which are an allusion to the Islamic concept of Paradise.

Overall, the mosque stuns the visitor instantly with its colorful motifs everywhere. If there is any gold standard for the phrase “eye-candy”, it is Masjid Wazir Khan.

I have a love-hate relationship with daylight saving time.
I hate it when I lose an hour of sleep, and LOVE it when I get to sleep an hour extra.

Rest, who cares about the clock time change?
I just do the mental maths for 6 months till the clocks start giving correct time.
BTW I follow the old trick of staying on time: I keep my bathroom and bedroom clocks 10 min fast.
Cant do that with cell phone times, so I don’t see cell phone times unless outside.
Car clock: My son does change it despite my disapproval. So it gets changed.
Microwave or gas stove times: How does one change that? I don’t even use them for time check.

The only info I learned from this flyer below is ‘how to change the sundial’ as I have one on my terrace.
So that”s definitely a valuable information.

Now that I am living in Karachi, I did definitely miss the weekend of Canada where the clock got an hour faster. Just for the heck of it. Here in Karachi, Pakistan or in India, we never heard of clocks being changed due to daylight saving time. But we still lived, worked, and slept.

So what difference does it make in the countries where it is done? Did the original indigenous people of North America also had daylight saving time? If they didn’t, as most likely, then how are we now doing any better by making it happen now?
I beg my ignorance and I think I need to read up. There has to be some solid philosophy or scientific argument behind it, even if we don’t get it.
It feels a lot better to know that I am not the only blissfully ignorant person who doesn’t get it. The Native American people also find it funny as below: 😀

Here’s daylight saving time in a nutshell:

Because it adds an unnecessary challenge for parents with little kids to put them to bed an hour early.

For those keen to learn and understand more about this idea, here’s some valuable information 😀

MORE INFO:

We all have known how Shah Jahan poured out his love for his beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal after she died in the form of Taj Mahal. The question is did he show this kind of love in her life too, apart from making her bear 14 children?

Shah jahan was a man of extraordinary tastes. And then he had a pretty wife Mumtaz Mahal he constantly wanted to shower her with surprises as his expression of love. Ofcourse when you are super rich, and a king, for you symbols of love only seem to be gold, silver, diamonds and precious stones. Hahahaha.
The legend is that Shah Jahan created his own private quarters in the Lahore Fort ( the fort initially constructed by Akbar), embellished his bedroom and meeting room with frescoes using gold and silver along other colors, pietra dura(marble inlaid with Lepiz, rubies, agate, jade etc). These rooms had airy windows lined with marble carved jaalis that looked upon River Ravi. The breeze from the river kept his quarters cool. On the inner side there was a beautiful courtyard with a fountain in the centre, that went upto 8 feet high. The marble of the courtyard was chosen with different hues that gave the impression of clouds. In fullmoon nights they created a mesmerizing, surreal view.
However, his favourite queen wasn’t too impressed. Apparently, as claimed by the tour guide, she told her husband, “You have money, so you made it out of gold, silver and precious stones. I want something that is unimaginable and priceless. Can you make me a house bringing those stars from the sky?” The metaphor in Urdu is more relatable, “Mere liye aasman se taare la ker ghar bana sakte ho?”
Like every imaginative person, this didn’t seem an impossible feat for Shah Jahan.
He ordered his Persian architect to procure the best convex glass pieces from anywhere in the world. As a result the architect traveled the region as found the right kind in Syria. Hence came into existence of Sheesh Mahal in the Shah Burj section of Lahore Fort.
Shah Jahan it is said, would lie down in his room with his queen, with one single candle lit in the room, and all the mirror pieces would sparkle like stars. And there would be cool breeze of Ravi coming from the windows, and they would see a fountain flowing in from of them in the courtyard under full moon. He would then ask his wife, “Do you like it now?”
And the queen would just give an affectionate smile.
Another thing: All over the walls of Sheeh Mahal apart from convex mirrors and glasses were paintings of King and Queen. One painting was queen serving wine to the king. . One painting was of Radha-Krishna as a tribute to their love.
So this was about the super rich, and their high-end coquetry and expensive swag. LOL.
Also,during Sikh dynasty in Lahore after Auranzeb, Sheesh Mahal became the favourite place for Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his wives.

Here for us the ordinary middle class humans of the Earth, are pictures we attempt to capture with a simple mobile phone camera, of the neglected remains of their luxurious swag. Good news is that they are being restored now, albeit slowly.

#SheeshMahal #LahoreFort #QueensSwag

Prince Khurram was the son of Emperor Jehangir and a princess of Jodhpur, Jagat Gosain. A brilliant man well versed in Persian, Turkish and Arabic. Very few know that with influence from his Hindu mother, he even was also a patron to many Hindi poets, like Chintamani Acharya Saraswati, and Jagannath Pandit. Another curious fact about him was that he was a good singer himself. Ofcourse he was a doted son of his father and groomed as his heir. So much was he doted, that Jehangir’s favourite Queen Nur Jehan got Prince Khurram married to her pretty niece Arjumand Bano.
However, jealousies dont spare the biggest of kings and queens even. Once Jehangir-NoorJehan’s daughter got married to Shahryar, the queen started to influence her hensure husband to make their son-in-law as his heir. Apparently Jehangir was getting influenced, and hence Prince Khurram in anger revolted against his father, that result in his defeat. Isolated and banished by his father King Jehangir, distraught Prince Khurram went far far in the wilderness of Thatta, Sind, a place that was hardly ever visited by any Mughal King (except Akber) in 1623 The kind hearted people of Thatta hosted him with open arms.
3 years later, the king and the prince patched up and Prince Khurram left Thatta.
In 1627 King Jehangir died and after an internal battle for power, Prince Khurram was crowned as Emperor Shah Jahan.
And he was so benevolent that he forgave his step mother Nur Jahan, gave her a pension of Rs.200,000/annum and made her son-in-law his vazir, giving him the title of Khan-i-khana.
In 1637, the Sindh coast was hit by a severe cyclone and it destroyed Thatta entirely. Now being a King of the entire region, Shahjahan was heart broken, as he had not forgotten the hospitality of the people of Thatta in his worst of times. As a gratitude to the people of Thatta, HE ordered to build the Jamia Mosque in Thatta, which is now known as Shah Jahan mosque. The resplendence of the gift symbolized the benevolence of the people of Thatta. And seeing it today, one can imagine how exquisite and exotic a gift it must have been when brand new.

Today, in the daytime, I made a major check on my bucket list by visiting Thatta, Keenjhar Lake, Makli Necropolis and Shah Jahan Mosque. Just a couple of hours drive from Karachi, I wonder, why did it take so long for me to visit this gem. Unfortunately could not go earlier with Fasih, but many thanks to my boy Ismail Fasih and friend Farah Shams for their beautiful company.

Having visited Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal, Agra Fort in Agra, Red Fort, Jama Masjid in Delhi, and Wazir Khan mosque, Lahore Fort in Lahore, and Shalimar and Chashme Shahi gardens in Kashmir valley, I had a fair sense that anything connected with the name ‘Shah Jahan’ has to be something stunning in its aesthetics and mndblowing in its design.
The entrance was ordinary, with no clue what lay behind the unkempt entrance surrounded by thelas of Thatta Rabri, hawkers selling poppadums and a long line of kids in ragged clothes with their out stretched hands begging as we came out of our vehicle. As we walked in, the fountains lined by sky blue commercial tiles stood dry welcoming us.
The closer we got to the main mosque, the more it began to overawe us. The stunning blue and turquoise tiles from Hala, contrasting the terracotta color of their well baked bricks was a combination I had never seen before in any other Shah Jahan monument. As we entered, and walked from one room to another, I was just too overwhelmed and began to actually get breathless. I swear I am not exaggerating.
This mosque is said to be the most elaborate of mosques in the entire South Asia and also the only one with most domes. Its has over 90 domes and curiously has no minarets.
Design wise, this mosque is famous for its acoustics. As we were there, Adhaan for Asr prayers was called, and the Muazzin did not have to use any loudspeaker. The mosque is also a marvel of good ventalation where all the small rooms are airy and well lit without any artificial electricity. It can house upto 20,000 persons during prayers. Ismail my son joined the congregation in prayers, while wearing a short. And imagine, except for one person, who pointed out to him politely about this being now appropriate, no other local made any fuss about it.

Its is such a treasure for the people of Sindh and for Pakistan. Though now considered a Heritage site by UNESCO, there appears any engagement by the govt. in its maintenance or even in making any attempts to market this as a magnet for tourism. This can easily be a source of pride for Sindh if after a little upkeep and attention this is made a place a must to visit for every person visiting Karachi, much like everyone visiting Delhi has to go to Red Fort or Taj Mahal in Agra. With Makli Necropolis and Keenjhar Lake in the vicinity, this can be a prized tourist spot which brings good revenue to the Province and the country.
And ofcourse, this tourism will help alleviate abject poverty so obvious to us, and we will no see the little kids’ outstretched hands begging for pennies like we witnessed today.
And yes, my rant is not just to the govt organizations, I can bet, even most of Karachiites, whether living in Karachi or anywhere on the globe, must have never cared to visit this mosque in their life.
Hate me for saying this, no worries. 😀

Disclaimer: This is a piece of fiction written by Ilmana Fasih. Any resemblance to any part of the story or character are purely coincidental !

A wife tested COVID positive and developed severe symptoms.
Her husband felt bad that he hadn’t really been very kind to her, had always been fighting with her, forgot their anniversaries, her birthdays etc.
He thought, “What if she dies? I will live all my life in guilt for not having cared enough for her.”
He asked her, “Make a wish darling, and I will fulfill it.”
Wife; “Really? Anything.?“
Husband: “Yes anything. Just say it. And it will be done.”
Wife: “Can you buy me a 2 Carat Diamond Solitaire ring?”
Husband was perplexed. That would be hell of an expensive gift.
But he thought this was the best and most likely the last moment to prove he cared.
He sold off his car and got her a $ 25,000 Two Carat Diamond Solitaire ring.
“Darling, here is your present.” As he passed on the bag following 2 meters social distancing dictat.
Wife excitedly removed her oxygen mask, powdered her face a little, put on a red lipstick and draped herself with a beige shawl with red border.
She then slid the ring on her left ring finger and told him to take a picture with her posed with the hand placed on her chin with the giant 2 carat diamond sparkling distinctly.
After the picture was taken she told him, ‘I will put this picture on Instagram with hashtags #NoOccaisionGift, #Surprise#TwoCaratSolitaire, #GiftFromMyLove and tell the world how awesome and caring my husband has been.”
And then she put the ring back in the box and told her husband, “Darling please return back the ring to the shop. I don’t want to die with guilt that I made you spend so much money before my death, just for nothing. But honey please let this remain a secret between us.“
Husband replied with utmost affection, “My love, money doesn’t matter. I got this gift for you. But you know I love you so will respect your wish and do as you say.”
The husband gladly took it back to the shop saying his wife did not like the ring. And he took the money back and repurchased his car.
He felt accomplished that at least once he was a good husband, and that will be the last image world will have of him if and when she dies.
“How clever am I”, he thought of himself.
And the wife, as her temperature rose, her oxygen saturation went down from 98 to 96 to 92 to 88 to 80 and so on, she coughed with contentment, “At least I will die peacefully now. This wretched man will not take any long to remarry. And then the new witch will demand where is the 2 carat solitaire ring that I was wearing in my last days, will endlessly search for the ring and they will fight on it for rest of their lives. And my soul will truly rest in peace.”

And guess what, she recovered and they continued to fight with each other for rest of their lives. 😀

This is also a first time thing after Fasih’s passing.
I was the one who got the phone call of Fatima’s COVID positive and it seemed as the broken pieces of my world which I had painstakingly gathered after Fasih, were falling apart once again.
I absorbed the shock, took a deep breath and then walked over to Fatima feigning as if I was an iron woman, and told her,
“Your test is positive. My baby you don’t have to worry, we are all surrounded by doctors and reside over a hospital. You will brave through this.”
Nevertheless, as we all decided to isolate in our respective rooms, I missed Fasih dearly, for not being around to share the anxiety and nag him with silly rants like,
“Babloo I am so scared. I hope she will have mild symptoms only. Please tell me she will be okay.”
I even missed more getting back the reassuring reply, “Don’t worry, be strong. She will be fine InshaAllah.”
I messaged Fasih on his messenger, asking him, “Wherever you are Babloo, please pray for our girls.”
We are truly blessed to have the unflinching support of Abdullah’s parents.
Not only do they call their daughter in law, and grand daughter, every few hours, they continually call on me to be sure I am being strong.
After every word of gratitude to them, they remind me, “Bhabi we are one family. You needn’t be thankful.”
The sense of shared care is one of the most empowering and reassuring feelings on can experience.
I cannot also thank enough all the friends and family who called, messaged and expressed their duas for Fatima and Rahma.
We all are what we are because of the circle of care that surrounds us.
The Zulu phrase Ubuntu says it all in 5 small words: “I am because we are.”

Yesterday I was in the office when the receptionist informed me that there is a lady calling from Lahore and she is saying that she knows me from Saudi Arabia. I took her call and she turned out to be one of my nurses when I worked in the Saudi National Guards, Jeddah. She hadn’t been in touch since I left the place in 2008.
But somehow she heard of Fasih’s passing so she searched for me and it lead her to Taj’s phone number. I had always been close to my nursing staff who in Saudia were multinational. So also knew our family by references.
She expressed her deep condolences and said she was shaken and is still not able to believe it. I asked her how was she, her husband and the three boys doing? They must be grown up now?
She replied, “Dr. Ilmana i went through hell in past few years and am now in Lahore. But its okay. I will share my story some other time. Yours is still more tragic than mine.”
But then as it happens, after a few minutes she began to reveal her story.
She told that she had fallen very sick 3 years ago while still working in Jeddah. And barely survived.
But was so weak that she decided to quit her job and come to Lahore where all her 3 boys were now in University.
Her husband didn’t like it and told her, “Dont go. I cannot live without you.”
She said she was such an idiot that she thought he wanted her to be with him. And told him to make a trip to Lahore to settle the boys. He came to Lahore for 15 days.
In the meantime her resignation period got completed and she started living at home. When her husband returned, he was shocked that she had left her job.
He asked her “why did you leave the job?”
She said, “Because I am tired to working. I am unwell now. But since you dont want me to go to live with our children, I will live here and travel back and forth.”
He got more furious, “So now you will depend on me financially?”
And he gave her a divorce-Talaq, talaq, talaq.
She cried but he said, by staying here meant working here. Otherwise he will have nothing to do with her.
So a week later she came back to Lahore to her sons. All the savings that they had done as a couple via a joint account and investment in land etc were in his name, and he refused to give a penny.
Her gratuity from her job in National Guard also came in their joint account. So she was deprived of that too.

Now since 3 years she is living with her sons, and the father is not even paying for their education. And he sends her vicious messages whenever the boys try to call him to ask for financial help. They are working and studying themselves.

I was shocked to hear her story. I told her that her story was more tragic than mine. I have the pain of a loss, but I do not have the hurt of betrayal both emotional and material.
She agreed it feels as if in her past 22 years of married life, she was in a fraudulent relationship tied to her income.

The images of this nurse and her kids have been haunting my head since yesterday.

What a pathetic world we live in… Is money everything for some people?

Addendum: Just found this appropriate quote related to the story.

Friday, 30 October, 2020
Dear Babloo,
Its Friday again.
And again I was there by your side at the grave, at the fateful time of 1:30 pm.
I shared a joke with your sister and her husband while at your side….that you would often tell me, ‘I was always lucky to get good and interested parosans but I still chose to get a partner from a thousand mile away.”.

Nadeem bhai noted and read names of the two parosans on either side of you.
I hope they are being good to you and but not too nosy.
But its okay even if they are. I hope you tell them only good things about me and not those fights and tantrums that are inevitable part of the life of any happy couple. I can bet you, none of these parosans can make better bihari kababs and cheesecakes than I do. Hey, don’t you try to share my recipes with these ‘interested’ parosans.
I haven’t cooked any of these since you’ve gone, anyways.

Ignore them if they watch Indian dramas, which I think they must be as they are from Karachi. You don’t watch any episode okay? Because they can be addicting.
Oops, I am just kidding. I just want you to be happy and not miss us and Taj, my dear, even if that means watching Indian soaps.

But on a serious note, better still if you stay close to your Amma, Abba and my Papa. That will be a better intellectual company. Your Papa and you can discuss the recent advances in Pulmonology, and even about the second wave of COVID, while my Papa can teach you better Urdu and update you about what’s latest in Trump Biden elections.
And at dinner time you can all sit together and have the musallams and qormas your Amma makes.
And I am sure you must be sharing your Ammas cooking with your neighbors.
Its okay. But no, don’t share my recipes. Just tell them my wife made world’s most delicious cheesecake, like you told people here. Let them feel inadequate without those recipes.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry?
But I was glad I had a stronger heart today to joke about you to Nadeem bhai and Kosar Baji.

I am sure you must be the most loved and sought after person up there too. Should I feel left out and jealous by imagining that?
I am not sure.
One part of me says I miss you, the other part wants to be selfless and imagine you are in such a happy place.

Jokes aside, I want you to know that your staff misses you a lot. They all miss your presence in every meeting and happy occasion. They remember how you took your bossy garb off in such fun events, and became one of them, only to come back next morning roaring like a dangerous boss.
One of your staff who got the most scolding, I had a private talk with her one day.
I asked her “I hope you have no bad feelings towards Fasih?”
She started crying and told me, “Mam his scoldings have changed me into a better and serious person.
Today I have a good career only because of him. How can I have any negative feelings for him.”

So many people come or call every day to tell me how much you impacted their lives.
They all pray for your highest place in the heavens. I am sure with so many blessings and prayers, you must be in a wonderful place far beyond our imagination.
It gives me peace to imagine you are happier and at a more blessed than you were here.

And yes, I was just kidding. I am not envious of any good parosans you have.
You can even share my bihari kabab and cheese cake recipes.
I won’t be petty. But haan, do tell them, “my wife has a big heart. This is HER RECIPE. And she is not petty not to share them”. Do put in a good word for me.
These wimmens I know will still not be able to make the kababs and cakes as delicious as mine.
Love you,
Ilmana