Nikaah & Janaaza

You will love this reality of life... NIKAAH & JANAAZA........ The difference between a wedding and a funeral ! (FARQ SIRF ITNA SA THA) Teri doli uthi, Meri mayyat uthi, Phool tujh par bhi barse, Phool mujh par bhi barse, FARQ SIRF ITNA SA THA Tu sajayi gayi, Mujhe sajaya gaya. Tu bhi ghar ko chali, Main bi ghar ko chala, FARQ SIRF ITNA SA THA Tu uth ke gayi, Mujhe uthaya gaya. Mehfil wahan bhi thi, Log yahan bhi the, FARQ SIRF ITNA SA THA Unka hasna wahan, Inka rona yahan. Qazi udhar bhi tha, Molvi idhar bhi tha, Do bol tere padhe, Do bol mere padhe, Tera NIKKAH padha, Mera JANAAZA pada, FARQ SIRF ITNA SA THA Tujhe Apnaya gaya, Mujhe Dafnaya gaya

The Final Inspection

THE FINAL INSPECTION The soldier stood and faced God, which must always come to pass. He hoped his shoes were shining, Just as brightly as his brass. 'Step forward now, you soldier, How shall I deal with you? Have you always turned the other cheek? To My Temple have you been true?' The soldier squared his shoulders and said, 'No, Lord, I guess I isn’t. Because those of us who carry guns, Can't always be a saint. I've had to work most Sundays, And at times my talk was tough. And sometimes I've been violent, Because the world is awfully rough. But, I never took a penny, That wasn't mine to keep... Though I worked a lot of overtime, When the bills got just too steep. And I never passed a cry for help, Though at times I shook with fear. And sometimes, God, forgive me, I've wept unmanly tears. I know I don't deserve a place, Among the people here. They never wanted me around, Except to calm their fears. If you've a place for me here, Lord, It needn't be so grand. I never expected or had too much, But if you don't, I'll understand. There was a silence all around the throne, Where the saints had often trod. As the soldier waited quietly, For the judgment of his God. 'Step forward now, you soldier, You've borne your burdens well. Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets, You've done your time in Hell.'

Soldier

MY SOLDIER You probably don�t know his story Most will never speak his name You won�t see him in your dreams tonight But you owe him just the same Since that awful day in September He�s proudly stood to fight To serve his grieving nation He needed to do what was right He�d never admit to being a hero That�s not was heroes do Instead of basking in the limelight He�s fighting for the red, white, and blue Every moment he misses his family Every day brings another fight But, it�s a small price to pay for freedom To let his son sleep safe at night He never asked to leave his family He didn�t ask to go to war Never once has he asked himself �What in the hell am I fighting for? Let somebody else fight for freedom! I�m tired of getting low pay! This is what I get for the sacrifice, Of giving my life away?� He proudly serves his country He wears his ribbons for all to see He�s served Old Glory with honor And he�s fought for our liberty.

MP has very vivid memories of his early life as a quadriplegic and about how he learnt to accept the disability, pick up the threads again and start living his second innings. His journey is one of immense courage, and has been described in his own words in an article he wrote titled 'Airborne to Chairborne' which, incidentally, kick-started his writing career.

In the piece he writes how he conquered the bouts of depression and began the second phase of his life in the paraplegic home, thousands of miles away from his native Chirayinkil in Kerala. He slowly and painstakingly taught himself to write by holding a pen in his mouth and finally learnt to use the keyboard of a PC with his mouth.

So inspirational was this article that it found place in the English textbook of schools affiliated to the Maharashtra board and an abridged version has recently been included in the English Reader in Kerala. This has won him many young fans and friends.

I leave you with a few lines from MP's piece 'Airborne to Chairborne:'

'Believe it or not, every cloud has a silver lining. To surmount even seemingly insuperable barriers one has to shun the thought of disability and muster the remnant faculties and canalise ones energies purposefully and whole-heartedly it isn't just physical ability and intelligence but an insatiable appetite for success and unstinted will power that would texture the warp and woof of fabric called human destiny. Greater the difficulty, sweeter the victory.'

The Tea Shop

THE TEA SHOP........ Another tale reflecting the character & high values of brave men guarding the nation... They were on their way to the post where they would be deployed for next three months. The batch being relieved, was waiting anxiously for their arrival so that they could fall back to safer confines of their parent unit. Some would proceed on leave and meet their families. They were happy that they were to relieve a set of comrades who had done their job. It was a treacherous climb and the journey was to last till the next evening. Cold winter month with intermittent snowfall added to the torture. If only some one could offer a cup of tea the Major thought, knowing completely well that it was a futile wish. They continued for another hour before they came across a dilapidated structure which looked like a small shop. It was locked and their was no other house nearby where the owner could be located. It was 2 o'clock in the night and there was no house close to the shop where the owner could be located. In any case it was not advisable to knock any doors in the night for security reasons. It was a stalemate. No tea boys, bad luck. The Major told the men to take some rest since they had been walking for more than three hours now. Sir, this is a tea shop indeed and we can make tea. We will have to break the lock though. The officer was in doubt about the proposed action but a steaming cup of tea was not a bad idea. He thought for a while and permitted for the lock to be broken. The lock was broken. They were in luck. The place was a shop indeed and had everything required to make tea, and also a few packets of biscuits. The tea was prepared and it brought great relief to all in the cold night. They were now ready for the long and treacherous walk ahead of them and started to get ready to move. The officer was in thoughts. They had broken open the lock and prepared tea and consumed biscuits without the permission of the owner. The payment was due but there was no one in sight. The Major was not however moving out without doing what was to be done. He took out a Rs 1000/- note from his wallet and kept it on the counter, pressed under the sugar container, so that the owner sees it first thing when he arrives in the morning. He was now relieved of the guilt and ordered the move. The days, weeks and months passed by. They continued to do gallantly what they were required to do and were lucky not to loose any one from the original group in the intense insurgency situation. And then one day, it was time to be replaced by another brave lot. Soon they were on their way back and stopped at the same shop, which was today open with the owner in place. He was an old man with very meager resources and was happy to see eight of them with the prospect of selling at least eight cups of tea that day. All of them had their tea and spoke to the old man about his life and experiences in general, selling tea at such remote a location. The poor, old man had many stories to tell all of them, replete with his faith in God. Kya Baba, yadi Allah hota to kyaa aap ke jaisa 'Allah kaa bandaa' is haal main hota, said one of them; moved by his poverty and faith in God. Nahin Sahib, aise mat kaho, God actually exists. I got the proof a few months back. I was going through very tough times because my only son had been severely beaten by the terrorists who wanted some information from him which he did not have. I had closed the shop early that day and had taken my son to the hospital. There were medicines to be purchased and I had no money. No one would give me a loan from fear of the terrorists. There was no hope, Sahib. And that day Sahib, I had prayed to Allah for help. And that day Sahib, Allah walked into my shop. When I returned to my shop that day and saw the lock broken, I thought someone had broken in and had taken away whatever little I had. But then I saw that 'Allah' had left Rs 1000/-under the sugar pot. Sahib, I can't tell you what that money was worth that day. Allah exists Sahib, he does. I know people are dying every day here but all of you will soon meet your near and dear ones, your children, and you must thank your God Sahib, he is watching all of us. He does exist. He walked in my shop that day. I know he did. The faith in his eyes was unflinching. It was unnerving. Seven set of eyes looked at their officer and read the order in his eyes clear and unambiguous. 'Keep quite'. The officer got up and paid the bill and hugged the old man. Yes Baba, I know, the God does exist, - and yes the tea was wonder full. Seven set of eyes did not miss the moisture building in the eyes of the Major, a rare sight.

The Unsung Hero - Surjan Singh Bhandari

The Unsung Hero ! Shaheedon ki chitaon par lagenge har baras mele, Watan par mar mitne walon ka yahi baki nishan hoga. Shaheed Surjan Singh Bhandari N.S.G. Commando During The Attack on Akshardham temple on 24th September 2002 this Brave Man fought the greatest battle of his life. Yes he was the N.S.G. Commando Late Mr. Surjan Singh , who sacrificed his life for the Nation. Sadly On 19th May 2004 he lost the Toughest and Longest battle against life exactly after 600 Days being in Coma, he lost this life. The Bullet which hit him in the head made him Unconscious for almost 600 days. His family members were hoping that one day their Hero will open his eyes but he didn't. It was the Longest Wait for the family members of this Brave Man. When the whole India was busy in Guessing Who will be the Next PM of the country - Will it be Sonia or will it be Manmohan Singh, This man was fighting his Last battle. But it's so sad that in the hype of all the Political Drama, the News about his Death was Lost like a needle in a hay stack! Even the leading News Papers & So Called Best News Channels of India which Works on 24 X 7 basis, failed to highlight this story of the Brave Man. Unfortunately it was mentioned somewhere on the middle page of some newspaper.....This was the Reward for the Brave task for which he lost his life. Besides his Family members, only one thing was there with him during those toughest 600 days. It was there near his bed till the last Moment. Can you guess what it was?............... It was the "Tiranga", yes! Our National Flag, which was saluting him for his Great cause. Absolutely No words can suffice our Gratitude towards him... Salute ! Jai Hind