Hadith No. 48 - Hypocrisy and False Promises

This is a wonderful Hadeeth. I was wondering whether I could put it on my blog. Then decided that it needs to be here because the message is universal and deserves to be told to all ; especially in today's times when promises are made without intention and people have short-lived memories.

Hadith No. 48
On the authority of Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (sas) said:"Four traits whoever possesses them is a hypocrite and whoever possesses some of them has an element of hypocrisy until he leaves it: the one who when he speaks he lies, when he promises he breaks his promise, when he disputes he transgresses and when he makes an agreement he violates it.

Muslim and Bukhari

1. Other wordings of this same hadith:"The signs of the hypocrite are three: when he speaks he lies, when he promises he breaks his promise and when he is entrusted he betrays the trust." (Bukhari and Muslim)"…even if he prays and fasts and imagines that he is a Muslim" (Muslim)"Among the signs of the hypocrite are three…" (Muslim)

2. Nifaaq (hypocrisy) in the Arabic language means the general category of deception, scheming and presenting an outward appearance of good while concealing its opposite.

3. In the Shari’a, nifaaq is of two types:
a) Greater (An-Nifaaq Al-Akbar): To present an outward appearance of belief in Allah, his Angels, his books, his messengers, the last day, etc. while concealing withing that which negates all or some of that. This is the hypocrisy which the Prophet (sas) confronted during his life and the ones who Allah said in the Qur’an that they are in "the lowest depth of hell-fire".
b) Lesser (An-Nifaaq Al-Asghar) or hypocrisy of action: To present an outward appearance of good and good deeds while concealing within that which negates that. This form of hypocrisy is built on the 5 things mentioned in the hadith at hand.

4. The actions in this hadith are all part of lesser hypocrisy. One who has these character traits in interaction with other people is most likely to have them with regard to Allah and his Prophet (sas). That is why the existence of them is a ‘sign’ of the existence of greater nifaaq.

5. Lying. Al-Hassan Al-Basri said: "Nifaaq is the difference between the inner and the appearance, between statement and action and between entering and leaving and it used to be said that the foundation of nifaaq upon which it is built is lying."

6. Breaking Promises. This falls into two categories:
a) Making a promise with no intention of keeping it. Al-Awzaa’iy said that one who says "I will do such-and-such isha Allah" without intending to do it has committed both lying and breaking a promise.
b) Making a promise intending to keep it and then later deciding to break it.

7. Transgression in Dispute. The main meaning of ‘transgression’ here is to intentionally speak other than truth making truth falsehood and vice versa. Lying ‘calls to’ this as in the hadith: "Beware of lying for lying guides to transgression and transgression leads to the fire." (Bukhari and Muslim). Also, the Prophet (sas) said: "The most hated of men to Allah is the one given to fierce and violent disputation." (Bukhari and Muslim) Also, the Prophet (sas) said about the one who takes what is not his through clever speech has only been given a piece of the fire.

8. Breaking Agreements. Allah said: {And fulfill your agreements for verily agreements will be asked about} Al-Israa’: 34. And: {And fulfill Allah’s agreement when you have made an agreement and don’t violate your oaths after they have been established and you have made Allah your guardian (therein)} An-Nahl: 91. Also: Aal-Imraan: 77. This applies to Muslim and non-Muslim alike. The Prophet (sas) said: "Whoever kills an individual protected by treaty without right will not even smell the scent of paradise and its scent can be found at a distance of forty years march." The most serious oath to dishonor is the oath of allegiance to the khalifa of the Muslims.

9. Betraying of Trusts. When a Muslim is entrusted with something, he must do his best to protect it and to render it back to its owner when the time comes. Allah said: {Verily, Allah orders you to render trusts to their rightful owners…} An-Nisaa: 58 Also: Al-Anfaal: 27.

10. These issues have all been connected to hypocrisy in the Qur’an:
a) Al-Munaafiqoon: 1-2 (Lying, breaking oaths)
b) At-Tauba: 73-77 (False oaths, breaking promises (to Allah), lying)
c) Al-Ahzaab: 72-73 (Betraying trusts)

11. Umar mentioned the hadith of the Prophet (sas): "The thing from which I fear for you the most is the knowledgeable hypocrite." Umar was then asked: "How can a hypocrite be knowledgeable?" To which Umar answered: "He speaks with wisdom but acts with injustice."

12. Ibn Umar was told: "We enter the presence of the ruler we speak to him other than what we say after we leave." Ibn Umar said: "We used to consider that hypocrisy." (Bukhari)

13. Ibn Abi Mulaika said: "I encountered thirty Companions of the Prophet (sas) every one of them fears hypocrisy for himself and Al-Hassan Al-Basri used to say about it: No one fears it but a believer and no one feels safe from it but a hypocrite." (Bukhari)

14. Another aspect of hypocrisy is to do apparently good deeds with wicked intentions. Allah said: {They set up a masjid for the purpose of harm, kufr, creating division among the Muslims and as an outpost for those making war against Allah and His Prophet before this and they will swear "We only intended good." And Allah bears witness that they are liars.} At-Tauba: 107

15. Also: {Do not imagine that those who are joyful with what they have done and love to be praised for that which they did not do – do not imagine them to be safe from punishment – and theirs is a painful punishment.} Aal-Imraan: 188

16. Consciousness will vary and this is not hypcrisy. The Prophet (sas) said to Handhala: "If you were to continue in the state which you achieved in my presence, the angels would greet you in your sittings and in the streets however, O Handhala, there are times and there are times."

Reference: http://www.java-man.com/pages/JamiAlUloom/hadith_48.html

One's promise can translate into someone's dream and violation of the same, can break the other person's dream or the person himself/ herself. Promises could be regarding love, marriage, job, buying something, calling back.... no matter how small. For the person making it, it may not mean much, but the other person schedules his / her actions, makes plans, takes out time based on them. So make promises with care. Or you may hurt someone in the bargain.

VOTING TREND AND RESULTS 2009

This year it’s truly been a voting trend against corruption, false promises, those mixing religion with politics and negative elements.

This year we’d had more youth realizing their responsibility towards the nation and coming out in large numbers to vote. Even my youngest bro took a break from his work and came all the way from Pune to vote here.

Apart from that, rural India also made a large contribution to the votes. That’s because of the various Rozgar Yognas, which helped them in recent times.

Then who did not vote and why?

Of course, the vote percentage was lower in the cities and lowest in Mumbai. The reasons for low turnout in Mumbai were various.

First of all, it was because it touched a long weekend. Elections in Mumbai and Thane were on 30^th April, 2009 which was followed by 1^st May (holiday due to Mararashtra Day) followed by Sat-Sun. And that too when kids have their summer vacations! Who could resist such a temptation of going out of the city?

Reason No 2 –Due to recession, many companies had not given leave to most employees and everyone was expected to be present at work. And who would want to take a chance in such recessionary times when companies are looking for slightest of reasons to sack employees?! Inspite of being a banker and having a holiday, I was expected to be at work as I work in a centralized set-up for other parts of India. Even CMS centralized operations were working full-fledged in many banks. Except a few, many had come to work without voting, hoping to leave early and vote. Getting to leave early (as early as 4 pm to reach before 5 pm) seemed a distant possibility in banks where leaving time depends on volumes, which again are unpredictable. I reprimanded a few for not voting. Everyone gave some excuse, some even about having to come to work. But me thinks all top corporate honchos also do not vote apart from not encouraging their employees to vote. There is also a suggestion – The voting hours should be extended in Cities like Mumbai, where 5 pm means completion of only half a day. The ideal voting hours for Metro cities should from 7 am to 7 pm.

Marriage season was also one reason. Most people were out of town in their gaon attending some relative’s wedding or too busy within the city for the same reason. And for many Indian women, attending to their domestic and family responsibility is more important than their responsibility to the Nation.

And the most important question is- Is the percentage given out for Voting turnout to be believed? I am asking this question because we’ve moved to Mira Road some 6-7 years back, but the new inhabitants of our RBI quarters flat in Mumbai Central called us to inform us that voting numbers of all our family members have come this year also. Now this is two elections down the line! That set my mind ticking. This means that as new voters are added, old voters names are not re-verified for existence and their names are not struck out in case they have moved out. Likewise, so many Mumbaikars have moved to far suburbs in the recent years and added themselves as voters in their new areas. Many have formed new homes after marriage. And many girls also get married and add their names in their husband’s area, whereas their name continues in their old area as well. All such people continue to be counted as two. Half the percentage gets struck off there itself.

Whatever was the reason and whether people did vote or whether they did not, the end-result is crystal clear- Congress has won as a clear majority. This means that the youth of India want a stable government and appreciate their work toward economic growth. Those who understand economy and growth will appreciate India’s sustenance even during recession. The traders, especially the exporters will appreciate how the rupee was devalued to save the falling dollar to avoid much loss to them in conversion and at the same time foreign exchange kept flowing in. The RBI Interest subventions... The intelligent man knows, how inflation is being replaced with deflation (would like to have a full-length discussion of this later). And who could think better of such and many other economic reforms than Dr Manmohan Singh, who is an economist and ex-RBI Governer himself?

People have also voted against political elements that bring religion into Politics – whether belonging to any religion. Politics should purely deal with National Betterment and Religious work should be left to the Pundits and Maulvis.

PS : People in Mumbai / Thane and many parts of Maharashtra wondered why their second finger was being dabbed (literally! No cute dots, just messy lines) with voting ink instead of their first finger. That’s because in many parts of Maharashtra (including some Mumbai suburbs), municipal by-elections were held only recently. And the first finger was used for marking with voting ink then.

Changing Face of Mira Road Station

Pic 1 : The skywalk under contruction
Pic 2 : Outside the station

The last two years have seen a dramatic change in and around Mira Road Station. When we first came to live here around 6-7 years back, there was a small old ticket counter outside the platform. It was typical of small ticket windows of a small town. There was a tower-like structure (two huge poles) erected towards the right side as you got out of the station, depicting entrance to Shanti Nagar side. This was made by Ajmera Builders, if I am not wrong, which has more constructions on the Shanti Nagar side, while Naya Nagar side is mostly ruled by Asmita Builders. The first change was made around two years back, when the huge poles (entrance) were felled down, which I'd written about on my blog that time. An additional railway track was laid (which till today is not used for local trains, but implemented as promised to people beyond Borivali after much struggle). The old ticket counter structure was demolished, the outside stalls were razed, a overhead bridge was constructed and modern-day ticket counter was made on the bridge. The present counter has all the amenities available , including smart card machines and the local/ STD phones installed by Tata. After this change, the station outside looked more cleaner and spacious.

What you see in Pic 1 and 2 is Mira Road station as it is seen today. Below is the same place as it looked two years back.

Below is the old ticket counter structure, which has since been demolished

This picture was also taken almost two years back when the tower-like structure was felled

Before we could start enjoying the change, the spacious area was soon filled by hawkers selling fruits, vegetables and other stuff. This again is a speciality of almost all railways stations in Mumbai. Again some months ago more changes were planned, and digging started outside the station. To the left of Mira Road station as you stood facing the East (which is the only side which is inhabited by people), the leftmost side had a big pond-like swamp. This was almost like a gutter, attracting lot of mosquitoes and welcoming people who arrived at the Station. Called jokingly called Mira Road, 'Macchar Land'. Sometimes you could see sea-gulls there. But a year back, the work for filling up the swamp had begun and slowly that part has been concretised. After that work was over, RNA Builders had sealed up the left side for their construction work, which has started in full swing now. 2-3 months back, more digging started, making the approach road to the station from left side almost blocked. RNA construction on left side and the Sky Walk work on right side. Here, since the underground is swampy, the inner concretization was the initial step before starting the actual Sky walk work. While on the topic of Sky Walk, after the success of the Bandra Skywalk, there is a plan to have Skywalks at all the Mumbai stations, whether it is required there or not. The Bandra one was needed, but the others are just a need of some Neta. Even stations like Dahisar, which have a narrow road outside and does not even have a traffic congestion problem, are going to have a Sky Walk. Work has started and the many station roads at present are congested because of the work going on. The work is more in the stations beyond Borivali.

I'd gone outstation this weekend and on my return on Monday (11th May), was surprised to see the work of the Sky Walk almost taking shape. Some part of it was has been laid out. Good progress in two days ! I remember that there was another small gutter-like swampy area in the middle. And as we stood in the auto rickshaw line, mosquitoes greeted us from there. That was filled when the Phase 1 part of the work was completed almost a year and a half to two years back. The now has an enclosure and is smartly utilised for parking of two wheelers and cycles. Thankfully it was not given away for any building construction.

There's also one passage-way being made on the left of the station (attached to the platform). The roofs have been laid out already. Today I even saw painting work being done on the stairs leading to the foot-bridge.

Hoping to see a much better Mira Road station in the next couple of months.

Loving Jesus

Many of my Christian friends sometimes advise me to visit a retreat over a weekend for more peace of mind. Earlier it was my dear friend, Avriel, and now another sweet friend, Monisha. I appreciate their concern for me. They keep telling me about the greatness of Jesus. I hear and smile. They know not that being a Muslim, I know more about Jesus than they themselves. I’ve been told how even some Muslims go to a retreat and discover the power of Jesus. I smile and politely acknowledge all that. But keep silent.

Today, I’d like to tell everyone – I need not be a Christian to love Jesus. I love Jesus. In fact, Muslims love Jesus and believe in him. But they definitely love Muhammad S.A.S more than the other Prophets. Muslims who do not believe in Jesus, his birth from a virgin mother and his miracles have not studied or understood Islam well. But many of us (from all faiths) sometimes never really understand the depth and truth of our religion, but just follow it because we were born into it.

We all know Jesus from Christian perspective. I studied in a convent school myself and studied all about Noah, Moses and Jesus. And at the same time, at home, I had a fair knowledge of their importance in Islam as well, thanks to my parents. Now let me tell everyone what Islam says about Jesus.

Muslims accept Jesus as a Prophet of God (just like other Prophets before and after him – Adam, Nuh/Noah, Ibrahim/Abraham, Musa/ Moses to name a few), while Christian over the years have started to call him ‘Son of God’ or Lord himself. Jesus (or Isa Alai Salaam) is a prophet just like Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him). But Muhammed (PBUH) is the last prophet and is also the Messenger of Allah. Another major difference is that though Christians believe that Jesus was crucified, Muslims believe that he was just taken up by God (Allah) and did not die or was ever crucified. According to Islam, Jesus (Isa A.S) was raised to heaven and is there and will descend (come back) at the appointed time (towards the Day of Judgement/ Qayamat), ending all wars and bring peace to the world. He will live on earth for around forty years (Sunan Abu Dawud Book 37, Number 4310)

What the Holy Qur'an says about Jesus:

They slew him not, nor did they crucify him but it was made dubious to them.

(Holy Qur'an, Surah Nisaa, Verse 157)

And surely they slew him not. But Allah (God) raised him unto Himself.

(Holy Qur'an, Surah Nisaa, Verse 157-158)

As such, Muslims believe that Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) was raised to heaven. According to Hadith, he is on the second heaven. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam=Peace be upon him) mentioned, "During the Meraj (Night of Ascension), I met Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) on the second heaven. I found him of medium stature, reddish white. His body was so clean and clear, that it appeared as though he had just performed ghusal (ablution, cleansing of the entire body) and come." In another Hadith, Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) mentioned to the Jews that, " Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) is not dead, he will most surely return to you before Qiyamat (the Day of Judgement)."

After his ascend, he will live with on earth

Now this piece of information might come as a surprise to many non-Muslims. But considering the Law of Nature and the Life Cycle we study through Science, this definitely makes sense. Every human being (however great or famous or pious) who is born on earth has to die. This is not new to us. And once a person dies in the context of earth, he is never seen back alive again. According to Quran, Jesus never died. He was taken away to the heavens. So in a way, he has not completed the life-cycle. Hence he has to come back or we can say that his coming back makes proper justification.

There are several Hadiths which give a detailed description about how Jesus's coming back on earth will be and also describe his physical attributes.

Sahih Bukhari Volume 3, Book 34, Number 425 ; Sahih Bukhari Volume 3, Book 43, Number 656 ; Sunan Abu Dawud Book 37, Number 4310 to name a few references

Here are some answers to some questions regarding similarities / differences between Christianity in their belief of Jesus :

1. Do Muslims believe he was a Messenger of One God? YES
2. Do Muslims believe he was born of a Virgin Mother? YES
3. Do Muslims believe Jesus had a miraculous birth? YES
4. Do Muslims believe Jesus spoke in the cradle? YES
5. Do Muslims believe he performed miracles? YES
7. Do Muslims believe that Jesus was the son of God? NO
8. Do Muslims believe Jesus was killed on the cross then resurrected? NO

I love Jesus. And I also love our dear Prophet Muhammad S.A.S.

For the complete story of Isa A.S, the Prophet, refer : http://www.islamawareness.net/Prophets/isa.html

References :
http://www.islam.tc/prophecies/jesus.html
http://www.soundvision.com/Info/jesus/

Soaring temperature

The weather in Mumbai these days is like it’s never been ever! The temperature is soaring higher by the day. Humidity is around 45 pc. Venturing out of the house requires lot of guts. The consequences could be heatstroke, fainting and extreme dehydration. And summer began early too. From beginning of March, it has been extremely hot and it’s only getter hotter and hotter. For someone like me who is extremely sensitive to heat, it’s bad news spelling bad health. I’ve been having chilled water, biting into ice (even ate a flavoured ice-gola in a plate recently after ages!) and staying away from even lukewarm water. I rummage through my clothes for a long time before selecting what to wear to office. Even the normal cotton clothes seem thick ! If only one could wear gowns to office. Even the weather at night is not soothing making it extremely difficult to sleep.

The temperature is around 35 degree Celsius. And it touches 40 degrees also from time to time. And this is a record of sorts for Mumbai. I’ve never seen such weather since my birth here. Mumbai no longer seems to have a moderate climate. Even the house seems like a hot oven. Are we headed towards global-warming?

‘’Why me, Ma’am?’’ - A question on World Kidney Day

‘’Why me, Ma’am?’’ Those words still ring in my ears. I didn’t have a reply though I just managed to fumble out a few words of reassurance.

These words belong to a staff and colleague from Delhi (we interact with other branches through phone as we’re centralised for a number of locations at Mumbai), He’d moved to another Bank in Delhi itself on a good payscale . He was hard-working and kind and good in his work. We were happy for him. He always turned to me for advice on issues and learning things about Trade Finance. When things go right, many envious eyes spoil it. I was not superstituous. But recent experiences have led me to believe that envy does destruct. Immediately, on quitting and before joining the new job, he was afflicted with a stomach infection for which he was admitted to a hospital for a month. He was on heavy antibiotics and requested the new Bank to consider his late joining through a reference. This was a year back.

He finally joined the new job and won accolades for his good work. Again he happily announced it to the world and even scanned across his ‘certificates of appreciation’ to all. I’d warned him earlier and re-warned him again stating that everyone is not a well-wisher and good things should be shared with close family and well-wishing friends and relatives only. This was around 6-8 months back.

Three months back, he called again. ‘Ma’am, I’ve a kidney problem. Doc says both my kidneys have failed. I just have 3 months time. I don’t know what to do. I am scared to start dialysis as docs suggest. Or I need to look for a donor.’ I was shocked as the fellow is just 29 years old. I advised him to go for dialysis soon and not waste time further. He’d started some herbal/ ayurvedic medicine, which had helped him reduce his Creatinine level by 1. I didn’t know much about kidney failure then, so told him to follow his docs advise and not delay anything. Meanwhile I tried to find help in whichever way possible. Knowledge about kidney failure, any medicines available and the likes and informed him. But I was obviously disturbed. After a month, he called back half-upset. He’d done his Creatinine test, and the drop by 1 increased by another 1 and stood at 11. His family members were crying and he’d lost all hopes of survival. Their only hope was a donor, which they were unable to find. That’s when he asked me, ‘Why me, Ma’am? I never smoked, I never drank. I didn’t do any bad things in life. Then why this happened to me?’ I had no words. I wanted to tell him about how life and the thereafter works. About God’s tests and trials for good people. But that was not the right time and would suggest something negative to him. So I just advised him to start dialysis. And keep other options on, side by side. Also advised him to quit job if that was acting as a deterrent and concentrate on his health.

Presently (since a month) he’s doing dialysis twice a week (Sun and Thu) and thankfully his company allows him a weekly off on Thursdays and allows him to leave in decent hours on other days. He’s looking for a donor and some advice on kidney related matters. If anyone can help, please leave a comment . Your prayers will also help.

12th March was World Kidney Day. I want to ask everyone – Why are people falling prey to such diseases so often now? And that too at such young ages? Once upon a time, kidney failure was a rare disease. And scared us all. It’s still scary, but we hear of it more often now. What is going wrong? Are our lifestyles to blame? Are we failing in our diets? Are the junk we eat are to be blamed? Are too many antibiotics the cause? Or are these effects of allopathy medicines? Take the above case for example. The person was under hospitalisation for a month. And a few months later, he was diagonised with kidney failure. Or are we indulging in too much self medication ‘coz we don’t have the time nor inclination to go to the doctor.

Let’s take this case of a girl, who had a severe dental cavity resulting in acute pain in the tooth. The girl was shy to go to the dentist as all the dentists in the locality were males. So she resorted to self medication. Whenever the pain occurred, she took Combiflam tablets to subside the pain. Overdose of the tablets over a period of time had a negative impact on her kidneys. Both her kidneys failed. But by the time her treatment started, it was too late. She expired at a very young age. May God grant her peace.

Vaguely, it can be said that today’s stressful lifestyle, dietery habits (including content of food and time of eating) and self medications contribute to kidney failures. It can also result as side effects of some medicines/ antibiotics. Hope to highlight details through a thorough research soon (working on it), inshallah.

May God keep us away from chronic and life-taking diseases!

I want to be happy

I want to be happy
I want to be alive.
Once upon a time when I lived
I loved music, painting and writing.
Now it’s only banking.
And working day and night
And craving to see daylight.
Else its only tubelights and huge monitors,
And a few minutes to grab a bite!
Today my little moments of joy
Are just seeing daylight on Sundays,
Having a meal on time,
Sitting with family on weekends;
My weekends only mean a Sunday.
My idea of an outing
Means going to office by road instead of train
So that I catch a glimpse of the city;
And once in a while, a movie with siblings!
I use ‘kajal’ not as a cosmetic,
But to keep my eyes cool.
I’ve not seen the South, Central of Mumbai for months
‘Coz I do not have time.
I am just a zombie now.
Just work, office and me!
I want to be alive again.
Just me, love, and things I like.
I used to smile a lot earlier
But want life to smile at me now!

Pic courtesy : www.lovingwhisper.com

Women - Truly Emancipated ?

This International Women's Day, I was wondering - Why do we celebrate Women's Day? If it means 'being independent and career oriented', who has the time to celebrate it anyways!

On a serious note, I've started wondering - What makes a woman of today liberated?

(1) Does it mean 'being a complete woman' by being a good daughter, dutiful and caring wife, wonderful homemaker, loving mother and excelling at it?

(2) Does it mean 'competing with men and struggling as much as, or even more, than men and at the end of it even coming back home to meet expectations at home as stated in Point (1)?'

(3) Does it mean 'to get so involved in making a career and competing with and equating with men that there is no time in being a woman'?

These days I am working 13-14 hours a day in a tough, competitive job with 3 hours of travelling. That means 6-7 hours for myself, including breakfast, dinner and rest! Then prepare for another hectic and tiring day.

When it gets late after a day at work (filled with great responsibilities), as a woman, I still have to worry whether I'll reach home safely! I have to wonder what people around me think when I get late in office. Because, we Indians, taking pleasure in guesswork! On weekends, there are expectations from Mom, who struggles full week in the kitchen and house!

Are women truly emanicipated?

Image take from : http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/un/international-womens-day

Begger at Andheri (W) Ticket Counter

There was a huge line on a Saturday evening at the ticket counter at Andheri (W) station. A handicapped begger was dragging himself near the queues for alms. From one queue to the other, vying for attention by tugging at trousers or folding hands.

After a while I saw the begger a few meters away, a little restless and still. I wondered what was the cause of his distraction. A few feet away, a girl in a short skirt was racing up and down, talking on her mobile. Her skirt was tight till her knees. But the frill at the edge was flying away in the breeze. Though nothing was showing, the begger sitting on the floor was plain amuzed ! :)

Expert comments/ Views!

We Indians are always good in giving our expert comments on anything whether we qualify to comment on it or not. It also doesn’t matter whether we know the facts behind a subject or not. We sit at home and pass sarcastic comments about players on the field. Whether its cricket or Sania’s skirt. We forgot her game and brought her down with our comments, once going to the extent of blaming Sania Mirza for disrespecting our National Flag. Later we learnt that it was due to photography positioning. Then we forgot to apologize. We are the self appointed commentators on any topic under the sun. Our comments are mostly directed at bringing people down. When we cannot do good things ourselves then we start commenting on people who even attempt or achieve something great. Our strategy instead should be to do something better and letting our actions speak. ‘Coz ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

I recently had a argument with a friend on the same topic. The only difference was that I had my friend’s best interest in mind and was kinda joking. But a person who’s been criticized for doing something new by own friends’ obviously didn’t take my jokes / puns too kindly. He said that Indians loved to criticize others and take joy in bringing people down. I was angry at being misunderstood. I was too bogged down with my own problems too that time and didn’t quite understand the depth of that comment. I thought deeply about it later. And slowly in the coming days also I saw so many things around me which made me realize that we like to comment / criticize others till it hurts.

This also came forth in the subsequent SCREEN Awards, where Sajid did his overact at making fun of people to the extent of irritating stars who came to collect their Awards as well. This angered even the generally cool Ashutosh Gowalikar too and they both had a spat on stage and sister Farah had to come to save her brother. Then Ashutosh commented indirectly on ROCK ON after getting Best Film Award for JODHA AKBAR angering Farhan. It started as fun but later got personal and dirty leaving a bad taste. Our problem is that we overdo our ‘fun’ bit at times and sometimes comment on things which do not appeal to us.

We joke about people, giggle on their faces, pass comments without even being discreet. We even try to guess about people's backgrounds and even what some girl or boy are upto. We imagine, we jump to conclusions and finally have the cheek to pass on fake information, which has not been verified. And finally when found untrue, we don't even bother to say sorry. Even the media hangs around police stations and tries to sneak out information on FIRs lodged by individuals and then goes about hunting the people concerned with video cameras. There seems to be no privacy. We have everyone trying to nose into other's matters. People are not aware of their rights nor are defamation cases filed. And everything continues........

We’re too intolerant at times, to the extent of trying to force our thinking on others! We think that individuals cannot even have different opinions under the same roof. If Dads supports a thought/ act / idea about anything, generally they doctor their children/ family to think in the same way. Whenever children try to have an idea/ thought of their own, the parents try to curb / criticize it till child begins to think that it’s not right and gives it up totally. If not, then we resort to beating or punishing them. All those people who’ve tried to be different from their roots / family backgrounds have done it at a huge cost. Thankfully, my Dad had taught us at a young age that when two people do not agree, they should agree to disagree. He gave us freedom to think individually, whether it was his daughters or sons, and supported us always. That’s why we have many parallel schools of thought at home. Sometimes we even have debates over the weekends on many current topics, often confusing my simple Mom. For her we should all think in the same way, for the betterment of the house! But that’s her way of thinking

To the friend who misunderstood me – Peace! Your project on Entrepreneurship rocks! Good luck !

Slumdog Millionaire / Crorepati

It’s become kinda ‘cool’ to comment on anything related to ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Most of us appreciated and applauded the movie. Then Amitabh made a comment. Then many jumped the bandwagon and said negative things. Most negative comments came from India. Some said – ‘It shows India as a poor country’; ‘It give a negative image of India’. Some said ‘Life in Dharavi Slums is not like that.’ Some said when Indian Films went to the Oscars, they didn’t get awards. Some dumb ones even said ‘If some Indian would’ve made it, it wouldn’t have won the Oscar, leave aside getting nominated’. But of course, yaar! OSCARS is recognition of films made in Hollywood. And Slumdog Millionaire is very much a Hollywood film, made by a Hollywood director about a poor Indian kid with Indian actors. It’s their award and they can give it to whom they deem fit. Maybe it was a good and different film for them. It takes guts to make a movie about a different country with local actors. Take our ‘Chandni Chowk to China’ for example. When some Indian films went to the Oscars earlier, they went in the ‘Best Foreign Film’ category. Only our Shekhar Kapoor actually made a Hollywood Film – ‘Elizabeth’ followed by another sequel to it, with an all Hollywood starcast.

I’ve seen ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and nowhere found it offensive to India. Nor does it talk about life in Dharavi. It is the story of a street kid, Jamal, who gets orphaned in communal riots and comes up in life the hard way. It is about how Jamal, with his personal experiences in life, is able to win the Millionaire contest and becomes rich overnight. We all have our own stories and no two people’s stories are the same. The same applies for people living in Dharavi or any locality, for that matter. Jamal and his brother move from Mumbai as kids and spend their kid-till-teenage years selling stuff in trains. Then Jamal even spends a few years in Agra as a tourist guide, before coming back to Mumbai to search for his childhood sweetheart, Latika. So its not even totally about Mumbai or Dharavi all the time. They had to show slums, they chose Dharavi. Its symbolic. They could’ve shot in some other slum area too. There are plenty of them. Some line the railway tracks too. If the communal riots shown in the movie as well as the ‘begging racket’ hurts us so much and worries us about our image on the globe, we should work towards making India better. Why project our hurt through criticism? We shit alongside railway tracks ‘coz there aren’t enough ‘Public Loos’. And most poor people cannot afford the few Rupees that these loos charge. We fight over trains at rush hours and do not show humanity in our anger. These are hard facts we face daily yet act as if they do not exist. This is the real face of Mumbai life.

If the Oscars’ nomination for Slumdog Millionaire didn’t appeal to some Indians, why don’t we work at making our own film awards better? In recent times, our Awards are mostly directed at appeasing the ‘film industry’. We try to make everyone happy by giving everyone some award in the name of popularity, sidelining the Real Awards to ‘Critic’s Section’. Categories have been added so that more people are accommodated/ made happy. Even some so called ‘popular’ awards nominations are shockers. No wonder then that Amir Khan keeps himself away from such functions. ‘Ghajini’ (an excellent movie) didn’t bag much awards apart from getting it’s actress the ‘Best Debutante’ award. Our Awards are mostly run by Film Magazines and who would want the Best Actor missing from the front page !?

Luck by Chance

I watched 'Luck by Chance' today, not by chance tho'. Had been hearing good reviews about the movie, so checked it out myself. It's an amazing movie. Realistic, non-typical Hindi movie fare, yet neither dull nor too preachy. The film doesn't have any dull moments, which some non commercial movies have at times. It's purely about Indian Cinema, the people in front of and behind the big screen, their aspirations, their hard work and how finally luck does the trick!

It talks about opportunists in the Film Industry, who do not look back as they move towards fame and glamour and sucess. Success spells 'new friends, newer relations....', all aimed at earning more success in the Industry. It talks about how it is easier for star kids to be launched even with lack of talent, while the more talented keep waiting unless of course, you've luck by your side. It also shows the diplomacy, the manipulations, the glamour, the grime and the two-faces of most people in the Film Industry .

Farhan Akhtar is an amazing actor and has played the opportunist actor who starts from scratch well. He acts effortlessly and ends up charming all. Konkona SenSharma, is definately a good actress and plays her role of a hard-working and hopeful struggler well . The movie moves around these two characters and has nearly half the Industry making an appearance.

The film is excellent and worth a watch. Still haven't watched 'Slumdog Millionaire' (SM). Many people have stated that it's better than SM, tho' I yet to watch the other.

Shahid Vijay Salaskar Udyan

There's a small new park on the Jogeshwari- Vikhroli Link Road. The park was in the making for some time. Recently a few student artists were seen painting away their imagination on the walls. A few days back, the park was seen open for public with the name 'Shahid Vijay Salaskar Udyan'. It has a monument at the entrance depicting the matyrdom.

Could not manage to click a snap as I could just manage a sneek peak twice from the auto on my way to office!

Regional dadagiri at it's height !

People just need a reason for spreading terror/ dadagiri. We have the MNS fighting for rights for the Marathis. That's fine. But to cause harm to others in the bargain is not the way ! Moreover love for own kin does not necessarily have to mean hatred for others. Also, slowly this is also becoming a ground for some people to take advantage of the situation and spreading 'dadagiri' in their own way. Recently, two eunuchs dressed jazzily in tight western attire and bright make-up pushed their way into the First Class Ladies compartment on the Virar local. Generally when eunuchs get in, no one bothers to tell them anything because you can only expect gibberish from them. One woman standing near the door happened to ask them whether they carried a first class ticket. That was it ! One of them started her spat of bad words, curses and what not ! And to top it she started in Marathi and finally declared - 'Mee Marathi Chakka aahe. Maazha janm Mumbai-cha aahe............ Tujhi himmat kashi zhaali amhala kaahihi bolaichi..... ?' (I am a Marathi chakka. I was born in Mumbai..... how dare you tell eunuchs anything....?). This is the most funniest non-political regional declaration I've heard in recent times.

Terror for Religion's Sake - Part 2

After the recent relevations and confirmations that certain terror outfits are operating from Pakistan, no wonder that tho' government knows and wants to do something about it (maybe), it becomes more difficult for a Muslim Government to weed out such organisations because outwardly they wear a religious shawl. And some of the organisations had been groomed and grown by the earlier rules / dictates for parallel support to their existing military against India (mainly) and have some other agenda as well. It is a similar situation wherein certain Hindutva preaching banners/ parties feel embarassed after the Malegaon Blasts revelations. The agenda coming out of the entire of the people involved is truly unbelievable. Some want to support them openly, some secretly, some openly oppose. But everyone wants to keep silent. Religion is truly a sensitive issue for many.

And if that wasn't enough, we now have the 'Ram Sena' imposing religious dictates on people. Religion should be preached peacefully and with love. And one should leave the following part to individuals based on their intelligence. When we force religion down the throats, it amounts to nothing less than terror.

Peace!