Deprivation

The person who suggested you write about love might have been being a jackass at the time, but I`m glad the suggestion produced such a powerful, moving result.

Bina.

love is sordid and you capture its essence. it is the ultimate state of vulnerability. a feel-good delusion that we all want to believe in because it is one of the last remaining things that makes us feel organically connected. but that comes at the expense of doing away with doubt, reason, etc. especially now when we have internalized the death of god and everyone is on prozac (or self help books)...however, the specter of doubt is creeping in on love; the religion of Romanticism itself. new yorkers know what i mean. there are so many people. how can there be only one. cities are great that way...they give you density with anonymity, intimacy with fear, simulated hyper-reality. makes you want to cling on, but why settle.

KAISA PYAR

Jeena kaisa azaab hay? Teri baataiN yaad aati haiN. One soul, divided again and again, incontrovertible, undiminsihed, unyielding yet seen. Seen in you and me. And all those other teeming millions, 12,130, 900, 6000.

We must have shared the same streets, lanes, boulevards, parks, buildings, planes, routes, seats at one time or another. And not exclusively at that. Why stop at thumbing the nose/s? Don`t you envy the velcro fly?

As usual, words are far behind the thoughts. These fingers can`t keep pace. Now, that thought, that beauty you talk about is everywhere. And nowhere. Not when the tactile urge overwhelms. Forget Tennyson, Asadullah, forget everyone that inherited the fragmented soul. Do we slow down as calendars fade and are filed away in memory`s huge warehouse? Perhaps not, regardless of the physcian`s assertions.


The magic is in love. The magic is in hate. One cannot go from an existential foray into the ethereal ocean of life with only one of them.

Tum aur hum, zindagi ki gaRRhi kay dou phaiyay. As is love and hate. Folks go overboard when seeking gratification with one balm only. I find you constantly inch forward to touch the truth. Is hate a harsh reality, unblinking, unyielding. Or is it controlable?

These days, I`m more inclined to treat them as horses pulling our chariots. One has to accomodate the grays. From wheels to force.
Channelised, purposeful. Seldom. Na Hath hay baag pay naa paa hay rekaab maiN. Daikhiye rakhsh-e-umar kahaN thamay. I hope this is a
correct quote. Hence we whirl. In another time, another place, we would have been whirling dervishes.

(Disclaimer: Am neither high, nor driven. Just drained.)

One of the better one from you in a long time. Ecstatic.

regards,

Note to JB, who, when he finds some precious moments, first scans the replies: Pls. read this article.

Shandana:

this is probably one of the most intense and powerful piece of writing i have read on chowk.

please keep on writing.

brilliant

brilliant

couldn`t understand a single word

Looks like verymuch the hold KALI has on the Bengalis from CALCUTTA(KALI KATTA),& now to be known as ``KOLKATA``

I imagine all the Karachites,have similar sentiments,there is no if,but about it.Personally every city with more than 10 millions in Indian subcontinent are the same-``Bursting at there seams``As for Americans cities i dont like to live in any of them,After New York every other city i saw, Detroit,Chicago,Miami,LA,Sandiego,Houstan.Toranto,Montreal to me they seem the same while approaching it by High Ways(Same if you are flying in)To me they seem like big chunk of ASPHALT during the day time!

I probably never fall in love with a cosmopolitan city,cottage by a no name pond is another thing.

Looks like verymuch the hold KALI has on the Bengalis from CALCUTTA(KALI KATTA),& now to be known as ``KOLKATA``

I imagine all the Karachites,have similar sentiments,there is no if,but about it.Personally every city with more than 10 millions in Indian subcontinent are the same-``Bursting at there seams``As for Americans cities i dont like to live in any of them,After New York every other city i saw, Detroit,Chicago,Miami,LA,Sandiego,Houstan.Toranto,Montreal to me they seem the same while approaching it by High Ways(Same if you are flying in)To me they seem like big chunk of ASPHALT during the day time!

I probably never fall in love with a cosmopolitan city,cottage by a no name pond is another thing.

Bravo! Great article! Unfortunately, those who need to read this most will not read it, and, if they did, would not understand it, and, if they did, would probably want to do you harm.

Keep it going.

Ali Minai

Well done! Simply brilliant in its haunting imagery and a sense of desperation, which it instills in the reader!

Shandana, this by far one of the most distrubing and moving articles I`ve read about state of mind, which is known as Pakistan.