The Late Aashiq Ali

Tears that refuse to fall.
Tears held back.
Tears falling endlessly.

The Essence of Freedom

Let go.

Let go of the difficulties that are plaguing you. Release the pain. Don’t you know that you are Allah’s creation and that He takes care of all that He creates? Who feeds the insects you stamp on or the multitudes of fish thriving in the sea?

Your troubles are not just your own, Allah sees them, He will resolve them.

“And Allah is sufficient for His creatures wants and needs.”

Be free.

“And I entrust my affairs to Allah. Verily Allah is the All-Seer of (His) slaves.”

- Surah Al-Ghafir (the Forgiver) Ayah 44

(Un)coveted

It’s nice being coveted by companies if not by people. The battlefield had been occupied by Engro, Pfizer, Berkshire Medical Centre and Access consulting. Yesterday, Telenor too joined the fray. Pfizer had the record for calling less than 2 hours after the interview. However they delayed it by minutes and Engro emerged victorious.

Not that I am complaining. Engro’s CSR internship is very close to my heart and well aligned with my life goals. I just hope they let me off for 2 weeks so I can have a quick jaunt in the US.

I make it sound as though I am some prized possession many contestants are vying for.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

I am just so TIRED…

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IBA’s Business Plan Contest - Shadidresses.com

Alhumdulillah I got Third prize in IBA’s Business Plan Contest I am so happy I could dance with joy!

I am the only one from CCS to get a prize even though it was a BITS-organized event. Also I am the only one for whose presentation comments, a particular judge did not use the word “CRAP”

I presented the idea of Shadidresses.com, an online boutique that provides exquisite dresses for all shadi-related events from the mangni to the valima in a 6 weeks time window. We foresee profits of Rs. 1,867,000 in the first year with an ROI of 126.65%

Seems unrealistic? I’ve done it for the last 5 years with great success!

Click below to download my presentation:

shadidresses

Dental Ordeals

In her 3rd trimester my mom suddenly got dangerously high blood pressure. For that she had to take medicines that are not to be taken during pregnancy and can have harmful effects on the baby…

The result: My mom survived. I was born pre-term and had dental caries. My front teeth were black and broken, reminiscent of some ugly monster you see in the movies. My smiles were painful episodes for those around me

The solution was pretty obvious. The teeth just had to be removed, all 4 of em. Try explaining that to a five year old. I would start bawling my head off if the topic was even mentioned. My gentle dentist, himself a father, proposed putting me under general anesthesia and then pulling ‘em out. But that would have been dangerous for a little girl.

A big bad dentist came to the rescue. He was made of stern stuff and looked the part. One glimpse at him made the tears go leaking. But my father was adamant that the ordeal had to be done. He escaped to his clinic to flee my piteous screams.

I was strapped to a huge chair with lots of ugly equipment. I was wailing at the top of my voice in a feeble effort to make my father come back. Bereft of abba, ammi and the security that I had always known, I cried and cried till I could cry no more.

As the dentist made howling noises pretending to be a werewolf, I could only hiccup. All the tears had dried up.

I got 2 injections in my jaws that day. All 4 teeth was pulled out leaving big gaps behind. Before I had an ugly smile. Now I had a toothless smile.
Guiltily my father returned when the deed had been done. I was in too much pain to even rebuke him.

Abba bought me a Jans broast which I couldn’t eat (had no teeth). However just looking at it cheered me up considerably

We waited with bated breath to see how my permanent teeth would turn out. They came out just fine, not a spec of caries in them.

Today when I smile no one grimaces. Alls well that ends well!

Time Wasting

I shouldn’t be writing this. I know I will anyways.

I finished the data base. So many records, my hands hurt. I just got off the phone from a bandi who has the most awesome stuff. I’ve enlisted her products too. Obviously it’ll mean more work and changes to existing work but in view of the larger good I don’t care.

Unfortuntley my PC is infected with a psycho virus. Every time I google, a message pops up “Your search engine has been hijacked” and the results become porn sites. Normal websites now take me to porn sites too. It seems the virus is intent upon educating me!

I sat down to install windows again but the thought of reinstalling all my programs makes me shudder. I think I’ll do it tomorrow. Maybe I’ll keep putting it off till my PC completely goes down :/

Alhumdulillah my Change Management presentation went well. For once Sir Moinuddin A. Khan had no criticisms. At least in public that is. He later told me that my voice is too soft. What can I do? All my life in my singing choir I was taught to not be shrill. Make your voice blend with the piano. Don’t go against the music. I always had the mic anyway.

Alhumdulillah I got good marks in E-banking too. InshAllah if I am able to give a burst of energy at the end a good gpa may be possible. But then IBA teachers always spring last minute surprises

I’s 12:37 A.M, a full moon night. I still have to:
- Clean my room. I promised mom and don’t want her to be disappointed in the morning.
- Study accounts. I have a nasty feeling that a quiz is impending.
- Work on the website. That project deadline is definately impending

The light keeps flickering and the fan becomes alternatively slow and fast. Please don’t let there be a power breakdown!

While the power is still merciful, I’ll give my room a shot…

It’s gonna be a long night.

A hat trick of tiredness!

My hands hurt permanently.

I’ve finally completed the report and it’s only 11:32 P.M. Alhumdulillah! I also found time to get a new dress for the bake sale, an excellent bargain! It’s a chellow and red chunri with cute gotta, matching desi shoes plus a red paranda. It’ll look like a village belle has ventured into IBA from the fields

Speaking of which, the mayoon pic Jess took is causing ripples on fb. Random people are wishing me a happy married life. Friends are callin up to ask if I’ve suddenly taken the plunge. They tell me I’ll make a beautiful bride.

My comments: It sure is fun gettin all dolled up BUt that is certainly not a good enough to reason to get married!

I pray we don’t havta present tomorrow. But with E-comm project coming up maybe it’s better to get rid of this one asap.

Btw I have a new phone which sucks. I can’t get used to the hard keys after my old softie ones.

Old is gold after all. Some times familiarity can be so reassuring!

Lazy Sunday Morning Ramblings

Sunday mornings at my place are lazy and steeped in tradition. As a result of the inevitable struggle over the newspaper, I reconcile myself with Images and Books and Authors, Abba gets the front page and poor ma is stuck with Metropolitan or if she’s sneaky, Magazine.

Lately I’ve been finding Images and Magazine pretty crappy. The pictures are getting glossier and bigger at the expense of the content. The hidden fundu in me is offended by NFP, I don’t even read him any more.

We then have a breakfast table conversation about the hot topic of the day. Today we discussed how to improve my parent’s practice. Feelings were forgotten and passions raged on but no conclusion could be reached. My opinion was that my parents should improve the “customer” experience with Value Added Services, my parents protest: with over flowing patients, free medicines and rock-bottom margins; that is not always possible.

Later we ventured to Mottas for grocery shopping, another tradition. I’ve been going their since as long back as I can remember; every time they change a counter I feel a familiar wave of irritation as though things are out of place. As we go to the check out counter, the uncle automatically includes a 100 wala Ufone ka Card. Thats what happens when you have life time customers

From there we went to Clifton Nimco Corner. All diets and ulcers were forgotten, we freely indulged in mouth watering samosas, rolls and chapli kababs. Sinful pleasures

Last night I made pulao in the style of my father’s family. They’re Pakka Hindko speaking Peshawaris, all seasoned cooks including the men. I like Pehawari and Afghani food but find it too carnivorous at times. There used to be this really great Khyber Resturant here where they served a mean Kabuli Pulao (and whiskey!) but it closed down. Now I have to go to Peshawar or NYC to have Afghani food.

Speaking of which, I miss Peshawar. I miss our antique haveli with the sprawling court yard, the intricate wood work and the candle stands. I miss those narrow cobbled streets with the over whelming air of antiquity. I miss shopping at Bara and Karkhano.

Abba was planning a week end getaway to Peshawar but Saturday is so hectic, I can’t afford to miss those precious classes

IBA tends to rule your life!

On Cloud Nine

The world is pink again.

Alhumdulillah I am so happy. I got good marks in a paper today and the bake sale preps are frenetic and jubilant. We’ve been able to collect enough charity, people’s generosity is heart warming. Every one is really excited about the Basant theme. If the powers-that-be accept all our grandiose ideas we could have a bake sale never seen before. One of them is a buggy in which you can get people (usually an unsuspecting couple) take a ride around IBA. What fun!

I wish I could get a kulfi, paan, bun kebab and french fries stall along with the lassi, paani puri, baked alaska, popcorn, chocolate fudge, brownies and gola ganda. These desi foods have an apniyat solely missing in KFC and Mcdonalds. interested people, please contact me…

People had better come with iron stomachs!

Yesterday was an unexpected chutti, I utilized it for all the little joys that I covet and am not able to indulge in frequently. Curling up with a good book (in this case Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). Later when I had wiped off the tears, I had a heart-to-heart with ammi. There is something about a mother’s welcoming bosom that warms you deep down inside. Like a cuddly blanket, her sweet voice wraps around you, assuring you that no matter what happens, after all every thing’s gonna get alright.

My ulcer had already gotten much better. Later when I saw ammi was busy on the phone, I decided to give her a helping hand and simultaneously fulfill another hobby - Cooking. I made chicken corn soup (the kind that slides down your throat and comforts you to the cockles of your heart) and Chicken Manchurian. Both dishes were highly appreciated by my loving audience. For me, there can be no greater joy than cooking for the people I love.

Again I’ll repeat my favourite quote, It’s the little things that make life beautiful.

Btw I hate the new wordpress set up. I’ve been unsuccessfully trying to upload pictures since the last half hour