Crickety Poems - By Anoopa Anand

Step 1. Go to Anoopa's leftarmspinster blog.
Step 2. Enjoy.

Excerpt from But mostly, seventeen thousand runs featuring Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar:

"So carefully I position my computer at the stumps,
my mouse at silly point,
my eye on the outfield,
my heart with the wicketkeeper."

Dhoop Kinaray - At the Edge of the Sun

Have been on a Pakistani serial watching spree these past few days. Just re-watched Dhoop Kinaray, one of the several brilliant dramas that PTV churned out during its Golden Age, and am absolutely gushing forth with its praises again, which is what happens every time I watch it.Everything about this drama is classic. From its novel concept, gripping story line and fabulously well-written dialogues and characters, to its au naturel direction, its brilliant casting, and immediately identifiable soundtrack - the whole is even better than the sum of all its parts.
Let's start with the essentials.
1. Story/script: Thank you Haseena Moin, you wonderful, wonderful woman. One look at Moin's writing credits (Ankahi, Aahat, Tanhaiyaan, Zer Zabar Paish, Dhund, Dhoop Kinaray etc.) and you have but an idea of her creative calibre and mastery over Urdu. *standing ovation*
Focussing on just Dhoop Kinaray for the anon...
An exceptional, convincing and very well-told romantic story between a frothy, lovable, beautiful young medical intern (Zoya) and her much-older, very hot, sullen, no-nonsense, broody, intelligent and totally awesome boss, a pediatrician of some note (Dr Ahmer) . Throw in a smorgasbord of fantastic supporting characters (Baba, Anji, Dr Irfan, Fazeelat, the other interns etc.) and an evil-psycho-hateful-type vamp like you won't believe (Dr Sheena: Yukh thoooo!) and you have all the ingredients that Haseena Moin used to make DK a work of art beyond compare.
Did I mention the pace of this drama? It speeds along from start to finish like that *snaps fingers* and when the story concludes at just the right time, you feel a twinge of regret that it's all ended too soon. THAT'S the mark of a good writer, what?

2. Direction: Directed by Rahat Kazmi's/Dr Ahmer's real-life wife, Saira Kazmi. Was watching a random video off YouTube where she was explaining how she was all about realistic drama and a natural style of story-telling. Hey, Saira, we believe you. Absolutely. Well done, I say.

3. Casting: In terms of casting, I don't think any televised drama has ever since, or ever will, get it this right.
-Rahat Kazmi as Dr Ahmer: Drool factor 10/10;
-Marina Khan as Dr Zoya: Beautiful, fun, innocent and extremely lovable as female protagonist - every young girl wanted to be her;
-Sajid Hasan as Dr Irfan: I want one to go, please... My God, Dr Irfan's hilarious character is everyone's favourite memory of DK;
-Kehkashaan Awaz as the sweet Anji, Zoya's childhood friend and neighbour;
-The acid spewing Dr Sheena, played by Badar Khalil- DIE DIE DIE! Has anyone ever managed to play a character so universally hateful and psyched? Even her unfortunate ABBA hairdo makes you want to scalp her;
-Zoya's adorable father Baba, played by Qazi Wajid. *grin*
-Fazeelat: Zoya's aaya since forever; a loud, abrasive and extremely loving, paan-chewing harridan who is the proverbial coconut - hard on the outside, soft inside.

All the actors were catapulted to superstardom after Dhoop Kinaray, if they weren't established as top-of-the-league already.
Here's a classic bit from Dhoop Kinaray. It's the beginning of the story, we see Dr Ahmer (hubba hubba) leading his interns on rounds, and Dr Zoya goofing up and irking the hell out of him. *flashback to own college gaffes*

4. Soundtrack: DK has an eminently hummable soundtrack. Ghazals by Nayyara Noor, poetry by Faiz Ahmad Faiz. I've been humming the background music stupidly for days now. Even to put my baby nephew to sleep. He's six months old and then some, but he gets it.
Here's a good link to Dhoop Kinaray's soundtrack. It's got MP3s, lyrics, translations and videos.

And now a video of the most grin-inducing romantic bit from the whole series... the bit where the two docs go gallivanting on a field trip and we as audiences pee our pants in anticipation of all the romance that will follow. "HE HOLDS HER HAND!" OMG OMG OMG! This was a very big deal in Pakistani dramas, okay? Ha ha. Lyrics (by Faiz) as follows:
Raat yoon dil mein teri khoee hui yaad aaye
Jaise veeraane mein chhupke se bahaar aa jaaye;
Jaise sehraaon mein haule se chale baad-e-naseem;
Jaise beemaar ko be-wajhaa qaraar aa jaaye.

5. Style Statement: Dhoop Kinaray oozes in sophistication and style, whether it's sartorial or cultural or verbal. Class will tell, is what I always say.
The clothes the characters wear in this series were the height of fashion then. I promise, they were. Our family (and all salwar-kameez wearing folk everywhere I suppose) always used to take the lead from PTV's contemporary dramas in terms of fashion trends. What they wore, we wore. (This is not true anymore. What they wear on PTV nowadays, I could never wear. Too little textile used and full length salwars and sleeves seem to be a thing of the past. But wait! This is neither here nor there.)
And then the depiction of family life, the tehzeeb, the beauty of well-spoken Urdu, the shaairi mixed in with everyday dialogue - most endearing about Pakistani dramas...
Even the hair styles, yes, even them! They were oh-so-cool back then. (Coincidentally, I had Zoya Khan's boy-cut all my girlhood days. Also known as the Princess Diana cut. *blush*)

Anyway. To cut a long story short, Dhoop Kinaray is aces. Those of you who haven't watched, start downloading all episodes from YouTube or just go to the many online sources and buy the original DVD. Absolutely worth it, since it's so cheap. About USD 20 or so.

When I look at the tripe that calls itself 'drama' on channels today (especially Indian tele-serials.... gaaah!...) laughing alone does not satisfy. I need to point AND laugh. Which I do, before changing channels very, very fast.

As Sir Iqbal kept trying to remind us.

The most striking feature of Islam is the equality of all human beings before God. At least this is what it started out as back in the good old days when Islam used to be Islam and the rot we see today hadn't seeped in.

Found a few pertinent lines of Allama (Scholar) Sir Mohd Iqbal's poetry [from his controversial Shikwa (Complaint)], which brings home this idea:

Aaa gaya aen-ladaai mein agar waqt-e-namaaz,
Qiblah-ruh ho ke zameen-bos hui qawm-e-Hijaz;
Ek hi saff mein khade ho gaye Mehmood-o-Ayaz,
Na koi bandah raha aur na koi bandah-nawaz;
Bandaho-sahibo-mohtaajo-ghani ek huay
Teri sarkaar mein pahunchay, toh sabhi ek huay.

Translation:
If the time for prayer right during the battle fell,
Their faces turned to the Kaa'bah, in prostration the brave Hejaz fell.
Mahmud and Ayaz stood together in the same flank,
The ruler and the slave forgot the difference in their rank.
The slave and the master, the poor and the rich , all became one!
On arrival in Thy audience all were reduced to one!

Towards the end of his Shikwa, Iqbal makes an appeal to Allah for the Ummah:

Mushkilen ummat-e-marhoom ki aasaan kar de,
Moor-e-be'maya ko hamdosh-e-Sulaiman kar de,
Jins-e-nayab-e-mohabbat ko phir arzaan kar de,
Hind kay dair-nasheenon ko Musalmaan karde.
Joo-e-khoon mi chakad az, hasrat-e-derina-e mau
Mee tapad naala ba nestar kada-e-seena-e-mau!

(Make easy the difficulties of the blessed Ummah,
Place the poor ant shoulder to shoulder with Sulaiman,
Make the invaluable produce of Love accessible again,
Change the idolatrous Muslims of India into Muslims again.
A stream of blood drips from the frustrations mine
Wailing palpitates in the wounded breast of mine!)

Too much only. Especially the weaving of Farsi with Urdu. Without the English translation I would be lost.

Incidentally, Iqbal’s ancestors were Sapru Kashmiri Brahmins. I did not know this! I will now shamelessly claim him for my own...

Allama Iqbal's 'Lab Pa Aati Hai Dua'

This most famous nazm of the great poet Allama Iqbal is a very common prayer in many Indian and Pakistani schools. Haji Public School, Breswana, is no exception. Unlike most of Iqbal's poetry, this is in really simple, beautiful Urdu, easy for everyone to understand.

Here's a preferred rendition by some kid called Siza Roy. Lyrics with translation provided in the YouTube video.


PS: Must make special mention of my kids who absolutely do not follow this tune. They have their own take on the music that should accompany this prayer.:)

Scientifically speaking

Up until this day, the Saab was unclear on the difference between 'concave' and 'convex'. Yes, it's true. I used to confuse one with the other. I. Did. Not. Know. *blush*
Oh, sure I knew all about it in school when I was studying 'Light' and doing practicals in the Physics lab with lenses, but directly on giving the examination at the end of the year, it passed out of my mind like so many other academic gems that I wouldn't be needing in real life. Like manually calculating the square root of a number. (Hullo? Basic calculator, anyone?)
And now Boomsa has removed this highly troubling scientific question from the Saab's list of Doubts in Life with one simple, intelligent line in her poem:
"...And as I gazed at your convex dimple,
part eclipsed by an olive..."
-from Lost, by Boomsa

Ha ha! And there you have it. Problem solved.
I know what a dimple looks like. I now know to associate 'dimple' with 'convex'. And that's one thing less to worry about before I pass on from this life. Why couldn't they explain it like that back in school so I wouldn't have had to pass all these years praying no one asked me, "So, Saab. Is this convex or concave? Hmmm?" *wiggling eyebrows*

Thanks, Boo.
The associated photograph for this post has been hand-picked by me keeping in mind our awe and respect for Preity 'Skimmerish' Zinta. Who has convex dimples. As does everyone else. I'll always remember.
Celeb 1: "Erm. 'Skimmerish'?"
Pretty Stupid: "Yeah! You know. When two people have a ta-ta-ta!"

Postscript: Thanks to one Ashes, I am making a edit to this post stating that dimples are in fact 'concave', and poor Boo and I were both mistaken. 'Convex' would be pimples, 'concave' would be dimples. Remember that...

Okay, one more...

Before I sign off, here's a whatte-vundrefull-blog by kinkminos called Poetry in Notion.
It has poetry. Yes. Quite.

I am a fan of Kink-saheb. *blesh*

Who wrote this stuff?

Was randomly surfing Bangalore blogs today and came across this post about nursery rhymes on Romila's blog. Interesting background stories on a couple of puzzling, no-context nursery rhymes.
And of course it got me thinking. I've had long discussions on this topic before, and now I'll write it down.
Nursery rhymes have disturbed me ever since I was old enough to realise that the words might mean something after all, and that I should look beyond the mere magic of easy melody and basic rhyme scheme.
Of all the standard, popular nursery rhymes doing the rounds worldwide, I can only think of a few as being harmless and childlike and straight as an arrow. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star", "Pat A Cake, Baker-Man", "Ol' MacDonald", "Incy Wincy Spider/ Itsy Bitsy Spider", "One Two, Buckle My Shoe" and "Hey Diddle Diddle" are the few kosher rhymes.
Most every other nursery rhyme is violent, disturbing, perverse, puzzling, abstruse or downright tragic. I'm telling you, I can't think of a single other innocent rhyme for kids.

Let's have a gander at the bestseller nursery rhyme list:
1. Baa Baa Black Sheep - To begin at the beginning, we have a black sheep. Can alliteration be the only reason this particular tint was chosen? Has it not got something to do with Him Who Must Not Be Named? The black arts? Sauron? 666? Hmmm? Huh?
Why is the little boy crying down the lane? Some versions have him 'living' down there but we all know he was crying, so don't try and mollycoddle me now. And what's with this medieval era portrayal of the sheep having a master and a dame? I can understand the shepherd being subservient and a serf, but even the animals? Bah.
2. Jack and Jill - First off all, the math is all wrong. Both Jack and Jill had to go uphill to fetch A [one?] pail of water? Must have been a bloody big pail. If it was such a heavy-duty task, you shouldn't be sending kids up a hill to 'fetch' it in the first place. That's just nasty. And then, why introduce that sudden, violent accident with Jack doing a tumble, breaking his crown [!!!] AND Jill nonchalantly following him after. Mercy. In the extended version of the poem, after the traumatic first para, there is a coldly scientific second that follows:
"Up Jack got
And home did trot
As fast as he could caper.
Went to bed
To mend his head
With vinegar and brown paper."
Please note- No mention at all of Jill. She's been given up for good just like that. We can expect the announcement of her memorial service any moment.
3. Hush-a-bye-baby/ Rock-a-bye-baby: This has got to be the worst, most morbid and distasteful piece of work ever written. And it is one of the most popular rhymes because of its soothing, loving tune. It's like an evil conspiracy meant to beguile normally well-meaning innocents into crooning this travesty. You can't stop singing it once you've started because it's so darn sweet. Like Lays, no one can eat just one. "Ek baar gaaoge to gaate reh jaaoge." Until the words hit home.
Good Lord, why has the baby been placed on or around a treetop? And then there's the gradual, sinister, line-by-line build-up: wind blows, cradle rocks, bough breaks - to the worst nightmarish scenario imaginable: the cradle falls, down comes baby, cradle and all. [What else IS there?] Please note, all of this should be warbled lovingly and if possible, with a maternal smile on the mug.
4. Ding dong bell, pussy in the well: This is wrong on so many levels, I blush to think of it. From a purely innocent point of view [Ignoring the semantics, I mean: "Ding-dong", "pussy", and what's all this about Johnny Thin and Stout?], this treats the drowning of felines in a very off-hand, casual manner which kids shouldn't be exposed to.
5. It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring: And within a matter of seconds, we've established that he's landed himself a fatal knock to his blocker and he won't awake again in this world at least.
6. Pop! goes the weasel: A clueless child thankfully will never even begin to comprehend the dark, tragic, working class poverty allusions this one provides. Hell, it's obscure even for us grown-ups but we get the picture at least. The dull, despairing, unjust picture.
7. One, two, three, four, five; Once I caught a fish alive: Visuals of a live, agitated, fluttering fish on its death bed, followed up by the appetizing story of how it managed to bite the protagonist's little finger on the right. Again, a favourite because of the 'cute' actions that accompany the song.
8. Lucy Locket lost her pocket: Loss of money [very big deal for kids], resultant guilt, and that loose character Kitty Fisher opening a purse that didn't belong to her!!!!
9. Humpty Dumpty: Ahem. The name is suspect. Very unnecessary for an egg. That apart, it's another sad and sudden accident with no hope of recovery.
10. Sing a song of sixpence: Blackbirds baked into a pie? And then they come out alive? A penny-pinching, miserly king counting out his pennies, an idle, lazy queen eating for no apparent reason at obviously the wrong time of the day [avoid meals between meals!] and the unfortunate, hard-at-work, lower class maid who has her nose lacerated at the end.
11. Hot Cross Buns: Also of the "Pussy in the well" genre. *Grin* At two-a-penny even! With the sensible retailer's advice of "If you have no daughters, give them to your sons."
12. Simple Simon: No money, no food. Damn.
13. London Bridge: It's going down, baby. Forget about it.
14. Three Blind Mice: Good grief. Torturing blind animals with a chopping knife.
15. Little Bo Peep: Loses her 'lambkins' and then we learn of their tails being hung out to dry on trees. Eeeeyuk.
There are many, many more macabre, ridiculous and incredible rhymes that, in a sensible world, shouldn't be. Feel free to add to the list along with your interpretation/summary of their horrors.

But frankly, who cared about the words when we were kids? I only know that I derived great pleasure and took much pride in my 'singing' prowess back then; the intense distress of my parents, neighbours, extended family, casual visitors, random guests, tele-salesmen (over the phone), delivery boys etc, in short, anyone within hearing distance, was a regular feature of my growing up days. I have caused such frowns of displeasure, even from normally benign and patient acquaintances, as would make angels weep. Those were good times.
Nostalgic note: I had the most amazing Sing-Along-Pop-Up Book of Nursery Rhymes and I am not ashamed to admit that I used to excitedly Sing Along till well past the age of 8.

Kashmir (Not the Led Zep version); And 'A+' to BBC.

اگر فردوس بر روی زمین است
همین است و همین است و همین است

Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast,
Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast.

If there is paradise on face of the earth,
It is this, it is this, it is this.
-Amir Khusro

I thought Shah Jahan was moved to poetic outburst on taking in the beauty of Kashmir when he said this, but like all romantic notions this seems to be an exaggeration, a fallacy and not a little bit of an anticlimax. See this post [on a blog called AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY] for a fuller explanation. How interesting.

Anyway.

In the beginning of October, BBC online posted a great Special Report on Kashmir. There are several related links and articles here, starting from a very factual Background [roots of the crises, the forgotten plebiscite, the LOC etc], Voices from Kashmir, Key Questions Answered, even a page on Possible Solutions and Pitfalls.
It's kind of your summarised overview of the problem. Read and understand, my friendships. It's a non-propaganda-angle report. Not the Indian, Paki or Chinese version. Facts as is.

There are many reasons BBC World is my preferred news source.
Objectivity in news stories is the primary one.
Newsreaders and presenters don't have that annoying nasal twang from umreeka. [This is very important.]
Also, an overwhelmingly large number of these respectful presenters have no notion of frivolous Botox-usage. They exhibit more than one facial expression and it's usually the right one for the story.
You can often find obscure news pieces here, special reports, great documentaries, some really kick-ass shows like Hard Talk and The World Debate, even their travel and entertainment segments are top-notch. Oooh, which reminds me, how nice is Top Gear?
I could go on and on but here is where I stop.