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Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Kaesay Kaesay Loag - The Teaser
— To be followed in a couple of days by the main post —
In this video a 'young' man (and, by my standards, most are) talks of his father, a person almost everyone of my generation was in love with when we were kids.
Next: A nazm by another of our idols of the same period. Some classmates and I (we were ~14) scribbled many of his poems in our notebooks, tore off the pages, and secretly left them in the desks of the those we swore to ourselves were going to be the objects of our 'eternal' affection. Of course, we always passed these masterpieces off as our own - occasionally admitting (and impressing them even more with this) that the style was inspired by the diction of Sahir :)
The trouble began when the oh-so-pretty and innocent-looking Naseem, who always gave the impression of being made up of soft pastels (like one of those girls in The Radiant Way Readers we secretly pined for), received this particular one …
… from two of us! This led to our lies being exposed and the loss of a possible long-term relationship. For me, that is. Samad, the other guilty party, eventually did manage to marry her.
[Are these names real? Well, only Samad's has been changed. As Vonnegut stated on the opening page of Fates Worse Than Death, "No names have been changed to protect the innocent, since God Almighty protects the innocent as a matter of Heavenly routine."]
So, (1) Who do you think the poet is? (2) What is the loose but definite connection of the poet to the video above?
Note: If you know or recognize the person in the video, don't be a spoilsport and name him in the comments, please. Do so only if you guessed it from the story he tells. Or his give-away looks. Ditto, about the poetry - if you are a close friend or associate of the poet, hold back. Let's see what guesses we get.
Sallam Zaheer Bhai and saalgirah Mubarak.. and bless you for putting this up..... for years, whenever I would meet with Imtiaz sb. I would remember your request to ask him for his Kalaam, but he would always say with a shy self-deprecating smile that he didn't know if there was a copy........ what a wonderful record you have kept for posterity.
Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.
I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy - ecstasy so great that I would often have scrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness - that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that the saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought and, though it might seem too good for human life, this is what - at last - I have found.
With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.
Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.
This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me. Bertrand Russell
The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate. Noam Chomsky
Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions. Albert Einstein
Each century seems to take on a particular character as we view it in retrospect. How will the 20th Century be remembered? My guess is that this dramatic span of 100 years will ultimately be marked not by computers or the Internet, but by the drive toward individual freedom, the breaking of human barriers of prejudice, and the opening of society to include all people. John S. Spong
DESIDERATA
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy. Max Ehrmann
4 Comments:
I obviously have no clue about either the man discussed in the video, or the poet whose work you've put up. Will you tell us?
11 September, 2009 10:37
This comment has been removed by the author.
11 September, 2009 21:15
@maleeha Done - a bit of it anyway
@sabizak Naseem read it, too :)
11 September, 2009 21:55
Sallam Zaheer Bhai and saalgirah Mubarak.. and bless you for putting this up..... for years, whenever I would meet with Imtiaz sb. I would remember your request to ask him for his Kalaam, but he would always say with a shy self-deprecating smile that he didn't know if there was a copy........ what a wonderful record you have kept for posterity.
02 October, 2009 11:18
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