Beliefs & Views

“What I can’t abide is the man who wishes to convert other men’s minds; that tampering with beliefs seems to me impertinent, insolent, corrupt beyond measure.”

- Virginia Woolf

I’ve been wanting to write this piece for quite some time, cause it has been more of a challenge. I just don’t think I could do justice to it though. There are certain things I don’t talk about. To me, religion is a very personal thing. To talk about beliefs & views seem to be a daunting task. Religion is not a competition, in the first place. Opinions aren’t that sacred, in the second place. There are many ways to look at the same thing. Everyone is entitled to have their viewpoints. So where to begin with?

“We don’t have to accept each other’s beliefs…but we do have to accept each other’s right to believe them.”

- Jodi Picoult

“No one can tell how God worketh. His ways are very mysterious. It may be that the things which we call evil are good, & the things which we call good are evil. There is no knowledge of anything.”

- Oscar Wilde

Bertrand Russell has very rightly said:

“The important thing is not what you believe, but how you believe it.”

Again ‘how you believe it’ is a very, very personal thing. But yeah before believing it, have you been able to understand it by yourself? I’ve never been a huge fan of the clergy or the individuals who go around preaching & guiding others. I also don’t think much of those who are ready to be deceived or convinced by anyone who knows more than them. People only impose their beliefs & views on those who aren’t strong enough. Most importantly, God has provided us with brains, but we refuse to use our brain cells.

Anyone can acquire knowledge by using his brains. God hasn’t given brains to just some particular folks. We all have brains & so we all can use them, that is, if we want to rather than be convinced by others. I think we can understand the Holy Quran (or any other holy book) by going through the translations ourselves. I believe that theology is the kind of study in which one has to keep an open mind, if a person truly wants to understand or grasp the true meaning hidden.

What is faith? What is your faith? How strong or weak is your faith? I don’t think these questions are loaded, but they surely are personal. Faith could mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To me, faith has nothing to do with reason. Faith is believing without seeing. To put it mildly, I have a personal moral obligation to myself & others have nothing to do with it. I don’t like listening to the clergy or the preachers. I prefer asking questions, instead of accepting doctrines. But this is my choice.

“There is no reason why we should want everyone else to follow our own path.”

- Moradas

“The faith of a man follows his nature. Man is made of faith: as his faith is so he is.”

- Krishna (The Bhagavad Gita)

The Lord said in His word, “I will never fail you nor forsake you.”

- (Heb. 13:15)

We’ve read this in the Holy Quran as well as in other holy books:

“With God all things are possible.”

I’ve always liked what Jesus Christ said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

(Luke 23:24)

“He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on Him that sent me.”

The New Testament

You have to read between the lines. I can’t be more specific than this.

I’ve heard & read cases in which people have converted to another faith. And the question that naturally pops up in my mind is: What good are they, if their faith is shaken so easily? Calamity hits you…a little bit of preaching…& you switch your faith.

“So that’s how strong you are – a single push & you fall!”

- Maxim Gorky

The Quran very clearly says:

“We shall test your steadfastness with fear & famine, with loss of life & property & crops.”

“We have made clear the signs unto a people who are sure.”

The Holy Quran

A person who feels strongly about his/her religion ought to have the common sense that others too could feel strongly about their faith. Everyone is not in search of another religion. I believe God is one. He listens to the prayers of everyone regardless of his/her faith. It doesn’t matter in which language people pray, because He knows each & every language or medium that is being used to reach Him.

I would be the last person to say: My religion is the best religion. I don’t think it’s cool on my part to make such statements. I don’t have the right to besmear other religions either. And I repeat religion is not a competition.

“God is sufficient for us; an excellent Guardian is He.”

- The Holy Quran

“Yet it may happen that you will hate a thing which is better for you; & it may happen that you will love a thing which is worse for you; God knows, & you know not.’

- The Holy Quran

There’s one more aspect that I would like to talk, which has been misunderstood by many. The Arabic word al-islam means the act of committing oneself to God, & a Muslim is the person who makes this very commitment. We have seen that widely used translations such as ‘resignation,’ ‘surrender,’ & ‘submission’ fail to do justice to the positive aspect of commitment for which al-islam stands – it means a commitment in faith, obedience & trust to the one & only God. And these are different from the ones I used earlier on. Resignation, surrender & submission are the words that somehow change the meaning.

I have questioned myself a number of times as to why I’ve been born in a Muslim family. You know there ought to be a good reason & God knows it. I truly believe that through my writings (that is, if I get the chance) I could tell the world that Muslims aren’t fucked up. The world needs to know educated Muslims. The world needs to get rid of the notion that we live in caves…we are savages…we can’t converse in English…we are born terrorists…we don’t know what is compassion, etc, etc.

It’s not right to use the terrible acts of a couple of fanatics to label a religion. You have to have an open mind to accept that the real picture could be different. And it is…you don’t know, because you don’t want to know.

If I’ve hurt the sentiments of anyone in this write-up…I apologize from the bottom of my heart.

Nadira Rahman

Making Love in Paris

“I don’t want to live – I want to love first, & live incidentally.”Zelda Fitzgerald

It sounds cute, but one has to be quite brave to even utter that sort of thing in a world that is only following the ordinary. On top of it, they’re all content, which makes me say…Oh boy, you are missing out a lot! How could you do this to yourself? Anyway, these are choices. Some make & some are not even aware of.

While going through the note of my sister, I wrote this comment:

“What I meant was really naughty things, not boring stuff! Things that can prove you are human, after all. Don’t you want to kiss anyone or something like that. Maybe something more than that. Or maybe anything & everything beneath the sheets. I was referring to that kind of stuff.”

These are my exact words. Today I had not been in a very good mood & when I scribbled these lines…I couldn’t help smiling. One is thrilled no doubt. And I can’t imagine a life without all the naughty things. However, there are 2 questions that come to my mind: 1) Am I obsessed with naughty thoughts? Before I write down the other question…I want to share this…I once read somewhere: “It is rare for people to be asked the question which puts them squarely in front of themselves.” My second question is one of those. 2) Is there a being who doesn’t want to think about such stuff? Or do they just pretend to be so naïve? Cause they think bad of those who even say such things. I have always been labeled as someone making such dirty statement. The case against me goes something like this: I enjoy saying such stuff. Oh I do!

I once read about a character. Whenever she used to meet someone she liked, she used to make love with him. Naturally the common word from the mouth of an ordinary person would be: slut. Let’s not confuse it with men sleeping with thousands of women & thinking it to be their right. Cause both men & women use the word slut for such ladies. Now you do the thinking & I’ve to move on to something else that’s pricking my mind.

Anyway, I believe it’s quite natural for anyone to visualize or to go wild in their imaginary world. But we have some people whose sense of right & wrong is extremely rigid, besides being annoying. And the funny thing is…they want every one to follow their opinions & beliefs. Since it’s not possible, they judge people by this loaded yardstick they have formed in their minds, cause they can’t stand detestable baseness. They don’t mind going for the same baseness somewhere in hiding though. Well if the world doesn’t know about this, it never happened. I just couldn’t use the word sin.

In their frenzy, they totally forget that there is only one being who can judge us, mortals & he is called God. To put it mildly, it’s always between God & the person; it’s never between the people & that person, any way. But how to get this into their thick heads?

I’m a writer, not a saint. And I don’t want to write things that people want me to write, cause they can only approve of it & they don’t know how to go beyond it. I’m sorry I can’t do that. And yes, I don’t want to be politically correct either. Exploring life…exploring yourself…exploring the beauty & ugliness around you…exploring for the sake of exploring – these are things that might take your entire life. But I believe these are the things that make one alive. Quite frankly, I’m still trying to understand myself. I try to do my best when I explore beauty & ugliness around me, but I am human & I can make mistakes. That much I know. I know my limitations as a human. But the question is : Are you aware of your limitations? Or that’s just a yardstick to measure other people’s fault on a daily basis?

Now coming back to the topic…I’ve named it so, because I wanted your attention. And thank you for reading it, if you have come so far! I believe Paris is a kind of place where you can have all sorts of experiments, provided you also have money. One can have fun anywhere though. You have to have that spirit.

Nadira Rahman

Dora Grows Up

I just read that now Dora the Explorer is also growing older. The creators are making an older doll of Dora with miniskirt and long hair for the tweens. While the little Dora version will also be around for the kids.

But many parents are questioning this move. They feel why cant' a doll stay ageless. Thus petitions are being signed to pressurize the makers of Dora - Mattel and Nickelodeon.

This has become a trend with Barbie celebrating its birthdays every decade with some element of surprise.

It seems that the commercial aspect can't be lost in anyway - the modern age, fashion, style and trends are being highlighted in almost every way with all products. There is resistance to these changes when actually people themselves are the reason to these changes directly and indirectly.

Anyway, I will be looking forward to the older Dora as well though.

Zaira Rahman

I’m glad I’m not an angel

There are all sorts of stories – good stories…bad stories…moral stories…immoral stories…absurd stories…meaningless stories…& stories that shouldn’t have been written down at all, but you write them & thereby, insult yourself! Oh that’s just my humble opinion, not a universal fact, & as I always say, opinions, by all means, do not alter facts. You know when I was young & stupid, it was a different story, but this is not that story.

Actually I came across some print outs lately. There was a time when I was obsessed with laws, & yeah I still believe that inhuman laws ought to be blotted out from the statute book. We all know that bad laws in our part of the world are implemented quite religiously. Of course I wrote & wrote in the newspaper for 3 years, & then it occurred to me that I could not actually make a difference. Oh I see you didn’t read my letters…although they were published in a prestigious newspaper, which is a bit too rigid my taste. I don’t like boundaries. But how can you know? You need to use your brain cells for that.

One doesn’t have to experience each & every calamity to know that it exists. Different people suffer in different ways in different places. Different people inflict pain in different & creative ways. However, you choose to stay mum. You let the system walk all over you. And you create hurdles for people like me who are vocal. In fact, you create hurdles for anyone who is remotely different from the different that I mentioned earlier on.

Anyway, Henrik Ibsen once said, “I think that we are sailing with a corpse in the cargo.” What he meant was that we, humans, are outwardly progressing, but our minds are not advancing at the same pace. This is the case now…this was the case then…& this shall be so forever, if you do not wake up from your slumber. You’re making a mistake here. Let me rectify you. I don’t think it. I bloody well know it. And I’m telling you there’s a difference but shallow, illiterate, backward, typical minds cannot grasp the concept. They just presume very conveniently, & they go on presuming.

While I was doing my post-graduation, I came across students who were invariably bragging that our department was the best. Nobody seemed that impressive though (I know how I sound). Yeah the professors were indeed cool minds beyond any doubt. What I liked about them is that they didn’t have to say they were cool…one could see that, so to speak. That’s one charm of knowledgeable people.

Honestly speaking, I do not like the idea of jeering at others, but when I come across assholes & bitches, I tell them they are assholes & bitches. And these individuals aren’t innocent – they have been handing shit to others who don’t retaliate, cause they are not so ill-mannered. There is also this weird specie that only tries to outdo others. That is some kind of oxygen or drug for them to fight their complexes. Yeah it’s kind of complicated.

I have never been able to understand why people underestimate their enemies. Maybe it’s a state of self-delusion or something. Did I tell you that self-delusion is the keyword? Well I’m telling you now. Isn’t it strange - you worship yourself & you presume that others could not even like themselves in spite of their faults & short-comings? Self-delusion is a funny thing. Here I would quote Demosthenes. “Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.” And I’m more like Voltaire when it comes to sharing quotes. “I like only what may be of use to me.”

Alright. Let’s move ahead. I’ve also met a couple of victims suffering from self-delusion & these self-deluded individuals were audacious enough to tell me how bad I am. It’s amusing. It really is. People who are painted all black by people who think they are judges of others aren’t aware of something. When you depict someone as the symbol of badness – that person could either be a monster or really some sort of individual that you can’t ever be. Now the question arises when I retaliate, does that make me an ugly person or does it give people the right to judge me when they don’t judge themselves? You know I’ve never been able to forget what Sophocles taught us long time ago: “Dirges & canticles are no prescription for ills that need the knife.” Oh yes I am that sort of person. Get the picture!

I’m sure everyone must have heard this lousy phenomenon – respect must be earned. I believe when you respect yourself, you also respect others unless someone begs you that he’s not worth it. Since mediocrity is so much obsessed with this concept of earning respecting that I couldn’t help mentioning it. It’s okay, if it besmears my write-up. Who gives a flying fuck to it now! Since I’m only mentioning shitty people & shitty concepts.

Mediocrity loves the word “judgmental.” They also like using the word “desperate.” There are more such words. For instance, losers, gays & sluts, which are being used with so much immunity that it seems as if people are talking about themselves. Usually…no, mostly when brainless folks have nothing left to say, they utter the word “whatever.” I’m awfully sorry, if it hurts your sentiments & you use this word. One can write an essay how they rape words on a daily basis. Surprisingly, they never see their own reflection anywhere. I often wonder when such a being is all alone by himself…who does he meet? Does, by any chance, this person meet himself/herself? And last but not least, do you meet yourself every day? Or do you prefer to keep yourself so busy that you don’t have to look life in the eye?

When you should & you don’t…you don’t get the right picture.

Now go back & read the 1st paragraph. This is the story.

“In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now & then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.”
- Bertrand Russell

I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed scribbling it.

Nadira Rahman

The Curious Case of Wana Kana

This is the story of Wana Kana – a man of innumerable qualities and countless shades of life like a chameleon. We don’t know if he can aspire anyone, but yes what he does very conveniently is raise our curiosity bar. And that should not come as a surprise to us, because this is the very “nice and sweet” curious case of Wana Kana.

Our story goes back many years ago when Wana Kana was a tender boy of eighteen - all excited and enjoying his youth and adolescence. He lived his life to the max at every phase. He was the sweetest brother mankind had ever seen. He smiled with them and posed as the lovely boy with heavy smiles. He was a gem amongst his peers. Leader of the Peers. Deadly as a devil. Dirty as any boy turning out to be a man but with a very high intensity. Heat was always on around him – we too felt it and wondered why? What? Was that a loud gas? Hmmm.

Time flew by and Wana Kana became a grown man. Responsible, aged, established and married too. Marriage was important for him …the all important phenomenon making him complete. But as a result of his excessive happiness, his eyes popped out permanently.

Wana Kana was henpecked. He was the poo of his wife. He was the Complete Wana Kana. Perfect husband as you may say. In his early days of marriage, he used to sing for his wife:

Akeli naa bazaar jaya karo
Nazar lag jayegi
Sab ki nazar main naa aya karo
Nazar lag jayegi

He grew up quickly, but he got fatter and bigger even more rapidly. He bloated with happiness after his marriage and a few devilish kiddos. He got everything at the right time. He had every reason to grow bigger by the day!

Rich Wana Kana loved traveling too. He auctioned an album of his travels. But sadly every picture in the album had lesser of the wonders of the world and more of the Fatso Wana Kana. That was but natural. He couldn’t help it.

So he put on his terribly small shades on his humorously huge face and walked through the streets of the world. He swam all the way across the world. He mingled with all the creatures of the world. He posed and gave the fake smile, but captured every joy and every memory.

Wana Kana had everything and was pretentiously sweet and nice and fake his entire life - fulfilling life to the core! Lovely job, big flashy home, pretty weird wife, devilish kids, adventurous travels and barbaric animalistic friends. All seasons clicked. Every story saved with pride.

And this was the Curiously Fake but True Case of Wana Kana.

He sings and dances madly to the beat now…killing us all the more with his moves…

Yeh lamhe
Yeh pal hum
Barso yaad karay ge
Yeh mausam chalay gaye tou
Hum faryad karay ge
Barso yaad karay ge

Zaira Rahman