Choti choti batain...
Without being too disrespectful (or going in too much depth) I'll confess something to here:
I am a BIG believer in the concept of karma i.e. the concept of what you do is what is returned to you, either here or in the afterlife. It forms the very BASIS of our existence, in terms of our religion too. Do good, so you shall have good, here or in the afterlife.
As you sow, so shall you reap
What goes around, comes around etc. etc.
What I fail to understand is why are we so eager to pin mis-happenings on some external hand, or on to an azaab (punishment) of the divine, while blissfully living life breaking every possible rule...
I am talking about rules and actions that define us as a human. The most simple, basic definition:
Why is it that then, we've managed to give ourselves a free pass to do whatever we like, break whatever rule we like, live with a devil may care attitude , and blame it all on someone else. Apparently, you CAN be that delusional!
Consider this: One evening, my other half (OH) and me went to a supermarket just last week. He had had a major tooth extraction done less than an hour ago, and I had managed to trip while exiting the train station and had a lot more bruised than just my pride. The temperature was a lovely English -1°C. We drove in to the lot, parked in the fourth lane at the back as its usually nice and quiet there. After him indulging in buying as much soft mushy things and me limping as gracefully as I could, we started back towards the car. While exiting, we walked passed the Child Parking and Handicapped bays (which are the nearest to the entrance) and ran in to an acquaintance of ours. I hadn't even noticed him, but OH did.
'Isn't that falana* bhai**?'
Me: (Looking towards the back) 'Where...?'
OH: 'That's his black BMW right there...'
Surely enough, getting out of a nice shiny black BMW in one of the handicapped bays, was Mr falana bhai. I must clarify that this gentleman is NOT handicapped. He does have a baby, but he had come to the supermarket alone. Nor is anyone at his house handicapped.
Then why had he parked there? Because he couldn't be bothered to walk
And before you wonder, no, we didn't ask him. If anything we pretended to ignore it as much as awkwardly was possible. I guess the guilt was nagging him to the extent he decided to mention that it was such a hassle and 'everyone just parks anywhere these days'
No falana bhai, they do not
Afterwards, I told OH quiet frankly that I'd be terrified of doing such a thing. Why? Well, what if fate decided to actually make me (or someone from my family) eligible for that spot (God forbid). Besides, in the simplest of terms, it is wrong
Wrong, wrong, wrong
But no, we're just paranoid idiots who makes life difficult for myself by trying to do the right thing all the time and following all those rules etc.etc. no matter where we are
The funny thing is, this gentleman, despite being given the best of treatment by the foreign system, justifies all his actions as his way of getting back at the 'gora***' for how they treated his people in the bar-e-sagheer~. So he basically pays not taxes, dodges charges (and very proudly so) as his way of getting back at the gora. Yup, that is how he is going to avenge his forefathers, by not paying the council tax on his three bedroom flat, or by not buying correct insurance for his car (both of which are criminal offenses)
At the heart of it, he is a VERY VERY SOLID PAKKA(solid) IMAAN(faith) wala musalmaan(Muslim), a staunch believer in namaaz and in the implementation of all sharia compliant khilafats. He can counter argue ANYTHING with his amazing knowledge of all the hadith out there...
But, does that all matter? I mean, if you are not fulfilling your basic responsibilities as a good human, does anything else matter? Do you really think that your namaaz will justify your parking in some real handicapped person's place when they needed it the most? Do you really think that God ignores these things? That fate is blind to your acts? That it is all not your OWN doing to begin with?
Scenario number 2:
OH and I were visiting some friends. Parking had never been an issue, with this particular evening being no different with empty bays all over the place.
So, you can only imagine our surprise, when we came out two hours later and saw all bays still empty, BUT a car parked right behind ours blocking it in. After about 15 minutes of waiting in the freezing rain with me trying to guide OH to maneuver out, one of the doors of a nearby house opened and this desi gentleman stepped out.
'Oh Asalamulaikum, oh gee sorry'
So basically, this strapping healthy gentleman would rather block another car in rather than park, I don't know, 10 steps further in the bay next to ours?
'Gee, sorry gee'
As if apologizing makes it acceptable to be an idiot. 'So what if you had to wait out in the freezing cold, people? I am not man enough to walk and park 10 steps farther down the road and I don't give a damn about anyone else'
Oh and what is it with the apologizing...? What are you apologizing for? Being lazy? Not possessing basic principals of courtesy? It is like saying sorry is the perfect excuse for being an inconsiderate person.
I know I know folks. I know what you are all saying; 'Trivial things, Verdah. Get a life'
I would, and I have...
But what I can't stand is when people underestimate trivial things. As a nation, they speak mountains about our psyche. It is NOT the few and far actions that define us; it is the little everyday things that define us. The choti choti batain~~...
And I am not proud of the picture they paint about us.
*Falana = can be translated as 'that', used to address someone in general
**Bhai = brother in urdu
***Gora = loosely translated as 'White'. Used to address the western nations in general, but specifically the British due to the Raaj pre-partition. Can be used in both derogatory as well as respectable way, depending on contexts
~bar-e-sagheer = The Indian subcontinent, pre-partition
~~ Choti choti batain = Can be loosely translated as 'The little things'
I am a BIG believer in the concept of karma i.e. the concept of what you do is what is returned to you, either here or in the afterlife. It forms the very BASIS of our existence, in terms of our religion too. Do good, so you shall have good, here or in the afterlife.
As you sow, so shall you reap
جیسا بوا ویسا کاٹا
جیسے کرنی ویسے بھرنی
What I fail to understand is why are we so eager to pin mis-happenings on some external hand, or on to an azaab (punishment) of the divine, while blissfully living life breaking every possible rule...
I am talking about rules and actions that define us as a human. The most simple, basic definition:
An entity who thinks, strives to be good, do good, and tries not to harm othersThat is how I define us humans.
Why is it that then, we've managed to give ourselves a free pass to do whatever we like, break whatever rule we like, live with a devil may care attitude , and blame it all on someone else. Apparently, you CAN be that delusional!
Consider this: One evening, my other half (OH) and me went to a supermarket just last week. He had had a major tooth extraction done less than an hour ago, and I had managed to trip while exiting the train station and had a lot more bruised than just my pride. The temperature was a lovely English -1°C. We drove in to the lot, parked in the fourth lane at the back as its usually nice and quiet there. After him indulging in buying as much soft mushy things and me limping as gracefully as I could, we started back towards the car. While exiting, we walked passed the Child Parking and Handicapped bays (which are the nearest to the entrance) and ran in to an acquaintance of ours. I hadn't even noticed him, but OH did.
'Isn't that falana* bhai**?'
Me: (Looking towards the back) 'Where...?'
OH: 'That's his black BMW right there...'
Surely enough, getting out of a nice shiny black BMW in one of the handicapped bays, was Mr falana bhai. I must clarify that this gentleman is NOT handicapped. He does have a baby, but he had come to the supermarket alone. Nor is anyone at his house handicapped.
Then why had he parked there? Because he couldn't be bothered to walk
And before you wonder, no, we didn't ask him. If anything we pretended to ignore it as much as awkwardly was possible. I guess the guilt was nagging him to the extent he decided to mention that it was such a hassle and 'everyone just parks anywhere these days'
No falana bhai, they do not
Afterwards, I told OH quiet frankly that I'd be terrified of doing such a thing. Why? Well, what if fate decided to actually make me (or someone from my family) eligible for that spot (God forbid). Besides, in the simplest of terms, it is wrong
Wrong, wrong, wrong
But no, we're just paranoid idiots who makes life difficult for myself by trying to do the right thing all the time and following all those rules etc.etc. no matter where we are
The funny thing is, this gentleman, despite being given the best of treatment by the foreign system, justifies all his actions as his way of getting back at the 'gora***' for how they treated his people in the bar-e-sagheer~. So he basically pays not taxes, dodges charges (and very proudly so) as his way of getting back at the gora. Yup, that is how he is going to avenge his forefathers, by not paying the council tax on his three bedroom flat, or by not buying correct insurance for his car (both of which are criminal offenses)
At the heart of it, he is a VERY VERY SOLID PAKKA(solid) IMAAN(faith) wala musalmaan(Muslim), a staunch believer in namaaz and in the implementation of all sharia compliant khilafats. He can counter argue ANYTHING with his amazing knowledge of all the hadith out there...
But, does that all matter? I mean, if you are not fulfilling your basic responsibilities as a good human, does anything else matter? Do you really think that your namaaz will justify your parking in some real handicapped person's place when they needed it the most? Do you really think that God ignores these things? That fate is blind to your acts? That it is all not your OWN doing to begin with?
Scenario number 2:
OH and I were visiting some friends. Parking had never been an issue, with this particular evening being no different with empty bays all over the place.
So, you can only imagine our surprise, when we came out two hours later and saw all bays still empty, BUT a car parked right behind ours blocking it in. After about 15 minutes of waiting in the freezing rain with me trying to guide OH to maneuver out, one of the doors of a nearby house opened and this desi gentleman stepped out.
'Oh Asalamulaikum, oh gee sorry'
So basically, this strapping healthy gentleman would rather block another car in rather than park, I don't know, 10 steps further in the bay next to ours?
'Gee, sorry gee'
As if apologizing makes it acceptable to be an idiot. 'So what if you had to wait out in the freezing cold, people? I am not man enough to walk and park 10 steps farther down the road and I don't give a damn about anyone else'
Oh and what is it with the apologizing...? What are you apologizing for? Being lazy? Not possessing basic principals of courtesy? It is like saying sorry is the perfect excuse for being an inconsiderate person.
I know I know folks. I know what you are all saying; 'Trivial things, Verdah. Get a life'
I would, and I have...
But what I can't stand is when people underestimate trivial things. As a nation, they speak mountains about our psyche. It is NOT the few and far actions that define us; it is the little everyday things that define us. The choti choti batain~~...
And I am not proud of the picture they paint about us.
*Falana = can be translated as 'that', used to address someone in general
**Bhai = brother in urdu
***Gora = loosely translated as 'White'. Used to address the western nations in general, but specifically the British due to the Raaj pre-partition. Can be used in both derogatory as well as respectable way, depending on contexts
~bar-e-sagheer = The Indian subcontinent, pre-partition
~~ Choti choti batain = Can be loosely translated as 'The little things'
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