Arfa Karim Shows Signs of Life

Arfa Karim has Mashallah achieved so much at a very young age and brought fame and pride to Pakistan. This little girl now is on death bed and  I pray to Almighty Allah for her complete recovery and may she fight back and bring more glory and happiness in our lives.

ISLAMABAD — Arifa Karim, Pakistan’s pride who became world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) at 9 in 2004 continues to be in critical condition in death’s icy hands at CMH hospital in Lahore since she suffered cardiac arrest on December 22.

On Friday night, however, Arifa showed signs of life a day after doctors gave up all hope for her survival and suggested switching off her life support saying there was ‘no hope’.

“Arifa started showing some brain activity and twitched her fingers, her father Lt-Col. (Retd) Amjad Karim Randhawa,” told journalists.

The youngest-ever Microsoft certified professional, however, is still in critical condition, he said.

Doctors at the hospital said she was completely normal when she suddenly had an epileptic attack and was shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Lahore. On December 28 she became unconscious and was put on ventilator. The family has been receiving calls from across the world for Arifa’s health and prayers for her recovery, her father said.

Born in 1995, Arifa became the youngest MCP in the world at the age of 9. The MCP involves building programmes into broader systems for business. Arifa was invited by Bill Gates to visit the Microsoft Headquarters in the USA when she was only 10-year-old. In August 2005, Arifa was also awarded the Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of Science and Technology by then Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. She also received the Salaam Pakistan Youth Award again in 2005 set up by Pakistan’s only Nobel laureate Dr Abdul Salam. She is also the recipient of the Presidential Award for Pride of Performance.

Arifa represented Pakistan on various international fora. She was invited by the IT Professionals of Dubai for a stay of two weeks in Dubai. During that trip, Arifa was presented with various medals and awards.

She also flew a plane at a flying club in Dubai at the age of 10, and received the first flight certificate. In November 2006, Arifa was invited by Microsoft to be a part of the keynote session in the Tech-Ed Developers conference held in Barcelona. The theme of the conference was “Get ahead of the game” and Arifa was presented as a true specimen of being ahead of the game. She was the only Pakistani among over 5,000 developers in that conference. – Counrtesy Khaleej Times

Bill Gates Hires Doctors for Arfa Kareem

According to her father Col Karim Microsoft contacted him and offered help. Directed by Bill Gates, the firm has hired doctors who would co-ordinate with the Pakistani doctors through vidoe conference and they may come to Pakistan if needed. Read more.

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Ali Moeen Nawazish

Pakistani youth: challenges and opportunities

It is not rare to hear the phrase; “Pakistan’s future is very bright, because we have a seven crore youth population.” Most don’t even know whether the exact number is six, seven or eight! Yet, this has become part of the most widely used rhetoric about our country’s future and this rhetoric is even more prevalent on our national days. But, the problem with this assertion is quite simple, an army can have the best weapons in the world, but if it doesn’t use them properly and effectively it still loses the war.

The same is true for our youth; I would be stupid to deny the fact that our youth in a large percentage of our population (66% in fact) and that it is full of talented people who have great potential.

Yet, the problem remains the same if they and their potential isn’t used and channelised effectively there won’t not only be anything to gain but also there would be much to lose.

We must remember that, it is misguided youth caught in empty rhetoric that is donning suicide jackets, turning to crime, committing fraud and killing in places like Karachi. So what does this “proper and effective” using of their potential mean and what challenges stand in the way of doing so?

The first challenge is the education emergency that Pakistan is facing. Seven million children are missing out on primary education in Pakistan, enrolment in secondary schools stands at a mere 23% and only a mere 5% of Pakistanis make it to university. 25 million children are being denied their basic constitutional right to a free and compulsory education.

Furthermore, those who are being educated face the issue of attaining a quality education. According to the Education Emergency report, 50% of rural school children cannot read a sentence and only 35% can read a story compared to 25% of school children.

The second challenge is that of employment and economic prospects. According to the Next Generation Report, Pakistan will need 36 million more jobs in the next 10 years with our population increasing by 44% over the next 20! Our current unemployment rate stands in excess of 20%. This also partly contributes to the much talked about brain drain, because there simply isn’t enough room to accommodate a large part of our youth and what is more unfortunate that most of our talented students end up doing menial jobs abroad.

The third challenge is one that became more apparent to me over the past two weeks. Through interactions over facebook, emails, twitter and sms the level of depression, confusion, differing perspectives and the degrees of these segmentations became hauntingly clear. It is also not the varied opinions that are the challenge. Varying opinions and different beliefs are healthy and encourage diversity; however, it is the extent of blind faith and a lack of willingness to engage in dialogue, which is alarming. There seems to be no consensus on even the most basic of issues ranging from systems of governance, education and to some extent even terrorism.

The responsibility for creating and now meeting these challenges of course primarily lies with the state and its leadership, where leadership does not just mean the government, but it also includes: politicians, civil society, and the media. However, it is unfortunate that many a times the youth has just been reduced to a brand name that has been exploited by the same. The government holds one event a year, and then dismisses the youth until the next. Political parties only use young people for their street power and rallies, never including them in the decision making process. The media tries to use the youth for ratings; it calls them but by engaging them in rhetorical and conclusion-less debates only

These rhetorics lead to the hopelessness or the false hope that the youth are engulfed in today. The government needs to work on education with a solid political will and create economic opportunities. Political parties need to listen to the youth and not just exploit them, and the media needs to engage the youth in more productive debates. But what about the youth’s own role?

It is time that the youth realises its own role and tries to mark out its own path. The time for waiting for messiahs, leaders or anyone for that matter is over and we have to start addressing our issues ourselves in whatever capacity we can.

Depression in a way is a sign of good, because it shows love and a strong connection to and concern for the country.

However, at the same time depression coupled with hopelessness and very strong opinions becomes an impediment to the successful resolution of issues. Opinions are good and we hold them because they are a means to an end. We all are working towards the same end, a prosperous Pakistan, then our opinions should be formed after dialogue and though not inherited or accepted blindly.

The youth needs to come out of this endless cycle, and act. This action doesn’t mean coming out on the streets, protesting and falling prey to empty rhetorics, but on the contrary it means developing capability, capacity and competence.

If Jinnah wasn’t a lawyer, if Iqbal wasn’t a philosopher and poet, if Dr Abdul Qadeer, Dr Abdus Salam, Dr Samar Mubarak and Dr Umar Saif weren’t scientists and Babar Iqbal, Ibrahim Shahid and Zohaib Asad weren’t good students could they have done what they did for Pakistan? Education needs to be the top priority for all those who are luck enough to receive it. Only after developing themselves will the youth will be able to develop Pakistan. I am not suggesting a total disconnect from politics or the ongoing situation of the country but the right priorities, where “jalsas”, talk shows, protests and political “chaskey” come only after educational responsibilities. Those lucky enough to receive an education must not waste it and they should also encourage and follow the work of people like Master Auyb (who has been teaching children free for the past twenty years in a park).

Action for young professionals can mean trying to excel in their respective fields, to become entrepreneurs and create jobs and economic opportunities for others as well. There are so many startup companies doing well in Pakistan and there is room for a lot more. The journey isn’t going to be easy. A lot of people talk about the fact that conditions aren’t welcoming or fruitful for their purposes, but this is more or less true for everyone.

No one has ever had everything handed to him or her on a silver platter. Neither did the Prophet Muhammad SAW have the ideal conditions in Mecca to spread Islam nor did Muhammad Ali Jinnah had the ideal conditions to form Pakistan, yet they like so many others persevered and succeeded in time. Change is never overnight and it takes time, but is a worthwhile endeavour to work for.

There are many countries, which are going through or have gone through times similar to the one Pakistan is going through; Singapore, India and even the United States all come to mind.

There is light at the end of the tunnel but only if we have the will and patience to pass through. The youth of this country is undoubtedly its biggest asset and it is up to all of us to make sure it serve its purpose in the best way possible. The purpose of writing this is to not spread despair but to highlight the challenges that lie ahead and to resolve our capability of meeting those challenges, a capability, which is more than adequate only when combined with hard work and patience.

–The writer is Youth Ambassador of Geo and Jang Group

Technorati Tags: ali moeen nawazish

Dr Umar Saif among "World’s Top Young Innovators for the year 2011"

Congratulations to Dr. Umar Saif, a professor at LUMS,  who has been recognized by MIT Technology Review amongst`World`s Top 35 Young Innovators for the year 2011 for his peer to peer file sharing software BitMate. By featuring in the list, Saif now joins an elite group of researchers and technologists including the likes of Google’s Sergey Brin and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.

MIT Technology Review selects the top innovators after a rigorous evaluation process. The judges, who are leading experts in their fields from universities such as MIT, Stanford and Harvard, consider hundreds of high-impact researchers and entrepreneurs from all over the world, out of which top 35 are chosen for the award. “This year’s group of TR35 recipients is driving the next wave of transformative technology and making an impact on the way we live, work and interact”, said Jason Pontin, editor-in-chief and publisher of the MIT Technology Review.

In the last decade, this is the first time a Pakistani has been selected for the prestigious TR35 award, says a press release issued on Tuesday. “The TR35 recognizes the world’s top 35 young innovators that are radically transforming technology as we know it. Their work – spanning medicine, computing, communications, energy, electronics and nanotechnology — is changing our world,” according to MIT Technology Review.

Dr Saif holds a BSc. from the Lahore University of Management Sciences and Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of Cambridge, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar at Trinity College. Saif is a tenured associate professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan and established one of the first startup incubators in Pakistan, called the Saif Center of Innovation (SCI)^. Saif’s work on grassroots technologies received the MIT Technovator Award in 2008.

Dr Saif has won numerous awards for his innovative technology solutions for the developing-world. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010. He is a recipient of the MIT Technovator Award, Mark Weiser Award, Digital Inclusion Award from Microsoft Research and the IDG Technology Pioneer Award. Before moving to Pakistan, Saif worked at MIT and received a PhD from the University of Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust. More.

Saif is working on some incredibly innovative start ups right now.One of his projects, SMSall.pk is like Twitter and it was fanning out at an exponential rate in Pakistan. Othe project uses mobile phone cameras to allow illiterate people to understand English. People can take pictures of English text – newspaper clippings, labels, anything – from any cell phone, MMS it to a number and they will get a call back that that reads out the text to them in Urdu.

Best of all, Pakistan need not fear losing Saif to any other country. Because he has no plans to move his home base out of Pakistan. Even though he spends some time visiting other universities to get some work done, Saif says that he is in Pakistan to stay permanently.

Technorati Tags: bonzai trees, Dr umar saif, LUMS, MIT technology review, MIT Technovator award, SMSall.pk, young global leader by the wrld economic forum 2010

PTI Leader Imran Khan

Imran Khan, my teenage crush, idol and our all time favourite captain, has a massive responsibility of handling the expectations of a nation who is let down by all the leaders in the past. Can he do it? Its a near impossible task which cannot be done alone. He should have a strong and honest team to deliver the results. I am a huge fan of Imran Khan but a reluctant supporter of the politician Imran Khan.

I wish to agree with Dr Arif Alvi when he writes about the public support enjoyed by Imran Khan “Let me sound the bugle that the tides have turned and for those who have seen or read about the Bhutto ‘sailab’, this is an emerging ‘tsunami’, as the people have found a leader they can trust and who will deliver.”

From zulfikar Ali Bhutto to my Kaptaan

By Arif Alvi was published in The Express Tribune, August 3^rd, 2011.

The crowd was pulsating as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) continued to talk about Afro-Asian solidarity. Some of us raised anti-Ayub slogans. ZAB stopped us and said ‘abhi naheen’. He was into the third hour of his first public speech after ditching his mentor and the venue was Government College Lahore. The 60s were an era of healthy debate between the left and the right. My mother insisted that I stop reading comics and novels and she thrust upon a young mind The dialogues of Plato. I graduated to Maududi, Marx and Engels to understand socialism, religion and the exploitation of man by laissez faire capitalism. Iqbal fired up a passion and pride, and Bhutto’s book The Myth of Independence gave me a nationalist perspective, though I disagreed with his political philosophy. People dislodged Ayub Khan and yours truly still carries a couple of bullets in his right arm as a memento of a people’s struggle gone awry, somewhat like Egypt of today with no real change. Our lot since then has gotten from worse to worst and beyond.

Forty years later I am travelling with Imran Khan from Lahore to Faisalabad for a PTI jalsa. His recent upsurge started from the Peshawar dharna. Karachi was the watershed where people of all ethnicities joined in to make a statement that there is a breath of fresh air in this miserable political arena. Multan was a notch higher and we reached there in time from Lahore despite many receptions on the way.

We started at 2:30 pm, planning to reach the Dhobi Ghat ground in Faisalabad at 6 pm. But it was not to be despite Imran Khans urgings, as the crowd in every village on the way had come on the roads to welcome him. There was a sea of passionate people every mile of the road we travelled.

An old man almost got trampled making it to his side of the car and with tears in his eyes exhorted Imran Khan to “save Pakistan”. Women pushed through the crowd of men, shouted greetings, and those who could not reach the car would give the traditional blessing from a distance. Huge crowds would not allow us to move despite our portable speaker announcements that tens of thousands were waiting for us in Faisalabad.

Khan blamed me for the lack of organisation and discipline in the welcoming crowds. But it was evident that the paradigm shift and tsunami which he had been predicting had arrived. It was incredible to see the rising passion of the people which gives a leader strength, but also puts on his shoulders a great burden of responsibility.

For me, this was déjà vu’ plus, from the Bhutto era. I welcomed Asghar Khan in Karachi in ’67. Then I followed Bhutto, though I disagreed with his pseudo leftist philosophy. I never forgave him his role in the breakaway of East Pakistan, but I imbibed the hope of his ‘we-will-make-a-new-Pakistan’ speech after the debacle. I admired him for his brilliant link to the people and the dignity which he gave to the common man. What has been done to his legacy is nothing short of political rape.

Mubashir Hasan and others like Rafi Raza have dissected Bhutto’s contradictions in their books and have concluded that he had two personalities which struggled within him, that of a wadera and that of an awami leader. He loved the latter but frequently succumbed to the compromises of the former. Khan has no schism. What you see is what you get. Let me sound the bugle that the tides have turned and for those who have seen or read about the Bhutto ‘sailab’, this is an emerging ‘tsunami’, as the people have found a leader they can trust and who will deliver.

Is Imran Khan the only hope left for the people of Pakistan?

Imran Khan at the Faisalabad rally

Technorati Tags: imran khan, my kaptaan, politics pakistan, pti, tehreek-e-insaaf

Zardari aur Shareef

Technorati Tags: humour in urdu, mazahiya urdu shairi, poetry urdu, siyasi shairi, urdu shairi

 

A Mercedes, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin and Bentley crashes!

The driver of a white Mercedes S Class worth £75,000 was the first victim as the 2.7-ton Bentley scraped down the side of it before ploughing into a £143,000 black Ferrari F430.

An Aston Martin Rapide worth £150,000 and an £80,000 Porsche 911 also came a cropper. The driver and her two passengers then suffered the embarrassment of being surrounded by tourists as they were unable to open the doors of the convertible.

It is estimated the crash will cost more than £40,000 with the Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin requiring new front wings and bumpers. The Bentley will need the same repairs, plus a new door.

Just imagine this one accident is worth how many Suzuki Altos?

Technorati Tags: expensive accident, Ferrari, Mercedes, Porshe and Aston Martin Collides, women drivers

Inflation in Pakistan

The major portion of our salaries is used in paying the electricity, gas and phone bills. The electricity charges per unit are revised upwards multiple times in a year. In summers this bill becomes unpayable even if use our airconditioners for decoration only! And have alook at the lavish living of  our members of Parliment. We, the poor people of pakistan do not afford a democratic government. When million are wasted on electing MPAs and trillions to keep them and all that for doing nothing! (87 of these elected member did not say a words in the assembly for past 3 years!!! How can help the people of their constituencies)

Govt. Concessions for a Member of NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (MNA)

Monthly Salary : Rs. 120,000  to 200,000
Expense for Constitution  per month : Rs.100,000
Office expenditure per  month : Rs.140,000
Traveling concession (Rs.  8 per km) : Rs.48,000 (For a visit to ISLAMABAD & return): 6000 km
Daily BETA during  Assembly  meets : Rs.500
Charge for 1st class (A/C)  in train : Free (For any number of        times all over   PAKISTAN )
Charge for Business Class in flights: Free for 40 trips / year (With wife or P.A.)
Rent for Govt.. hostel any  where: Free
Electricity costs at home  : Free up to 50,000 units
Local phone call charge :   Free up to 1,70,000 calls
TOTAL expense for a MNA  per year : Rs. 32,000,000

TOTAL expense for 5 years  : Rs. 1,60,000,000

For 534 MNA, the expense  for 5 years :  
Rs. 85 , 440,000,000 (more than 800 Crores)

And they are elected by THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN, through a democratic process of this world, not intruded into the assembly on their own or by any qualification.

How rich are Pakistani MNAs Read More…

Rich MPAs of Pakistan

Technorati Tags: concessions for the MNA of Pakistan, cost of mps, democracy, electricity bills, pakistani mpas, pakistani politics, political satire

Lets educate a child

I am motivated, touched and impressed by this simple yet beautiful story by Mr Asad Ali. After reading this I felt a huge burden of responsibility on my shoulders (Even more as I am a  teacher by profession). We often assume that these beggers will stay on streets all their lives but they need a little help, a small push, some direction, a kind heart and our precious time. I know you will feel the same after reading this.

Riaz wanted to learn English – by Asad Ali

It was almost 11 years ago when I stopped my car at the Teen Talwar traffic light to be greeted by the usual herd of beggars, windscreen cleaners and newspaper sellers.

One of the newspaper sellers, Riaz, a total of four feet in height, asked me for a lift to the Marriot signal. Irritated by the commotion around me, I chose to ignore him.

Rather than moving on, he boldly walked in front of my car, locked eyes with me, stuck his teeth out like President Asif Zardari would, if he stared at the sun, and performed a mini-break dance in defiance. His army of four footers was in hysterics.

What a cheeky little fellow!

The traffic light turned green and I drove on only to see high fives being exchanged in the rear view mirror.

About a week later, I was going to pick up my mother from the Karachi airport and once again stopped at the same traffic light. His Royal Cheekiness appeared, but this time he was alone. He politely informed me:

“Sir, signal tak jaana hai.” (Sir, I have to go to the next signal.)

I asked him to come around and sit in the passenger seat. As he sat inside the air conditioned car, he took a huge sigh of relief. He looked tired, worn out and a bit disoriented.

I asked:

“Kya huwa? Naach gaanay say thak gaye?” (What happened? Tired of singing and dancing?)

He looked at me quite confused. In return, I gave him a big smile and subtly mimicked his break dance move from the week earlier. He started laughing uncontrollably for about sixty seconds. “Sorry, sir”, he said to which I replied that Pakistan needs more artists, so he needn’t be.

After about five minutes, we arrived at his stop. He thanked me and asked if I wanted to buy a newspaper. I looked at him quietly for a few seconds trying to picture his entire day from start to finish. Perhaps a little recess was in order. “I’ll tell you what…” I proposed (in Urdu of course). “I’ll buy the entire stack if you give me company to the airport and back”.

It was as if the entire weight of the world was lifted off Riaz’s little shoulders and replaced by the thought of complete bliss, even if it was for just an hour. He agreed, closed the door and sat back down. I put on his seat belt for him (only to receive a condescending look), turned up the volume on the stereo and divided the AC vents between us. Conversation was expected to be limited, but satisfaction immense.

As it turned out, there were plenty of stories that were shared on our journey; some humorous, some serious and some downright painful (at least on his side). I could only offer two-bit advice knowing very well that it was all well and good in the theoretical sense, but too hard for someone in his situation to apply. Instead, we both chose to focus on the green patch of grass that was the present, especially the background (and sometimes blaring) music. In fact, Riaz became quite the fan of the Pulp Fiction soundtrack as suggested by his numerous head bobs and shoulder shrugs.

Upon arriving at the airport parking lot, Riaz jumped out of the car and raced towards the arrival exit as if he was going to receive some long lost friend after many years of separation. Trying to stand tall on the railing he would point towards every arriving passenger and impatiently ask, “is that them?” When my mother finally came out of the exit, Riaz ran towards her and grabbed the carry-on piece she was rolling. In her confusion, she let go off the bag not knowing its fate. To her amazement Riaz came and stood right beside me with the piece. “Er…and who are we?” she asked with a confused grin. “We sell newspapers” I replied with a big smile.

The three of us sat in the car and proceeded towards Clifton. This leg of the journey, Riaz was very formal. Not a peep came from the back seat. My mother and I conversed mostly in English with a few sentences of Urdu mixed in as we usually do, ignoring the fact that there was another passenger in the car. After about ten minutes, my mother started asking Riaz questions about where he lived, what he did, his parents etc. But I was a little surprised at the bluntness of the answers and how they lacked the same detail he shared with me earlier.

Occasionally I would glance at him through the rear-view mirror and find him staring into the empty space as if he was listening to something intently. Perhaps he was trying to focus on the faint music coming from the rear speakers. What a musical nerd I thought; God bless him. We ended up dropping Riaz at the Baloch Colony Bridge. As promised, I bought his newspapers. I also asked Riaz if I could meet him the next day at the same Teen Talwar traffic light. He agreed.

I packed a few bags of some old clothes (quite oversized for a ten-year-old) and other things that I thought would be handy for him. Riaz was at the traffic light, but without any newspapers this time. He sat in the car looking quite dissatisfied. I asked him if he had a great day and sold out. His jaw-dropping reply caught me completely off guard:

“Mujh ko akhbaar nahi baichnay… mujh ko ungraizee seekhni hai.” (I don’t want to sell newspapers. I want to learn English.)

Then it hit me. Riaz wasn’t staring into the empty space trying to listen to the faint music while sitting in the back seat. He was trying to decode the conversation my mother and I were having. He was trying to absorb the ‘sound of English.’

His timing couldn’t have been worse. I was leaving for the States in two weeks to pursue my undergraduate studies or else I would have taught him the language myself. In retrospect, I could have fixed him up with another family member, but that thought didn’t cross my mind at the time. Instead I took him to Boat Basin and bought some primary school books for English. But there was a catch. He had to find someone to teach him.

Parked outside the book store in Boat Basin, I gave Riaz an hour long lecture, the content of which shall remain between the two of us.

I handed him the bags, the books and an envelope.

He looked very sad. I felt even worse.

Then I ripped out a piece of paper from a notebook and wrote Riaz a letter… in English (the contents of which shall also remain undisclosed).

I wrote my e-mail address on it. If Riaz ever wrote back to me, well I don’t have to explain what that would mean.

Almost eleven years later (three days ago) I received an e-mail from Riaz for the first time. His determination to learn to speak the language proved to be truly remarkable.

Riaz’s story is a testament to the fact that our youth is thirsty for education. Unfortunately our leaders have not provided the necessary infrastructure – but that story is old now.

We have run out of excuses to let things be as they are. If only one per cent of us took the responsibility to take one 10-year old from the street under our wing, in ten years we would have 1.8 million more educated people than what would have been otherwise. Ten years fly by. Imagine if two per cent of us mobilised.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do anything substantial for Riaz. He is completely self-made.

But, he did do something for me. He reminded me that there is no excuse for mediocrity.

Technorati Tags: child beggers, educate a poor child, pakistan beggers

airconditioned jacket

It works by helping the body’s own cooling system. Normally, sweat is produced and evaporates, causing a cooling effect – but clothes interfere with this process by trapping the droplets.

But the jacket, invented by former Sony technician Hiroshi Ichigaya, produces a layer of circulating air which enhances sweat evaporation. Two fans at the back pump fresh air around the wearer and out through the neck and sleeve ends. Moisture can also pass through the cloth.

The fans – four inches in diameter – are powered by AA batteries, which last for several hours, or by plugging into a computer using a USB cable.

The electrical parts can be removed for washing. The only drawback is the balloon effect caused by the air flow. Do you mind that ? When there is no electricity!

Technorati Tags: airconditioned jacket, usb powered AC jacket

keh do in hasraton se kahin

This beautiful ghazal came to may mind after a long time and I wish to share it with you all.This was written by last Mughal Emperor of Hindustan or India, Bahadur Shah Zafar, when he was exiled by British in Rangoon, Burma.

Lagta Nahin Hai Dil Mera Ujde Dayaar Mein
Kiski Bani Hai Aalam-E-Napaydaar Mein

Keh Do In Hasraton Se Kahin Aur Ja Basein
Itni Jageh Kahan Hai Dil-E-Daagdar Mein

Umr-E-Daraaz Mang Kar Laye The Chaar Din
Do Aarzoo Mein Kat Gaye Do Intezaar Mein

Kitna Hai Badnaseeb Zafar! Dafan Ke Liye
Do Gaz Zameen Bhi Na Mili Kooye-E-Yaar Mein

Lagta Nahin Hai Dil Mera Ujde Dayaar Mein
Kiski Bani Hai Aalam-E-Napaydaar Mein

This ghazal is made eternal by two singing greats. Mohammad Rafi and Habib Wali Muhammad. Keh do in hasraton se ……

The sadness of the emperor who did not even  have a pen in prison is brilliantly sung by Mohammad Rafi. He has sung it with no music and you will be mesmerized by the combination, Rafi’s voice and Bahadur Shah’s words.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg4EQcmeBl0

Another of my favourites is Habib Wali Muhammad’s amazing singing of this beautiful poetry. Such fine poetry deserved such excellent singing.  Here it is composed by Srimathi Saraswathi Devi.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeqczPzyaGE

Technorati Tags: bahadur shah zafar, captain meraj muhammad, habib wali muhammad, itni jagha kahan hai, keh do in hastaroun se, sad poetry, Srimathi Saraswathi Devi, urdu ghazal, Urdu Poetry