The mystique of the number 40

Today is "Chehlum", the fortieth day after the event of the killing of Imam Hussein and his family members. I've always wondered why the fortieth day should be considered holy. There was a time when even my community (Memons) used to observe the Chehlum of dead relatives, but not many do so now. Because of the processions that will take place today, no commercial activity is possible. Servants will say they couldn't come to work due to roads being clogged, while many sick people will die while being taken to hospitals. Years ago, the stock exchange also used to be closed on this day, but that is no longer the case.

There is something about the number forty that fascinated the ancients. Jesus is supposed to have spent forty days without food or water, Moses is said to have wandered for 40 years in the desert, and it is widely believed among the Jews and others that a man becomes wise when he turns forty.

I remember my mother telling me that if a person's nails fell on the floor while being cut, it would mean a loss of forty days' income    for that person. Even at the age of 5 or 6, I couldn't help wondering why it should be exactly forty days and not forty one or thirty nine.

A senseless death

He was a typical Memon, having obtained a useless degree, as he never expected to work for someone else. He had everything anyone would want. Having inherited a lucrative business (a medium-sized factory), he was always self-employed. He hadn't read a book after graduation, so there wasn't much you could talk to him about. If he had been well-read, he'd have known that he was at great risk of falling a victim to diabetes. But being a typical Memon, he simply ignored any warnings he may have had from relatives.

Around the age of 60, he started attending the nearby mosque regularly, where he was told that he had to prepare for the afterlife by first growing a long beard and praying eight times a day (instead of the mandatory five). He also heard many times that he was entitled to four wives who would care for him and attend to his every need in this life and also in heaven (provided he wasn't martyred, in which he case he would be given 72 doe-eyed virgins). Having collected too much money, he put it in a bank where he fell for the young woman who managed his account. He started loading her with gifts, but didn't get what he wanted. She must definitely have guessed what he wanted, and even if he asked her to marry him, she couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life with a man old enough to be her father (and who looked like her grandfather). But he went on giving her expensive gifts, to the intense annoyance of his wife and children.

About five years back, he suddenly gave up taking medication for his diabetes, and started consuming Zam Zam water (from Saudi Arabia). His doctor told him not to be foolish, but he said something about miracles happening if you have faith. He resumed taking medications when Zam Zam didn't help, but many times after that he would again revert to it. What happened should have been expected. After a couple of small strokes, he fell victim to a big one, and was bed ridden for a year (during which he couldn't talk or move). Finally, after a whole year of torture, he expired, just five days after he turned 80. I hope he's finally found the peace that eluded him in his life.

A unique virus that keeps growing stronger

Every year a couple of times I get struck by a unique virus. Many years back such a cold was called influenza (later, the flu), but this virus strikes in very hot weather as well. Many people I know are suffering, including some family members. What I don't understand is, why do I fall victim to it every year, despite being very careful, particularly in my diet (I seldom go to restaurants). Most of the water I drink is warm (or at room temperature), the single cup of tea I take is always hot, so why the hell do I have to suffer?

For the past three nights I've not been able to sleep, and last night I spent coughing out thick phlegm, with a painful chest. I don't take antibiotics unless it's unavoidable, and I know that if I go to a doctor, he'll immediately prescribe one. Instead, I drink hot milk mixed with turmeric for three or four days. The only medicine I take is Panadol for three days and the fever goes away. This time the virus has returned with a vengeance and I'm still taking Panadol even though it's five days since the virus struck. Last night it was so painful that I even thought of writing down my will!

Muslim religious scholars are a breed apart

I've always known that Muslim religious scholars are out of touch with reality. In the 1980s a prominent Saudi cleric said that it's a heinous thing to say that the sun is stationary and the earth goes around it. Then there was another one who said that the earth is flat. Pakistanis of course are in a class by themselves. I've heard them say that earthquakes are caused by girls wearing jeans. One of them, a man very close to Imran Kan, declared that Covid happened in Pakistan because some of our women don't observe purdah. This guy (Tariq Jamil) amassed a huge fortune and reportedly settled in Canada.

Last week Islamabad was struck by heavy rains and hailstorms. Huge stones broke solar panels and windscreens of cars. Obviously it's due to climate change, but no, our mullahs say it's because our government has not done anything to protect Palestinians who are being subjected to a genocide by Israel. For God's sake, if this is true, why didn't the hail and rain strike Turkey and Dubai, where the governments have diplomatic relations with Israel?  

I've always believed that Muslims will never prosper if they don't acquire scientific knowledge through modern education. And what these "scholars" say proves it.

The US is no longer the favorite country for Pakistanis to settle in

I've had many relatives who have wanted to leave Pakistan and settle in a foreign country, the favorite being the US. It was considered to be the safest place where you could be sure of one thing: you could never be deported for your beliefs. Now they must be thinking of going elsewhere, but with Europe being wary of letting more Muslims in, only Australia or New Zealand are possible choices, assuming of course that they too don't revise their policies.

Things have got so bad that many students with valid visas are told that they cannot stay in the country anymore. It won't be long before Muslims with valid US citizenship may also face deportation. I can imagine what will happen: a Muslim will be stopped for speeding or other offense, his cell phone will be closely examined and it will definitely contain a Whattsapp message or video which is critical of Israel or the US, or perhaps supporting Palestine. He would then be told to go back voluntarily or face deportation. I know that this is a bit far-fetched but I'm sure this will happen soon. So US Muslims, particularly those from Pakistan, should be extra careful.

Trump will never halt illegal immigration

Someone sent me this and I thought it's so good I should post it here:

Question: I voted for Trump to halt all illegal immigration and to halt all the illegals but it's worse now than ever. Why?

Answer: Because you got played. Trump conned you to get your vote. You’ve been snookered.

Did you really think a man who employs undocumented immigrants to work at his properties would kick out the illegals? Seriously?

You can’t “kick out all the illegals” because they do jobs that you and other Americans refuse to do. Like pick crops by hand from sunrise to sundown. And Trump doesn’t want to kick them out—he’s too busy hiring them!

Realizing you’ve been played is the first step toward not letting people con you in the future.

[Edited to add] Already a Trump supporter is in the comments denying that Trump promised to get rid of the illegal aliens. Here’s a link to a video of Trump making that promise:

https://archive.org/download/FOXNEWSW_20161102_162200_Outnumbered/FOXNEWSW_20161102_162200_Outnumbered.mp4?t=1680/1740&ignore=x.mp4

Man, I just don’t understand Trump supporters. They deny that Trump said things he’s on video saying. God bless ‘em. There’s got to be some sort of mental illness at work here.

 

 

Needless Saudi moon sighting controversy

Every year there is a controversy over the Eid moon sighting in Pakistan due to some witnesses suddenly appearing two hours after sunset (after the moon has been sighted in Saudi Arabia). This year the moon surprisingly caused a controversy due to its appearance when there was practically no chance of its doing so.

The Saudis had announced beforehand that Eid would be celebrated on Monday, probably because of the solar eclipse on the twenty ninth day of Ramazan. But then they found that the new moon could be visible for eight minutes after sunset. Knowing that most Muslims would be involved in stuffing themselves at the time to break their fasts, they asked foreigners particularly to scan the heavens and report if they saw the moon. So, many people saw it, not only in Saudi Arabia, but also in the UAE and Qatar. Which is why this year too, Eid will be celebrated a day earlier in the Middle East than Pakistan and India.

I knew that this could happen, because the Bohris also have their Eid today. Their Egyptian calendar always has Eid on those days as Saudi Arabia, probably because they devised it with Makkah as the focal place. Anyway, it's almost certain that the moon will be sighted in Pakistan today, and since it will be 27 hours old, it will seem to be much larger, which will probably cause illiterates to say that our Eid too should also have been today.

Lack of education leads to senseless death

Aslam was an average Memon, uneducated and moderately religious. He had seen his father die at the age of 63, suffering from diabetes and heart disease. So he should have taken extra care, but no, that would have meant eating only what was necessary and walking a lot. He believed firmly that no matter what he did, he would suffer if it was in his stars. As for dying early, that had been decided even before he was born, so there was no sense worrying about death.

So he went on stuffing himself and leading a sedentary life, developing diabetes and heart problems. He never had a regular job, for many years he had subsisted on charity, yet he fathered five children, because he had heard countless times that those who practiced birth control would be consigned to the fire. 

So, at the age of 58, he passed away. I know most Pakistanis won't agree, but if he had been educated, his fate would have been different. He would have known that diabetes can be controlled, he would have known that obesity results in many diseases, but no, to believe such things is akin to blasphemy. His poor wife (who works as a maid and cleaning woman) will now have to raise those five children (the youngest is just ten months old). 

Recent events that makes me pessimistic about Pakistan

Daily you hear or read something that makes you wonder whether Pakistan will be able to survive. Besides Imran Khan's efforts to weaken the country, and attacks by terrorists in KP and Baluchistan, the rampant corruption of our police and judiciary make me despondent and regret not leaving the country when I had the chance about fifty years ago.

The stunning revelations in the Mustafa Amir murder by someone who is a criminal and psychopath has proved that our judges can be bought (something that has been evident for some time). The lower court judge, after talking to the killer's father, reversed his decision and remanded the killer to judicial custody instead of handing him over to the police. He was so stupid that he spread "whito" over his original order and wrote the revised order on it. It makes you wonder how he ever got to be a judge. As for the killer's father, one wonders how he managed to become a citizen of the US. Then there are the cops who actually helped the killer (Armaghan) to indulge in smuggling of narcotics.

Then there is the case of the woman who ran over two waiters two years ago in Islamabad. The woman (Shanzay Malik) fled after killing the two men. Of course, if she'd been an ordinary person, she'd have been convicted, but being the daughter of a Supreme Court judge (Shehzad Malik), the lower court magistrate said the cops didn't present enough evidence against her (although there was a CCTV footage of the accident).  

I know that people will say that this kind of thing happens in many other countries, but Pakistan has enough problems of its own without its police and judges being criminals.

Why are some Pakistanis so violent?

I've never understood why some Pakistanis kill others at the slightest provocation. Perhaps it's the lack of education. It is said that the literacy rate in the country is 60 percent, but I doubt it. Perhaps in the cities it could be 60 percent, but in the rural areas, you can't find literate people anywhere. I once had a worker from rural Sindh who called city folks cowards. In his area, he said, if a woman asked for a divorce, she was immediately killed and her body fed to dogs. Then there are so many cases every year when a man kills a woman because she broke off her engagement to him. Even a divorced woman marrying someone else is killed by her former husband.

Which brings me to the latest case that has shocked the whole country. This man (Armaghan) killed a friend of his because of a dispute over a girl (who has fled to the US). The victim was shot dead, his body transported to Hub and burnt. The killer (who must be around thirty) is apparently a gangster with about forty guards, who shot a police officer when the cops wanted to enter his house for investigation. Hundreds of unlicensed weapons were found in the premises. The killer is a narcotics dealer as well. The lower court judge was so scared that he refused to give the police physical remand of the killer. Three police officers have also been suspended for negligence in the case, apparently they also knew the killer is dangerous. 

I know one thing for sure: this man will be set free in a few days after being "forgiven" by the victim's parents. This is why the country is in such a mess.

Am I spending too much on vitamins?

I was first introduced to vitamin tablets in 1959 (when I was only 15) by a maternal uncle who had recently shifted to Karachi from Bombay. The name of the tablet was "Vitaminets" (manufactured in Switzerland). I remember that it used to make me very hungry. One tablet cost half a rupee (in those days, beef was Rs. 1 per kg). I went on consuming vitamins until 1989, when a homeopath told me I was wasting good money. But ten years later I again started consuming vitamin tablets and have continued doing so, despite the cost. I take a multivitamin mineral tablet, a Vitamin C 500 mg tablet and a Vitamin D capsule (2000 IU) in the morning, another vitamin D tablet (800 IU) after dinner, besides the vitamins in chocolate milk which I consume at breakfast. But then I've come across people who don't take any vitamins at all and are still enjoying good health.

One relative, a smoker, has never heard of vitamin pills, yet he's perfectly healthy (he's two years younger than I am). Another is a manager in a firm, and he too has saved a lot over all these years by not taking vitamin capsules, even though he's from a beef-eating family. So I've started to wonder if I should stop consuming vitamin pills or go on taking them. 

Saving oneself from dementia

A couple of weeks ago I met a schoolmate who said, "We're meeting after sixty years!" I was amazed. I'd entertained him to lunch just two years back, when he was in Karachi (he lives in Lahore). After a few minutes of conversation, I realized that he is suffering from dementia. 

I've always been scared that I might wind up to be like other old people who don't remember anything. So, when my VPN app recommended a couple of programs that could stave off dementia, I eagerly downloaded them and was relieved to find that I don't suffer from the disease.

One of the programs has words that you have to find from many. The words are arranged vertically, horizontally and slant-wise. Some are backwards. It does make you concentrate for a time, and makes you calmer.

The other program (CrossMath) is to do with arithmetic, in which I excelled in my school. This one is really tough. There are four categories of problems, starting with the easy ones, then going to medium and hard ones, and finally the ones for experts. In less than a month, I became skilled enough to try the expert problems, which I usually solve in five minutes. I tell you, it's a relief to find out that I can do so. I advise everyone I know to devote a few minutes every day to these two programs.

I'm grateful for being relatively healthy

I don't socialize much, in fact I absolutely avoid going to those wedding dinners (unless a close relative is the groom). In fact, there's a late night dinner this week (the bridegroom is a nephew of my son-in-law), but I've declined to attend, even though I've hurt so many relatives. But I do go to those events where I know I'll be back home by eleven at the latest. Last week, I attended the annual dinner hosted by my club for life members. I was shocked to see so many of my relatives and other Memons in such bad health.

There were those younger than me who needed a walking stick, there were others who couldn't walk without assistance, and there was one (a distant relative and boyhood friend) who was in a wheel-chair, but not being able to talk (he suffers from Parkinson's disease). It really depressed me, knowing that I too could have been in their shoes. 

Yesterday, a school friend invited me to lunch (along with five others) at the Boat Club. Even though none of us is suffering from major health problems, I was stunned to find that two of them didn't remember that I had invited them to lunch last year. 

I should be grateful that I don't suffer from a major disease. But I suppose I'll have to maintain my walking and do at least eight thousand steps a day. That seems to be the only way to remain healthy, besides of course avoiding fatty foods.

Another friend (Zahid Shaikh) is no more

Zahid Shaikh, my NED college friend, died yesterday after a year-long struggle against cancer at the age of 79. He had been operated for prostate cancer about ten years back, but last year his bladder had also been affected by cancer and it had to be removed. Yesterday he died suddenly after a minor surgery. Three years back, his elder brother Abid (also my friend) passed away due to Covid.

I don't think I've known anyone as gifted as Zahid. He was a fantastic person. He could paint, write, sing, play music and he could mimic anyone on earth. Of course, he was a highly successful engineer as well. I was with him a lot until 1974, when he left for the US.

I've often wondered why people get cancer. Zahid never smoked or drank alcohol, two things which are responsible for cancer in most people. I asked him why he, of all people, got it. He thought it was due to the processed food that most Americans eat. If that's the reason, why hasn't Trump got it?

Whatever the reason, it's apparent that anyone can be stricken by cancer, even those who are very careful about what they eat or drink. Rest in peace, my friend. I'll never forget you.

Our materialistic society

There was a time, long ago, when men were valued for their intellect and wisdom. Teachers, particularly, were regarded highly, even though most of them were poor. But as the years went by, and educated people increased, they were thought to be unsuccessful because they didn't have money to live a luxurious life. Not any more. Though nowadays some teachers are highly paid, the general perception is that wealthy people are successful, even though they may have acquired too much wealth but are unhealthy and illiterate.

A cousin of mine (who died of diabetes at the age of 69) suddenly became very rich. He bought a large house, expensive cars and started spending a great deal on restaurants and traveling to foreign countries. There were rumors that he had made his money by putting narcotics in his consignments of food stuff being exported to Sri Lanka. He became a highly respected figure in our community (because of his wealth). The mistake he made was in not caring for his health. Both he and his wife developed diabetes, with the wife losing both her legs before dying a horrible death. Before he died, he survived for two years on money borrowed from relatives and friends.

There's another illiterate young relative who's become a billionaire. He's taken to drinking, and he thinks his wealth will make him a leading figure among his relatives. I could tell him that I've seen billionaires becoming paupers overnight, but it won't have any effect on him. 

How to save yourself from dementia?

When I was around 18, I'd gone with my father to a client's house. He must've been around 60 or so. My father asked him to bring a particular file from an adjacent room. He went but came back without the file. He had forgotten which file he had to get. This happened 3 times. Finally, his wife brought it. The man was a heavy diabetic. That day I resolved to do my best to avoid diabetes as well as dementia. I have succeeded, but not 100 percent. Sometimes I forget who had told me something a couple of days back. Only the other day a man greeted me briefly and went on his way because he was in a hurry. It was ten minutes before I recalled his name. He's a prominent banker whom I've met many times and have even had lunch with him. As for diabetes, if I don't walk for a couple of days, my blood glucose level rises above the permissible limit. 

I've done everything to stave off dementia. I read a lot, watch movies, play word games and do mental sums when I'm alone. The only thing I haven't done is socializing, because my educated friends have either died or gone abroad. At the age of 50, I even memorized some ayats from the Holy Koran.

But what really got me worried was hearing that my former tax advisor suddenly developed dementia. This person has been very sociable, has many friends and has done a lot of charity. He helped in setting up a charity hospital which now has branches all over the country. He's the last type of person who should have dementia. But you never know, maybe it's in his genes.

Why do people want to emigrate to Canada?

There was a time when only non-Muslim Pakistanis (Christians, particularly) wanted to leave the country. I remember a Catholic family wondering if it was safe to go and live in the US, they didn't like their husband and son being drafted to fight in Vietnam (this was in the 1960s). But today, even prosperous Pakistani Muslims want to go and live abroad, and the favored choice is Canada.

In the posh locality of Karachi where I live, maids and drivers are paid much more than in other parts of the city. My driver (a Christian) started at Rs. 25,000 p.m. five years ago, today I'm paying him Rs. 40,000 plus a loan for a motorcycle, and extra for those days when he works late. He has a cousin, also a driver who applied for employment in Canada through an agent. I am surprised at the speed with which he got the visa (at least that's what the agent has told him). But the agent (in Islamabad) wants him to pay Rs. one million right now, and another two million (in installments) after he begins working in Canada. There is every chance that the whole thing is a scam, but being illiterate, the poor man has no choice but to comply. I told my driver that his cousin won't be able to save anything until the two million rupees have been fully paid, which could take at least five years (assuming that he is actually able to get there and is not deported on arrival).

Of course, Pakistanis are not the only ones wanting to leave their countries, but it's a pity that they are not satisfied with what they're earning here.I have a few relatives who emigrated to Canada and the US, but have chosen to come back because it's very tough living there. They learnt the hard way that there's no place like home.

Why are they obsessed with what women wear?

If there's one thing most Pakistani men believe firmly, it's that women are responsible for all their problems. If a man loses his job, it's because his wife doesn't wear a burqa, or watches too much TV. The corpulent Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who was until recently Imran khan's arch enemy and is now in bed with him, actually thinks earthquakes and floods are caused by girls wearing jeans. 

Once, in Shehbaz Sharif's second Punjab government, it was decided that all girl students should wear burqas. There was a hue and cry, and the proposal was dropped. 

Imran Khan, of course, is on record as saying that women are responsible for being raped. Nowadays his sayings are viral on the net, as he has applied to be the next chancellor of Oxford University, where he was apparently taught that Germany and Japan are neighbors. Recently a law-maker in his party objected to a Karachi woman's dress after she proved that he's a duffer who knows nothing about electricity production and distribution.

So I wasn't at all surprised at another attempt by those running  Punjab University attempting to force girl students to dress "simply", meaning that they should come to class completely enveloped in a black robe with slits for their eyes to see. I suppose someone told the vice-chancellor that this is the only way the university can be saved from bankruptcy.

After a long time, a virus has screwed up my laptop

As if I didn't have enough problems already, my laptop has been affected by a virus.

I have three email addresses (yahoo, gmail and lakhanis). For some reason, the last one has been disabled by a virus. That's what the domain guy says, although he can't explain why the others haven't objected. If my laptop has a virus, it should be noticed by the others. Besides my personal emails, there is my company's email in another domain. Even they haven't objected. So, what's going on?

I wish I knew. The domain provider has scrambled my password so that I can't access it. I'm researching on trojans and viruses, but I'm not yet able to decide which one I should buy. Using the ones that are free is not an option, I've been told. 

What I don't understand is why my family members using the same domain have not been affected, even though they don't have antivirus programs installed in their computers. It's been a long time (many years) since this kind of thing has happened to me. I only hope it won't take too long for the problem to be resolved.

What's the use of a very long life?

I know some people who have attained the age of 90 and even one who is 95. He's practically bed-ridden nowadays. Another one (once an active industrialist and social worker) is also bed-ridden at the age of 85, as he's fallen a few times and broken many bones. I have two cousins older than me (one is 83 and the other 85), both of whom are still healthy (probably because they never had any children). I myself will be 80 in a couple of months and already I feel that living beyond eighty is a chore. Most people I went to school and college with are dead, or living abroad. I don't have many people who I can talk with, and the two or three I do have long conversations with never call me. In fact, sometimes I have the distinct feeling that they're trying to avoid me (like I used to avoid an uncle who would call me and talk for an hour).

A close relative of mine is in intensive care, fighting for survival. He has always been a diabetic, and I'm surprised why he gave up walking. He had suffered a mini-stroke a couple of months back and his doctor had told him to take an anti-coagulant pill. For some reason, maybe due to old age, he stopped taking it and suffered a major stroke that left his right leg and arm paralyzed. 

If this is the fate of those who live long, it's better to die in your seventies.