M. J. Aslam

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Almond trees in blossom as spring arrives in Kashmir. [Representational Image]
"It were social entertainments & convivial gatherings in his regime in ““Badamwari” & at all well known beautiful places of Kashmir." [Representational Image]
"The question now remains how the cited Kashmiri proverb had originated? To iterate, “Khabr e Zain e Kadalechi” is an old Kashmirian adage. It is in currency at present also."
"Like Europeans, in Kashmir too, there are many surnames that are correlated to the profession, trade or job of ancestors of the families." [Representational Image]
"It connotes that even if the produce of one’s labour is small or one has small possession of things, it is always much greater & better than that of the others’ big possessions & things."
Golden is used for maintaining silence under Kashmiri language, while as English counterpart uses the same terminology that silence is golden. No difference in the concept & meaning of the two.
"Greed is never satisfied. Avarice is endless. In Christianity, greed is compared to goats who are greedy & unsatisfied which is quite against the characteristic of the sheep who are content & satisfied."
OP-Ed
GREED IS ENDLESS
M. J. Aslam
6 min read
"PM Nehru assured all non Hindi speaking States that Hindi will not be imposed on them unless they consent to its being made “national language”."
“The draft submitted to the sub-committee on Fundamental Rights by KM Munshi included a provision that “Hindustani”, including Hindi and Urdu, should be the “national language” of the Union.
Nehru too thought that the national or all-India language should be “Hindustani”, a fusion of Hindi and Urdu, which was the common language of about 150 million people in north, north-west and central India; and Devanagri and Persian scripts should have equal status”
File photo of M.K Gandhi
Kashmiri men conversing on the banks of Dal Lake on Wintery morning. [Representational Image]
"Then, there is another version of the anecdote. Once a Pandit / Bataa was given this punishment but he was such a shameless fellow that after he was punished in this way, he asked the government servants for the ass itself in the evening." [Representational Illustration]
The poor “nautch girls” of Kashmir were reduced to the status of “slave-girls” right from the Sikh period. The womenfolk of socio-economically upper-classes of Kashmirian community were not given to singing-dancing occupation at this time of history. [Representational Image]
But decline from “art” of dancing & singing to the service of “courtesans” at Amritsar, Ludhiana & Lahore by the nautch girls was very much evident during the Sikh period. [Representational Image]
"The Chak rulers were lovers of music and dance. Among them, it was Yousuf Shah Chak who was a great lover of music, songs & dance. He spent a lot of time in listening to musicians & songstresses." [Representational Image]
"The singers & musicians entertained the Rajas & the royalty. Kanaka & Canpaka were favourite musicians of the music-loving king, Harsa [1089-1101 AD]. Canpaka was chief minister of Harsa & father of Sanskrit-Chronicler, Pandit Kalhana."
"The fast increasing symptoms of decadence & downfall of the Dunstaanian community had concerned him & his contemporary ilk, but those who had to act, being flippant, were deaf to their voices of concern."
"One does not consider thousand houses even worth one’s own home. So, it is that love for one’s home that one does not want to go away from it." [Representational Image]
"It is recorded that during Amarnath pilgrimage, Yatris/Sadhus were supplied charas & ration quota in cash & kind by the Gulab Singh’s administration." [Representational Image]
"At present, Ghar Jamai is found mostly in rural rich families with huge assets of land & property. In cities, it is not generally found."
"Socio-cultural traditions and values, of which proverbs and idioms are a part, which develop over centuries, is part of heritage that is preserved for future generations."
"Anis Mush Ha’vin, Na Gunnah, Na Sawaab” . It literally means, “to show the fist to a blind man is neither a sin nor a virtue”. Showing fist is a very offensive and vulgar gesture in all cultures, to mention. But when a blind is shown first, it hardly matters." [Representational Image]
OP-Ed
Song for the deaf
M. J. Aslam
5 min read
Anyone who takes his protectors other than Allah is like a spider weaving a web, building a house for itself, which is too weak to stand onslaughts of wind and rain. [29-41]
Passenger and private vehicles stranded on way to Jammu. [representational Image]
"Actually, a malady of show offs, which is sagely described in an old Kashmirian idiom “chhum te karas kyah” [Tr: show off finds it unavoidable], has infested Kashmiri community, as a whole, so much so that if one family is wealthy, or financially better placed than their neighbours or relatives or friends, they will make every possible effort to make every one of latter notice and follow them in their showing off aberration."
"Wedges are nowadays iron-made also. In this machine-age even the wood-cutters still prefer to use wooden-wedge over metal-wedge."
OP-Ed
Pearls of wisdom
M. J. Aslam
6 min read
There is a popular saying in Urdu that snake has its venom beneath its skin [ Kanchli], scorpion in its tail, mad-dog in its tongue, but a human being, man or woman, hides it in his/her heart, deep in bosom.
“If winter comes, can spring be far behind”, which expresses the idea of cycle of sorrow and joy, difficulty and ease. [File]
But when you walk through it, be in a protective gear of long pants, long sleeves & thick gloves. Stinging nettle stings to terrible pains.
"In this way, the phrase means that God takes His Own Time but he does do Justice. He waits but delivers people of injustice."
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