Infinity - The Spiritual Dimension Explained

When I was at university, studying computer science, we had to get into an advanced mathematics course where we studied the concept of differentiation and integration. Within all that, I didn't realize at the time but we were taught an interesting topic of infinity and minimizing and maximizing the limit around infinity.

One of my greatest mentors, a doctorate in Mathematics, and the director of the university at the time, had said something that has stuck in my mind. He said Mathematics is the only language that can explain the most complicated of philosophical theories. It seemed bookish at the time but I think he may have been right all along.

In a chain of thoughts around trying to understand the spiritual dimension, the topics got connected a bit. In my days at university, we were trying to explain the concept of infinity. We tried to set a limit to it, we tried to multiply infinity with infinity or any number with infinity. We tried to add numbers to infinity, infinity to infinity. The results of all those equations was infinity. We tried to divide infinity with infinity, the result was not 1, it was infinity. Sometimes breaking all the rules, sometimes making new rules. Infinity though explained in some way was never really explained.

I think infinity is something that is not to be explained. There has to be something unknown to leave this world as is, unexplained. Even after making the greatest discovery ever, there will be something remaining that will be unexplained, infinity. If the beginning or end of something is not known, the human mind cannot explain it as it doesn't know where to start and where to end. Its something like if you wake up in the middle of nowhere, lets say middle of an ocean. All views 360 degrees being exactly the same, no indications to tell you which direction to move into, you will not know where to go. This reminds of the Matrix movie again where Neo goes into the Matrix for the first time and while the program is being loaded, both Neo and Morpheus are standing in the void, the white. Try to look at the world you are in this way. You are nothing but this minuscule being in the infinity.

The mathematical concept of trying to explain infinity went into defining dimensions. If the concept was not confusing enough already, you started layering this realm of infinity into some layers, or dimensions just to hope to find some explanation. Its totally crazy to imagine or even expect to layer through layers and dimensions and expect to find something that explains the whole concept which just to remind you has no boundaries, no center. It wasn't meant to be. All those studies led to was a more confusing mathematics course but I wouldn't want to take credit away from the great mathematicians who delved into it and gave an attempt at least.

Lets take this all into the spiritual dimension and you can draw a lot of parallels. Replace "infinity" with the One. You may call the One by different names depending on where you come from but there is a concept of Divinity that exists. That is the answer of all questions but not known. If that were known, nothing would remain unknown. As that is not known, even the known things aren't truly known.

The frustrating thing about exploring and discovery is that once something is discovered, the next discovery is built up from it. No area of exploration can be deemed complete as there is always something more to go further into. That is how infinity is. There is no end, known. 

I am confident there is an end though, even though not known yet. The human thirst for knowledge will be eventually quenched, the limit will be reached.  If you have seen the movie, the Truman Show, that moment where Truman hits the boat to end. That's what I am talking about.The infinity will be fenced. This is when the deprived soul will meet with the One. The soul searches, longs for connection to the Divine soul with which it was once connected and then parted. They talk about soul-mates, I am talking about the Ultimate Soul-mate. All else around, this world or another, will be of no value as the true purpose of the search is to find the end, the goal. The exploration mission in the quest for finding the eventual end of infinity is nothing different than finding The One.

The blatant truth however is that its not us who are within infinity. Its the infinity that is within us. Its not just the soul that wants to connect with the Ultimate, its also the other way around. Search within to find the end. Search within to find the limit. Search within to find Him.

Improving your Prayers (Khushu in Salaat)

The Prophet PBUH said: When a slave stands and prays, all his sins are brought and placed on his head and shoulders. Every time he bows or prostrates, some of them fall from him.” (Bayhaqi, Saheeh al-Jami’)

So from now on when you stand up to pray, imagine all your sins being placed on your head and shoulders and when you go on Rukuu and Sujoud, stay longer to lose as many as you can and picture them falling down and away from you. Understand the purpose of praying… this will help you concentrate …..

When you go to the position of Rukuu, feel and tell Allah with your heart that you will never kneel to anyone but him and picture those sins falling down.

And when you say "Sami'Allahu liman hamidah" (Allah hears who thanks Him) and you say "Rabbana walakal Hamd" (Thanks to you my Lord) you are thanking Him for honoring you and making you stand straight not like the other creatures who walk on four with their back bent. Thank Him for making you able to move and pray.

When you go to the first Sajdah (you put your head down on the floor) you are representing the earth which you came from and when you get up after the first Sajdah you are representing the first time He created you from the earth.

When you go on the second Sajdah again on the ground, you are representing when you die and you go back to the ground and when you get up the second time you are representing the second time when Allah brings you back from the dead on the Day of Judgment, therefore, concentrate with every movement and feel it.

Make a lot of du'aa in Sujoud and remember du'aa is ibadah and Allah loves those who ask Him…ask Him and beg Him… complain to Him… you are better off complaining to Him than to humans….He will never betray you, He will never let you down, He will never look down on you and He is the only one who can answer your needs with your head held high.

Do you know the reason you say "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is greater) every time you move in a prayer?

It’s a reminder that Allah is greater than anything you might be thinking about from this world. So be honest when you say "Allahu Akbar" and remember He is greater than anything that is occupying your mind while you pray.

Do you know when you stand up to pray and say "Allahu Akbar", Allah stands before you and the minute your mind goes wondering on silly things in this life, Allah turns His face away from you and says (Is there something better than me taking you away from me?)

How lucky are we to have Allah meet us and stand before us 5 times a day, to listen to us and to our problems and to grant us our wishes and forgives us for our sins every day. You say "Allahu Akbar and He is there, you don’t need to stand in front of His door for hours or take an appointment or meet a mediator or a secretary, how generous is He?

(Source - Mahjabeen Umar)

EID Mohammad!!!

3 decades back, a first-time expectant mother in her last trimester arrived at the blessed month of Ramadan. Question to ask herself. Should I fast this Ramadan? Will I be able to? Hope it doesn't harm the baby?

I think about it now and realize what kind of thoughts would my mother have gone through at the time. After all thoughts, she went through with it and enjoyed the full blessings of Ramadan by fasting all through. Special prayers, getting close to the Quran and doing good deeds.

Doctors say that in the final trimester, the child has an established identity already and can listen and possibly even retain some of what he listens to. Imagine what kind of a lucky chap I was to be listening to The Holy Quran even before entering this world of challenges and tests.

Seeing my wife go through 2 child-births, I can realize what a challenge it would have been for my mother to not miss out on any of the blessings and potential opportunities of gaining the pleasure of Allah in Ramadan. With energy and vigor no different than anyone else, she obviously realized this was for the better for her and for me.

Closer to EID, still around 20 days to go in my expected arrival, she had to enjoy the fun of her first "Chand Raat" (night before EID after moon-sighting) as a wife and a to-be mother, where my father took her out to get choorian (bangles) which is an old tradition and she also put on Mehndi in preparation for the joyous occasion. Little did she know that she had made Allah so happy and me so restless that my flight schedule for entry into the world had been brought forward. Allah had decided that this family deserves an EID with an EID gift from the heavens.

I kicked and turned since I couldn't email or SMS in those days to let my mom know that I can't wait anymore. It's time. What followed as they say is history. The rush to the hospital, the tense moments and the anxiousness that every to-be parent deals with and the arrival. I can never get tired of listening to the story of how I came into this world.

Yes folks, UTP was born exactly on the EID day after Ramadan, 30 years back.

My grandpa, held me in his hands and suggested that I be named EID Mohammad. The chants of naming me EIDU went on within the family. Thank Allah, my parents didn't listen to that. I can rewind my whole life and replace my name from Umar to EID Muhammad in every little situation that I cherish so much and well it just doesn't feel right.

I am happy with how I was named after the 2nd Caliph (RA). They say the name has some kind of effect on the developing personality. I still cannot confirm if this is true as I am not even close to what my parents may have thought or expected but hopefully there is time, I so hope. I want to do a lot of revolutionary things going forward. May Allah help me and my family.

Ramadan Mubarak Readers and EID Mubarak. May Allah accept our prayers, our fasting and our deeds and help us improve our lives by applying what we learnt from The Holy Quran. Aameen.

Enjoy the day. We have earned it. Alhumdulillah.

Conspiracy Guaranteed

I have been always been interested in conspiracy theories. From the young age of watching such movies which brings the thrill and rush of blood and twists and turns has always enthralled me to the shocking realities of life today.

I never would've thought that it could come out of that TV box and into reality. Conspiracy theories are all around us and evidently making our lives thrilling. We have been brainwashed to believe what we see on TV and when looking at the big picture that the media is controlled by people who show us what they want to show us and we believe it, we should be labelled as quite stupid.

With the advent of media and its growth to Internet and social networking, the whole thing has just got out of hand. Watch the headlines on any news channel, pick up a newspaper, see a twitter feed, follow facebook for a while, all I see is something going wrong in Muslim countries in the fray. Why is it that out of the 192 countries in the world (number from members of United Nations) only majority Muslim countries make the news and that too for all the wrong reasons. Isn't there problems in countries like US/ UK/ European Countries/Far East? I can assure you there are bigger problems but the image of Muslim countries is what these people are after.

There is a conspiracy around it. There is an hidden agenda. We all know about it. We don't want to talk about it. Its understandable.

The only thing important enough is to keep mentioning it. Reminding ourselves about it. This is to ensure we don't get carried away with what we see and hear. If one keeps the big picture in mind, it is very easy to stay focused on the goal and task ahead.

This is a continued test of our faith. The conspirators will keep throwing things at us, hoping we will fail. Fall down, lose hope. I actually heard a very close family member who asked, why should I get close to Allah? People who are not close are more successful. I was surprised and yet not so surprised.

The meaning of success itself has been changed. The perception is different. Success is money, fame, happiness in life, contentment in life, things that I have, things that I want and I get... with my hard work, my efforts, my skill, my talent, my achievements due to my good work and my relationships and my contacts....

It all sounds...so right doesn't it?

Did you notice that the perception of success contains a lot of  "I" who did it all by "himself" and limited to "This Life". This is exactly what they want us to think and they have been successful in their mission. Take God out of our lives and make us falsely believe that it is us who control our lives and success or failure is all due to our efforts and not God's will.

Observe a day an average person lives. How many times in the day does God or religion come in? Prayers are actually a diversion from the "life" that I am living. When the optimum way of living preached to us was life around prayers and remembrance of Allah and not the other way around. Where did that go? Oh right, that is not how successful people are made.

Riba (interest & interest on interest) has been categorized as the termite that keeps eating into you. It is the most hated element in the eyes of God, right up there with adultery, fornication, consuming alcohol, gambling. Every thing condemned by religion is the most popular thing to do these days.

Interest is now so common that its not even a point of discussion. It is understood to get money out of your money in the bank. It is understood that since you need the car, you ll go and get a car loan and pay interest. It is understood that with the continuously inflating value of property the only way possible to own a house is by taking a loan and pay interest. In this day and age of competition the best universities are so expensive that the only way to get into them and afford them is to take a student loan and pay on interest. It is just the "right" way and rather the only way possible to get all these worldly things.

Think out of the box. It is mentioned by Allah in the Quran that whoever asked for success in life, he was granted that. Whoever asked for success in life and the hereafter, he was granted that. So its all about asking for the right things isnt it? What are we asking in our prayers?

Increased wealth? Peace in the world? Fulfilling of responsibilites of family? Good fate of my daughter, my sister? Happiness in marriage? Job success? General Success in life?

While the above are OK to ask for also, where are the prayers for a Successful here-after? Even our prayers have now become focused with things that end with death. We have made the trade of the after-life which is going to last forever with these few 70 to 80 to 100 years.

When we pray, do we truly believe that it is going to happen since we are asking God? Do we have the blind faith that I will get what I want only if I ask The Right Source?

Its a conspiracy... every thing is a conspiracy... I am surprised at how everything has to be a conspiracy for us to come out of our routine life and take notice...

Everything happening around us is set with a master plan that the conspirators have made up. Their plan has been in motion since the day man was put into this world. They have gone stronger with time as indicated to us as well that it will happen. It is all happening as per the script already written and told to us. What the conspirators don't know that the plan doesn't get fulfilled at the end that they have planned. There is another Master Plan, a superset of their plan. This one by The Greatest Planner of all, Himself. There is going to be more and much more after that. But do we believe in that? Ask yourself, do you really believe there is life after death? Has your faith weakened? Is it just something that you read and you don't really believe in it?

Would you be doing the things that you do, would you be living your life the way you are doing now, if you truly truly believed in the fact that this life is the exam and the results are in the hereafter?

The stage is being set my friends. As mentioned in the Holy Quran and told by Our Beloved Prophet (S.A.W). The signs of the end of times are showing. We are losing our grip on the world. Its time to repent and come back to the basics. Go back to the matrix. Get close to your faith. For the times are near when our Prophet (S.A.W) said, it would be the greatest test of our faiths and extremism will not prevail. A person who is one step behind will be better. It is better to be one step behind but don't let the passion die. The fire within has to be keep burning.

Then wait for the Azaan (call) and when it comes, say Labbaik and join the force. The force which will be a comeback, an "in-your-face" to all the conspiracies of the world. The force that will be an answer to all the questions that the conspirators pose on us today. Questions around corruption, terrorism. The answer will be given but not now. Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But only when the time comes. Just ensure you are ready and on the right side of the battlefield. Jihad (Holy War) is our destiny as that is also a form of prayer with death in the way of religion with the truest faith and no worldly reasons, is the key to heaven.

The Reality of Me (The Human)

Actually, I decided to update this post a little more for more completeness. Just the poetry (that follows below) doesn't justify what led me to it. I was inspired by a good friend who brought to notice this first Ayat from Surah Al-Insaan.

Allah asks us...

"Has there not been over Man a long period of Time, when he was nothing - (not even) mentioned?"

The explanation of the above is basically towards the fact that we as humans can so easily flaunt ourselves with pride. With the small achievements in life, we feel, we are kings and in control of whatever we want to do. Pride (Ghuroor) is one of the most disastrous things that a human could develop. As that leads to other big sins and eventually away from Allah.

Allah reminds us by asking that question. There was a long time before Man when there was No Man. There were other creations like Jinn, Angels, maybe others we don't even know. However,  in the infinite time that only Allah knows, man is not even worth mentionable.

So, then Man was built from sand, or clay to be more specific as mentioned in the Holy Quran, this Surah explains the reality of me (the human). Surah-e-Insaan further explains how what we are when we are born and we forget who we were as we grow up. Easily fooled that what we are doing is based on our own strengths and talent and not by Allah's will.

Lot of thought depth led from that single Ayat. I think that is the beauty of The Holy Quran. Every Ayat has so much too ponder over.

Got inspired and with inspiration comes out a little Shayari (poetry)...

Kabhi Kehta Hay Khaak ka Zarra hoon mein...
Kabhi Kehta Hay Dunya mein Ashraf-ul-Makhlooqaat...
Koi yeh mujhay bata dey "Kyon" aur "Kya" hoon mein...
Jo Uss nay chaha tha ... Woh tou na bana hoon mein...
Samajh kee baat yeh hay ~Umar...  Mitti say bana hoon mein....
Aur Mitti hee mein ja mila hoon mein...

Translation

Some where He says I am a grain of sand [1]
Some where He says I am the highest of all His creations
Can somebody tell me "Why" and "What" I am
What He wanted... I have certainly not become...
The thing to understand ~Umar is... I have been made from Sand...
And I have gone and mixed with the Sand [2]

[1] - "Grain of Sand" - The smallest particle possible as in of minimal (close to zero) value in this world
[2] - "Mixed with Sand" is used in the context of getting Ruswa (disgraced, insulted, humiliated, defamed) in life

Dish#2 – Boussree

Never heard of the word? Boussree. I don't blame you. Its the local name probably known in the not-so-small Memon community of Pakistan. We got it from my maternal grandma and my mother. We have grown up having Boussree for breakfast on the weekends. It was such an important part of my life that my mother ensured that my wife learnt it before proceeding further in our marital life. I am sure the sanctity of the dish is now clear.

So I thought I need to learn this one. So here we are folks, UTP made Boussree today for breakfast.

Firstly, lets get the spelling of the name right. I wanted to create the right spelling so 9 out of 10 people pronounce it correctly. First I thought I should write Bussree. But then thought about 7 out 10 people would read that as School Bus and Ree which is not how its pronounced.

Then I thought I'll make it Boosree and then I thought still about 5 out of 10 people would question the halal nature of the dish due to its easy relation to booze. I would probably need a fatwa issued to assure the audience that the dish is edible and yes indeed halal.

So I finally made it Boussree. Just ensure you don't go Bo-uss-reee. Make it two syllable with no rolling of the tongue to make it Bouss-ree. That's the best I could do. Hope you got it.

Anyway, lets get down to how its made. Its a sweet roti or a sweet roti sandwich. If you know sweet roti or "mithi" roti then just know this one is a two layered roti with sugar sandwiched in the middle and way much softer.

First make the dough. One Buoussree takes 2 small cups of flour and a pinch of salt. Put some water on a ratio. Put a little and feel the flour. The flour talks to you when its thirsty. Don't put too much water or it gets sticky. If you do so by mistake then add more flour. You can't have flour sticky at all.

I didn't have to beat the flour that much like I had to for the pizza. This was much easier however, interestingly, my daughter snuck up and asked, is the dough been bad again? You'll only get this joke if you read the pizza post which I did for last week's cooking.

Leave the flour after its  nice and round and it will dry up a bit to get rolled. Then pat a little water on it and punch the dough a little more. Pull out half a lump out so you leave half more for the second layer and start rolling the half lump. Put some dry flour to make sure it doesn't stick to the floor and keep rolling.

The first roll need not be an exact circle as its gonna be done over anyway. Once you have rolled it to an approximate circle or oval or pyjama or basically any shape, read and then apply the secret move.

Now, I ll let you in on the secret move. Put some oil all around and cut one slit from the centre to the edge of the circle. Then roll over the whole thing so it becomes a 3-d Conical figure. Pull out a lump of flour from the pointy side and compress the rest in your hand. This ensures the oil merges into the flour. There is no better way in history known as yet to do this. This has come to us from generations and down to my mother to my wife. Then squeeze using both thumbs, both palms to make it a small circle and roll it again into a circle. Smart eh?

Once its a circle keep it on the side and do the same as mentioned above with the other lump for the second layer. Only on the second layer, when you are done with the secret tip on top, put sugar well balanced all across. This is the same as putting jam on toast only much stickier. You thought jam was sticky. Spread the sugar evenly and when done, bring the first layer that you had rolled and place it nicely on top of it. Its needless to say that both the circles should be 95% the same size.

When you are done with this, you would have a sandwich of 2 rotis with sugar in the middle. Sounds yummy already but here is another important trick that makes this dish what it is. When making a round sandwich ensure the edges are really thin and tight. Start twisting the edges in with just one finger, the index finger. If you try this with any other finger or anything else (don't get creative...), it will not have the effect required. Twist all the way around and the edges should start looking like curlies or macaroni curls.

The frying pan should be made hot for a little while and then put some Ghee in it. Yes this dish is not for diabetic or cholesterol conscious people. Its sweet and oily. Sorry, I should have probably told this earlier. Fry the round sandwiched rotis until they are golden brown. Put more ghee if required depending on how oily you want it. I prefer, not too much though.



Voila, its done. Yes, short and sweet (literally). It usually is better to cook 2 small Bousrees (4 lumps ~ 4 layers) instead of a big Bousree. Cut the circle in 4/6/8 pieces depending on the size and enjoy it. This dish is enjoyed more with milk tea instead of coffee and is more of a breakfast dish.

The same method can be used for cooking Minced Meat Bousree, Aaloo (potato) Bousree or any other filling that you like. Just replace the sugar with any item. Then it could become a lunch or dinner item as well. Ensure to get raita (spicy yogurt) if you want to make this with anything meaty or veggie.

Dish#1 - Pizza, Potato Salad & Garlic Bread

The project begins. Umami Tasting Parsnips - Episode 1.

This last Friday, the project began. My wife decided, it's got to be straight forward and not to complex. Also, something that we could all enjoy. So the menu was set. Chicken and Tomato Pizza, Potato Salad & Garlic Bread. She wanted to squeeze in a chocolate cake as well but I gave her the look. This is the first day lady, and she realized she is getting a little carried away with it. I could see she was hiding her excitement but its this same attitude of hers which keeps pushing us all to do better every next time. Lets Learn Urdu is one of her such example projects, where she keeps stretching the limits for our elder one. She is the woman behind this successful man, for sure.

Anyway, back to the topic. So I got my Chef's Hat ready, my Red shirt and the apron (it still needs a UTP logo) and we got going. I peeled potatoes first and chopped them down and put them in to boil. You need to put half a teaspoon salt in the water for some reason. It helps it get soft and slightly salty.

Then I got to the Pizza dough. Lots of punching and kicking on the dough to make it behave. My wife told me that Italians, the so called maestros of Pizza making, bang the batter while holding from one side, so it stretches. I particularly enjoyed this part, cos I believe that was the only element of violence that I got during the whole episode. My manly ego was satisfied. We put a little olive oil, some normal cooking oil and flour with a small packet of yeast. When the dough was round and plump and had had its share of beating for the day, it was left to swell from the wounds.

While I was kicking the dough's ass, my daughter comes and asks what's going on? Obviously the sound of beating got her distracted from her cartoons. I used this situation to my advantage. This dough has not taken care of her sister and also not been a good girl lately. So it's getting a beating. Then I went bang and bang and I think the message sank in pretty well with few gulps. That reminds me of a story from a Sindhi drama which I will keep for some other day. Its related to pillow beating.

Next came cutting the capsicum and tomatoes for the pizza and also shredding the cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. All this was done while the potatoes boiled. I checked the softness of the potato and when the knife can go in smoothly through, they are ready to be soaked dry. They were pulled out and left to dry through a steel net.

A little time later, the Pizza dough, started screaming for attention as the wounds were paining and swollen. We were looking at some thick crust to be cooked. A little bit more kicking and punching and the dough was ready to be laid down. I mean, like strolled through the roller and made into a circle. This is where I used one of the tricks used to make it a perfect circle. Wonderfully, even my wife didn't know that one. Moment of pride. See you stretch it and stretch and then you cut a circle around it with a knife. The extra dough at the end is then put in the middle again and rolled further in. This is what they don't show you in cooking shows. They can do their pizza flipping and height reached etc but they don't show you how they make it into a perfect circle.

Anyway, it was rolled over and then a joint effort to place it on the Oven tray. I laid down the Pizza Sauce using my hands and fingers to ensure the sauce reaches where it should. This is something that mayG had done a day earlier. Next time I ll prepare the sauce myself also. Next came the cheddar cheese, boiled chicken pieces (shredded) and on it the capsicum, tomatoes and olives. On top came the mozzarella cheese. It was ready to go in. The oven was heated.

Mozzarella cheese has no real taste. It is just to bring the stretchy cheese effect we see in advertisements. The pizza tastes just as good without it but...Consumer brainwash. Man.

While the oven heated, I whipped the mayonnaise, cream and some seasoning into a thick paste for the potato salad. This was yummy. I almost had it all while whipping.

The oven heated and the pizza went in with a lot of prayers. I got to the Garlic Bread after that. Long french loaf, cut slanted (my touch) needs to be filled with a paste. This paste was made from one Garlic clove, 2 slices of butter and olive oil. A little seasoning. A lot of mashing and when the butter melts, its ready. The french loaf is not cut all the way through and rather left right till the bottom so that the loaf stays together. Then the paste is slid into the cuts. This is a skill that I developed on the job. Once done, its put into an aluminium foil and snuck into the oven.

Final touches on the potato salad where the potatoes were mixed with the paste made earlier with a spoon as the potatoes are too soft to be used with anything else. A little leaf on the top (for the look) and the salad was ready.

After a little while, the Pizza started screaming, let me out and we got it out. A little overdone but still yummy. I couldn't figure out exactly how long we put it but I believe we kept it 2 minutes too long. Anyway, it wasn't as bad as it may sound. This Pizza was filled with stuff on top, soft through the rest and it needs some teeth at the bottom of it. Not the crispy kind but something that you can't melt in but need a bite. I personally liked the touch, I would like to get the same effect again every time.



Anyway, we set the table, Pizza in the middle, Garlic bread on side of it and Potato Salad. A job well done by UTP and appreciated by the wife. I have actually done it folks. The fear is gone now. I can take on any dish that comes next.

It became such a large pizza that we had it for dinner, breakfast next day and also for lunch and dinner the next day. It was approximately 20 inches in diameter and really thick. So that's my plan. Cook something on Friday which lasts through the weekend so its a relaxing Saturday.

Feel free to get in touch with me on any further details cos I couldn't write them all in. Wow!! I did it. I don't believe it.

Umami Tasting Parsnips - The Project

What's the deal with the title, you ask? Well its name of the new category on UTP. I have just initiated a self-project. It may not involve Umami or Parsnips, but its sure involves a lot of tasting and well mainly cooking.

Yes folks, UTP is facing his worst fear. His most hated thing. His punishment for life. His nightmare about hell. I am entering the realm of cooking.

I don't know why I am doing this yet. But I am. I think I was inspired by the movie Julie & Julia and not because of cooking but more with being inspired to blog. However, that has led me to think, what the hell is this cooking thing that women boast about and we men (well most of us) hate?

Considering all the head chefs of pretty much all big cuisines of the world, talk Five-Star, Seven-Star hotels, talk celebrity cooking shows, males dominate this market. Yet the average male at home, prefers to bum around, watch sports and pretty much do anything but go near the cooking area of the house also known as the kitchen.

The kitchen for most men is where the food is.

Well its true cos you got the refrigerator and cabinets with all the food stuff in. What most women would want us to know is that there is a dish washer, the stove and oven is there as well and not to mention the kitchen sink and the garbage bin as well.

Well its a long list so I have decided to at least get one major one under my belt. That is cooking. For people who have known me for a while, they would know this was pretty much the last thing I would have wanted to do on my list. So here's my answer to that. I like to surprise people. Surprises have always worked for my marital relationship. This one is no different.

The day I told my wife, I want to do a cooking project with her help, she was at first in the "Yeah...Yeah..." mode. But when I told her how I had planned it all. One dish every weekend and I do everything on my own. You just guide me. I had my cooking chef hat, a souvenir from Nanta and I need an apron with the UTP logo on it. She suggested I wear the Red shirt I have always had while cooking so it goes with the Red tape on the Chef Hat. I don't mind that. But seeing the plan I had, she knew I meant business and well how I made her fall in love with me again is something that she'll write about. I don't mind being the spotlight at all. But you already know that by now.

This is of course going to lead to a series of Posts as well so I needed a category. I decided its got to be something that abbreviates UTP. I am pretty much obsessed with my initials. So I went across googling for cooking vocabulary for words starting with U, T and P. I wasn't disappointed at all. I actually found a website whose title was "Cookabulary". Now is that perfect or what?

So as the title of my post says. The category is Umami Tasting Parsnips.

I like the name. Umami is the fifth taste that the Japanese have come up with after sweet, sour, salty & bitter. I think I would like the taste if I cooked it, as explained on the website I just linked to above. Parsnips is a root vegetable, something like carrots. But that is not why I selected it. My "rational" reason to select it was because it looks and sounds like a brief version of "partnership". Yup, that's my logic, like it or not.

This is going to be a partnership. A moment of bonding, every week. I look forward to it. I hope to keep this entertaining as we go along for you as well. Wish me Luck.

Time Passes... We run...

There is one thing that is perpetually ongoing, never stopping, man on a mission, like there is lots to do and not enough..."Time". Its "Time" itself. Time passes as naturally as possible.

Not a second earlier and not a second later. Cruise Control with no breaks.

Time passes... we run...  Considering there isn't enough time and there is so much to do and yet we can never beat the time. Its because of the attitude. Time is an expert at passing while we are experts at stopping and questioning things, learning things. Time has only one job at hand. Just keep passing. Mindlessly. No looking around. No losing focus. Just at a target and passing.

We will run, we will walk, we will sleep. We will slow down, we will quicken up. We will wait when its required. Time however will just pass at an exemplary consistency.

In this competition of "Time vs Us", where we keep chasing hoping we'll win some day is just stupid optimism. Time is destined to win this race cos it's been created to do what it is doing. Its pretty much the supreme expert in "passing" by. We got so many other things to do other than this.

At times you may feel that you are winning but that's just an illusion. You may feel that you can beat time but that's just what you feel. Its not how it is. Time knows, you ll give up the chase cos it takes effort for you to stay ahead of time. Time is a natural at this. Once you slow down, time will gain.

It doesn't have to move faster, just because you are temporarily ahead. It doesn't have to compete, it knows its gonna win. You may run all you want and at whatever speed you want. Eventually time will win cos in this game of life, slow and steady wins the race not the fast and furious. Time is as steady as its required.

Time passes... let it pass. Don't try to win, just make every moment count. Now that's where you are good at.

Falling feels like Flying

I had a good weekend this last one. Enjoyed a great movie. Crazy Heart. The one that fetched Jeff Bridges his Oscar. The title is from one of the songs from the movie which Jeff Bridges performed.

The story is about Otis 'BAD' Blake, an alcoholic country singer on the other end of his career. Creative genius who can write songs like anything but the drink is killing him and his career, whatever is left of it. Its a fight between his ego and his drink to come through and become the sober person that the world needed. Some great country music

Country music is more about meaningful lyrics and every song is like a story. I have loved country music since I heard some gospels and then the modern form from Shania Twain and Carrie Underwood. But this movie brought me closer to the true country music.

Its a movie about the human spirit being able to do anything it wants to do only if it wants it that bad. All one needs is inspiration and then everything's possible. So that's what we all need, find the drive and the possibilities are endless.

Crazy Heart - The harder the life, the sweeter the song...Beautiful.

Leave you with my favorite song from the movie...

I was goin’ where I shouldn’t go
seein’ who I shouldn’t see
doin’ what I shouldn’t do
and bein’ who I shouldn’t be

a little voice told me it’s all wrong
another voice told me it’s alright
I used to think I was strong
but lately I just lost the fight

funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while
funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while

I got tired of bein’ good
started missing that old feeling free
stop actin’ like I thought I should
and went on back to bein’ me

I never meant to hurt no one
I just had to have my way
if there is such a thing as too much fun
this must be the price you pay

funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while
funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while

you never see it comin’ till it’s gone
it all happens for a reason
even when it’s wrong
especially when it’s wrong

funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while
funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while

I was goin’ where I shouldn’t go
seein’ who I shouldn’t see
doin’ what I shouldn’t do
and bein’ who I shouldn’t be

The Feel Good Factor

As we were growing up we were constantly taught about how looking good doesn't matter if you don't feel good inside. It doesn't matter which situation it is feeling good inside will make it happen for you.

It could be a job interview, the first day at a new job, the marriage day, the next big presentation, meeting with a big client, etc. You got to be feeling good inside to be doing good as well. Of course dressing up to look good in such situations is important also but the feel good factor comes from feeling good inside. You got to have your mojo.

Now, I am not too much of a philosopher when it comes to such things (liar!!). My feel good inside thing ends at the vest and underwear. Yes, this is a post about UTP's law of undergarments. I mean when it means to feel good inside is all about wearing the best vest and underwear. The best thing about undergarments is that nobody knows what you are wearing or whether you are wearing them at all and it is really up,close and personal. For some people its a little bit more up and close than personal.

You could be wearing a colorful red underwear with blue polka dots inside but with a perfectly glowing suit with a crispy shirt and tie on top, nobody knows. Accept it or not, on some days you don't feel like wearing it at all. That's the true humans that we really are unfortunately cultured by the modern society.

So that's what I do as well. I got my special set of  crispy new vest and underwear which is kept for un khaas dinon kay liay (those special days). Yes, we men have it too.  It could be a football match for all you know. You have to do the same things you did the last time your favorite team won and that could mean wearing the same underwear as well you did on that day.

They stay and stay in the cupboard until the special day comes sometimes unwashed to keep the lucky charm it had from last time.

In that sense I do become a little superstitious as well cos everything just has to be right on the special day. Right from shaving that extra little hair on my beard line on the neck to wearing the right sock first and then the left one. I just got this subconscious rituals that sometimes even I don't realize. The vest, the underwear, the lucky shirt, the lucky tie... damn ... as I write here I am surprising myself as well with the list.

The important thing to note is that I am so dependent on this feel good factor that if something out of the above goes wrong, I am that teeny-weeny bit less confident. The feel good factor gives me that extra mental edge, that pumped up feeling which is vital when you are on a mission with the goal in sight.

To make this whole feel good factor thing be special and work, you got to be a little more low-key on the normal days. The larger the gap between the feel bad factor and feel good factor is, the better it works. So on the off days, I ll wear my second choice of shoes, my second choice of pants, the yellow shirts, the older socks with a hole on the toe with the lose elastic that keeps slipping down to the ankles, you know...

So when an important day comes, it has the desired effect. I am not crazy right? Are there more people like me out there?

The good thing is that my wife has responded perfectly to this and it used to be a nice leg-puller for her earlier but it has kinda sunk in now towards realization that I need this. That just makes it a doubly-feel-good factor for me with the wife on board as well with my stupid rituals.

Once upon a Poet ... again... :P

Continuing from the previous post with the same topic, I found one more piece of my poetry which I really like myself also. Enjoy.

Khwahish
Falak pay pichlee raat toota jo ek taara
Mein nay nikaal liya apni khwahishaat ka paara
Khuda ko bhee meri taqdeer par reham aagaya
Shayed nazar aaya uss mein naam tumhara hee tumhara

Attention Wanting

Why does it feel when I am in the process of writing a blog or tweet or update my status on the gazillion social networking sites that I have accounts... that i want attention. I guess that's exactly why... I do want attention...

But I am not the only one right? That applies for all humans regardless of whether they are as addicted to the Internet like me or not. We all have this natural in-born craving to get noticed. We like to stand out in a crowd. Not all the time but once in a while we do.

It doesn't matter who you are or what you do. Its not about how much money you make. Its not about on what level of the food-chain you are. The high ups get noticed anyway. But even the ones at the bottom of the pile get noticed for being at the bottom of the pile.

Whether it is at a professional level at work. One wants to do well. Speak up in a meeting. Get a job well done just to get noticed. On the other side, it could be a casual get-together with friends or family. It could be a simple walk in the park but you could get the craving to wear something that would make you stand out or do something different.

This is all regardless of how good or worthless one feels at any particular moment in time. This is really bothering me by the way.

The strange part is that you could be at either extreme to get noticed. Extreme behavior is easily noticed. Best or worst, you are breaking news.

I think its only moderation where one can get away without getting noticed...or wait... on second thought, even those people would get noticed. This time people would say, this person is a good moderate guy. He doesn't do anything extreme. You can have the craving to be moderate as well to get noticed.

If you are at the top, you get noticed. If you are the bottom, you get noticed. If you are somewhere in the middle, you'll get noticed.

Should I be feeling insecure? Regardless of what we do or don't do, we'll get noticed? If we don't get noticed, we'll follow our natural instinct to do something to get noticed. We are made strange beings, that's for sure.

BV

This particular abbreviation could mean many different things to different people. All depending on the mood, the thought, the mindset, at a particular moment in time.

What made me write about this is pretty interesting.

One fine day at work, I was about to dial my boss's number which is set on auto-dial on my desk phone on the Star (*) key. On the Pound (#) key is none other than my one and only beloved wife. Something struck me at that very moment in time.

It was like I am the Zero (0) - good for nothing - stuck in the middle of the my 2 BVs. Begum-V and Boss-V.

Ek taraf begum, ek taraf boss, mein beech mein phansa bechara...

Once upon a Poet... :P

In the early days when Urdu poetry started making sense and the feeling that the "shayers" (poets) express through words are actually felt, it was natural to start rhyming some words and make out a few couplets here and there. While cleaning up an old carton today, out came of a piece of paper from the early days of UTP - The Poet.

Just so that this particular piece of poetry doesn't get lost in time, I wanted to put it up in the blogosphere. Please bear with me. I don't think I will ever write poetry again so criticize all you want.

Pehlay Kee Tarhan

Kya ab bhee mujhay ho chahti, pehlay kee tarhaan
Mujhay dekh kay ho sharmaati, pehlay kee tarhaan

Mein sab ko batata hoon apnay ishq kee daastaan
Tum ab bhee ho chupaati, pehlay kee tarhaan

Mein nay tumhein chaha, tum nay mujhay chaha
Phir ehsaan kyon ho jatati, pehlay kee tarhaan

Kya ab bhee raat ko batti nahi bujhaati
Kya ab bhee ho ghabraati, pehlay kee tarhaan

Mein nay tou chaaha rakh loon dil mein chuppa kay tum ko
Tum ab bhee nahin samaati, pehlay kee tarhaan

Tumhein bhoolnay kee koshish raaigaan hee challi gayee
Mujhay yaad ho ab bhee aati, pehlay kee tarhaan

Tumhein chorr chala jaaon ga, mazaqqan kaha tha mein nay
Par ho na tum jazbati, pehlay kee tarhaan

Tum hee ko mein hoon chahta, tum hee ho meray dilbur
Tum hee ho mujh ko bhaati, pehlay kee tarhaan

Meri baaton pay na jaana, mein ho gaya deewana
Sach mein ho yaad aati, pehlay kee tarhaan

Tumhein bhool jaaon jaana tumhee nay tou kaha tha
Ab kyon ho yaad aati, pehlay kee tarhaan

Ek Umr~ beeth gayee hay tum hee ko chahtay chahtay
Meri nafs hee hay bataati, pehlay kee tarhaan

Come... Come... Yet Again...

For Allah who sends down love, unmeasured
Come.

Come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, worshiper, lover of learning,
It doesn’t matter.

Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times.
Come, come yet again.

Come.

Rumi

Beauty-P or Bea-UTP :P

Creative with the title right? Hehe...I know its lame. But that's what today's post is about. Beauty as UTP sees it. I used the same content for a Toastmaster's speech this last Tuesday so thought I might as well make use of the effort and make a blog post out of it.

There is a famous folk story about Laila Majnoo. I am sure many people have heard of it. It goes that Laila was very dark in complexion and yet Majnoo was crazy about her. Let me narrate a beautiful verse...

Loagan aakhiya Majnay toon, oh tedi Laila rang dee kaali...
Majnoo aay jawab ditta, tu sakoon akh nahi dekharn wali...

Which roughly translates, people asked Majnoo, that your Laila is dark in complexion and Majnoo replied you don't have the eyes that see her beauty.

Its a point to quote the stereotype, "Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder." That's exactly what I believe in as well.

The glossy magazine & advertisements showing zero-figure appearances of super-models females or otherwise have just distorted the image of beauty that we originally had. The true sense of beauty has got lost somewhere.

Ask the mother. Is your child beautiful? What a ridiculous question right?

Let me ask you. Is your mother beautiful? Are her wrinkly hands beautiful to you? I would probably get beat up if I ask that in public.

I can  tell you from personal experience that a new born baby in the hands of the father is the most beautiful and purest sight existent today. Unfortunately, the baby soon grows up and gets introduced to the pre-conceived notion of beauty as we have accepted as a given now. Soon she will realize that its a completely different version that is assumed by everyone so it must be true.

I fear a day when my daughter comes up to me and asks me, "Baby, am I ugly?" Now, what do I reply to that? Just because somebody called her ugly, she would come up and ask me that right?

I think the word ugly was just invented for the sake of it. They would have had the word beautiful since God made everybody beautiful. Then the devil's advocate came in and asked, "Who do we call somebody who is not beautiful?" And the so-called smart man who had been given intellect came up with the Smart Alec reply..."I know, I know...lets call it ugly..."

Ugly in itself has no stance whatsoever.

My question is, who are we to define the element of beauty? How did we assume that we have the right to call anybody ugly? Its just so unfair and displays extreme arrogance.

Is it looks? Most people believe so. Whether we accept or not, we do get attracted to beautiful and handsome, don't we? Well OK so God made them good-looking, beautiful-looking but that doesn't exactly mean that they are beautiful right. In the truest sense, beauty is something much more deeper.

It is something beyond the obvious. Its like you see a really juicy red apple and when you take a bite, it could be rotten inside. Its much much more deeper. Its not about the skin and more about the heart and soul. Its about the good deeds. Its about the behavior and nature.

When we judge beauty with our eyes, we can only see what is visible which is the skin, the appearance. I think in order to be able to see real beauty we need to open the eye of the soul so that we are able to see the other souls around as well.

Beauty can be different for different people. But the roots are very close.

In continuation from the verse above, let me take the next verse...

Chittay warq quran day, oh jehn kay siyahi rang dee kaali...

oh jehn naal dil arh paway, oh gori huay ya kaali...

Roughly translated as,

The paper of The Holy Quran is white as well. It only starts making sense when the Black ink falls on it. Majnoo trys to explain in a form of philosophy. When the heart likes somebody then it doesn't matter whether that person is white or black. WAH!!!

Beauty is what your eyes see. The purity of your heart will be able to see the beauty everywhere just like God created it. Just like He wanted you to see it. Take the material curtains off your eyes and open the eye of your heart.

There is nothing artificial about it. Look around you. Look at your home, your work, your school. Look at how beautiful God made this world. Go out and look at this world in a different way. See how the world looks back at you in a different way. Lets get back to the basics. Lets get back to the real beauty that exists even today.

How long will the assumed artificial beauty last anyway? 10 years? 20 years? Life is much longer than that, isnt it?

Death

I believe one of the greatest motivators we have in this life is Death. The presence of death in this life gives it much more meaning to make worthwhile. Every time one remembers that death will come upon the most strongest and the most successful, one can easily make every second count. Make every effort 100%.

The death of my grandmother this last Wednesday has left me lost for words. I feel like I cant move on. Her prayers were a very important part of my so claimed self-motivation. She was one of my most honest well-wishers. Where I feel I have lost a very important part of my motivation, I also feel this is a question asked by my fate.

The question states, "Will you be able to motivate yourself more, Umar?"

You have lost a huge part of your support system that has kept you going in the toughest of times. "Can you find it within you, Umar?"

I dont know if I can answer that question. But I know, this death is going to be more than just a soul leaving this world to rest in peace. This is going to leave a hole which is will be left till eternity. I know, I cant fill this. Nobody can. However, I know that her taught lessons and her unmatched will power will come out to get me through this.

Death being inevitable can be simple motivation. But the death of a close relative can be a challenge that sets up the stage for breaking through and find infinite motivation. I am looking out for that. Setting up goals to prove that you taught me well grandma. Your grandson will face this world alone. Sigh.

Six Truths in Your Life

SIX Truths of Life

1. You cannot touch all your top teeth with your tongue.

2. All idiots, after reading the first truth, will try it.

3. And discover that The first truth is a lie.

4. You're smiling now because you're an idiot.

5. You soon will share this with another idiot.

6. There's still a stupid smile on your face.

I apologize about this, I'm an idiot and I needed company .......!!!! I am allowed a mindless post once in a while, right?

Finally The Light...The Meaning...

I was absolutely moved by the following few lines said by Sachal Sarmast and sung by Abida Parveen,

...Aakhir woh matlab paa liya, Murshid nay jo hum say kaha...

...Bin Ishq-e-Dilbur kay Sachal, kya Kufr kya Islam hay...

Translation & My Two Cents:

We have found and truly understood the meaning of the lesson that the Murshid (teacher or guide) wanted to tell us. The lesson was that without the deep and true love for your Beloved (God), there is no Islam or Non-Islam or Kufr. This is the word used for the religion of the Kafir (non-believers). First step is finding the love for Him and then comes defining a religion or way of life around it.

The point is that its about the real love for whoever you follow. No matter which religion you follow or what your inspiration is. There wouldn't be any difference between you and anybody else if you don't have that real love. It is important to define the word "ISHQ" which defines a much higher degree of love than "Muhabbat". You have to reach that real high level of love to start defining what religion really is all about.

So if we look at ourselves, we just feel we were lucky to be born whoever we are. We think we are blessed just by being born as we are. That is what will save us and make us successful in this life or after-life for those who believe in it. But there is more...its not as simple as that.

There is no difference between a non-religious Muslim or a non-religious Non-Muslim. Think about it. Once we become materialistic and let life and things around us start controlling our decisions, we are no different than the people we hate. Only when we become spiritual and find peace within ourselves do we truly start "Feeling" successful.

To take it a little further, its that what any religion is all about. "Love" for God.

So that my friends is today's motivational message. Find that spiritual love within you and see the difference in your life. Don't let religion define your life. Let Love for Him come first. Let religion be the second step.

That is the truest lesson of this life. Rest all is well ordinary and quite simple to do. This lesson is what really leads. Eveything else in life just follows.