Learning from Kids

Five-year-old Zaynab Khan stopped by the Islamic Relief USA office in Buena Park, CA to drop off a special gift for flood victims in Pakistan. Read her story of giving as told by her mother, Fadia.

“Mimi, I just saw some people in Pakistan swimming in water and it looks not so clean. It’s a little bit brown. Actually, it’s really brown.”

Zaynab wakes up every morning and tells me about her dreams, typically consisting of princesses, glitter, the color pink and sliding down rainbows. This morning, however, she stood behind me in the kitchen in her pajamas looking a bit confused.

I found out she had recently seen images of the floods in Pakistan on the computer with her dad. My husband and I are so used to seeing images of devastation and terror that we have become desensitized. Children, however, are still innocent. My daughter could not fathom such things. She asked why the water was so brown and why it was everywhere. She saw a man grasping his two children and swimming with a terrified look on his face and asked why the people couldn’t just move and buy a new home and new clothes. Because she has visited Pakistan in the past, she asked if all my relatives she had met were okay. And then she asked, “What can we do?”

I told her there are two things we can do: pray for the people suffering and then help in whatever way we can. She offered to send some of her toys, jewelry and nail polish to the displaced children. I explained that it would be better to send money so that they can buy food, medicine and clothing. I then told her to go upstairs and pick out her clothes for the day and wait for me to come upstairs and bathe her.

A few minutes later, Zaynab came back downstairs still in her pajamas, hair disheveled, with a pink Velcro Disney princess’s wallet she got from Disneyland. She opened it and began to count her life-savings. It included money accumulated for losing teeth and visits to her adoring grandparents: a grand total of $107. She held the money in her pudgy hands and said, “I think I want to give this to Pakistan.” She said she wanted to give it all.

I tried to contain my tears. My heart was bursting with both pride and shame as I saw my five-year-old daughter write a letter in red crayon to the flood victims. I was proud because here was my daughter who gave everything she had saved to people in need without flinching. She did not hesitate for a second to think about the things she had wanted to buy. I had told her before that when you give money to needy people, Allah (SWT) will send you more than what you gave. I was ashamed because I had not emptied out my wallet the same way Zaynab had.

As adults we always find excuses: the government is corrupt, the money won’t go where it is supposed to, I can’t give so much because I need to buy X,Y,Z, I don’t know where to send it, I will do it later. For Zaynab it was so easy. She saw an image, she took out her money and she asked how she could get it to Pakistan. When I told her we would give it to Islamic Relief and they would take it over there, she wrote a letter. It said:

“For Pakistan. There is a flood in Pakistan. I hope this helps.”

She then proceeded to draw colorful hearts and flowers. I was reminded of the words of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”

Though she couldn’t comprehend the disparity in lifestyles (most of us cannot), Zaynab wanted the people of Pakistan to have the girly things she loved. She drafted her letter with drawings she loved and finally, she sealed it with stickers she loved.

Why do we morally degenerate as we grow older? Why do we become so cynical and desensitized? The first lesson that children learn in school is to share, and it is the first lesson we forget as we graduate school. As we grow up, we are told to stop behaving like children, but it is these childlike qualities that make the best of humans.

Cooking week one

Day One: Mixed vegetable pakodas and french fries served in pakoda style!

Day One: Guava Chaat

Day Two: Bread Pakodas

Day Three: Deep fried Momos

Perspective

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
 
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
 
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the trip?'
 
'It was great, Dad.'
 
'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked.
 
'Oh yeah,' said the son.
 
'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father.
 
The son answered:
 
'I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
 
We have a pool  that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
 
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
 
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
 
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
 
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
 
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
 
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.'
 
The boy's father was speechless.
 
Then his son added,  'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.'
 
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.
 
Appreciate every single thing you have....

Mahe Ramadhan Mubarak!

The joy of SEHRI

The hunger before IFTAR

The sweet recitation of the QURAN

The awaiting of SALAAT time

MAHE RAMADHAN is here!!

MUBARAK!

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.!

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant .

Bird spotting this week

Kids in school think quick

__________________________________________________________
TEACHER: Why are you late, Frank?
FRANK: Because of the sign.
TEACHER: What sign?
FRANK: The one that says, "School Ahead, Go Slow."
___________________________________________________________
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables!
___________________________________________________________

TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell "crocodile?"
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-A-I-L"
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it s wrong, but you asked me how I spell it!
___________________________________________________________
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O!!
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O!
___________________________________________________________

TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
___________________________________________________________
TEACHER: Goss, why do you always get so dirty?
GOSS: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
___________________________________________________________
TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with "I."
MILLIE: I is...
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, "I am."
MILLIE: All right... "I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."
___________________________________________________________
TEACHER: Can anybody give an example of COINCIDENCE?
TINO: Sir, my Mother and Father got married on the same day, same time."
___________________________________________________________
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted doing it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish  him?"
LOUIS: Because George still had the ax in his hand.
___________________________________________________________
TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
___________________________________________________________
TEACHER: Clyde, your composition on "My Dog" is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE: No, teacher, it's the same dog!;
__________________________________________________________
TEACHER: Harold, what do! you call a person who keeps on talking when people  are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher.

The week that was... [31 July - 7 Aug 2010]

On Saturday dad took us out for dinner... we had this amazing kebab platter with pineapple mock tails! slurp!

My very lush haul!

Cleaning up old laptop for mom...

Cleaned and re-organized my jewellery and perfume storage

The very FIRST bottle of perfume that I finished!! Yay!!! 

Its my very favourite one and i already have two back up bottles... hehehe!

 

Just because i wanted to....

New twitter BG!

Mouse in cockpit

This will make you laugh !

After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a 'gripe sheet,' which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by UPS maintenance engineers.

By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever had an accident.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.

*
P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.
*
P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.
*
P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.
*
P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200-feet-per-minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.
*
P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.
*
P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.
*
P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.
*
P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF is always inoperative in OFF mode.
*
P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.
*
P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.
*
P: Aircraft handles funny. (I love this one!)
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right and be serious.
*
P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics..
*
P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.
*
And the best one for last
*
P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from the midget

Inspire someone today

Indians Abroad Vs Indians in India

I would like to sum up our performance in the 20th century in one sentence. Indians have succeeded in countries ruled by whites, but failed in their own.

This outcome would have astonished leaders of our independence movement. They declared Indians were kept down by white rule and could flourish only under self-rule. This seemed self-evident The harsh reality  today is that Indians are succeeding brilliantly in countries ruled by whites, but failing in India . They are flourishing in the USA and Britain .

But those that stay in India are pulled down by an outrageous system that fails to reward merit or talent. Fails to allow people and businesses to grow, and keeps real power with netas, babus, and assorted manipulators. Once Indians go to white-ruled countries, they soar and conquer summits once occupied only by whites.

Rono Dutta has become head of United Airlines, the biggest airline in the world. Had he stayed in India , he would have no chance in Indian Airlines. Even if the top job there was given to him by some godfather, a myriad netas, babus and trade unionists would have ensured that he could never run it like United Airlines.

Rana Talwar has become head of Standard Chartered Bank, one of the biggest multinational banks in Britain , while still in his 40s. Had he been in India , he would perhaps be a local manager in the State Bank, taking orders from babus to give  loans to politically favoured clients.

Rajat Gupta is head of Mckinsey, the biggest management consultancy firm in the world. He now advises the biggest multinationals on how to run their business. Had he remained in India he would probably be taking orders from some sethji with no qualification save that of being born in a rich family.

Lakhsmi Mittal has become the biggest steel baron in the world, with steel plants in the US , Kazakhstan , Germany , Mexico , Trinidad and Indonesia . India 's socialist policies reserved the domestic steel industry for the public sector. So Lakhsmi Mittal went to Indonesia to run his family's first steel plant there. Once freed from the shackles of India , he conquered the world.

Subhash Chandra of Zee TV has become a global media king, one of the few to beat Rupert Murdoch. He could never have risen had he been limited to India , which decreed a TV monopoly for Doordarshan. But technology came to his aid: satellite TV made it possible for him to target India from Hong Kong . Once he escaped Indian rules and soil, he soared.

You may not have heard of 48-year old Gururaj Deshpande. His communications company, Sycamore, is currently valued by the US stock market at over $ 30 billion, making him perhaps one of the richest Indians in the world. Had he remained in India , he would probably be a babu in the Department of Telecommunications.

Arun Netravali has become president of Bell Labs, one of the biggest research and development centres in the world with 30,000 inventions and several Nobel Prizes to its credit. Had he been in India , he would probably be struggling in the middle cadre of Indian Telephone Industries. Silicon Valley alone contains over one lac Indian millionaires.

Sabeer Bhatia invented Hotmail and sold it to Microsoft for $ 400 million. Victor Menezes is number two in Citibank. Shailesh Mehta is CEO of Providian, a top US financial services company. Also at or near the top are Rakesh Gangwal of US Air, Jamshd Wadia of Arthur Andersen, and Aman Mehta of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp.

In Washington DC , the Indian CEO High Tech Council has no less than 200 members, all high tech-chiefs. While Indians have soared, India has stagnated. At independence India was the most advanced of all colonies, with the best prospects.

Today with a GNP per head of $370, it occupies a lowly 177th position among 209 countries of the world. But poverty is by no means the only or main problem. India ranks near the bottom in the UNDP's Human Development Index, but high up in Transparency International's Corruption Index.

The neta-babu raj brought in by socialist policies is only one reason for India 's failure. The more sordid reason is the rule-based society we inherited from the British Raj is today in tatters. Instead money,muscle and influence matter most.

At independence we were justly proud of our politicians. Today we regard them as scoundrels and criminals. They have created a jungle of laws in the holy name of socialism, and used these to line their pockets and create patronage networks. No influential crook suffers. The Mafia flourish unhindered because they have political links.

The sons of police officers believe they have a licence to rape and kill (ask the Mattoo family). Talent cannot take you far amidst such rank misgovernance. We are reverting to our ancient feudal system where no rules applied to the powerful. The British Raj brought in abstract concepts of justice for all, equality before the law. These were maintained in the early years of independence. But sixty years later, citizens wail that India is a lawless land where no rules are obeyed.

I have heard of an IAS probationer at the Mussorie training academy pointing out that in India before the British came, making money and distributing favours to relatives was not considered a perversion of power, it was the very rationale of power.  A feudal official had a duty to enrich his family and caste. Then the British came and imposed a new ethical code on officials. But, he asked, why should we continue to choose British customs over desi ones now that we are independent?

The lack of transparent rules, properly enforced, is a major reason why talented Indians cannot rise in India . A second reason is the neta-babu raj, which remains intact despite supposed liberalisation. But once talented Indians go to rule-based societies in the west, they take off. In those societies all people play by the same rules, all have freedom to innovate without being strangled by regulations.

This, then, is why Indians succeed in countries ruled by whites, and fail in their own. It is the saddest story of the century.                                                                   

Hmmm....interesting...wonder where I went wrong then! 

Pink Teddy!

Give it a Little Time!

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake.

They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, "I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there."

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid.

The disciple thought, "How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!"

So he came back and told Buddha, "The water in there is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink."

After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake.

This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same.

After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back. The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, "See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be.... and the mud settled down on its own - and you got clear water. Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless".