IPFC magazine.pdf

8/14/2019 IPFC magazine.pdf

1/30


2/30

Greetings,

Today, on New Years occasion, we would like to gift you the very first IPFC

Magazine. We are proud to launch the only magazine which features writers

from both nations. The mission of IPFC magazine is to promote Unity in

Diversity, eliminate misunderstandings, augment friendliness and harmony

among the fellow people of India and Pakistan, increase awareness of the

IPFC, and help IPFC achieve new heights.

This special issue will walk you through the history of IPFC, introduce you

to the changes IPFC brought in ones life, enlighten you with an old but

relatively less popular field of the medicineHomeopathymake you smile

with the poetry, make your nerves fire rapidly with the mind boggling

games, and last but not the least strengthen the bonds between the people of

IPFC from both countries.

Our special thank goes to the IPFC writers, Aminur Rashid, Anurag

Chaturvedi, and Arsalan Jamshed, without whom, this publication wouldn't

have been possible. We hope you will have fun reading YOUR magazine!

Sincerely,

Kashif Khundmiri and Vipin Gupta

E ditors' N ote:

IPFC Journal Page 1


3/30

3

7

10

13

14

15

16

20

21

23

25

28

IPFC Speaks: Events shaping the IPFC & the Maintenance of the Common

Environment of IPFC

Flashback 2007

Across the Wagah - A journey from Lahore to Bangalore

Plane to Pakistan: and 35 minutes to land!

Unleash India-Pakistan friendship - A student's plea

Viewpoints

Poetry

Fun Facts

Have you ever been curious about Homoeopathy?

Cross Country Expedition

Movie Reviews

Puzzles and games

C O N T E N T S

IPFC Journal Page 2


4/30

Change is in the human nature, is a reason forwars, a cause behind the formation of countries, a

motive to live, and the only thing constant on

earth. An idea for a change was sparked in the

mind of Rahul Mukhergi, the owner of the

community India Pakistan Friendship Club, onOrkuta Google based networking site for

people around the worldwhen Orkut was

launched by Google in January 2004 (Wikipedia,

search term Orkut). Today we are familiar with

that change in the name of India Pakistan

Friendship Club. Rahul was studying in Thailand

when he met with a Pakistani. They both were

partners in a project based on surveys in India

and Pakistan. Soon enough, they became good

friends and realized the common elements in the

cultures of both countries. When Orkut came into

existence, the friendship between two individuals

took the shape of an online community where

similar people from India and Pakistan can

interact with each other from the comfort of their

homes or offices and eliminate the

misunderstandings.

The India Pakistan Friendship Club was created

on May 9, 2004. The first two days, there were

only two members. As time passed by, new

members were attracted to the IPFC and the

population of IPFC started to increaseexponentially. By January 2006, the IPFC

successfully recruited more than 15,000 members

from both sides of the border and by June of same

month, IPFC crossed 20,000 members. Now, there

are more than 97,200 members and soon enough

the population of IPFC will surpass the 100,000th

mark. This rapid increase only portrays the

change of hearts and emergence of love for the

person from the other side of the border.

RUK (Rukh) JAAYENGE NEHI (Nahin) KAHI (Kahin) HUM HAAR KE (Mein)

KAL YEH JAHA (Jahaan) BADLAYENGE (Badlenge) HUMYEH WAADA RAHA

HUMARA (Hamara Aapse)! (Rahul Mukherji, community description of IPFC onOrkut).

Translation: We will never stop in any situation Tomorrow, we will change this

world This is our promise to you!

Similarly to any major organization, IPFC also

went through times and events which shaped

the IPFC that is visible today. The formation of

IPFC SNOBS in November 2004, the hacking of

the community in January 2006,the fight

between the moderators in April 2007 and the

return of the common environment after eachevent shaped the IPFC. All these incidents

were seen as the Berlin Wall which was

presumed to be the permanent divisions of

IPFC but never the less, the love across borders

brought down these walls and things at IPFC

returned to normal.

The beginning days of IPFC were dull and

uninteresting, like every new community. New

threads were rarely started. By the start of

August 2004, new threads were formed on adaily basis. As days passed by, new members

started joining the IPFC and this in turn

increased the thread count. By the end of

September 2004, the new-thread count

increased to an average of ten new threads a

day. As members increased, the threads

increased however, the spamming of the

community also increased. People from both

sides started grouping together in IPFC. One

such group named IPFC SNOBS was formed in

the IPFC. They separated themselves as

serious debaters. These active debaters were

regularly interfered by the hijackingposting

long blank posts with an intention to annoy

peopleof their threads. Orkut was not very

well developed at that time and it only allowed

only the owner to act like a moderator. Because

owner was not able to log in round the clock,

there was difficulty moderating the threads to

stop the hijacking.

IPF C S peaks: E vents S haping the IPF C & the M aintenance

of the C ommon E nvironment of IPF C

IPFC Journal Page 3


5/30

The hijackers had fun interfering in the

discussion of the IPFC SNOBS members.

Frustrated with these hijackers and with the

lack of moderating, this group of

individuals went on to create a new

community in the name of IPFC SNOBS

which has strict criterion for membership.

This separation was seen as a partition of

IPFC. Nevertheless, more people joined

IPFC and things returned to normal. Like

always, there were threads directing the

other country and people started arguments

over the deficiencies both nations had.

People became good friends of each other,

love stories were observed between manyIPFCians, and again the groups were

formed. In February 2005 a group separated

themselves from IPFC in a new community

named Ripples which was eventually

deleted by the owner of that community.

Things came back to normal again and the

force of IPFC kept increasing. New

members became active and some old

members were hardly spotted. No matter

how busy a life of the IPFCian became, IPFC

was never inactive. Soon after theseparation of the RIPPLE, the India-

Pakistan region observed a major

earthquake which left thousands homeless.

Members at IPFC formed their local

extensions and helped the victims of the

earthquake in every form. A member of the

IPFC, Malaika Raza, came forward by

forming a IPFC London chapter known as

Londonmet Indo-Pak Society and collected

donations to go to the victims of the Indo-

Pak earthquake. During this time period,

IPFCians got closer to each other, formed

stronger bonds and kept the spirit of IPFC

alive.

On one fine dayJanuary 27, 2006IPFC

was hacked with a simple phishing website.

Rahul, as usual was in his office, carelessly

logged in to Orkut using a phishing

website. His ID was hacked and the IPFC

was transferred to a person with the screen

names Bad boy and King Khan.

This event shook everyone in IPFC. Earliest

members like Anurag, Aminur and Abhinav

received hundreds of messages and calls with

the same question: who hacked the IPFC? These

members were determined to get IPFC back

from the ill-minded hacker. They spoke to

people at Google Inc. and were asked to

register a complaint in Orkut and get a case id

number. The next day on January 28, 2006,

Rahul issued his statement on IPFC in a thread

named IPFC or No IPFC: Mission Remains! and

fortunately, it was not deleted by the evil

hacker. His statement was as follows:

.IPFC or NO IPFC: Mission Remains!

Well, it is unfortunate that someone has hacked mypassword to change the ownership in IPFC. Ithappened during my office hours so I was reallycareless about putting my password in the fakewebsite. Lessons learned and now onwards I will bemore careful on things on net.

Somebody throwing me out of IPFC community,which I created, will not stop me from the missionof India Pakistan Friendship. IPFC community doestell us that there are thousands across the border whowant solution to problems and peace in the sub-continent.

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, thismight be small but surely one of the means by whichwe arrive at that goal. I am still not aware why wasa friendship community hacked. The purpose of thehacker can only give you feeling that he can destroythe spirit of the community. Hacking is a criminaloffense. Google has been informed and Orkutsupport will look into the matter next week. Wehave been given a ticket #45079920 from Orkut helpdesk.

IPFC is a friendship club. Its a meeting ground ofpeople across the border. I might have been invisiblein creating threads but I did moderate anything,

which is hitting friendship with IPFC members help.I know sometimes some not so important threads get

popular. Not everybody wants to discuss seriousissue. SUCCESS OF IPFC IS IN MAKINGPEOPLE INTERACT AT VERY GROUNDLEVEL. Serious topics do take place at IPFC butsometimes due to large no. of members posting largeno. of forum it disappears from the top 5 very fast.But again sorry to those who feel I moderated

poorly. Well, all I can say I am such a point of mycareer where sitting on for 24 hours will put me outof IBM.

IPFC Journal Page 4


6/30

I have always asked people to send me links incase you find some abusive or anti friendshipcomments. I always made sure it was deleted andthe member was banned (after a warning ofcourse) from IPFC.

In case you are just looking for serious discussionI had always suggested you join community likeRipples, IPFC Snobs, India Pakistan andKashmir. I have no issues on that. In fact sincethese communities are better moderated I wantthem to grow as well.

MY AIM IS FOR INDIA PAKISTANFRIENSHIP. I DON"T CARE HOW ITHAPPENS AND WHERE IT HAPPENS... ASLONG AS IT HAPPENS.

I started working for Indo-Pak friendship since1999 but it was 2001 when I really got attachedto the movement through PAKISTAN INDIAPEOPLES FORUM FOR PEACE ANDDEMOCRACY. www.pipfpd.org. Though mywork life makes me an inactive member but I ama supporter of the great cause and mission thatPIPFPD has taken up. When I started the IPFCcommunity in May last year I never expected thiskind of response from the Orkut members.This

just tells us that our generation has realized theimportance of peace and friendship.

We need to keep our goal and mission slow butsteady. We should also try and come out of OUT-

OF-THE-WEB and try to do some thingsubstantial. We together should dream of the daywhen we will bury the hatched of the past andshare a smiling future together.

The day when we will able to give a solution tothe Kashmir problem and see the Dal lake fillednot with blood but the Shikaras. We all shouldlook forward for the day. It might take some time

but I am sure it will happen in our lifetimesomewhere soon.I dont whether I will get back the ownership ofIPFC or not but thank you guys for the support.IPFC or no IPFC our mission remains the same.

Peace!'Rahul Mukherji'

Some people lost hope to get back thecommunity and went ahead to create a new

IPFC named India Pakistan GenNext Club.

Anyone who raised his/her voice against the

hacker in the IPFC was banned from the

community. Because this hacker was of

Pakistan origin, many Pakistanis who were

respected because of their interest in

Friendship showed their true color under the

guidance of the hacker. Some Pakistanis firmly

opposed the hacker and were martyred their

membership from the IPFC. Members from

both sides of the border who used to fight

against each other became one soul and fought

the hacker. After many efforts the IPFC was

back to its rightful owner, Rahul, on March 3,2006. The hacker was banned and people who

thought the IPFC will never be back to normal

were left embarrassed. People celebrated the

victory against the hacker.

Things came back to normal and the bond

between IPFCians was strengthened. Months

passed by and the normal environment of

IPFC was kept alive. Just after the first

anniversary of the defeat of the hacker, on

April 17, 2007 the personal grudges of themoderators turned into a fire which burned

down many fine members of IPFC. A simple

decision by Anurag caused the great IPFC fire.

Anurag banned a member named Xia for his

comments about IPFC and Hindus outside of

IPFC and for his past abusive activities. His

decision was questioned by other moderators.

A moderator, Smitha, went on and un-banned

Xia. Her act brought in egos of the

moderators. Anurag issued a fine statement in

response asking other moderators to not tointerfere or try to reverse the decision he took.

IPFC Journal Page 5


7/30

This issue of IPFC was turned to the battle of

egos of all moderators. Mass banning was

done without any reports in the Mod-only

thread, many threads were deleted, people

raised there voice against the dictatorship and

few who acted boldly became heroes of IPFC.Arsalan Jamshed went on to ban Anurag for

his dictatorship and he resigned from the

moderator post. This Great Fire of IPFC took

away members like Arsalan, Smitha and

many more with it. Few people were brought

back from that fire and few are yet to come

back. Even the Fire of IPFC was not able to

intervene in the mission of IPFC. Again, the

relations strengthened, people from across the

borders became good friends, and the

common environment came back to IPFC

again.

IPFC went through phases which were each

seen as a dissection of the mission of IPFC but

the same divisions only reinforced the bonds

between IPFCians. Today, the mission of IPFC

reached new heights with the launch of the

IPFC radio, the IPFC Magazine and many

other real life advancements. From the very

beginning, we all have contributed to the

changing relations between the India and the

Pakistan and we will only increase our

contributions to this change. Truly, since thelaunch of this forum on Orkut, we are

following the opening description of the

community: Yeh Jahaan Badlenge Hum, Yeh

Waada Raha Hamara

Citations:

Launch of Orkut on Wikepedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkut

IPFC community description:

http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=55961

Chit Chat: IPFC History:http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=55961

&tid=2467743704123443663&na=1&nst=1

Banned People from this Community, started by the

Hacker after hacking the IPFC:

http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=55961

&tid=2444544676636110640&na=1&nst=1

Rahuls statement a day after the hacking of this

community, IPFC or NO IPFC: Mission Remains!:


&tid=2444814228776008687&na=1&nst=1

IPFC SNOBS: http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?

cmm=709633Moderators Only Thread, a look in to the Great IPFC

Fire: http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=

55961&tid=2495365753348032975&na=3&nst=372&nid=

55961-2495365753348032975-2527179840977545875

Breaking News, Smitha quits over Anurags words, a

thread from the times of the Great IPFC Fire:


&tid=2527336027473755242

IPFC Mission in your hand!, Rahuls plea to end the

battle of the egos:


&tid=2527880264227732463Malaika Raza once ran the Londonmet Indo-Pak

Society, which she believes to me a real life extention of

IPFC: http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=

762567

Private Chat with Anurag and Aminur is also a source

of information.

- Kashif Khundmiri

IPFC Journal Page 6


8/30

While india accelerated its march towardseconomic prosperity ,pakistan made some decisive

leaps on the road to democracy. Here we take

a look at some of the pathbreaking developmentsthat occurred in 2007.

1: Surge of the Sensex:

The Sensex shot from around 14000 in beginning

of the year to cross the magical mark of 20000 on

29th October 2007.It was a long slow journey, as

the indian economy shed its socialist baggage and

underwent reform. It took 20 years to rise from

1000 to 10000, but only 20 months to make the next

10000.The total value of the stocks making up the

BSE Sensex is Rs. 2838000 crores, enough to buy

47300 Boeing 777 dreamliners!

2:Indo - US nuclear deal

President Bush and Indian Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh announced an unprecedented

agreement that would provide U.S. nuclear power

assistance to India while allowing the country to

substantially step up its nuclear weapons

production. The agreement, which marked a

significant break from decades of U.S. nuclear

policy, highlighted the increasingly close

relationship between the world's two largest

democracies and enabled both leaders to declareBush's visit a success. However there were

oppositions in both countries to the agreement,

and the Indian government could not carry

forward the agreement, mainly due to

disagreement with the left parties that support it.

3:20 -20 cricket world cup

India won the inaugaral 20 -20 world cup held in

south africa after a close match against Pakistan in

the final.

4: India Inc. comes of age:

Tata Steel acquired Corus in the largest ever

outbound acquisition by an indian company. The

$12 Billion deal announced to the world, that indianmultinationals had truly arrived, making Tata steel

the worlds' 5th largest player in an industry led by

Lakshmi Mittal owned Arcelor-Mittal.

Subsequently Kumaramanglam Birla's Hindalco

acquired Novelis in a $6 Billion deal. Suzlon

snapped up Areva in a $1.5 Bn deal. Tata tea

completed a succesful bid for Glaceau whereas the

UB group acquired the liquor giant White &

Mackay. Tata Motors has put forward a strong bid

for Jaguar.

Indian economy grew at 9.4%, its fastest rate in 18

years.

5:Democratic process:

Pratibha Patil was elected the first female president

of India. Elections were succesfully held in the

states of Gujrat and HP.

6: Date with terror:

Indian doctor Mohammad Haneef is arrested at

Brisbane Airport, Australia, in connection with the

Glasgow Airport attack. Indians are implicated in

the terror attacks in Glasgow. Dr. Haneef

undertook a long and much publicised court battleagainst the government of Australia to finally win

back his right to stay and work in Australia.

7:The AIDS bugbear

did not turn out to be as scary as the doomsayers

had predicted. The 2006 estimates predicted 2.47

million people with AIDS in india as against the

2006 estimate of 5.7 million. The National AIDS

control project 3 was launched to scale up testing,

prevention and treatment.

Flashback 2007 - Insight India

IPFC Journal Page 7


9/30

Events that shaped Pakistan's march in 2007,bearing a constant hope of normalcy, yet proving

to be a mirage at times. Equally enigmatic are the

actions and designs of the general turnedpresident at the helm of Pakistan's affairs.

an 9 : Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf

dismisses Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad

Chaudhry over serious allegations including abuse

of power.

May 12 : Pakistans suspended Chief Justice

Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry abandons Karachi

rally after clashes leave 30 dead.

uly 20 : Justie Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry isreinstated after being suspended from his position

for four months and 10 days.

August 29 : General Pervez Musharraf agrees to

resign as army chief and appears to be sharing a

pact with former premier Benazir Bhutto

September 10 : Former Prime Minister Nawaz

Sharif is arrested and deported to Saudi Arabia,

four hours after his return from exile.

October 6: President Pervez Musharraf wins theelection for another five-year term.

October 18: Former prime minister Benazir

Bhutto makes a tearful return to Pakistan after

eight years of self-imposed exile. Two major

explosions hit the convoy of Benazir Bhutto,

killing more than 115 people and injuring at least

200 in Karachi.

November 3: General Musharraf declares

emergency rule and suspends the country's

constitution.

November 14: Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician

Imran Khan is arrested and charged under anti-

terrorism laws.

November 20: The Pakistan Election Commission

announces January 8 as the date for parliamentary

elections.

November 22: The reconstituted Supreme Court

dismisses the last challenge to Pervez Musharraf's

re-election in uniform, paving the way for him to be

sworn in for a second term as the president of

Pakistan.

November 25: Former Pakistani prime minister

Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan after seven years

exile in Saudi Arabia.

December 5: The Pakistan government retires 37

judges including Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry,

the former chief justice, who refused to approve

President Pervez Musharraf's emergency power.

December 15: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf

lifts the 41 day emergency rule after makingamendments to six articles.

December 27 : Benazir Bhutto assassinated.

Bhutto was often hailed as the all-important figure

in that return to a parliamentary process.

She waited eight years to go back to Pakistan in an

alleged power-sharing deal with the military ruler,

signed and sealed by the US. As head of a party that

is more about people at the grassroots level, she

was hailed as the hope who might deliver Pakistan

into a more modern and democratic environment,despite corruption cases still pending against her.

Groomed by her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, as she

was grooming her son Bilawal, Benazir became

prime minister of Pakistan for the first time in 1988

but was removed from office 20 months later, on

alleged corruption charges. She returned in 1993, to

fall prey again to similar charges in 1996. There

were those disillusioned by her over the years but

as the decade turned, the strident politician slowly

evolved into a voice for dialogue.

A tough woman, protective mother, an astute

politician, Benazir spoke about the need for a joint

solution to the Kashmir conflict between India and

Pakistan. She was also a vocal proponent against

terrorism, a reason for America choosing her as

their golden bid. With her death, there is a strong

leadership gap in Pakistan's transition from military

rule to democracy.

Road to D emocracy in Pakistan.

IPFC Journal Page 8


10/30

S ports Roundup:

March 18: India and Pakistan make first round

exits from the world cup in west indies. Pakistan

cricket coach Bob Woolmer found dead in hotel

room.

March 19: Inzamam-ul-Haq quits as Pakistan Test

captain and retires from One-Day international

cricket.

April 2: Indias Viswanathan Anand is formally

crowned the world No. 1 in chess with 2,786 rating

points, replacing Veselin Ropalov of Bulgaria at

the top.

September 7: Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar is

expelled from the Twenty20 championship after

hitting his teammate Mohammad Asif.

September 19: Indian left-hander Yuvraj Singh

stormed his way to the record books after

clobbering six sixes in one over off Stuart Broad in

the Twenty20 World Cup against England at

Durban.

September 24: India clinches the inaugural trophy

of the Twenty20 cricket World Cup after beatingPakistan in the finals held at the Wanderers

Stadium in Johannesburg.

September 29: Vishwanathan Anand is crowned

world champion in chess after winning the

marathon tournament in the 2007 World

Championship in Mexico.

November 15: India beat Pakistan by six wickets

to win the fourth One-Day International and

clinch the ODI series by 3-1 in Gwalior.

Ace star Aisamul Haq Qureshi brought laurels for

Pakistan tennis after achieving top honours in

national and international circuit in the year

2007.Along with a series of wins in ITF

tournaments, He also became the first Pakistani

player to appear on Wimbledon main draw singles

after 32 years. Aisam, whose ATP ranking in 2006

was 484 in singles and 380 in doubles, jumped to

125 in singles and 90 in doubles in 2007.

W orld View:

anuary 11: Bangladeshs President Iajuddin

Ahmad resigns as the head of a caretaker

administration following imposition of emergency

but retains hold as titular head.

anuary 13: China and Russia veto a US resolution

in the UN Security Council calling on Myanmars

military junta to stop persecution of minority and

opposition groups.

March 14: At least 14 killed and 39 injured in

Nandigram in India as police open fire to quell

mobs and retake area they lost in January after

unrest over acquisition of farmland for industry.

April 6: The US acknowledges the global

challenge posed by climate change after a report

by UN experts warned of devastating damage to all

continents from global warming. 7 Johnny Hart, a

famous cartoonist and regarded as one of the best,

dies of heart attack at the age of 76. He also co-

created The Wizard of Id, which won numerous

awards.

April 26: President Vladimir Putin launches an

attack against foreign interference in Russian affairsand threatens to withdraw from a key defence

treaty in response to a planned US anti-missile

system in Eastern Europe.

une 7: Leaders of the Group of Eight industrialised

nations agree on the goal of halving emissions of

dangerous greenhouse gases by 2050.

une 24: Storms and torrential rains lash Karachi,

Pakistan, killing 228.

August 4: Heavy monsoon rains which causedrivers to overflow in northern India kill more than

250 people.

September 4: Two successive suicide bombings rip

through the city of Rawalpindi in Islamabad,

Pakistan, killing 25 people and injuring 68.

September 24: More than 100,000 people flood the

streets of Yagon, Myanmar's biggest city, to join the

Buddhist monks' protest against the ruling generals.

IPFC Journal Page 9


11/30

Written by Asma Bashir

Monday, 26 February 2007

It was May 15th of 2005 a usual day in my life. Iwas busy with my office assignment when I got an

invitation from Art of Living Foundation India to

participate in their conference for women rights at

Bangalore. I just gave up the idea due to the

strained relationship between both countries and

registration fee for the conference. My friend

Masoora had a different view and she asked me to

search other options for funding. We talked to the

Naem Zameenda representative of Art of living

Foundation in Pakistan and he gave us a greensingle. He talked to his colleagues in India and

they agreed to waive our conference fee and

offered us for advance course of Art of l iving

foundation at free of cost.

Now Masoora and I got together to gather our

resources for our trip to India. Problem was this

that both of us couldnt afford the trip to

Bangalore by air. It was around about 50 thousand

Pakistani rupees from Islamabad to Bangalore. I

told her that train and bus are the two other

options to go to India. My relatives are living in

India and my family goes there almost after ever

3-4 years by train. But none of them could give us

any advice regarding our travel from Islamabad to

Bangalore via train. Another big problem was this

we both did not want to tell our families that we

are going alone to Bangalore. We told them that

from Delhi another group would accompany us to

Bangalore. My parents were too scared and they

resisted against my decision but I already took it

so they just warned me about the results.

Luckily we did not face any problem in getting the

visa and we got it just in one hour. Not only this

but next day they again granted us an extension of

10 days. My friend and me were pretending tolook very confident but within we were worried

as we were going to India without any train

reservations. On 28th May at 4.00 am we left

Lahore for Delhi. Before leaving my family

advised me to take care of the family values while

talking to my relatives in India, as they all are very

conservative. Furthermore, our one senior friend

advised us to live together not to talk to Hindus

too much dont take anything to eat especially

from a Hindu.

We reached Delhi at 5.30 pm. All roads in Delhi

were crowded badly. It was my first time in Delhiand I was anxious to see the glamorous and old part

of Delhi about which I heard so much since

childhood.

We both were happy that we reached Delhi alive

and without any big hassle. But we didnt know

that worst thing was going to happen. We quickly

reached at Delhi station after buying our return

tickets for Lahore. Rickshaw driver dropped us at

the office of a private travel agent; he took our

passport and 3400 rupees for getting the seats. After

one hour he told that there is no seat for Karnataka

express but he can try for other trains, which were

expensive. He advised us to stay in Delhi for one

night if we still wanted to go through the same

train. I quickly called my relatives in Himachal and

asked about anyone staying in Delhi they told me

that everybody was in Himachal for summer

vacations. Travel agent asked us not to tell anybody

that we are Pakistanis as we did not have visa for

Delhi and then we can be held liable for illegal stay,

though our entry and exit point was Delhi. This was

the time that our whole motivation to visit India

and the realization that we are at a foreign land

started biting us. Masoora asked me to contact

conference organizers. I looked at her surprisinglyas it was 9.00 pm but we did not have any other

option. I called the conference organizer in

Bangalore with speedy heartbeats. Surprisingly the

lady was too much supportive and gave us another

number of a women living in Delhi. We called that

women and she asked us to wait for some time. We

called her again after a few minutes and she gave us

the phone number of another woman called Rashmi

Paliwal living in Vasant Vihar. We were a little bit

relaxed after talking to Rashmi. She informed us

that her driver would soon pick us.

It was 11.30 pm and there was no sign of Rashmis

driver. Masoora and I were trying to console eachother but we both knew that we were in serious

trouble. The market at Ajmeri gate was closing

down. Masoora started crying and praying. Travel

agents were really very good and they were

consoling that see if nobody will pick you we can

arrange your stay but we were uncertain about their

sincerity. It was 12.00 am now I called Rashmi again

and she told that driver had left two hours before.

Her driver did not have any cell phone so it was

really hard to trace him.

A cross the Wagah - A journey fromL ahore to B angalore

IPFC Journal Page 10


12/30

Imagine two single, alone girls standing outside

Ajmeri gate with no hope of finding any

trustworthy place. I started crying that why the

hell we were so foolish to came into this countrywithout any information and link? We were also

uncertain that whether we would be able to go

back to Pakistan to meet our family? Whether we

would be alive till tomorrow? These hotel agents

might take us to some brothels or anywhere else

from where there would be no way to come back.

Suddenly the boy standing outside at the PCO told

us that there is one car with the same number for

which we were waiting. The Driver Jyoti Singh

was finding us on Railways travel office for

foreigners. He was returning back to Rashmi when

he suddenly thought to check at private travelagents offices.

We were so happy that we did not say thanks to

the travel agents also who took our care during

that hard time. We just took our passports and

money and jumped into Rahmis car. After 30

minutes the car stopped in front of a beautiful

house in Vasant Vihar. Rashmi received us and

asked for food but we were so happy and tired

that we just asked for a bed. The AC in our room

was not working. Rashmi was quite concerned

about our rest. Though we told her that we are

habitual of living without AC it does not make any

difference. But she did not listen and sent us in the

basements lounge to sleep, which was quite cool.

We slept and got up early in the morning with

some familiar chants of Bhajans. Rashmi was

playing with Sitar and we listened to her. She told

us that there would be a short gathering of Art of

living people to have Long Karya (exercise). We

participated in that exercise, at the end Rashmi

requested all people to see if they can arrange any

ticket for us through their links to Bangalore.

People were surprised that how come two girls

from Pakistan came to Delhi alone? They were

more surprised to see that none of us was wearingBurka and we both were already working in our

own fields actively.

At night we met Rashmis mother and her elder

sister. Rashmis mother was born and raised up in

Rawalpindi my home state. She was badly missing

Pakistan and wanted to go their again. She was

asking about old areas of Rawalpindi and quickly

recognized the area of Masooras residence. She

asked us to stay with her again upon our return.

It was 7.00 pm and we were supposed to leave.

Rashmis cook was used to make small chappatttis.

We told him that your 7 breads are equal to 2

Pakistani breads. For our food he put more than 25chappatis in our lunch box.

We both slept quietly at night. Early in the morning

I saw Masoora was sitting with some other family

playing antakshari. I also took part in it and

suddenly my team was almost winning. The other

team was surprised as I was singing Pakistani songs

and they never heard that songs. They blame our

team for singing unknown songs. Then we

explained about ourselves and their response was

quite surprising. Again they were surprised to hear

that we both work in the offices and we dont wear

Burka or scarf. Finally we reached at Bangalore on

1st June 2005.We exchanged phone emails with all the people and

left the station in a happy mood. We got an auto

rickshaw. I stopped at a post office to post some

paper of my one friend to Delhi and to call my

relatives in Pune. one of my cousin lived in

Bangalore; his mother was surprised to hear that I

reached so quickly in Bangalore and alone. The auto

Rickshaw asked from Masoora Are you Muslim?

Masoora was scared and she said NO. Later on

we came to know that he was also a Muslim and he

saw Masoora praying silently in rickshaw.

We met a girl at ashram who showed us our room,

which was quite good and airy. The girl was too

much excited about Pakistanis and wanted to see

this land. Everybody was so helpful and friendly at

the ashram. We were famous in the whole ashram

by the name of brave girls who came alone to

Bangalore.

We were worried about our tickets to go back to

Delhi and I asked my cousin but he was too much

busy and he apologized to help in this matter. We

both decided to go again to the city. Again we did

not have much money so we took the bus towards

the city got our seats and decided to roam around

the city. Everybody in the shop asked us fromwhere we are? Because we were speaking

Urdu/Hindi and we thought that they can recognize

us. We were too scared to roam in the markets. We

did buy some small things and came back to

Ashram.



13/30

On 11th June at 3.00 pm we left the ashram to go

back to Delhi. I met my one net friend at Bangalore

station who was a journalist. We waited for himfor 2 hrs. He promised to be there at 3.00 but

reached at 5.00pm. Masoora was quite angry due

to these things. We both decided that as we have

to stay for one day in Delhi so we would not tell

anybody during the journey about our

whereabouts. There were two young guys sitting

in front of us who passed a smile to us but we

ignored them. There were two other old Bihari

men sitting near us. There language was totally

unknown to us. We were scared from these Bihari

men.

I suddenly remembered old Indian movies wherea young girl is traveling alone in the train and

somebody kidnaps her and leaves her at brothel.

We both did not sleep till 4 .00 am. Finally they left

after 4 in the morning and then we slept. When I

got up the other two young guys said hello to us

again and this time I forcibly replied and started

reading newspaper. One of them asked whether I

am a student. I told him that I am a student who

came to Bangalore to attend that conference. I was

not interested in talking to them.

One of them offered us biscuits and Masoora whowas too hungry quickly accepted it. I was shocked

because last night we both vowed that we are not

going to talk anybody in the train. But then we

finally started talking to each other.

Both guys Sudhir and Manish were too friendly

and they were working in Bangalore. We enjoyed

our travel with them in till half of the way.

We talked to several other travelers also who were

very happy to hear that we are Pakistanis. My

uncle and cousin from Himachal came to pick us.

We went to stay with them in Najaf Garh. Next

day I called Rashmi and told her that we have got

our stay in Delhi her mother was very sad to hear

that we will not meet her again. On 15th June we

left Delhi early in the morning at 4.00 am for

Lahore. We were missing our home badly. When

we reached Wagah border we both started

jumping happily that we did it we did it.

It was really the most memorable and challenging

journey of my life. I would say that until and

unless we will meet each other face-to-face we

would believe media and politicians emitting

venom against each other. There is lot of myths on

both sides of border against each other. In India

people think that Pakistani girls are oppressed

badly they are illiterate, do not study and are just

imprisoned at home. The situation is quite

different women living in metro cities are totally

different from the ones that are living in ruralareas. They also thought that Pakistani girls get

marry at a very young age, which is quite wrong.

Our Indian friends were quite surprise to hear that

we both wanted to first settle in our career and

then about marriage.



14/30

translated into actions. From, "lets switch beds,

mine will be more comfortable for you", to, "don't

take out any money please, I'll pay for the snacks",as though our friends were trying to make up for

having grown in a world with strained relations

and the onus is on our generation who havent

grown witnessing the gory partition, only heard

and read stories of the same.

Most conversations with one another revealed that

people across the border were willing to talk, well

aware of the fact that though we do lead similar

lives in many aspects, differences too, did exist.

Wajeeha Javed, was twenty, my age, engaged to

get married on completing her graduation.I heldmost of my fair and frank, one-to-one discussions

with herranging from Islam to Hinduism, from

why she couldn't care less to "slap hard any man

acting funny on the street". Her views seemed

familiar. I also got to sneak out for an exclusive

shopping trip with her a day before we had to

depart, travelled with her on bus, where there

were separate sections for women and men, and

yes got all the discounts I wanted.

All through the seven days I tried my best to

replace Hindi words with as much Urdu as I

could, and it was heartening being in anothercountry where there was not much of a language

barrier, at least when you spoke. But were there

any barriers at all? On my way back to what we

call 'home' this was a question I was still hoping to

find an answer to. But my idealistic self made it

clear that when you interact one-on-one, person-

to-person it should be without the burden of

politically erected barriers created on land or

textbooks, for, we exist as individuals after all,

irrespective of which cultural ethos or religion we

represent.

So on our flight back home when the Pakistan

International Airways plane was to take off and

the prayer was being read I didn't wonder as to

why must they say a prayer before a plane takes

flight, instead I closed my eyes and realised , it's

yet another question of the universality of faith

and we must appreciate one another and our

respective beliefsbeyond that we are all

individuals, representing the diversity of the same

planet.

Written by Smriti Vij

Saturday, 17 February 2007

It was my first stay in a hostel; my first visit'abroad' and I brought back memories of an

experience to be cherished for the rest of my life.

I had heard stories of my father's family shifting

from Pakistan to Srinagar and from there to Jammu

each time India and Pakistan fought on the

battlefield in the 1960s and 70s. Stories about

where you belong to often entice you towards

taking on journeys to trace your roots. As I stayed

in Delhi all through my life, having grown up

hearing that my father's family moved

from Muzzafarabad, a visit to Pakistan would be a

special one.

After a flying time out 35 minutes, we were out of

the plane and on to the road, welcomed warmly by

students and teachersthe first rendezvous

with our hosts. We were travelling on the brightly

lit Lahore highway and it took me a while to

register in mind that it was not Delhi, not even a

different city but a different country altogether. It

was night, the air was cool, the people were

warm.an entire family of women our age waiting

to receive us. As we reached Kinnaird College for

Women, our home for the coming week, familiarred walls welcomed us (familiar because Lady

Sriram College for Women, which we represented

has red brick architecture too). I was the lucky one

amongst our group of 11 who was put up as room-

mate with two of our hosts from Kinniard, that

meant I could spend more time interacting with

the 'other'.

Post midnight sessions on issues ranging from

what we want from life and whether we get it,

whether our societies permit us to dream and what

kind of dreams do we see for ourselves. This I felt,

was a true exchange. An honest exchange of ideas,thought, perception. At one level, it was two

college students talking, at a closer level, it was

two women talking.

While leaving for Lahore, my mind was too full

with questions about the place and its eoplethey

will be receptive surely, but will that be out of

diplomacy or will it be genuine. A week tightly

packed with site seeing, discussions and copious

amounts of food, passed and I felt that it sure

was..genuine..as what I saw was selfless hospitality

Plane to Pakistan: and 35 minutes to land!



15/30

On some days, I buy him food from restaurants.

I came to know a lot about Pakistan and its people

through him. We exchange jokes and a lot of stories

about each others cultures.Alright, I am an Indian and

he is a Pakistani.Any third person would uncontrollably

get curious and wonder - What about Kashmir?

Whenever this name comes in our long conversation, we

suddenly become cautious and pause for a while not to

hurt each others attitude. Even when others mock us up

saying that India and Pakistan are eternal rivals and

how could we ever get along well as close friends. We

just reply that we are brothers who have some little

fights against each other at times.

I will go back to India in a couple of months once my

studies finish; but my time spent with this Pakistani

bhaiya will be an enduring memory etched in my soul

auguring well with the quote remembrances embellish

life. This bhaiya will go a long way in keeping mereminded forever that the spirit of humanity will

spontaneously and eventually diffuse into humanitys

hearts and emerge victorious in a world where people

are divided by differences in their minds.

To many, a student like me speaking about forging

India-Pakistan friendship might sound like a kid talking

about quantum physics. I dont think so, and I strongly

believe only the youths mind can be molded easily.

When we converse, we express thoughts like how united

were we before 1947 (before the India/Pakistan partition)

and why in the world should we have a difference in

opinions against each other later on? We have so many

similarities we speak similar languages, have uniqueart and music, dress alike, we have a cuisine that is same

and we were one family before we became neighbors.

Then how in the world did we ever let our paltry

differences outweigh our ubiquitous similarities?

Naseer Bhaiya and I unanimously agree that we have

our common enemies in various manifestations like

poverty, illiteracy, economic and scientific backwardness

and much more

Lets fight these common enemies

And not each other

In the end, all the religions of the world will not bring

eternal peace to mankind, but strong human-bonds will.

In this flat world of globalization, the day is approaching

fast when people will realize that

People are more important than policies and that the

spirit of humanity will rule eventually.

Written by Naveen Raju

Thursday, 12 April 2007

What do a hindu student from India and a muslim worker

from Pakistan, both in Malaysia presently, have in

common? Common opinion on human values!

I, Naveen Raju, study in a college in Seremban (65kms

from the capital Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia and I come all

the way from Coimbatore, India. I work part time in a shop

where Naseer Ahmed, who hails from Chiniot,

Faizalabad - Pakistan, also works.

I can remember well, when, on an autumn evening, we

became acquainted on the very first day we met in this

shop. At first, it was a casual self-introduction which

slowly lumbered up to become friendship. And by the time

when winter broke out, we were closest friends going

through the rough and tumble of life.

I call him bhaiya (elder brother) and he too calls me backas bhaiya - even though I am more than 20 years

younger than him.

In the beginning, I barely managed to communicate with

him since I knew a little Hindi and his way of

communication was Punjabi and Urdu - the languages that

mostly resemble Hindi. To mention, I come from India

where Hindi is widely spoken, whereas, I speak Tamil and

Kannada back home.

Now, I have picked up a lot of Hindi words and amassed a

whole lot of ways to express my thoughts in that language,

courtesy my relentless pursuit to communicate well with

this Pakistani bhaiya and, of course, the Hindi films which I

watch on many occasions. He, also a big fan of BollywoodHindi movies, has a small collection of them which we often

watch in leisure.

By observing the way he works, I learnt a lesson or two. I

could imbibe that he works hard to send money to support

his wife and three kids in Faizalabad. He is very thrift and

stretches every cent of money as far as it goes that,

sometimes, he even starves himself to save money.

All my previously held beliefs about Pakistan faded away

because of my friendship with this man. I developed a kind

of empathy upon this Punjabi man from Faizalabad,

Punjab - Pakistan and, to recall, it was surprising that our

countries, India and Pakistan, have fought three bitter wars

against each other.Some times, he cooks food by himself and heartily invites

me to his dinner. He makes such tantalizing Pakistani (or

Indian, of course!) rotis coupled with keema or chicken, or

mixed vegetable sabjis on some occasions.

U nleash India-Pakistan friendship - A student's plea



16/30

Pride and Parochialism; O nly in the sub-

continent!Written by Usama Majeed

Saturday, 24 November 2007

I read with interest some of the contributions onthis site. Being of Pakistani Muslim background, I

can understand some of the resentment I note in

the language in a few comments of articles. I have

struggled with contradictory emotions myself in

the past until a voice from deep inside came up

with the answer; "Ask what you can do for

humanity not what humanity can do for you" (I

am sure Kennedy won't mind!). I understand thatthere may be (mostly perceived I might add)

grievances on both sides of the border, but the

cause is by no means unilaterally instigated.

Unfortunately, (and I say this with a great deal of

regret), the "experiment" (as Maulana Azad

described it) has failed miserably. When people

can't be allowed to have an open discussion on

this subject in my country, I am afraid no

progress in any fruitful direction is possible.

When we are denied the right to be a part of OUR

HISTORY going back thousands of years of

human civilisation, how can anyone be expectedto rise above silly parochialism. When there is this

inherent tendency to shun the "other", regardless

of who it is, having a strange sense of national

pride (what nation!) based on hatred of the

"other" (whoever that might be), what sense could

come out of it. I say this in the Pakistani context

as that is the reference closest to me; I am sure the

Indians have similar tendencies of their own to be

equally ashamed of!

In this 60 years history, based on denial of the

past 5000 years, what exactly do we have to be

proud of; that we are both "nuclear"! Is that ourbest achievement as the inheritors of an ancient

civilisation. Is this the best we could do! Is there a

human dimension to this all! Now we have the

capacity to destroy one another and we have

oined ranks with the handful of nations around

the world who possess this "distinction"; what a

shame! Shame indeed for what could have been

and what has become of us; ancient parochialism

reborn; well done!

How can we be proud of the sheer blatant poverty

we have in our part of the world.

How can we tolerate the images of the youngchildren rummaging through rubbish in the streets

of Karachi, Bombay, Calcutta or Dacca, with no

access to education or the minimum of human

decency, and still be proud; proud of what for

crying out loud!

If my sentiments are felt to be confronting by some

who log on to this site, I empathise but refuse to

apologise. I plead all those with rationalistic minds

to please help put an end to all the non-sense that

has plagued our world for so long; let us help each

other pick up the pieces and make something for

our future generations that they can really be proudof.

W ho is the enemy?

Written by Raza Rumi

Sunday, 01 July 2007

I am pleased to find this club hidden away in thelabyrinths of the internet. I would like to share a

translation of a poem "Kaun Dushman Hai" by Ali

Sardar Jafri - someone had sent it to me some time

back. Unfortunately, the name of the translator was

not sent with the text. I would be grateful if a

reader would like to clarify this.

You were slaves till yesterday, so were we.

And then came the season of freedom bathed in

showers of blood

Between you and us rage rivers of fire

Tall frowning barriers of hate

With a mere glance,

However, we can tear them down;

We can forget, forgive the cruel part;

And again embrace you, yes we can

But first you will have to break your swords,

And cleanse these bloodied garments;

After that we shall become no more strangers.

You bring us flowers from the gardens of Lahore,

We bring you light from the dawns of Banaras,

Freshness of the Himalayan breeze;

And thereafter we ask each other:

Who is the enemy?

Viewpoint



17/30

A Voice of my H eart

Written by Mahreen

Wednesday, 07 March 2007

beautiful poem about the need of peace between Indiaand Pakistan.

Is se pehlay kay bahaut waqt guzar jaye,Tum aman aur pyar ke liye kuch kaam kardo.

Is se pehlay kay yeh pyar wali shaam kabhi na rahay,

Tum ek nayi subah is aman kay naam kardo.

Is se pehlay kay hum lartay lartay mar jayeen,

Tum mera ek chota saa kaam kar do.

Apne dil ki har dhadkan pyar aur aman kay naam

kerdoApne dil ki har dhadkan pyar aur aman kay naam

kerdo

Is se pehlay kay hamara naam layne wala koi naa

rahay,

kyun na hum ek acha kal apne aanay walon ke naam

kardein.

Is se pehlay kay yeah dunyia hum logo pe hansay,

Hum kyun na in logo ka munh hamesha ke liye band

kar dain.

Is se pehlay kay apne ye log ghurbat, bayrozgari semar jain,

Kyun na hum apna aaj in logo ke kal ke naam

kerdain.

Is se pehlay kay hum lartay larte mar jayeen,

Tum mera ek chota saa kaam kar do.


kerdo


kerdo

S arhad kay Paar tumne G har banaya

hain

Written by Magnus Sunshine

Tuesday, 10 April 2007

Itni taqleef main hain Ghalib,K Mahek phoolon ki bhi nahi aati!

Khusboohain fizaaon main,

Saanson sa kiyun mehroom rah jaati ?

Sarhad k Paartum ne ghar banaya ha,

Humse tumhe milne ki ijazat kiyun chin li jaati?

Khauff hain itna waadiyon main,

Masoom bachhon ki siskiyaansunaai kiyun nahideti?

Dard hain dafn itna seeney main,

Ashq palk on kneeche kiyun nahi aati?

Jubb kahte ho k dosti hain humare beech,

To siyasati zanzeereinkiyun nahi tootjaati?

Jubb alam muhabbat ka iss qadar hain uss paar,

To khhwab"humare aman ka" muqammmal kiyun

nahi ho paati?

Poetry



18/30

K oshish

Written by Naresh Rana

Saturday, 17 March 2007

Rishto me esi kaai jami ki aaj shbab madhosh haiDilo me esi padi darare ki mudto se juban

khamosh hai

ek jaise ham ek fiza ek hi juban

Phir es dil me fark a gaya kahan

Milta hai sangeet, milte hai rasmo rivaaz

kya sarhde banne se bat jata hai jahan

Hoti ek jaisi sham, ek hi subah

Phir kyu badal gaye dil ke arman

Chahte tho hai ham girana ye deewar

magar lambe hai fasle -e- darmiyan

Dekh rahi hai rasta khamosh ye nigahe

shayad kahi juk aaye ye aasman

"K hwab" - a poem

Written by Shadow

Thursday, 18 January 2007

touching Hindi poem about India and Pakistan,

alongwith English translation.

Sansaar kay dher rango ka samanvay hai Bharat;Aur duniya ki khubsuratiyo ka ikhtilaat hai

Pakistan.

Suvichar, susheelta ka kaavy hai Bharat;

Tou haseen ghazalo ki maslihet hai Pakistan.

Apaar santo ki praarthna, maulviyo ki bhavna hai

Bharat;

Lekin aawam ki ibaadat, khuda ki bakhsheesh hai

Pakistan.

Par yuddh se asthhir, nirbal bana hai yeh sadradhBharat;

Aur usi jang se faatir mukaam par pahocha hai

pukhtah Pakistan.

Phir kyu aatank ke ghatao ke paav pasarta hai

Bharat?

Na jaane kyu fasaadi abr ki khwahish karta hai

Pakistan?

Nahi, yeh arth-heen Sangharsh nahi ichhati janta

Bharat ki,

Aur yeh khauf ki zindagi nahi chahta banda

Pakistan ka,

Aao saabit karein sarkaar ko, kya abhilasha hai hum

logo ki...

Aao yaqeen dilaye hukumaat ko, kya iraaden hai

hum awaam key!

Aaj hraday ki chot bhulakar, harday se lagein

hamare in yaar ko..

Sarhad aur mazhab ko chhor, aaj mauka de is pyaar

ko...

Phir Pakistan ki maitrayi par garv karega ek din

Bharat,

Aur Bharatiyo ke saath par naaz karega, usi din

Pakistan.

English Translation :-

Horde of global colors, is India;

And mark of mystic beauty, is Pakistan.

Rhyme of tradition, flow of virtues, is India;

Chime of verses, and holy hues, is Pakistan.

Where sanctifying hymns divulges glory, is India;

Where muezzin echoes embarks the mornings, is

Pakistan.

Land of wars, martyrs, which make us proud, is

also India;

Land getting nukes and the hype getting loud, is

Pakistan.

Sadly, we ego men who died in war, that we

waged....

Imprudently, we prance with bombs that we

engaged....

Duh! Lets hush this explosions once completely!

Either fight and finish, or rebuke the show of folly!

Because the sound of sage is heard no more,

Restrains of innocence is suppressed by uproar,

Because we want to live and not die and pain,

Because we want friends still, and we're not insane!

Lets brood over the balance sheet of this futile

enmity,And compare it with friendship, a bright possibility,

And then not impugn the mess we just made,

But wipe it off the shoulder and start ahead!

Lets conspire, lets desire, lets admire, lets get

higher,

Lets make sure that best friend of Pakistan, is India;

And the perennial strength of India, be Pakistan...



19/30

Partition

Written by Gurpreet Singh

Tuesday, 29 May 2007

One land was divided into two parts,it is a matter of sorrow, not of art.

Some were crying and some laughed,

and many underwent blood bath.

Children were seperated from their parents,

it was in no way less than a world war.

No one could trust the other,

as anyone out there might be carrying their death.

Many were hiding in their houses,

saving there lives and holding their breath.

It was a horrible scene outside.

People were fighting with each other,

whom they had once, loved from their hearts,

May god, neither in hell repeats the past.

H um gandi galiyoon main pallay

Written by Mohammad Faraz

Wednesday, 30 May 2007

In ujlay mahloon ke talayHum gandi galiyoon main palay

soo soo bojh man par liye..

Mail aur mati tan pe liye..

Dukh sahtay, gham khatay rahay..

phir bhi hanstay gaatay rahay.

hum deepak, toofan mian jalay..

Hum gandi galiyoon mian palay..

Dunya ne thukraya hummay..

Rastoon ne apnaya hammay..

Sarkain maan, sarkain hi paata..

Sarkain ghar sarkain hi chitta..

Kyun aaye, kiya kar chalay..

Hum gandi galiyoon mian palay..

Dil mian choor kuch bhi nahi..

Hum ko parwa kuch bhi nahi..

Chaho tu nakara kahoo..

Chahoo tu awara kahoo..

Hum hi buray tum sab ho bhalay..

Hum gandi galiyoon main palay..



20/30

Remembering Partition

Written by Sikandar

Wednesday, 13 June 2007

Taarik Shab hai Larzat-e-Khaab-e-Sahar GayeeSarpar Hamaaare ek Qayaaamat Guzar Gayee

Ghar Jal gaya mera, mere Ghar ke Chiraag Se

Aatish Bajaan Fiza hai Jidharko Nazar Gayee

Khanjar ne Mere, Mera Jigar Chaakh Kar Diya

Takleef Chaara Saazi-e-Zakhme-e-Jigar Gayee

Israar Zakhm-e-Dil na Dikhaayen tho Kya Karen

Qaatil ka Kaam Apni Talwaar Kar Gayee

Taarik Shab hai Larzat-e-Khaab- e - Sahar GayeeSarpar Hamaaare ek Qayaaamat Guzar Gayee

I T old H er A L ie!

Written by Rahul Mukherji

Thursday, 22 February 2007

I met a little girlsearching for her parents,from the wilderness of

the world.

I took a paper and

I pointed to the sky.

Rolled it,

and through it I saw a star.

I told her

that there they were

and looking happy.

They will come back soon.

She stared at me

I was on my knees to seea smile on her lips

and it happened.

She was happy,

there was no doubt.

But I tasted some salt

in my mouth.

Through my wet eyes

I could not see.

As I knew it was a lie.

Words from my eyes did start.

Blood burnt

around my heart.

Will loves bed be

always snowing here?

She seemed to hear

my silent voice.

But deaf were the mature.

Not love appeals to know peace.



21/30

1: The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindh

6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived

from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navyis also derived from Sanskrit Nou.

2: The Taj Mahal is so proportionately constructed,

one never imagines that it is taller than the Qutb

Minar, the tallest minaret in the world! The Taj is

243 ft. in height while the Qutb Minar is only 239 ft.

3: India is one of only three countries that makes

supercomputers (the US and Japan are the other two)

4: In a case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, an

Indian-American woman scientist, Dr. Ananda

Chakrabaty, won the argument that persons may be

granted patents for useful manufacture of living

organisms. She defeated the U.S. Patent Office, that

argued that living things may not be patented, thus

establishing the legal foundation for the biotech

industry, (Diamond vs. Chakrabaty, 1980). Dr.

Chakrabaty invented a microbe that eats oil spills.

5: In the tower of the famous Se Cathedral in Goa,

which houses the holy relics of Sa. Francis, there is a

bell which can be heard in Panjim, 14 Kms. away.

And yet, when one stands next to the bell, its soft

melodious tones fall lightly on the ear.

6: The World's first university was established in

Takshashila (modern Pakistan) in 700BC. More than

10,500 students from all over the world studied more

than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in

the 4th century BC was another great achievement of

ancient India in the field of education.

7: The average person's left hand does 56% of the

typing.

8: Benazir Bhutto, who was assasinated in

Rawalpindi recently, was buried in her hometown

Larkana. Larkana, in the province of Sindh, is only 15

miles away from the ancient city of Mohenjodaro -famous as the showpiece of Indus valley civilization

from 5000 years ago.

9: Benazirs last name Bhutto is a modified version of

the original family name Bhatto which is actually a

village in the Indian state of Haryana. Benazirs

grandfather moved to Pakistan before Indias 1947

partition, and settled in the Sindh province. Benazirs

father Zulfiqar, who was educated in California,

changed the spelling of his last name to Bhutto.

10: Benazirs mother Nusrat Bhutto was Iranian-Kurdish

whose family are descendants of Saladin (Salahuddin

Ayubi), the famous 12th century ruler of Egypt and Syriawho defeated the Christian crusaders and conquered

Jerusalem.

11: On seeing the hopeless condition of one tenth of

India which was living in a hungry and half-starved

state Mahatma Gandhi pleaded with them to cease

bringing children into a world filled with, so much

misery and want.

12: Pakistan has some very special wildlife including the

Chiltan Markhor, (a mountain ungulate) and the

Balochistan bear. Lions, tigers and one horned rhinos

used to live here but are now sadly extinct.

13: The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail,

Himachal Pradesh.Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop,

this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.

14: Pakistan`s national flower is Jasmine. That of india is

the lotus.

15: Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called "the

ancient city" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E,

and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the

world today.

16: The four religions born in India, Hinduism,

Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of

the world's population.20% of India's own population

does not belong to any of these religions.

17: Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to

humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated

Ayurveda 2500 years ago.

18: Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in

India.

19: Ronald Ross, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology

or Medicine in 1902 for his work on malaria, was born in

Almora, India, in 1857 .

20: The game of snakes & ladders was created by the

13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called

'Mokshapat.' . The game was played with cowrie shells

and dices. Later through time, the game underwent

several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e

good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-

births.

F un F acts



22/30

IT IS THE MEDICINE OF FUTURE FOR SAFE CURES.

Homoeopathy: Ideal for children andInfantsBeing safe and natural, Homoeopathy works

excellently in kids who are spared from vast side-

effects of treatment by other systems of medicine.

Apart from being very effective in common

ailments of children, it also shows beautiful results

in their behavioural problems such as irritability,

stubbornness, phobias (fears), temper-tantrums,

thumb-sucking, nail-biting, bed-wetting as well as

in physical and mental retardation.

Homoeopathy can help you avoid Surgery

Homoeopathy is not against surgery. Surgery is an

art and science by itself. Surgery is called forth in

the conditions where medicines have limited or no

role, and where surgical aid (operation) can cure or

improve the condition.

But certainly there are number of diseases which

are labeled as 'surgical, but where homoeopathy

works curatively and can avoid surgery.

Some such ailments are : Septic recurrent Tonsillitis,Piles, Fissure-in-ano, Fistula, Appendicitis (except

gangrenous), Chronic ear discharge, Vocal cord

nodules, Polyp in nose-ear, Kidney & Gallbladder

(small) stones, small size Uterine Fibroid, Ovarian

Cysts, Warts , Corns, etc

An answer to psychological and

psychosomatic ailments

Stress, irritability, depression, paranoid behaviour,

all these are fruits of modern life-style and we have

no escape from these. They have become integralpart of our life. Homoeopathy is an answer to these

demons of modern living. These conditions can be

very effectively cured by homoeopathy thus

enabling us to take life in a positive way as it comes

and make us able to handle our problems with a

cool mind which is the primary need to thrive in

todays world.

I t i s no secret that Homeopathy is more a mystery

to most of us, t han medicine. Thi s arti cle by D r.

Kaur gi ves us a sneak peek i nto the w orl d of

Homeopat hy. I t removes t he veil shroudi ng t his

imp ortant system of medicine and places it i nto

our comfort zone.

Homoeopathy is an alternative method oftreatment, founded by German scientist Dr.

Samuel Hahnemann M.D (Allopathy) in 1796, and

has been verified experimentally and clinically for

200 years.

Homoeopathy is the revolutionary, natural

medical science, the remedies being prepared fromnatural substances to precise standards which

work by stimulating the body's own healing

power.

A Homoeopath doesnt believe in curing

individual diseased parts or organs of the body

rather he tries to bring harmony into the whole

system and strengthen it to the extent that body

starts its own curing process and repels the

disease.

Human body has enormous capacity to heal and

regenerate and this fact has been exploited by

Homoeopathic science in its endeavors to cure.

Why should Homoeopathy be the first choice of

therapy?

Homoeopathy is completely safe, has no side

effects (which are rampant with conventional

system of medicine) or toxic effects. It provides

long term to permanent cure of the disease and the

treatment is very cost effective as opposed to other

systems of medicine.

Homoeopathy is also a better substitute to

Antibiotics which are being so indiscriminatelyused these days. Homoeopathic medicines never

cause gastric upset and other common side-effects

while still doing the job perfectly plus it does not

stand the risk of fading out, as 1st generation or 2nd

generation antibiotics do, when newer ones arrive

in the market. The medicine which benefited you

20 yrs back would still be as effective.

H ave you ever been curious about H omoeopathy



23/30

Busting the Myths

1: Homoeopathy is slow to act.

Homoeopathy is not at all slow in acting.

Rather it shows faster results than allopathy

or any other system in many instances

where case is handled properly.

Fault of perception and inability to act in the

required manner lies with the physician

concerned and not with the system.

2: Homoeopathy is a placebo

system of medicine

Biggest Bullshit that can ever be imagined.

If it were a mere placebo, it wouldnt have

traveled all the way from Germany to

spread all over the world and still not only

surviving with dignity but growing for

more than 200 yrs.!

3: Homoeopathy: Not a last Resort

To obtain the best results and full benefits ofhomeopathic science, one should resort to

homoeopathy in the early phase of sickness.

Because of ignorance and lack of awareness in

general public about the usefulness of

homoeopathy in all kinds of diseases ranging

from Common Cold to Cancer, many patients

approach homoeopathy late. By this time the

disease process advances to an incurable stage

and homoeopathy (or any other system of

medicine for that matter) can offer little then,

to the otherwise curable disorders.However timely given homeopathic

treatment could be a blessing to the ailing

humanity.

Dr. Manvinder kaur M.D



24/30

Swat (Pakistan)

Location: Northeast in the N.W.F.P province ofPakistanAltitude: 975 meters

Best Time to Visit: May to October

Swat is the most historically interesting valley inPakistan. It is also one of the most beautiful ,green andfertile places on earth. In Lower Swat, the valley iswide, the fields on either side of the river are full ofwheat and Lucerne, and the villages are prosperous andsurrounded by fruit trees. The valley of Swat sprawlsover 10,360 sq. kms at an average elevation of 975metres. The maximum temperature in July is 38 C andminimum (during January) is 1 C. The normaltemperature is maximum 21 C and minimum 7 C.

For the historical and amateur archaeologist, Swatoffers several hundred archaeological sites spanning5,000 years of history. In 327 BC, Alexander the Greatfought his way to Udegram and Barikot and stormedtheir battlemens. Around the 2nd century BC, the areawas occupied by Buddhists, who were attracted by thepeace and serenity of the land.In the beginning of the

11th century AD Mahmud of Ghazni advanced throughDir and invaded Swat, defeating Gira, the local ruler,near Udegram. The land of enthralling beauty, whereAlexander of Macedonia fought and won some of hismajor battles before crossing over the plans of Pakistan.Swat was also the historical land where the Muslimconquerors, Mahmud Ghaznavi, Babar and Akbarfought their battles preparatory to conquest of SouthAsia.Popular Attractions:

Madayan Valley: An exact replica of the glorious Alpsin Switzerland. Like the Alps several mighty and highmountain ranges surround this expansive andenthralling valley.

Chail Valley is also a picturesque embode easilyaccessible from Madayan . Shanku .Bashigram Valley andMankial Valley are alsofrequented by visitors.

Buddhist Shrines In Swat:The report of Sung-Yun, who visited the enchantingvalley in the 6th century A.D, saya there were 6000images in the sacred monastery of Talo (Butkara). Themost famous of all the Chinese pilgrims, Hsuan-Tsangwho graced the valley by his presence in the 7th centuryA.D, mentioned 1400 monasteries in Swat, which

eloquently confirmed the extensive remains of theBuddhist period. Even today over 400 Buddhist stupasand monasteries may still be seen in ruins in Swatcovering an area of about 160 square km.The populer Buddhist stupas are:Butkara, Shingardar Stupa, Nemogram, Amluk DaraStupa, Najigram Stupa & Monastery,Janabad SeatedBuddha, Gumbatuna Stupa, and the Colossal Statue ofBuddha.

The valley can truly be called the Valley of Lakes,which not only feeds the emerald Green River Swat butalso provides ideal camping sites for adventurous peopleand nature lovers. Most of these lakes are hidden fromthe eyes of the common people due to their far-flunglocations and take three to seven hours trekking to reach

from the last village on the road.The frequented lakes are:Bashigram Lake (Danda), Daral Lake (Danda),Mahodand(Fish Lake),Saidgai Lake (Danda) and Kundal Lake (Danda)

Swat is the perfect package of enthralling naturalbeauty , opportunities for adventure, archaeology for thecurios, and piousness with its rich collection of religioussignature , as well as a cool and romantic hangout

PTDCMotel andSki Resort

SwatValley

The Colossal Buddha

Daral Lake

Aestheticbeautyof Swat

C ross C ountry E xpedition



25/30

Kerala (India)Natural beauty, clean air and primordial greeneryamidst the vast expanse of water and sky, typifies thestate of Kerala better known as God's own country.If the strain of urban life has your nerves jangling,Kerala's popular Ayurvedic centres will help youunwind and drain the tension out of you.The state's richcultural past finds expression in dance forms like

Kathakali and Mohiniattam, while Kalaripayattu thetraditional martial art form of Kerala has been practisedfor ages.

Kerala tourism offers a great variety of travel

experiences. Whether it is about backwater tours ofKerala or a combi travel package, vacationers a reassured of a great holiday in Kerela.Beaches:One of the unique features of the beaches of Kerala arethe clean sands bound by incessant rows of palm trees.This adds to the magic created by sunbathing, boatingand swimming in these waters.Kovalam Beach, Papanasam Beach, Alleppey Beach,Kappad Beach, Bekal Beach, and Lighthouse Beachare the famous ones.Backwaters:The only way to discover the real Kerala is to cruisealong its backwaters. As you sail along on a houseboat

you drift into a land that time forgot and watch picture-book towns and ancient trading posts float by.

Monuments:Kerala is replete with monuments of historical andaesthetical significance. Bolghatty Palace, CheramanJuma Masjid, Cheruthuruthy, Alwaye palace, St.Sebastian Church, Bekkal Fort, Hill Palace Museum(Ernakulam) and Palace and Jewish Synagogue(Mattancherry) are some of the must visit destinations.Forts:

Kerala had been the hub of much political activity in the

past and has witnessed the influx of various foreignpowers, providing it a rich architectural heritage.Pallippuram Fort, Palakkad Fort, St. Angelos Fort,Bakel Fort and Dutch Palace are some of the beautifulforts.Hill Stations:

Situated along the western ghats, kerala is a land of vastnumber of hill stations. Ponmudi, Nelliyampathy,Lakkadi and Malampuzha are a tourist's delight.Lakes:There are 34 lakes in the state. Sasthamkotta Lake,Vembanadu Lake, Lakes of Alappuzha, Pookkode Lakeand Ashtamudi Lake make for ideal tourist destinations.

Wildlife:Kerala is the perfect abode forwildlife lovers. An abundant number of wildlifesanctuaries and bird reserves, inluding the famous

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary are present here.Temples and churches:A large number of temples and pristine era churchesmake kerala a great pilgrimage detination. Guruvayoortemple, Sabarimala temple, Malayattoor Church are thefamous ones.Waterfalls:Enchanting and serene waterfalls, located at Athirappallywelcome you at the entrance of the Sholayar ranges.Thommankuth waterfalls is another marvellous wonderof the nature situated at 74 kms from Cochin.

Kovalambeach

Ponmudihillstation

Chinnarwildlifesanctuary



26/30

Taare Zameen Par

Director:Amir Khan

Music:Shankar,Ehsaan and Loy along with Shailendra Barve

Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi and Amol Gupte

Starring: Amir Khan, Tanay Chheda, Darsheel Safary, Tisca Chopra

Very rarely do you get to see a movie like Taare Zameen Par, which forces you toponder over the issue. This is a beautiful movie, sensibly made to appeal to all

sorts of audience across all strata of society. Hats off to Amir Khan for giving usan exceptional movie. Exceptional because it serves a higher purpose of art,

cinema in this case. Amir Khan has rocked it again ,not as a hero but as a director!

The real hero of this film is Darsheel Safary, who plays the role of an eight year

old kid, whose name is Ishaan Awasthi. This naughty little kid is least interested

in studies and sees a totally different world around him. He has already spent

two years in third standard, contrary to his elder brother who is very bright!

Frustrated, his father sends him to a boarding school as a punishment. Already

struggling with studies, Ishaan now has to deal with the pangs of separation. In

school, he goes from bad to worse, but no one seems to know the reason for his

dilemma. The truth is, he is dyslexic. In short, Ishaan has a learning disorder

marked by impairment of the ability to recognize and comprehend written words.But then Amir Khan(Ram Kumar Nikumbh) comes to rescue as his new arts

teacher. He spots the silent and brooding Ishaan and decides to help him.

The rest of the film is about how the shattered confidence of Ishaan is restored

and how he overcomes his disabilities and how he even surpasses his teacher in

his favourite passion painting. Darsheel Safary, for an eight-year-old gives off

an excellent performance worthy of a standing ovation. This is one bright lad who

has understood the character very well. Everything about Ishaan is perfect, from

his body language, to the way he delivers his dialogues to the expression in his

eyes which shouts for help.

The background score and music by Shankar Eshan Loy and Shailendra Barve is

excellent.

Over all a great movie.

Rating: Must watch

- Rashmi Patwardhan

M ovie Reviews



27/30

ODHA AKBAR

Director: Ashutosh Gowariker

Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

Music: A R Rehman

Starring: Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan

Release Date: 25 h January 2008

From the makers of Oscar nominated film Lagaan, to the critically acclaimed film

Swades, its Ashutosh Gowariker back in action with Jodha Akbar. It wouldnt bean exaggeration if it were said that, its the most awaited film since months. And

why not?! The crew is fantastic and technically speaking, should be a blockbuster

of the year. People have already started flooding the blogs with their reviews,

suggestions and expectations. The official trailer of the movie is already a big hit,

so is its background score. The sets, the costumes everything looks great! But is

this good enough to satisfy the public? Will the trio ( Gowariker, Akhtar and

Rehman) create magic again? Or will it be the Hrithik-Ash Jodi who will steal the

show? Well, all these questions will be answered only after watching the movie.

Till then we keep our fingers crossed!

Music Review:

Looks like the music maestro has done it again!!

The background score Azeem-o-Shehenshaa and Baharana

Are already big hits among public. The music release of Jodha Akbar was

suppose to be on 18th of December 2007, but got delayed due to some problems.

Its said that Rehman has made a hindi version of one of the songs from his album

Heaven and Earth which was earlier in Chinese and English. Instrumental tracks

have also been added in addition to the five audio tracks. With lyrics to match the

music, we can definitely expect great things!

Music Release: Some time in February 2008 (as the music release date keeps

changing).

- Rashmi Patwardhan

M ovie Reviews



28/30

Wel come

Producer: Firoz Nadiadwala

Director : Anees Bazmee

Music: Himesh Reshammiya, Anand Raj Anand,Sajid Wajid

Lyircs: Sameer, Ibrahim Ashq, Shabbir Ahmed, Anjaan.

Starring: Feroz Khan, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Paresh Rawal, Akshay

Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Mallika Sherawat.

WELCOME is a funny move by Bazmee. Its a kind of movie where no logic, nosense is required. The humour is pretty basic and even absurd at t imes, but it does

tickle your funny bone but the director stretches the joke too far. He overshoots

by almost half an hour! There are a lot of funny moments with well timed

comedy. But again, with such a good star cast one definitely expects more.

The basic story line: Paresh Rawal is in search for a perfect bride for his nephew,

Akshay Kumar. Unfortunately, Akshay falls for Katrina who is the sister of two

notorious thugs in the city, Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor. Meanwhile Anil

Kapoor has spotted Akshay Kumar on the streets and thinks that he is the perfectmatch for his sister.

Music is average. Tracks are repetitive with distinct Himesh Reshmiyya flavour.

Definitely NOT worth buying a Cd.

I would suggest this movie if you are damn too bored to do anything else.

One time movie and good entertainer in all (again considering the fact that you

are not logically analyzing it!).

Rating:

- Rashmi Patwardhan

M ovie Reviews



29/30

34. An imaginary line through the center of the earth, from pole

to pole, around which the earth rotates.

36. A system of parallel, criss-cross lines, each line of which is

identified by numbers or letters, for example, on a map.

37. A narrow, deep valley with steep sides - many have a river on

their floor.

38. A -?- valley is a long, deep valley marking a major crack in

the earths crust. There is a "Great" one in Africa. In oceans, they

tend to run along the crests of oceanic ridges.

40. The capital of Portugal is -?-.

42. Cape -?- is the southernmost part of South America.

43. Because the word -?- pertains to producing (or caused by)heat, it is used in reference to clouds and nuclear reactions.

44. A large area with either level or rolling land - often treeless.

46. The capital of India is -?-. (two words)

49. The bed of a stream or river; the deeper part of a river or

harbor - especially a deep navigable passage.

50. Grassland; any of the open grazing areas of southern Africa.

(also:----t)

52. An island, especially a small one - used poetically, and in

place names

DOWN

1. Al

IPFC magazine.pdf

Documents

Transcript of IPFC magazine.pdf