Zayka restaurant fire

The famous Zayka restaurant in a busy Aligarh town area caught fire today. One lady died. The visuals shared by the towners on social media are disturbing. It was mostly popular for the take aways biryanis kebab paratha tikka etc. 

Oh my God I am completely shaken by this. Given how close the location is to my house and how often I pass by the area. But certainly not surprised. And in a strange onset of cynicism I am not able to sympathize with the owners. It's the poor workers who would have been injured or hurt.

This is a seriously disturbing trend with our community.  Wherever we live we tend to ghettoize the area. In such little spaces we stuff ourselves like grain in a hay sack. Flouting all rules. Paying bribes for illegal electric wire anchors, cooking by the roadside on heaving furnaces and erecting unruly construction one over another in the ugliest structures imaginable. 

 Muslims have forgotten that the Islamic Architecture their ancestors brought to this country not too many centuries back is the cause behind world wonders like taj mahal.

I mean in order to cluster themselves these people don't care two hoots about the Urban Development and town planning Rules of their own cities. In Aligarh of course corrupt ADA engineers are also responsible.

All oncerns for ventilation, insulation or natural light are conveniently laid aside for petty commercial gains. This is all that seems to matter to us now! Is this all?

I am reminded of Howard Roark the architect protagonist in Ayn Rand's magnum opus 'The Fountainhead'. He was too sincere with his work. Gave the best designs for buildings. But when during construction engineers played havoc with health, safety and security of future inmates, Roark went by night surreptitiously and blew the structure in progress with dynamite. 

When there is no socio political will for something good, this is what sane people are compelled to do.

Let us die in Manto's land

In the wake of the Kashmiri lock down post abrogation of Article 370 and 35 a, my pakistani cousin soobiya posted a heinous picture with the caption 'Eid Mubarak. The baqreid festival being on 12th August she had chosen this picture where several Pakistanis are slaughtering a goat on the indian tricolor spread on the ground.

I wrote to her:

I find this post in bad taste soobiya. Not that I  am a jingoistic nationalist but I would never disrespect any other country's national flag like this. Looks like you have to prove something to this gang in your country for whom loving pakistan and hating india is equivalent. In that case you need a few more lessons in liberalism my sister.

Believe me if a right wing fb friend in India would do this to the parcham e sitara o helaal of pakistan I would chide him the same. What does the greeting of Eid Mubarak have to do with hurling insults? Aren't you diluting your pure spirituality of qurbaani with war, politics and territorial disputes? Between this morass of India and Pakistan divide aggravated by religious bigotry what do  innocent girls like you and I do who are the same blood but could not grow up together despite being first cousins?

Let us live in Manto's toba tak singh. We can't. At least we die there. Where Rumi asked the soul to meet. Beyond right and wrong.

Soobiya replies

Agreed with all ur feeling sister ..but belive me its really pain full to us as well that all muslim are suffering in such islamic festival and what did hindu do with sucrifice animals ... only muslim and Pakistani artist going to suffer ...and we r not in the favour or war but the Modi ...
Any how it hurts....just for u ....i will delete this post

I write back to her in turn:

Sobia Ayaz
Thanks for understanding. I reciprocate in turn. We in india are also pained by the plight of the Kashmiri people under coercive militarization. I am equally pained at the displacement and derangement of the tribals in many states. In the end it's not about Hindoo or Muslim as projected by the British. Its about land, rivers, forests and mountains and their ownership for crony capitalism.

Don't confuse your aversion to Modi's political ideology with hating India. Modi is not India. Neither it was ever Nehru or Indira. No body wins by a hundred percent vote. That is the beauty of democracy. While not every Indian voted for Modi, our tricolor illuminates the heart and soul of every indian.

In fact I doubt if Modi and associates would feel as hurt as I do by this picture. More than the tricolor they revere the saffron flag they hoist on Independence day at their Nagpur RSS office.