Batair, Nawab, Maulvi Sahab aur Zia Mohiyuddin

Telling a story in the world today requires imagination, and insight into human characters and situations. Telling a story in the world thousands of years ago required all that, and due to the absence of paper, the gift of actually telling a story. Even the most interesting tale in the world would put you to sleep if told in a monotone. The advent of publishing has forced the art of story-telling into hiding. But it is not lost! Here is a recording to prove that.

The recording, recommended by Uzair Tahir (Thanks Uzair!), features one of the eminent speakers in Pakistan, Zia Mohiyuddin, reciting some passages from Pandit Ratan Nath Sarshaar's magnum opus, Fasaana-e-Azad, a novel recounting the journeys of the protagonist Azad through the streets of Lucknow and all across India.

 

The passage describes a scene set in a Nawab's court when a favourite pet Batair (quail) of his, called Saf Shikan, gets lost. Enjoy!

  

Click here to read Volume 1 of Fasaana-e-Azad by Pandit Ratan Nath Sarshaar.

If you prefer English but still wish to enjoy some more of Pandit Ratan Nath's writings, click here to read a translated version of a small part of the Fasaana entitled Azad Goes to a Railway Restaurant. (translated by Frances W. Pritchett)

Ghazal (Lagta Nahin Hai...)

by 

Bahadur Shah Zafar

 

This ghazal has been sung beautifully by Habib Wali Muhammad.

Click here to listen to his version on Youtube.

Another rendition of this ghazal by a female vocalist is also on Youtube. 

Click here to listen to it.

Her First Murder...

... just went out of copyright!

That's right. The Queen of Crime Agatha Christie's works can now be accessed online for free by anyone willing to become an amateur detective, or else an amateur criminal!

Author of 70+ mystery books, Agatha Christie can be said to be the most popular writer of detective fiction of all time. No author has penned such intricate plots and unbelievable solutions. Reading an Agatha Christie is one brain-twisting activity, never a dull moment for a second!

Christie's amazing run of crime began with The Mysterious Affair at Styles, a confusing tale of the murder of the elderly mistress of Styles Court, an estate in England. The prime suspects are her stepsons, who depend upon her for their livelihood; and her husband of only a few months, who is accused of having married her for her money. As Emily Inglethorp has been poisoned in bed, it becomes extremely difficult to pinpoint the culprit.

The Bantam Books edition of the novel describes the suspects with these words:

" Her eldest son, JOHN CAVENDISH, who had the most to gain.

  Her husband, ALFRED INGLETHORP, who had the best alibi.

  John's wife, MARY, involved with DR. BAUERSTEIN, the first to call it murder.

  LAWRENCE CAVENDISH, the victim's younger son, who broke the murder cup.

  EVELYN HOWARD, who didn't show up until after the murder.

  CYNTHIA MURDOCH, protegee of the murdered woman, the only suspect with access to poison."

Any one of them could have committed the deed. Enter Hercule Poirot, the eccentric Belgian detective with extraordinary powers of not just Holmesian observation but also imagination. The murderer won't be at large for long!

The best thing about any Agatha Christie is it's short length of around 200 pages, and its inclusion of all elements that can make a story interesting, be it action, romance, psychology, morality, or just plain gruesome criminal fun.

Other gems by the same author include: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, Taken at the Flood and many more. All classics in their own right.

Click here to read The Mysterious Affair at Styles online.

Or pay a visit to the IBA Library if you're a fan of traditional paper.

Sources of Images: 

http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/s/sa/sateda/1177936_knife_in_hand.jpg

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0333989066.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Leisure

by

W. H. Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare. 

William Henry Davies (1871-1940) is one of the most popular poets of his time. He wrote mostly on nature, the hardships of a poor life, and his adventures as a tramp. He spent most of his life in America and England as a tramp, travelling form place to place doing odd jobs and of course, having all sorts of adventures, all of which he described in his book Autobiography of a Supertramp (co-authored with George Bernard Shaw). His life was indeed one without much leisure, but full of fun (despite hardship) nonetheless!

Biz Guru: What Rich People Teach Their Kids and Poor Don’t

Imagine a lake near a village that is filled with water. The villagers use the lake’s water for farming and for their personal use. But the problem is that sooner or later the lake is going to dry up because even though water is being taken out from the lake no additional water is being poured into it, which is why the villagers might face a drought after some time. 

Now consider the same scenario, only that this time the lake is continuously being supplied by fresh water that flows into the lake 24/7 from the surrounding mountain valleys. This means villagers have a continuous supply of fresh water forever.

The second scenario is of Passive Income which is what Robert Kiyosaki is trying to explain in his book Rich Dad Poor Dad. The main crux of the book is that in order to get RICH, people should work for ASSETS rather than LIABILITIES. Assets include those things that put money in your pocket and liabilities, things that take money out of your pocket.

For example, many people consider their home sweet home an asset which it is not. Why? Because it is taking money out of your pocket as you have utility bills, property tax, maintenance expenses. But if you make it a cash generating asset like put it on rent no matter what happens, i.e. even if you work or not you are going to get a guaranteed income monthly. This concept of passive income that is measured in TIME and not in quantity is that “How many days or months or years can you survive if you just stop working today?” That is, if you have assets like real estate that give you monthly rent, stocks that give you quarterly dividends, bonds that give you semiannual interest payments, or even other business investments in which you are a sleeping partner and receive a fine cheque every month out from the sales (depending upon the profit/loss ratio decided between your partner and you), how many days can you survive without doing your job? 

The idea is that people should work for others at jobs, like in banks, MNCs, for government, but their aim should not be restricted to the point that some day the company or the government will throw a bone at them and they might be a CEO or in one of the top management positions of the company. Because, frankly speaking, employers don’t really care about people who work for them. People come and go but corporations remain for years and years. 

However, if you are a business owner or an investor (like Donald Trump, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates) you will have people work for you and make money for YOU even if you are not working, and the best part is that just like the villagers in the second case mentioned above, your lake of money will never be dried up since it is continuously being filled up with streams of income from other businesses and investments.

GK Question: Do you know who is a rich person according to Forbes?

Ans: According to Forbes a person is rich when he earns an annual passive income of $1 million i.e. 8.7 Crores in PKR annually…. :-)

 

Think about it. How on earth will you earn 8.7 Crores in Pakistan annually while working at a job?

An IBA Dean earns approx. 16 lacs a month (16 x 12 = 192) 1 crore and 92 lacs a year, but not 8.7 crores so even a super duper personality and an ex-state bank governor is NOT RICH by FORBES definition. :-)

(Biz Guru is an ordinary IBA student with extraordinary dreams and a penchant for reading business and success literature. The plethora of books he has read on the subject makes him an expert, capable of advising us lesser mortals on the intricacies in the world of money-making.)

Source of Image: http://static.bigstockphoto.com/thumbs/4/2/1/large/1246699.jpg