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barnesandco · 4 years

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Nikah: February

Story Masterlist

Nikah: noun, Arabic, meaning the contract of marriage.

Bucky marries Peter’s former tutor because her student visa’s about to expire and the government isn’t granting her a green card. Can she find a way to permanent residence by marriage, and if so, will it be at the cost of their hearts?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: Like, two curse words. Mentions of stress and nightmares.

A/N: Written under the Arranged/Accidental Marriage trope for @mermaidxatxheart ‘s writing challenge. Thank you for reading and commenting!

Their one month anniversary is spent in an indoor storage unit in Brooklyn, where they work on moving her things from her old apartment to the one they share together. Between her studies and work, and his hectic job, this is the first weekend that neither of them have prior engagements on. This task has been much delayed and is long overdue. It wouldn't have been necessary at all if she hadn't turned down his offer to pay the rent she doesn't want to spare for a place she isn't living in. Hence the van they rented to dump everything in the storage unit, and are now extracting required items from.

At least there's some form of temperature control, Bucky thinks, picking up a plastic cover for the couch. Their movement isn't inhibited by the thick coats demanded by a New York winter. Instead, he's wearing a grey cable-knit sweater that's fraying at the hem. She's standing by the shelves at the back wall, her cashmere-clad form hunched over a box of ornaments, weighing one in each hand like a balancing scale, lip between her teeth. By now, Bucky knows that means she's distracted - a tell of emotional absence. Her mind is somewhere else.

He tucks the plastic wrap around the bottom of the couch and clears his throat as he approaches her. The phantom pain if the accidental fist he received to his stomach the first and last time he unwittingly snuck up in her echoes through his abdomen. There had been apologies for days, right up until he had to leave for that ten-day mission in Columbia. She blinks once and snaps out of her trance, faces him, still holding the two pieces of decoration.

"You can bring them all if you like. Don't have to choose," He tells her, nodding to her full hands, and tucking his own in the pockets of his black jeans.

"No, there were already too many for my place alone. I'm not dumping it all on you," she shakes her head. Bucky thinks she's confused. Probably about why she's feeling so much lighter, why the stormcloud named "green card" seems to be stalling. The manual labor, the menial task should help get her mind off things, relieve the mental burden a little. She puts a miniature clay pot back in the box, leaving an intricately carved building.

"What is it?" Bucky asks, looking at the structure cradled in her palm.

"The Badshahi Mosque in Lahore," She replies, running her hands in mesmerizing patterns across the polished surfaces of the carving.

"It's beautiful." His eyes roam over the domes and towers, the arched entrance. She chuckles.

"You should see the real thing. Life sized. This is just the main building," She tells him, face coming alive. "When you enter the gates, there's a gigantic courtyard you cross before going inside. Marble arches, Mughal frescoes, floral motifs, it's all breathtaking."

"Are all mosques like that?"

"In size? No. Not in detail and decoration either, I guess. This one is a lot fancier than most, but there are some features all mosques have in common. Like the domes that represent the vault of Heaven, and minarets where the call to prayer is given from," She explains, brushing past him to put the model in the box of things meant to be to his home. It's still half empty.

"Call to prayer. Azaan, right? The one you've set for your alarm for prayer?" He picks up a sealed box by the entryway and puts it on a shelf.

"It's an app. Uses the azaan to let me know when it's time. The times change according to the length of the day. Apps are easier than changing the phone alarm all the time." Navigating the minefield of stuff, she opens the duct tape to close the decorations box. Just as she's about to cut off an end, her phone rings from somewhere in the room.

"Shit," She mutters, and he takes over the tape, fingers grazing hers as they switch places. She scrambles, almost tripping over a cricket bat leaning against a dining chair before locating the offending device in a flowerpot.

“اسلام وعلیکم، ماما”

She greets breathlessly, fake enthusiasm oozing. Bucky doesn't blame her. Work's been tough, and neither of them have been getting much sleep with the restless nights they've been having. The first few days after a long mission are painful, and his subconscious likes to torture him with nightmares. She's patient, though. Began keeping a glass of water on the nightstand, wouldn't let him move to the sofa in the middle of the night when he didn't want to disturb her. She's kind, kinder than she has any reason to he after how cruel the world has been to her. Because in addition to the tension of concluding her doctorate, and then dealing with his nightly episodes, she's coping with the stress of the green card.

"ماما، میں نے کہا بھی تھا کہ یہ خبریں نہیں پڑھنی چاہئیں۔ سب جھوٹ ہے۔"

I told you not to read those articles. It's all fake. She shoots a worried glance his way. After her family found out about the marriage, they had to design some sort of scheme to prevent them from interfering or being upset. Lie of choice - Bucky Barnes is Muslim. The press hasn't been fed this fallacy, but they've been hounding them for weeks - Is Bucky Barnes a secret Muslim? (Fox News), Bucky Barnes proves himself a traitor (Infowars), Bucky Barnes defies Islamophobia (CNN). Bucky doesn't like any of them, and it's bound to get worse after they find out about the application they submitted for permanent residence based on marriage.

They applied for it yesterday, when they had decided that a month is enough time to convince people that their marriage is not fraudulent. Bucky considers the headlines they'll come up with when they'll inevitably find out, thinks about how worried she was about ruining his public image the first time they met.

"You know what the media will say, right?" She asks over her elaichi tea in a booth tucked in the back of his favorite café.

"I can imagine," He answers, drawing circles in his cappuccino with the stirring stick. The cream design on top is long gone.

"Then why are you doing this?" She wants to know.

"Because you have the right to stay. And Parker would be devastated," He adds honestly. No use beating around the bush.

"Why you, though? Did the Avengers have some kind of meeting about Peter's long face and you drew the short straw?"

"Sam's too high profile, and everyone else is either too young or too taken."

"Of course, yeah, that makes sense," She concedes, taking a sip. He drains his cup. "I'm sorry- I didn't mean- I just don't want you to feel obligated to do this. Nobody's forcing you. If you don't want to, I'll figure something else out," She rambles in quick succession, all nervous hand gestures and non-existent eye contact, looking anxious and embarrassed.

"It's okay. I want to. Besides, it'll get me away from the Compound. Sam's always goin' on about being more involved, and don't get me wrong, I'm happy to do the work, I really am. The job is important, but I don't want to live in it, you know? Need a change of pace, to get away," he tells her, trying to make it sound like she's helping him as much as he is her. And she is. He may not look it, but he's tired. Happy to do the work, loves the job, but doesn't want to live for it.

Her cup comes down on the saucer with a clink, and he realizes she's finished her drink, and they've discussed everything there is to be discussed: living arrangements, finances, her studies, his job, Peter.

As they leave the café, she's a step ahead of him, and he rushes to open the door. She thanks him and he nods; together they step out into the slushy, snowy streets. Christmas is a week away, decorations out in full force. The twinkling fairy lights from the shopfront windows reflect in her irises, brightly contrasting with the midnight brush strokes that are her eyelashes. Her breath is released in clouds from her lipbalm-coated mouth, and the word winter wonderland has never felt more appropriate.

The memory of their first meeting floats in his eyes as he begins separating the items whose fate is her to be determined by their owner, still on the phone. She calls her family every other day, and they're close. The guilt tears at her, he sees it every day, sees it now, in the way she's scratching her nails against her legs when he walks past to get to another container. All the while, the Urdu he's learning touches of plays in the background.

"جی، ماما، وہ بہت اچھا ہے۔ آپ بالکل فکر نہ کریں۔"

Yes… he's very nice. Don't worry.

"ہاں، میرا خیال بھی رکھتا ہے۔"

Yes, he takes care of me, she's telling her mother, and Bucky hides his grin behind a pile of books.

"اللہ حافظ۔"

She bids farewell and ends the call with a sigh, just as he exits the van.

"Everything alright?" He asks, hands on hips. She nods, tucks her phone in her pocket and goes to the area he's calling no-man's land. Kneeling down, she moves the cricket bat into a box of things destined for his apartment.

"Yeah, the usual." Sorts through a few more things.

"What do you want to do with the flowerpots?" He asks, pointing to the empty pits her phone had disappeared into earlier. She turns towards him on her knee and huffs, tries to blow a lock of hair out of her face.

"I don't know why I have those. My thumb is as green as Trump's environmental policies," she mumbles, getting up to place them in a corner. They take one each, and another ten minutes of work awards them with the end of their assignment.

Bucky opens the passenger door while she locks the storage cell, and they leave the facility. The day's work - a tangible accomplishment - has cheered her up, and he wants to resurrect the ghost of a smile on her face

"I want pizza," He tells here, straight face.

"O… kay? We can have pizza, she says hesitantly. He never demands anything of her, so she's wondering where he's going with the framing of the wish.

"Do you have a favorite pizzeria?"

"There's a place in Astoria that-"

"Astoria? Queens? No. No, no, no. Brooklyn has the best pizza, come one," He deadpans, turning on the blinker, eyes flicking over to see her cross her arms playfully.

"I refute that."

"Alright, Astoria it is," He sighs pretend-reluctantly, rolling his eyes. She pokes her tongue out at him, and then laughs. The sound warms his blood, and he forgets the February chill and all thoughts of food as the melody rings out. When he returns to his senses, all he can think is, he's in so much fucking trouble.

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afriedbreaddragonposts · 5 years

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کرکٹ میں نسلی امتیاز کے واقعات اور ان کے اثرات

اکستانی کرکٹ ٹیم کے کپتان سرفراز احمد کی جانب سے جنوبی افریقی کرکٹر فیُلوک وایو پر مبینہ نسل پرستانہ فقرہ کسے جانا اپنی نوعیت کا پہلا واقعہ نہیں ہے ۔ ماضی میں اس طرح کے کئی واقعات رونما ہوچکے ہیں۔

باسل ڈی اولیورا جنوبی افریقہ کے لیے ناقابل قبول

باسل ڈی اولیورا جنوبی افریقہ میں پیدا ہونے والے کرکٹر تھے لیکن جنوبی افریقہ کی نسلی امتیاز کی پالیسی کے سبب…

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radbrowndads · 6 years

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My mamoo passed away last week. When my friends and co-workers asked who I lost, I called him “my uncle”, but in English, he’d be more accurately described as my “first cousin once-removed” or my mother’s cousin. I have been devastated to lose him. Some folks not familiar with the culture I was raised with probably read this and think: "I’m not even that close to my first cousins, so why is he grieving about his Mom’s cousin?" As with all of my work, I am incredibly loathe to explain things that are inherent to my perspective or attempt to validate my world view as the child of Muslim immigrants.

But I think the reason I grieve my mamoo is important. And I want people to know the reason. I also want my family, who for better or worse all share Facebook as a common platform, to understand what he meant to me.

The crux of the importance is in that word, mamoo. "Mother’s brother."

In Urdu and in practice, we never distinguished between my mother’s actual brother and my mother’s cousin, nor my father’s sister and my father’s cousin. All were the same. And family comes with things like loyalty, respect, and unconditional love. It also comes with drama and arguments. But family is there for you.

Now like any family, you are closer to some branches and less to others. For whatever reason, this mamoo and his three other siblings has always been very close to our branch. Every single one of my mother’s four cousins has been deeply present throughout my life. They were (and are!) older than my parents and all but one were born in British India, in Panipat, before Partition.

Somehow, losing him, especially so suddenly, made me (and my sister Zainab, who independently came to the same conclusion) realize something — the culture of my mother’s family (and probably my father’s too) is seeped through with a refugee’s loss of home. My mother and everyone younger than her only knew Pakistan, but they inherited this trauma of their parents losing self, of losing home, of giving up what we knew to go to a new homeland and not by choice. And they passed that down to us. I’ve written about why this Partition means a lot previously here (https://www.buzzfeed.com/ahmedaliak…/not-quite-eat-pray-love). But even still I did not realize that how deeply these lessons penetrated my consciousness until I lost my mamoo.

My mamoo was a child when that happened. I can't even bear to think of all the young children whose lives ICE has ruined, but while mamoo and family would never be able to return home to India, the family stayed together at least. And he and his siblings have been a living link to that past we were inculcated with. My grandfather died when I was two, so my mamoo was the oldest man on my mother’s side that I regularly spent any time with. I hesitate to say he was like my grandfather, because that wasn’t the relationship at all and it feels pandering to American sensibilities of what familial love is. But still, whether he knew it or not, he was one of the most important elder men in my family and I see his influence on many in our generation. The loss was not just of a beloved family member — but of another pillar that was holding the family together, despite us dispersing throughout the world and away from Panipat.

Now, I want to point out that I have not personally experienced any suffering from this sort of “refugee” mindset, as it might imply to some. I have immense social and economic privilege as the children of two doctors and I have everything I could have ever asked for. But I do have this feeling that our culture, our family, our love for another may be eroded over time away from home. My grandparents worried that time in Pakistan would erode the culture from Panipat. And I worry that time here will erode some of the good that I learned from Pakistani culture. There is no strict value to this change, but when I talk with outsiders about my family, they remark that they admire how close we are. How much we are there for each other. And I never want to lose that.

On a personal level, there were many things I admired about my mamoo. He was present at every function he could be, no matter how far. Despite living in Pakistan and the UK, he visited my dying mother an incredible amount of times with his wife, my mami-jaan, who we also lost a few years back. I would often wake up from the deep sadness of knowing you’re going to lose a parent to see that yes, once again, Lutfi mamoo and Anwar Mami had came. I would ask him…. “Did you come from Pakistan?” not believing he had made the trip again, just to sit with his younger sister. And inevitably, he had. He made it seem like it was nothing at all, that to be there for us in our time of need was as easy as breathing. Mashallah. I wish to be like that in my family’s lives one day.

He was funny and loving and giving. You could be stuffed full of food and he would still literally stick his hand down your throat with food. My father was never much of a feeder in that way, so I never stopped being tickled watching this grown man lovingly present his entire khandan with nawallas to choke down at every meal. Until I was his next target of affection and I had to find a way to fend him off.

Once, he fed me the most delicious nihari of my life…. And immediately I fell unbearably sick with food poisoning, as did my sisters. But I recovered. And he served nihari again. I told him I wouldn’t eat it a second time, but he insisted… he said the sheermal we had eaten the nihari with was stamped on by the shopkeepers feet. "Just don’t eat the sheermal." So I happily ate it again, sans sheermal, only to be poisoned again. My sisters smartly avoided the second serving. I survived, but when I returned five years later, he served us nihari again and this time, despite his legendary insistence, I had learned to say no (he blamed the sheermal again). But my father did not, and he was the victim for the third iteration of this dangerous nihari. I had never him sweat like that. But I laughed at Lutfi mamu’s belief in our stomachs ability to persevere and his belief in showing love through food. It was, after all, the best damn nihari ever. I don’t regret eating it twice.

Before Facebook was ubiquitous, I’d get completely random Skype calls from him. I always found it a bit strange, since the older generation rarely called me at that age. And even more interesting, he’d often be calling in bed, against a generic white painted wall. And I’d ask him if he was calling from Lahore, his home. And no, he’d be calling me from Zanzibar or somewhere else in East Africa his business took him. I didn’t even know his job took him there! But he called me to ask how I was doing, to update me on his life, to connect us. As a lot of Pakistanis know, oldest children are valued and when you’re a younger sibling, you can sometimes feel ignored. But I never felt that way with my mamu. Those calls were such intensely memorable experiences of an elder treating me as if I was worthy. That I was valuable to him. I don’t even remember what we talked about, but it stayed with me, that he decided I was worth calling.

I am better at reflecting on the dead than the living. But I would remiss also to not mention his four daughters who have always treated us with a lot of love and affection as well, a legacy they got from both their parents. And of course, I can’t forget to eulogize his wife, Anwar Mami, who I have such fond memories watching cricket and cooking pullao with. I remember she was very impressed I had taken the effort to learn the family dish and I don’t believe my cooking deserved the level of praise she gave me. But that’s just the way she was with me.

Back to the original thrust of this: Lutfi Mamu was not the first person to die recently. We have lost so many elders in the past few years, including Mamu’s older sister, Khalida Khala, who I don’t believe I wrote anything about because it felt so freakish as well, that one day my beloved Khala could be there, and then be gone to a medical complication. And the same with Mami jaan who died to a long battle with cancer, as did my mother and Nuzhat Usmani’s husband Salahuddin Khalu. And then, of course, things repeat themselves. And Lutfi mamu died to a complication, to a battle with recovery.

And I realize that these things are not freakish, they are not strange. They are the norm. It happened to my parents and they felt the loss of Panipat and it will happen to us and we will feel the loss of Pakistan. One day my generation and I will look around and we will be carrying the torch of the legacy of the family. For better or for worse, we all took something from our family. I don’t know that I valorize any family value besides loving the fuck out of your family, besides being there for people who need you, besides loving to share food. A lot of other stuff is negotiable and I don’t want to say that I think inherently being an Usmani is good.

But being a family who loves each other. Where a cousin’s child can grieve his mamoo, to feel truly and bitterly lost at losing another model of Usmanihood, of family, of loving…. That is what I believe we should hold on to. Because it’s easy to transition to new ways of living, of nuclear families and of individual needs over those of the many. But for me, that way lies a deep, painful loss. I don’t want to let that happen. Because ammi, my mamoo, my mami jaan, my khala, and all the others we lost would be intensely pissed to know that the family is not together. And a week in London with the family has me confident that we can make it work, but it requires humility and sacrifice. It requires calls from Zanzibar and force feeding nihari that makes you shit out your face and your ass because it comes with a moment of bliss.

After my mamoo’s funeral, I saw my niece Laila play with her cousins, who are my mom’s cousins grandchildren. And I hope in thirty years, when they all grow up, they’re still connected. Because we did the fucking work and made the calls.

EDIT: i keep editing this to add clarification, but i think at this point i need a new comment.

one, i am sure there are buzurgon i have forgotten to name. one major one i forgot is rehmat amma, who was truly and absolutely the legacy of my nani on this earth during my lifetime. and i am sorry if i have forgotten others, but i pray that all of their souls are at ease

two, one of the bitter contradictions about having a huge, closely knit family is that deep layers of sweet familiarity and love are also marked by constant, repetitive cycles of loss and death. it’s a hard, but i think ultimately useful perspective to have on life. death is ever-present, for each of us, and whether you turn to god for explanation or you use the loss to find balance, i believe it is useful to know that life is short and it ends and it ends and it ends. I wouldn’t trade that knowledge for anything.

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supercollectionnews-blog · 6 years

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Urdu News link Of All Type News

Newslink is a purely Urdu website, where you can read all content in Urdu. It’s the best resource for Urdu lovers who like to read/write in Urdu. It contains news from all other famous sites like BBC, ARY, Dunya, Jang, Nawaye Waqt, Urdu point, dawn, Samaa and voice of America. The best feature on this website is to find out all other related news from the past 8 years. Like if any politician delivers any statement, this website will tell you all other related statements given by that politician in past. The only news link has this feature that distinguishes it from all other Urdu news websites. Imran Khan just launches his new campaign green and clean Pakistan. You can find every single news related to that campaign here on this platform. It’s a great campaign as we know the climate is changing so rapidly so we have to take initiatives like these to keep it balanced.

Sports Passion and Corruption in Pakistan

Sports especially cricket is a passion for every person in Pakistan. You can get all live updates related to score and live streaming on sports news. Corruption is a curse and huge hurdle to the progress of Pakistan. The main cause of this evil was lack of accountability in Pakistan. Nab was not fully independent, it always has the influenced whether there are military civil governments. Reasons behind all of the above types of corruption were favoritism, laziness, personal incapability and avoiding the hard work. Qurani verse says that earning the halal, judicial and fair livelihood is ibadat and a person doing so is a friend of Allah. Corruption causes the murder of merit and also increase gaps between rich and poor. We all need to stand by against corruption for the sake of make Pakistan better. Every news related to corruption can be found on this platform. Layout and placement of everything are great on this website. It is easily understandable and easily findable whatever you are looking for. its font is also very much readable.

Pakistan is Developing and Struggling Country

Pakistan is developing the country and struggling many fields in which health system has suffered a lot and now Pakistan is on rank 122 out if 190 countries according to world health organization performance report, which is a very alarming situation for us. You can get every small update regarding health news at newslink. Majority of people living in slums suffer from Malaria. This disease is caused when mosquitoes breed on unclean water and unsanitary conditions which is very common in rural areas and deserts. Malaria can cause death too if left untreated. It is one of the top health issues in Pakistan. Dengue fever has been affecting people since 2010. In Pakistan, it has taken thousands of lives of people living in rural areas. Dengue is a viral infection which is caused by a specific mosquito type. It causes fever, severe headache and weakness in the patient. Even after many years, dengue is still prevailing across the country. We need to improve our health structure so that poor people also afford good facilities in economic rates.

International News Latest News

Pakistan News Sports News

#Newslink news link Urdu news Urdu news latest newsc related news Pakistan news international international news sports sports news entertain

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easywayidea · 2 years

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Top singer in Bollywood

Bollywood second-largest movie industry in the world. They produce a lot of music and movies. Every they launch five to ten song launch average. You can get a top singer in Bollywood. Many singers sang a song but most probably hit just a few singers. Because these voices and speak of the word are charming. These words heart touching and include sweats. These singers perform in every area like Asia, Europe, and middle east countries. Hindi songs most probably include poetry and rap mix songs. In Hindi, all types of songs are available like rap, hip hop, classic (Sada bahar), remix

In these songs, they use Punjabi, English, Hindi, and Urdu words. Music composers use suitable words for creating the best music they also use top instruments. in the music heart touching poetry and instruments. that why they look awesome. Govt creates a lot of music institutions and consults programs. Govt hires quality teachers because they produce high-quality singers. These institutions allow every person to learn it. And they become part of music computation. So they produce a lot of singers. Bollywood also does not include only Indians, they are also Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi and become a part of singing. Bollywood welcomes every country and person and speaks every language. In this industry, everyone speaks of a person include.

You can find Bollywood Singers then this article for you

1. Arijit Singh

Arijit Singh is a playback singer. He is famous for romanticism and youth. He sings largely in Hindi and Bengali including different other Indian languages.

📷Arijit Singh songs

He gets many music awards. people also like the voice and word speaking in songs. he is considered the Bollywood best singer in the current time. he is started as a singer with the song “Phir Mohabbat”.

2. Jubin Nautiyal

Jubin Nautiyal’s Hindi songs list increasing day by day. He is a playback singer. Recently his songs are very famous like ” High rated Gabru”. His songs getting a billion views.

📷 Jubin Nautiyal

Continuing her success story, the singer won another significant award in 2021 — Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. now we see the success of his person which point will end. Today’s every song composer wants to sing a song. that’s why his success will never end.

3. Guru Randhawa

Guru Randhawa started singing as a Punjabi singer. His full name is Gursharanjot Singh Randhawa. he is a song writer and music composer. He started working in Bollywood in 2017 in the movie “Hindi Medium”.

📷 Guru Randhawa

Guru Randhawa’s debut single was Same Girl in collaboration with Arjun. he loves the no formal training. His successful songs lists are “Lahore, Highrated Gabru, etc. he is a pop singer and likes banghar.

4. Neha Kakkar

Neha Kakkar is a singer, actor, and composer. Such achievements make Neha, one of the most popular Indian singers of 2021. Rohanpreet Singh is the husband of neha kakkar.

📷 Neha Kakkar song

He is the only woman mostly watched on youtube in 2019. He is getting is a Brit Asia TV Music Awards winner of 2018.

5. Dhvani Bhanushali

He is an Indian singer. Born in Mumbai. he started as a model and turned into a singer. His first song released was the “Ishtehaar” film Welcome To New York.

📷 Dhvani Bhanushali song

he is a playback singer and actor. He is famous for the “Vaaste” song.

6. Harrdy Sandhu

He is a singer, actor, and former cricketer. he gained popularity with Soch and Joker, which were written by Jaani and music composed by B Praak. his full name Hardavinder Singh “Harrdy” Sandhu.

📷 Harrdy Sandhu songs

He is started as a fast bowler. he is also part of the under 19 world cup. then his arm injury leaves the game. then started his career as a singer then start actor composer. he belongs to a Sikh family.

7. Asees Kaur

Asees Kaur is an Indian singer who has participated in different singing reality shows like Indian Idol etc. he started a career in Bollywood as a singer and his first song “Dildara Reprise”.

📷asees kaur Song

Continuing her success story, the singer won another significant award in 2021 — Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer.

8. Stebin Ben

Stebin Ben is an Indian playback singer. He started in hit Bollywood songs like “Shimla Mirchi”, “Hotel Mumbai”. He’s also a pop singer.

📷 Stebin Ben Song

9. Afsana Khan

Afsana is also part of a music reality show named Voice of Punjab. she started as a Punjabi singer. his song “Bazar” was very famous. She is a playback singer-actress and songwriter.

📷 Afsana Khan Song

she belongs to a Muslim family. she has a younger brother also a singer. that’s why belongs to the singing family.

10. Atif Aslam

Atif Aslam is a Pakistani singer. He is started singing in Bollywood and Punjabi movies industry. His songs are very famous and get many awards. He sings songs Hind, Urdu, and Punjabi. He is a good singer-actor and composer.

📷 Atif Aslam Songs

#topsinger #music #news

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xtruss · 4 years

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He Loves Pakistani Cricket. It Doesn’t Love Him Back.

“I don’t think anything prepared me for the hostility I was going to face,” the British-born Wasim Khan says of overseeing a beloved sport in a country where many see him only as a foreigner.

Wasim Khan in Birmingham, England, where he grew up and learned to play cricket.Credit...Andrew Testa for The New York Times

— By Tariq Panja | September 9, 2020 | NY Times

LONDON — Wasim Khan has spent his life immersed in Pakistani cricket, even as he spent very little of that life in Pakistan. To his critics, that latter bit is precisely the problem.

Wasim Khan was hooked early. As the son of Pakistani immigrants to Britain, Khan grew up listening to his father, his uncles and his cousins talk passionately about cricket late into the night. They told tales of Pakistan’s cricketing superstars, of its stunning victories, and of the huge crowds that regularly packed the dusty stadiums a world away from the Khans’ home in the Small Heath section of Birmingham, the city that served as a magnet for the generations of migrants from South Asia in the 1960s and ’70s.

Khan was, and is, a Pakistan cricket fan. He was even when he started to show his own talent for the sport, a talent with the bat that earned him a place in England’s under-19 team. Even when he became the first Briton of Pakistani heritage to sign a professional club cricket contract. And even later, when he was appointed to lead the Leicestershire County Cricket Club, becoming the first nonwhite chief executive of a major professional British sports team.

So when he was offered the opportunity to run Pakistan’s cricket board in 2018, Khan had no hesitation. The lure was personal, not just professional.

“Part of the appeal of going back to Pakistan was being with your own people, the whole understanding of the place, the feeling when you get up in the morning and you hear the call to prayer,” he said.

Now, 18 months after taking on the job, whatever romance Khan, 49, had about relocating to the land of his parents’ birth to take charge of a sport that is a national obsession has largely evaporated.

Since moving last year to Lahore, where the Pakistan Cricket Board is based, he has faced an unending torrent of criticism. For the changes he has instituted. For his European upbringing. For the languages he chooses to speak, and his accent in them when he does. But mostly, as he is reminded almost daily, for not being Pakistani enough, for being an “import” doing a job that should be reserved for a Pakistani.

“I don’t think anything prepared me for the hostility I was going to face,” Khan said. “They’ve put me on the back foot right from the word go.”

Khan detailed the daily outpouring of negativity during an interview last month. How a group of board members staged a walkout, followed by a news conference in which they attacked him as an outsider, almost as soon as he had been appointed last year. How his salary was leaked and is now subject to daily debate. And how rumors continue to persist that he was only appointed because of connections to influential political figures close to Pakistan’s cricket-hero-turned-prime-minister, Imran Khan.

To underline the point, he brandished his cellphone. “Look,” he said. “This just came out today.”

The screen loads a YouTube video in which another of Pakistan’s former star players, the ex-captain Javed Miandad, launches into a full-throated assault on the cricket board, and both Khans. (Wasim Khan is not related to Imran Khan.) The diatribe lasts several minutes. Dressed in a blue tunic and sitting in a chair, Miandad fires volley after volley, excoriating Khan, his former teammate, over changes to the cricket board, including the appointment of Wasim Khan.

“Is there a shortage of people in your own country that you had to bring people from abroad?” Miandad says, his voice rising until he is almost shouting. (Weeks later, Miandad apologized for his outburst.)

Being responsible for Pakistan cricket is unlike most other similar roles in professional sports. The scrutiny runs from the office of the prime minister, through the dozens of news channels featuring frothing ex-players and commentators with hours of airtime to fill, and down to streets teeming with children playing impromptu games, mimicking the swashbuckling batting or the fast bowling of their green-shirted national team heroes.

Pakistan’s Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shadab Khan during a match against England last week in Manchester.

Pakistan’s Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shadab Khan during a match against England last week in Manchester.Credit...Pool photo by Mike Hewitt

Then there is the daily reality of managing cricket in Pakistan, which has only recently started to host international teams after a decade-long exile forced upon it after militants attacked a visiting Sri Lankan team in 2009. Domestically, Khan has become the face of a major restructuring of the professional game, a streamlining that has eliminated several teams, cost hundreds of professional players their jobs and sparked protests in the streets.

“There is that emotional pull and he moved back to Pakistan, hoping it would be great,” said Osman Samiuddin, an author and journalist who has written a book about the history of cricket in Pakistan. “And then you get there and reality of situation hits you, and you think, ‘Oh damn, maybe I shouldn’t have done this.’”

Khan shook his head as he recalled the moment a group of board members walked out of a meeting after a motion to block his appointment was not heard. The moment was captured on television cameras as the men held an impromptu news conference to air their grievances. Khan recalled receiving a frantic call from his wife, Salma, who was in Lahore, hundreds of miles away, house hunting for the new family home.

“She rang me in tears, saying, ‘You’re on every TV station right now and it’s saying you’re not going to have a job anymore,’” Khan said. “I said, ‘Don’t worry, it will get sorted.’”

Instead, it has gotten worse. In many ways, the ceaseless criticism is a function of cricket’s centrality to life in Pakistan. But it is also based in the changes to the culture of the way the sport is managed in the country.

“Do you know what the word sifarish means?” Wasim Akram, once the world’s No. 1-ranked fast bowler, asked. He was referring to an Urdu word which suggests a mix of nepotism and favoritism, which he said has long been a function of cricket in Pakistan. Ex-players, relatives of ex-players and influential political figures had for decades benefited from a system that rewarded relationships over professional aptitude.

“We need someone like Wasim Khan to come as a neutral guy, as a person who comes in and sees things differently,” Akram said. His backing was a rare public endorsement for the cricket board chief and the changes he is pursuing. Many of Akram’s former teammates, like his former captain Miandad, typically line up to outdo one another in their criticism.

The demand for such content — the commentaries are broadcast daily on dozens of news channels but also countless personal YouTube channels — is partly explained by the fact that cricket’s popularity has no rival in a country with a population of more than 200 million. Its importance is perhaps best underlined by the central role afforded to the prime minister, whose official title of patron in chief to the cricket board belies its power.

And in Imran Khan, Pakistan has one the most storied cricket players of all time at the helm. Educated at the University of Oxford in Britain, Khan was already a household name well beyond Pakistan’s borders when he played a starring role in Pakistan’s greatest sporting triumph, captaining the team to the 1992 World Cup title.

Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, led his country to the Cricket World Cup title in 1992.

Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, led his country to the Cricket World Cup title in 1992. Credit...Jewel Samad/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Shortly after sweeping to power as Pakistan’s prime minister in August 2018, Khan set about overhauling the sport in which he made his name.

A club cricket structure that was dominated by so-called department teams — clubs run by some of Pakistan’s biggest businesses — was replaced by six regional teams, in an effort to create a cleaner pathway for talent to the national side and also build a fan base for the club game.

While Imran Khan, in his role as prime minister, is the guiding hand behind the change, Wasim Khan has been the face of it. That has made him a lightning rod for criticism, especially after the changes reduced the number of professionals by more than a half, and led to stories of former cricketers having to suddenly turn to driving taxis and even rickshaws to make a living.

Many have blamed Khan’s foreign origins for the plight of the players.

“Wasim Khan has been imported from England, he has never lived in Pakistan, doesn’t know about Pak cricket,” one of the chief executive’s biggest critics, Mirza Iqbal Baig, a broadcaster with huge social media following, wrote on Twitter.

Khan argues that in time, the new system will yield results. Besides, he said, he had little choice in the matter: the prime minister wanted the changes, and the country’s world rankings — seventh in Test cricket and sixth in one-day internationals — suggest the existing structure is not producing the results that the country and its tens of millions of fans crave.

“If you’re telling me the competitiveness of our structure works,” Khan said, “the stats don’t lie.”

The belief that he is right, though, does little to win over the critics, especially those — like Miandad and others — who reject his authority out of hand because of his British roots.

“He’s got the worst of both worlds,” said Samiuddin, the author. “He understands the country, speaks the language, but he’s not one of them. They’ll treat him like one of them, but never let him be completely in.”

Sitting in the corner of a mostly empty hotel restaurant in London, mulling over what has happened to him, the sadness and hurt that he has endured, Khan ruminated on a philosophical question that he thought he had resolved before trading his homeland for that of his parents.

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trekkinginpakistan · 4 years

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New Post has been published on Trekking in Pakistan

New Post has been published on https://trek.pk/kamalia/

Kamalia

Kamalia (Urdu/Punjabi: کمالیہ) is a city in the Toba Tek Singh District of Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative center of Kamalia Tehsil.[2] It is the 67th largest city of Pakistan by population and having the nearest cities like Rajana, Chichawatni, Pir Mahal.

Location

Kamalia is bounded in the South by River Ravi and Chichawatni, in the West by Pir Mahal, in the North by Rajana and Mamu-Kanjan, and in the East by Harappa and Sahiwal.

History

Kamalia is said to be existing even before the Alexander the Great. The legend suggests that Alexander tried to invade and win the then walled city (with used to exist some prehistoric name) in the morning when the people of the city opened its gate for a morning walk! Then the city was attacked and captured. But the conqueror moved on to some other places. Since the neighboring city Harappa is also prehistoric (but ruins now), so, it seems that Kamalia must be part of an ancient civilization who remained untouched from the wrath of the nature which could otherwise cause extinction. The old buildings amidst the “Iqbal Bazar” at the vantage point of the city, tell the story of a then progressive era.

The 1947 Partition caused the Sikh and Hindu population to migrate from the area with many of their hidden items still being found after ages. Some nobles even donated their properties to the trust of the Government. Government Praim Sati Trust (P.S.T) College is one of those properties; which is the only public (general-subjects) college in Kamalia other than the Government Technical College of Commerce.

A number of archaic and archaeological sites exist in Kamalia including Shamshan Ghat, Gurdawara and the ancient havelis with a grandeur.

Climate

The climate keeps changing with weathers. Summers are usually very hot and the temperatures may exceed 40 degrees, then comes Monsoon (Rainy season) with much closed environment and comparatively lesser rains as compared to the surrounding areas, then the Autumn with pleasant weather, then the Winters remain foggy and cold.

The most hazardous climatic threat to Kamalia is the flooding of River Ravi which is luckily a very rare phenomena.

Importance

Kamalia is famous for many things including the hand-woven or machine-woven cloth called “Khaddar”, poultry, sugarcane crop and not the least the Okra crop. Although the land is fertile and many other crops are also cultivated around the year which include Wheat, Cotton, Maze and Rice besides the “off-season” crops. Such variety of crops make it an important place for the Agriculture market. These crops are so much in abundance that many of these are exported to the other areas of the country. The Okra is dispatched across the country and even exported to Afghanistan. Whilst the poultry is also supplied to bigger cities like Lahore and Islamabad.

Dynamics

The people of Kamalia are mostly courteous and friendly. It is a very peaceful city with a minimal crime rate as compared to many other cities. The streets are mostly very narrow but surprisingly, this has increased closeness amongst the neighboring families who take care of each other through thick and thin.

Most of the people run their own micro-scale businesses including vendors selling in the main bazaars, the farmers, the commission agents at the agriculture and dry ration markets, and not the least; the owners and workers of the weaving machine units (looms).

Just like other areas of Pakistan, People are typically fond of politics. Pre-elections and the elections of every kind are enthusiastically participated in, with a handsome turnout. The local sports of Pigeon-keeping and kite-flying are also much liked. Rooftops are filled with pigeon-houses and kite-flying kits. The youth, by virtue of being Pakistani, are fond of Cricket. Although gone are the days when ample grounds including “Master-11” and others used to be heavens of the teens.

The availability of pure drinking water is yet another challenge. The city water table is getting lower gradually. But that is one issue. Fresh underground water is getting yellowish-brown and impure in more and more areas thereby making it inevitable for one to live comfortably.

Sources: Wikipedia

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doctortipsfordailylife · 5 years

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Boxing memorabilia like signed gloves and photos are available so be certain to take a look at our authentic collection! PTV Sports is a huge addition in sports network. Star Sports cover all the main sports events and tournaments happening in all sections of the planet at any moment. It will provide extensive and high quality Live telecasting of all the matches of Cricket World Cup 2019. Watch real-time stream, today cricket matches in addition to tennis. It is possible to also switch to DD sports and attempt to stream Doordarshan online.

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The NBA Playoffs TV schedule is going to be posted closer to the beginning of the postseason. Later on, you're likely to need to purchase season tickets and you're probably more apt to go in case you already have the tickets. It is just like sitting in the stadium.

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Finding the Best Sports TV

The app takes just a little of your storage, therefore it won't influence your phone's performance. Additional the app includes a great deal of ads which take up more than half of the screen. Just download the app and you're all set. If you're using any other app, you must face many copyright claim and another problem. The totally free sports app provides you with the capacity to get the most recent sports news, scores and analysis. A number of other applications or live streaming channels charge you a significant amount of charges that is called subscription charges.

Financial conditions of the deal weren't disclosed. Successful examples of the usage of trademarks to advertise and create the work of sport include the NBA (National Basketball Association) in the usa and Manchester United football club in the uk. If you consider the app name, you will likely believe the app is about cricket. Associating ourselves with WNBA, it is a terrific powerful established brand with popularity on the other side of the nation. Furthermore, the sport businesses have chosen some distinctive stadium for playing their matches.

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automobilenews24in7 · 5 years

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Choosing Sports TV Is Simple

Finding the Best Sports TV

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technologypluspk · 5 years

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Urdu News, Urdu Bbc, English To Urdu, Urdu Translation, Pakistan, Urdu Poetry, Poetry, Urdu Dictionary, Urdu Stories, Urdu Story, Urdu Language, Google Urdu, Urdu English Dictionary, Geo Urdu, Urdu To Urdu Dictionary, What Is Urdu, Jang Urdu, Quran, Jang, Quran Urdu, Dictionary English To Urdu, Shayari, Urdu Sms, Shayari Urdu, Urdu Point, Urdu Shairi, Facebook, Earn money online, Cute baby sex, YouTube, Live web tv, Indian movies, Cricket live, Yahoo and gmail, Online education, Free internet, Cartoons

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emergingkarachi · 11 years

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Basit Ali

Basit Ali (Urdu: باسط علی) (born December 13, 1970, Karachi, Sindh) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 19 Tests and 50 ODIs from 1993 to 1996. He was recognized by many to have a similar batting style as Javed Miandad. A right-hander, he has the relatively uncommon statistic of having a higher ODI than Test batting average. Strong through the covers and point, Ali was also a nerveless hooker and puller against the fast bowlers.

Ali was a successful junior cricketer, at one time holding the record for most hundreds in a Karchi zonal league season [2]. He debuted for Pakistan aged 22 in March 1993, playing both ODI and Test cricket in a tour of the Caribbean. For similarities and batting styles and temperament, he was initially seen as the one who'd take the mantle of Pakistani batting from Javed Miandad. He went on to play in 19 Tests but made just the one Test century, against New Zealand in 1993-94.

An aggressive risk taker, he was a regular in the Pakistani ODI side for a while in the mid 90's. In November 1993 he scored the then second fastest One Day International century in history, with a 67 ball effort against the West Indies at Sharjah. He took 5 more balls as compared to the record of Mohammad Azharuddin who took 62 balls. Basit Ali finished on 127 not out. Aamir sohail was acting captain in that match.http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2001/08/03/stories/07030288.htm].

He became involved in the Pakistani match fixing scandal which ended the career of Saleem Malik. Ali and Rashid Latif accused Pakistani players of match-fixing as well as facing allegations against themselves [3]. He was forced into a premature retirement.

#Test cricket #Pakistan #One Day International #Mohammad Azharuddin #Karachi #Javed Miandad #Caribbean #Basit Ali

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aruneshgoyal · 4 years

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The Contextual Major Plot Featuring India-Pakistan World Cup Tie as Also Wedding Anniversary of the Main Protagonists

Mahesh and Saraswati are well settled now in India (old Delhi) with kids, Shaloo - thirteen years of age, and Brij - nine years old. Mahesh is a devout Hindu, especially dedicated towards Goddess Durga and his wife, Saraswati is a pious Muslim lady before marriage by the name – Shakila.

Now, husband and wife for the last fifteen years ever since 15th February, 2000, Mahesh and Saraswati are all set to celebrate their fifteenth wedding anniversary along with another grand event, Indo-Pak World Cup cricket clash planned for the day, viz. the fifteenth of February, 2015.

Cricket has always been their cup of dilemma and duel especially due to Shakila’s brother, Hussaini Bhai, being a member of the Pakistan cricket team for the last ten years as an all-rounder (medium pace bowler and a power hitter just akin to our Kapil Dev).

This World Cup, in particular, is especially important for him as he is going to announce his retirement after the Indo-Pak match; moreover, Pakistan, sensing victory, out of the rather low morale of the Indian team due to repeated defeats on its tour of Australia, just on the eve of the mega event, are going all out this time to break the jinx of having never beaten India in a World Cup fixture as yet.

After marriage, being a dedicated wife as she was, Saraswati alias Shakila was always in a state of turmoil – whether to support her husband or her brother! The children too were at loggerheads on this issue. Hussaini Bhai also adopted certain Hindu customs after the marriage of his sister to Mahesh, which included the celebration of the much wonted and acclaimed ‘Raksha-Bandhan’ festival with the tying of the sacred thread on his wrist by his sister, elder to him by a good seven years.

Whenever Saraswati would handcuff him with a sparkling ‘Rakhi,’ he would seek her blessings you guess what, your guess is as good as mine – asking for his team’s victory over India in the upcoming matches. February 15 in 2015 was no different. He had already sought his sister’s affectionate blessings the previous year in the wake of his upcoming retirement from international cricket. Before leaving for Australia-New Zealand, the venue of this year’s edition of the World Cup, Hussaini Bhai had touched his sister’s feet yet again, promising to call her before the all-important Indo-Pak contest.

True to his word, before leaving for the cricket arena on the actual day of the match, Hussaini Bhai had called his sister, Shakila alias Saraswati, and said – “dear sister Shakila! Please bless me so that not only do I perform well with both bat and ball but also our team does well and goes on to defeat India!” Shakila, in reply, said simply – “dear brother Hussaini! I am a wife more now than a sister. Still, I pray to God that you perform well in your last encounter before retirement. As for defeating India, I cannot say anything but only that it be an absorbing contest between the two teams for the spectators to feast upon and the better team which does better today win!”

Mahesh and the two children – Shaloo and Brij, were standing just nearby, overhearing the entire conversation between the brother and sister team of Shakila and Hussaini. Mahesh said jokingly – “don’t you dare to spoil your dear brother’s mood today! Just see the extent to which he has gone, how much he has been preparing, and looking forward to this – his last and final outing in cricket!” Brij added – “it’s going to be my Mamu Jaan’s day today and Pakistan will beat India hoarse, hollow, and outright!” Meanwhile, Shaloo, listening to all this talk, just couldn’t bear the thought of India losing this particular ‘prestigious’ match, and joining in the conversation, said mockingly – “even if Mamu Jaan takes the blessings of the entire household in India, nay Pakistan as well, God will see to it that my India doesn’t get defeated today!”

“Okay, okay! Everybody, listen now! Enough discussion has already taken place on the issue. Let’s not waste any more time over the matter and straightaway get into the act, by having our breakfast quickly and then settling down lest we miss any of the live coverage by Star Sports. Remember, we have specially subscribed to the channel for this occasion and only about half an hour is left before the live action begins, beamed right from Australia to so many countries around the globe including our India” – intervened Saraswati alias Shakila, suddenly taking control of the situation.

Everybody fell silent now and there was no further talk about the upcoming cricket action during breakfast time. Finally, as the clock struck exactly 09:00 hrs. IST, everyone settled down, taking their own vantage positions in front of the HD color ONIDA television set, once so much famed for its “owners’ pride, neighbor’s envy” ad.

Being a Sunday, Mahesh was off from his office work and the children too were free from their respective schools. Mahesh worked for a leading MNC in Gurgaon, travelling to and fro daily in his Honda car. While Shaloo was pursuing her studies in a central convent school and had come home specially to join her family for the match, Brij was studying in the nearby Jesus & Mary school. The school van would come daily to pick him up from home in the morning as also drop him back after school time in the afternoon.

The match had a significant sidelight too – a touch of the Indian cinema. Mr. Amitabh Bacchhan, the veteran actor well known for his versatility, and the famed anchor of the popular soap opera and Sony’s TV show – “KBC (‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’),” was making his grand debut in the commentary box, for a change this time, during the course of the match. It may be pointed out in this context that Amitabh Ji’s voice is his greatest asset and everybody, whether from India or abroad, was keenly looking forward to listen to this golden voice on the occasion. Star Sports, who had roped Amit Ji in for the event, was particularly keen on cashing upon his worldwide popularity and up the ante as far as TV ratings were concerned.

Before the match, there had been frequent calls from Shakila’s family and other near and dear ones from Pakistan all of whom were rooting for their home team and wanted Shakila alias Saraswati to fall in their footsteps and follow suit. Only Saraswati knew how tormenting all those moments had been. On one hand, she was supposed to and had to support India in the wake of her foremost relation as Mahesh’s wife and on the other, she couldn’t afford to displease her native relations too, not to speak of her role as a sister to Hussaini Bhai.

But, there was one very good point and factor working in her favor.

Mahesh knew his wife well, trusted her, and supported her through and through. Furthermore, he was not a jingoist or a cricket fanatic and was wise enough to understand not only the intricacies of the game but also the significant fact, missed by many but not him, that after all, it was only a game in which one of the two competing sides had to win and the other to lose.

Sometimes, he just brooded over and told himself that people were, by and large, foolish enough to put at stake so much for their chosen team, even going to the extent of gambling and betting heavily on the outcome. All this, he so wisely surmised, added to the ever increasing pressure on the players from both the sides and everybody else genuinely concerned about the game, which in modern times, had already acquired and taken the form of an explosive volcano, ready to erupt anywhere anytime.

He stood by his dear wife, Saraswati, often consoling and calming her down with soothing words, telling her to take all the discomfiture in her stride and that things would take their own course and everything would eventually work out well, God willing, or ‘Inshallah,’ as they say in Urdu.

Mahesh also had the good sense to realize that the game and so to say, everything in the modern world, from education down to health facilities, had become too commercialized, especially, of late, for comfort. The common man was hard put to even afford the “grand luxury” of going to a cricket stadium to watch and catch the action right in front of his eyes, not only due to the heavily priced match tickets but also taking into account the fact that as no outside food was allowed these days at the stadia, he would have to foot the bill for the highly over-priced eatables and drinks being offered and available at the match site and that too of much inferior quality in comparison to their rates.

Anyway, as he sometimes would take up and broach these topics with his wife, she would tell him to be ‘practical’ and not think too much but enjoy and, rather, relish the fun of it all, as if “any fun could be greater than humanity,” thought Mahesh although he used to keep and remain silent, accepting Saraswati’s views, but only outwardly. His inner senses were just neither willing nor ready to accept this hard reality and these harsh facts of life and he always wished he could do something about it. But, “what could he do,” all alone. He needed outside support and backing to buck him up in his mission and in this instance, his own wife was telling him in plain words to be ‘smart’ and ‘practical’ and let things go their own whacky way, whether “right or wrong,” how it mattered!

His conscience would prick him no end and he often thought and wished he could write a book and express his views and opinions openly without any fear or regret whatsoever. As of now, he had a family, may be small, but it was after all a family with a beautiful young wife and two decent kids to be taken care of and he just couldn’t afford to put their lives at stake, for the time being, at least. “All right, let me be rid of my family responsibilities and my office as well after retirement. Then, possibly, I can take a chance and would be able to write, fulfilling my cherished wish for so long!” he told himself consolingly and softly.

Back to our match, the little Indo-Pak cricket encounter. Pakistan, winning the toss, had elected to bat first on what appeared to be a paradise of a pitch for batsmen, laden with runs. And, keeping in view Hussaini Bhai’s impending retirement immediately after this significant contest, he was asked to open the innings along with Mohammed Shehzaad, a young, elegant to watch, and gifted opener. May be, the move to send Hussaini Bhai upfront was meant to take India by surprise and upset their rhythm, especially during the first ten power-play overs when only three fielders are allowed outside the inner circle. Be that as it may, Hussaini Bhai was out first ball, yorked by Umesh Yadav, the fastest bowler of the lot on the Indian side, much to the disdain of Brij but amusement for Shaloo. Shakila too was a bit upset about this particular dismissal, knowing in her heart that her brother would be even more upset about it, especially in view of his last outing in cricket.

The whole of Pakistan was stunned into silence and rubbed its eyes in disbelief. Meanwhile, Mahesh, calm and composed, as always, came forward to soothe Saraswati alias Shakila, telling her that Hussaini Bhai still had a chance to bowl well in the Indian innings, and that all was not lost as yet. Misbah-ul-Haq, the skipper of the Pakistan team, walked in next and boy, what an innings he played, simply breathtaking and out of this world! Along with Mohammed Shehzaad, the diminutive young opening batsman, he put up a bewildering partnership of one hundred eighty runs, in which his own personal contribution was a marvelous one hundred fifty runs, full of strokes all around the ground, comprising twelve fours and a towering eleven sixes, to boot.

Although he got out soon after reaching this milestone, trying to hammer another six and caught brilliantly near the boundary by Suresh Raina, who took a low tumbling catch running a good twenty yards to his left, followed almost immediately by Shehzaad, who played a rather needless rash shot in trying to up the ante even more, Pakistan reached a respectable and healthy looking score of two hundred seventy runs eventually, losing five wickets in their allotted fifty overs.

For India, Umesh Yadav took three wickets with Mohammed Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin being the other two successful bowlers, bagging one wicket a piece. Suresh Raina, a part time bowler used by India, strangely turned out to be their most economical one, conceding just thirty runs off his ten overs, giving him an economy rate of three per over, which was simply stunning under any circumstances.

It was lunch time now and the whole family, Mahesh, Saraswati and the two kids – Brij and Shaloo, gathered around the dining table to enjoy the package of Daal Makhani, Rajma, cauliflower, Pulaav, Raita and Tandoori Naans, home delivered to them by the nearby “Wah Ji Wah” restaurant, especially for the occasion. Mahesh had also ordered a special candle-light dinner at the restaurant later in the day to celebrate his fifteenth wedding anniversary with Saraswati. Brij and Shaloo too were to accompany them and join in the celebration, especially as a special chocolate vegetarian cake had been ordered the previous day by Mahesh for today’s special evening. During the course of their lunch, Brij was a bit sulky while Shaloo was her usual chirpy self. Mahesh and Saraswati, on their part, tried their best to keep Brij’s spirits alive and not bring cricket into the picture or mix it up with their much needed meal, especially after three and a half hours of rigorous and continuous cricket watching on their TV monitor/screen.

After a lunch break of exactly thirty minutes, the match began again at 13:00 hrs. IST. At this stage, India were the hot favorites and expected to win, keeping its record over Pakistan straight in World Cup encounters. This was keeping in view the fact that the pitch was still batsmen friendly and benign towards them. Moreover, India had a strong batting line up with stalwarts like Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Anjika Rahane, and the captain cool, Mahender Singh Dhoni himself, to boot, in its ranks.

As also, the fact that it had been able to restrict Pakistan to a target well below three hundred was an additional advantage working in its favor. And, the men in blue didn’t disappoint their fans, beginning well with Rohit and Shikhar putting up a decent one hundred partnership upfront off just eleven overs. At this point, Hussaini Bhai was introduced into the attack by Pakistan skipper, Misbah. And, off his fourth ball, he had Shikhar Dhawan caught behind, off a thin edge, with a late out swinger. In his next over, he sent back Rohit Sharma too, catching him plumb in front of the wicket with a peach of a delivery, that came in just a bit, for an easy LBW decision by England’s Ian Gould, one of the two umpires doing duty in the match along with S.Venky, the one from Sri Lanka. He virtually sent the crowd, the Pakistan fans, in particular, into a tizzy, by claiming the prize wickets of Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina off his next two successive deliveries, achieving the rare feat of a hat trick in a World Cup final.

There had been no addition to the Indian score of exactly one hundred and its batting backbone had been literally broken and virtually torn to pieces, with four wickets gone already. Rahane and Dhoni tried to rev up the innings a bit, adding a crucial and vital eighty runs, before Rahane too was snapped up by Hussaini in his last and final over, not only for the match but in his cricket career as well, caught at short leg, while fending at a well directed rising bouncer on his chest. Even though Hussaini had got out for a duck while batting, he had bowling figures of 10-3-45-5 for the match, a five wicket haul anybody would be proud of and he so very rightly got a standing ovation from the supporting crowd as he finished his quota. Whatever the result of the match, he was relieved now that he had after all done justice to his last game of cricket. In fact, he had made his retirement a memorable occasion, an occasion he could remember with pride and recite to his probable future grandchildren.

It was anybody’s game now with exactly ninety one runs to get off the final ten overs for India while Pakistan was looking to finish off things quickly and wrap up the remaining five Indian wickets as well. But, its main concern was that its star performer of the day, Hussaini Bhai, at least with the ball, accounting for all the five wickets that had fallen so far, had already bowled out his full quota of ten overs at a stretch. India, on the other hand, was relying on Dhoni single-handedly now to apply the finishing touches and get the required runs at an asking rate of almost nine runs per over, which he was perfectly capable of doing. But, knowing that it was a crunch match, a big pressure game, nobody on either side, was yet ready to take any chances and predict the outcome. But, one thing was for sure. Whichever side doesn’t wilt under pressure and choke down, would be the winner.

Moreover, it was no longer a game to watch for the faint hearted ones. For Pakistan, Junaid Khan and Yusuf Parvez, the two of their fastest bowlers, had to bowl the final ten overs in tandem now while Ravindra Jadeja, a promising young all-rounder (left arm leg spin bowler who could bat as well) was giving Dhoni company at the other end. Both Jadeja and Dhoni were fast movers between wickets and played for the same franchise – Chennai Super Kings, in the IPL (Indian Premier League), a 20–20 or T-20 cricket tournament in which only twenty overs a side are bowled instead of the usual fifty as in one day cricket.

Pakistan did well in the first six overs, restricting India to just twenty five runs. Dhoni and Jadeja tried hard but found the duo of Junaid and Yusuf difficult to get away as they bowled a tidy line and length and at a good pace too, sometimes in the vicinity of one hundred fifty kilometers per hour. Be that as it may, they had no option left but to play in the T-20 mould now, if they were to get the remaining sixty six runs in the four overs left for the day. Nobody was giving them even a semblance of a chance or counting on them to even get anywhere close to the target, leave alone achieving it!

But, M.S. Dhoni had other ideas. He started off with his famed helicopter shot for six over mid-wicket in Junaid’s next over, followed it up with a crunchy straight drive for four off a full length yorker, a shot which only he could play, and then cover drove him, playing inside out for a massive six over the extra cover fence. With sixteen runs off the first three balls of the over, the crowd was on its feet yet again. As he took a comfortable single off the next ball, it was Jadeja’ s turn now to take over and hit the remaining two balls for successive boundaries, one a square cut that sped towards the point fence in the twinkling of an eye, and the other, a delicate leg glance to the fine leg boundary.

It had turned out to be a very good over for India, with as many as twenty five runs coming off it, in all. But, it still required forty one more in the next three overs, by no means, an easy task. Dhoni, once again, didn’t disappoint his fans, by hitting three massive hefty shots for the maximum, over long on, long off, and straight over the bowler Parvez’s head, off the first three deliveries in the next over, the forty eighth of the innings. Young Parvez completely lost his line, rhythm and length, and just didn’t know where to bowl to the Indian captain. To add to his woes, he bowled a wide no-ball next. Two runs were added to the score and a free hit was awarded to the batting side, viz. the Indians.

Although Dhoni could manage only a couple of runs off the free hit, hitting the full toss bowled straight into the hands of the fielder at deep midwicket, viz. Shehzaad, he reverse swept the next two balls for successive fours as if he was facing a spinner instead of a fast bowler. Thirty runs had come in the over bowled.

With just eleven to get in the remaining two final overs of the innings, the game had again turned around and come full circle in India’s favor. However, the ever cool Dhoni got out in Junaid’s final over, trying to repeat his favorite helicopter shot, which he had been able to play successfully off the first ball in the bowler’s previous over. It was neither needed nor called for at this stage of the game, when they could easily do it in singles and two’s.

It was rather uncharacteristic and unlike Dhoni’s calm approach, disposition, and temperament. But, the damage had been done and Pakistan allowed more than a glimmer of hope. May be, the first two dot balls off which Dhoni had been unable to get any runs, had got to his head. Dhoni had got out to the third ball of the over and the batsmen had crossed while the catch was being taken. Jadeja was in the hot seat now. And, just like Dhoni, he played out the first two balls he faced as dots and couldn’t make any use of them. He stepped out to the final ball of the over, trying to play a hefty cover drive, only to see his middle stump cart wheeling and flying off the ground.

India had lost another vital and crucial wicket again, this time of Ravindra Jadeja. Junaid’s final over had turned out to be double wicket maiden one and he was virtually on the moon, clapping and celebrating with his team mates with high fives all around. Everybody was on his toes now for the final over of the Indian innings to be bowled by Yusuf Parvez, the upcoming young fast bowler from Peshawar. At this juncture, India still needed eleven runs to win with just three wickets intact. Pakistan needed to bowl out the final over for less than ten runs to win.

A distinct third possibility had also come into the picture. And, that was India getting no more than ten runs off the six balls it was to face, resulting in a ‘tie,’ or a drawn battle, so to say. Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami were the two Indian batsmen at the crease now to take them through with Shami at the non-striker’s end. Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma, in that order, were awaiting their turn to bat, if required, in the pavilion.

The first ball – a bouncer over the middle stump! No runs! Ashwin looked at S.Venky, the umpire officiating at the bowler’s end, appealingly for a no ball for extra height above the batsman’s shoulders, but there had been no signal from the square leg umpire, Ian Gould, and Venky simply signaled one bouncer, for the over. The second – a slightly wide full toss had Ashwin groping for it and flew to third man for a single. Mohammed Shami on strike now! The equation – ten to get off four balls!!

The third ball by Parvez was a full length yorker, dug out somehow by Shami, and they stole a cheeky single! The equation – nine to get off three!! The fourth, a short one, was pulled fiercely by Ashwin to the mid-wicket fence for a welcome boundary for his team! Ashwin had proved his batting credentials time and again for India and this was no different! The equation – five to get off two!!

The next ball, the fifth, was a quick good length one, and they ran an even quicker single like two hares running for their very lives!

The equation – four to get off just one ball!! Oh, my, my goodness me, it was all topsy-turvy and could swing either way, although Pakistan seemed to have a slight edge at this point of the game. But, nothing can be said in cricket till the final ball is bowled!

The final ball of the over and the innings was a fierce yorker by Yusuf Parvez, the young lad from Peshawar, who was learning all the time and had bowled a great last over. Mohammed Shami knew nothing about it; Ashwin was already half way down the pitch, screaming out to Shami to run; meanwhile, the wicketkeeper, Yaseen Jaffer, had thrown the ball to the bowler’s end but there was no one backing up; Shami started to run; the ball was stopped near mid-off by Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan skipper, who threw it wildly to the batsman’s end, trying to run out Ashwin; both the batsmen reached their respective ends safely and tried to run the second as well and managing it too; the throw was so wild that it caught all the Pakistan fielders napping and unawares, going to the fine third man boundary and crossing the fence for four overthrows; while India needed four runs off this particular ball, they had been allowed six, much to the chagrin of the Pakistan team, and Parvez, in particular, who had done nothing wrong in this over.

In the end, it had been a comedy of errors, of a sort. But, eventually, it was India who had kept their nerves and done the needful, beating Pakistan by three wickets, with its final score reading two hundred seventy three for seven. Of course, it was helped by the Pakistan fielding in the final over; but all said and done it had ultimately and finally prevailed over Pakistan in what had been a hard fought, pulsating and nail biting game of cricket.

Meanwhile, the much talked about and the much hyped over Amitabh’s stint at the commentary box had come a cropper. It simply had to. After all, everybody can’t do everything. Acting is one thing. But performing in reality is a different ball game altogether. If Amitabh Ji had to act out the role of a commentator in a film, it would have been a virtual cakewalk for him. But, describing live action and moreover a game like cricket with all its buzzwords and peculiar jargon is only a job for professional commentators. Some of the ex-players too have made a good job of it. On his part, Amit Ji were graceful enough to quit right in the beginning itself and fellow commentators on Star Sports (Hindi commentary team) eased him out quickly lest it became an embarrassment both for Mr. Bacchhan and Star Sports. Anyway, most of the audience didn’t complain and accepted the walkout gracefully. May be, they already had a lurking idea that it would be a tough endeavor for Amit Ji to carry out.

Moreover, you can’t become a cricket commentator straightaway. You need time and graduate gradually from local matches to regional ones onto national level and finally arrive at the international level. You see, it’s a step by step gradual process. The only exception to this general rule could be ex-players who have played cricket at some level or the other. But, even here, everybody doesn’t succeed and turn out to be a good commentator. Rohan Gavaskar, the illustrious Sunil Gavaskar’s son, is a very good case in point with no ill-will towards anybody, especially the latter, who by all means, is an excellent TV cricket commentator himself.

Before moving on to the two flashbacks from the lives of Mahesh and Saraswati alias Shakila, just a little word about their fifteenth wedding anniversary together, the T-20 format of cricket, and the IPL.

The couple solemnly celebrated their much wonted anniversary in the evening along with their two loving kids, Brij and Shaloo. First, they feasted upon the aforementioned specially ordered chocolate cake and followed it up by whetting their appetite to the maximum on the candle lit dinner, which had several courses, of course, all of them purely vegetarian and only soft drinks and fresh fruit juices.

Coming to the T-20 format now; while, the reduced number of overs makes the game finish within three hours and the spectators get to watch all their favorite players in one go as also the outcome, we shall also have to say that the T-20 format of cricket suits the batsmen more than the bowlers, who are just left hapless and literally at the mercy of the former. Another valid point is that from a pure connoisseur’s point of view, T-20 is a very poor format and it has adversely affected (of course, along with one day cricket to a lesser extent, though) Test cricket too, which sometime back was his sublime delight.

Before I round off this first part of the story and the narration, a word about T-20 tourneys like IPL. On the negative side, they have commercialized the game no end. But, the positive point is that many youngsters get to play with their seniors, not to speak of some of their role models as well, as also earn some decent money in the process.

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