Brilliant Meaning In Urdu

Assalamu Alaikum pakistan,
I moved to Pakistan from America approximately one year ago due to personal reasons, which ultimately resulted in a need to be closer to my extended family. During the course of this year, I have learned a lot about the Pakistani culture and the Pakistani people themselves. This is not a post about Pakistan itself, but about Pakistani people. I would like to preface this post by stating that this is a generalization, and therefore, with all generalizations, this doesn’t apply to everyone at every time. There are many Pakistanis that I have met that do not fit the descriptions and adjectives below, but this is a depiction of the overwhelming majority of Pakistanis that do.

Poorer Pakistanis are incredibly nice: Since I am from America, and people from America are considered to be straightforward and terse, the general politeness and decency of the Pakistani people was a bit refreshing. I am not oblivious to the existence of well-mannered people in America, but if we're to plot kindness of the individual populations on a bell curve, I believe that Pakistan would be 1.5 standard deviations to the left of the mean kindness of the American people. Early on, I had to speak in a creole of Punjabi and Urdu due to my poor lexicon, and they were incredibly understanding. Drivers, waiters, and shopkeepers took their time to understand what I was saying, even though it was impossible for my own family members to understand. However…
Affluent Pakistanis are incredibly rude: First, as I have mentioned previously, this is a generalization. As in all generalizations, it is supposed to encompass the majority under the description, not every single well-off individual. With that being said, they regularly abuse their servants over very minor matters, and threaten to fire them if they don't accomplish their tasks with precision-like accuracy. I have seen affluent children beating servants’ children in front of them, and the parents often have to simply look away and ignore their child’s suffering to maintain their job. Once, I went to a Jazz Experience center to fix an issue with my mobile package, and there was a line of people awaiting the assistance of the Jazz representatives who were busy helping other customers. A man comes in with his assistant carrying his coattails, and begins to bark orders to the employees. He demands that the employee in charge of providing the tickets to the customers allow him to cut the line, simply because he is important and can't be bothered with the hassle of waiting in line. For some reason, the employee acquiesces and asks the Jazz rep. to see him. The man explains the problem that he encountered with his package to the rep., but the she couldn't understand what he way trying to say. The person threw his phone in her direction, and abused her and the generations preceding her, and then had the gall to ask for the manager afterwards.
Pakistani people are incredibly jealous: Pakistanis, especially comfortable ones, are incredibly braggadocious and love to prove how brilliant or accomplished they are. I mean, there is always a passive-aggressive tug, whenever anyone discusses what they have been doing or what they have done. If one person states that he has recently met the PM, the other person has to supersede him and asserts that he has visited Mars. Furthermore, I have seen people come up to me and insist that they have visited America and have ”white” friends. If I try to explain to them that I don't give two fucks what they were doing in America or who their make-believe friends are, they believe they have beaten me at my own game. I have visited people’s home in which they insist in showing me their wardrobe and the various articles of clothing and accessories they have purchased from Harrod’s. As a person who has grown up wearing Uniqlo shorts and a Walmart t-shirt like every other teenager in the Bay Area, I don’t have an interest in the designer of your clothing, the store from which you have bought it, or the amount of money that have you spent for it. In addition, I have asked people who would converse with me that they should speak to me in a language that they are comfortable in; however they always choose to speak in English, and it is almost always very poor. I don’t tell them that they are unintelligible because of their thick accent or poor vocabulary, since I don’t want them to perceive it as an insult to their intelligence. I have often joked with my intermediate relatives that watching Pakistanis speak English is as if watching them consult an Urdu to English dictionary in real-time. It is so incredibly slow because they have to translate every word from Urdu or Punjabi into English, and then arrange those words in a proper syntax, grammar, and intonation. I have never held it against them because my Punjabi and Urdu is incredibly poor, but the key difference is that I always preface my conversations by telling them I am not a very good communicator whereas they are too arrogant to state that they are not competent in speaking English.
Pakistanis don’t like to emphasize or maintain their culture: For some peculiar reason, possibly due to colonialism, Pakistanis don’t like to maintain their traditions and often shy away from mentioning the uniqueness of their culture. I remember an incident that took place a couple weeks after I had arrived, in which a family member had invited me and my family to a resteraunt. The resteraunt was a fusion resteraunt, and therefore the food contained characteristics of both western and subcontinental cuisines. The host asked me which burger I liked and at what temperature the steak should be cooked at. I responded by saying that I would like to order a plate of tikka botis with a couple of roghani naan. For some reason, he and his family had these idiosyncratic looks on their faces soon afterwards, and at the time, I didn’t understand what they were responding to. As much as I love an In-and-Out Burger and French Fries, if I am in Pakistan, I would much prefer devouring tikkas, kebabs, biryanis, and karahis. In comparison, if I was to travel to Italy, I wouldn’t dine at a McDonalds, but at an Amalfitano resteraunt serving linguini with clams or a Roman café serving pasta carbonara. It is unfortunate to see the amount of vendors and resteraunts in Lahore serving burgers and steaks, and subsequently ignoring the ingredients and flavors of their heritage. The Pakistani cuisine contains considerable variety and intricate flavors, and not every culture can boast of something similar. It is something to be proud of, and pride is not an adjective I would use to describe Pakistanis when they discuss their culture. Another prominent example of this lack of pride was when I inquired about “melas”, or Punjabi festivals. In America, there are county fairs, which can be used with the word “melas” synonymously. In the county fairs, they often have carnival rides, delicious treats and desserts, chivalrous completions, and dances. I have always enjoyed the county fair with my friends and family. However, they are non-existent in the rural landscape of Punjab, and many people simply aren’t interested in holding them any more. By contrast, Punjabi Sikhs hold huge melas on the anniversary of their martyrs, and they encompass many different aspects of Punjabi culture, tradition, and ethos.
Affluent Pakistani women are lazy: Remember, generalization. Nonetheless, compared to American women, Pakistani women are idle and apathetic. They sit on the couch from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., watching some obsolescent romantic drama on Hum TV, and only commit to any laborious task if they are in the presence of their husband or if he is soon to arrive. I could sum all of my maternal and paternal aunts with this lackluster description. She has a caretaker for their children who takes care of the children’s needs and requests, instead of tending to them herself. Even though they may have two to three servants, they are unable to keep the house clean. Even if the kids are nagging for paternal attention, which is very important for young children, she is too busy sharing an ayat or a hadith on WhatsApp. They have an aversion to work and an attraction towards gossip, and concoct the most nefarious rumors about the most noteworthy of individuals. However, if guests arrives, she puts on this persona of being a very obedient and conscientious wife, and takes off her mask when the guests leave. When they arrive, she is always scheming against a guest who may have given an insinuation of an insinuation of an insult, and devises plans to humiliate them later on.
They are great at excuses: Another issue that is prevalent among all strata of Pakistani society is a persistent laziness and the ability to provide an abundance of excuses for their laziness. I will provide a couple of examples. As an American, we worship the idols of punctuality and accuracy, and these are simply two qualities which matter very little to Pakistanis. I will provide a couple of examples. I ordered drapes from a renowned store for a couple of windows that needed them. After paying their obscenely high prices, I asked them for the estimated arrival time. They stated that they will be completed and installed in less than two months from the point at which I bought them. I was satisfied with that, but after three months, they called me and requested my presence in notifying them of the drapes that I originally chose. I asked them how could they not have securely stored the information regarding the drapes that I had chosen, especially after the price that I had to pay for them. They said that the book was missing and that the hard drive of the computer that was used to facilitate the transaction was broken. I was pretty angry, but came back to the store and picked the drapes again; but even to this day, I am not completely sure that the drapes that I picked on that day were the same as the original ones. After two more months, I call the store inquiring about the arrival and processing of the drapes that I have had to reorder. They state that the factories producing the drapes in Turkey have stopped and that they will contact them when they reopen. I responded by asking why they would promise to fulfill the order by a deadline, when they have no intention of keeping that promise. They said that they couldn’t control the factories that produced it, and were simply vendors selling a third-party product. I understand that, but don’t assert claims which you cannot ensure. After one month, I called them, again, and asked about the status of the order, again. They told me that the check that I had provided them to cover the cost of the order had bounced and, therefore, couldn’t begin cutting the drapes to their precise measurements. I asked them why would they try to cash a check five months after signing it, and wouldn’t call me to notify me of the situation. For some reason, this magnitude of coherence and sanity was incomprehensible to them, and they simply made more excuses. They replied by saying that the banks have a processing time whenever they approve any cashier check. I stated that the excuse is valid if this had been 1-2 weeks after the order, but not five months after providing them with the check. I won’t bore you with the remainder of the story, because it simply consists of excuses made by the employees of the store due to their incompetence, and me refuting them with elementary logic.
They believe in every conspiracy theory: There are people in America who believe in conspiracy theories, but they are ostracized as psychos. In Pakistan, everyone, from the laborer to the industrialist, believes in every conspiracy theory and canard imaginable, and this has become especially clear during the coronavirus. My uncle believes that the Jews have conspired with the American government to release the coronavirus, which was concocted inside a lab in Tel Aviv, to enslave everyone and establish ”Greater Israel”. My cousin states that Bill Gates is inserting a microchip inside a vaccine with the assistance of Dr. Fauci so that he can assert his dominance over the human species and track the movements, speech, and breathing patterns of every individual on Earth. It drives me bonkers and insane that educated people can believe in something so ludicrous and against the faculties of logic and reason. The vast majority of my extended family and family friends watch Haqeeqat TV and Dr. Shahid Masood, and believe in every preposterous conspiracy that they spout.
The word “modern” is overused by Pakistan people: “Oh Momima, you dress looks so modern.” “Haider, what a modern haircut.” I understand what they are implying, but it is used too liberally in any situation in which the person has a peculiar trait or style. The adjective that they should use to describe the individual in that context is unique.

Sushant, My Sun!': Actor's brother-in-law chronicles stunning journey; tells rare stories

Sushant Singh Rajput's brother-in-law O.P. Singh, a 1992-batch IPS officer who is currently CP Faridabad, has penned a beautiful memoir for the actor.
"Sushant was a set of brilliant traits. He had the courage to believe that something as elusive as movie stardom in a fluid industry like Hindi cinema is an achievable outcome. He had the heart to go get it. His spectacular campaign was nothing less than scaling Mt Everest bare-footed. The reward was a sense of accomplishment that para-droppers can never experience.
He was an effortless showman. The first time I had a glimpse of it was on 24 May 1995. Wearing dark shades and knotted handkerchief as neck-over, he was setting the stage on fire. He was barely ten years then, and the famous number was “tu cheez badi hai mast mast”. The atmosphere was electric. The occasion was my marriage to his sister, twelve years ahead of him. I instantly knew that he was not ordinary.
For the next seven years, he was largely his sister’s brother. Bogged in a taxing job that consumed almost all my energy and time, I did notice his natural flair to entertain in family get-togethers. He loved Urdu couplets and loved even more wah-wah that he so effortlessly harvested. A grade-conscious student and a razor-sharp mind, the first time he came over to my place was in the year 1999. A police commando was shadowing him during his train journey but thieves had better of the two as both fell asleep. He reached home bare-footed and empty-handed, grinning ear-to-ear.
He loved cars. One fine morning, he sped away with the one in the garage. I learned about it when somebody told me that he had bumped the car into a roundabout. I paced up and down on the gate itself of my colossal official residence, rehearsing a scolding for his recklessness. He came home, one more time, on foot; one more time, grinning ear-to-ear. Eyes met and the heart melted. He was too good to be chided.
Like any other of his age, all that he looked forward to in those days was an admission in some engineering college. But he was unlike others as he kept a chart in his pocket. It had the roadmap of his way to the highest office in the land!
Then came year 2002. He lost his mother who he loved so dearly. It left him stunned and inconsolable. Turning his eyes away from the body, he hesitated for a while for the last rites. A child’s mind could not think of consigning a body, that he adored as his mother only a couple of hours ago, to flames. But he quickly gathered himself. His usual butter-face turned steely as he calmly lit the pyre. For weeks, his grins disappeared. Couplets for all reasons and seasons stopped coming forth. The very purpose of his life - to make his mother feel proud of him one day - seemed to have evaporated.
The best way to overcome grief is to allow oneself to be consumed by a big dream. To snap him back to his usual self, I took him around the city and pointed hundreds of billboards to him. I took him to the cinema halls and said, “Hold tight boy, you are going to be a big movie star one day. Your posters will be all over. Your visits will be the talk of the town”. The diversionary tactics worked. The grin returned and so did twinkles in eyes and spring in feet.
Chasing a big dream is so uplifting. It gives returns from day one. People around you take you more seriously. You get reasons to get up early and walk the entire day with a purpose. It worked even better with Sushant. We loved being together. I said to anybody who cared to listen, “This boy is going to be a big movie star soon. Better take his autograph now.”
He got into the engineering college with spectacular ease. His sisters worried for him as they had heard lots of awful things about engineering colleges. He sailed through ragging famously, charming his determined tormentors with his trademark grin and wowing them with his fluid dancing moves. For fun, he gave home tuitions too. To avoid unwarranted attention from his wards, he sported loose-fitting kurta and thick-frame glasses and oiled his thick hairs profusely. To make up for the awfully-skewed gender ratio of his college, he joined a dance academy. Along with a chart to the top, he also started keeping in his pocket, what he called, his youth anthem:
"Fatela jeb sil jayega, Jo chahega mil jayega. Apne bhi din aayenge chhote, Achcha-khasa hil jayega."
It was his on-the-go self-training in dancing and acting for which he became world-famous in less than six years. Then came his ‘black swan’ moment. Out on a dinner at a family friend’s place, he chance-met the host’s well-built brother. He introduced himself as a struggler in Mumbai who would have his ‘posters all over the town’ soon. The sentence sounded so familiar to him.
Those days, one hardly heard Sushant speaking. So quiet that you could mistake him for a piece of furniture. But he was an aggressive listener, soaking in just about anything he thought to be useful. A lion-hearted risk-taker, he bolted out. His college helplessly saw its prodigy gone. In Mumbai, he pillion-rode the 'black swan' boy from one studio to the other.
To a stunned trainer of a self-proclaimed hyper-star, he said, 'actors need not be born. Everyone talks, laughs, dances, sings. Actors just do it on demand'. To the well-entrenched ones deriving pervert pleasure in insulting newcomers, he said, ‘You are giving what you got when you had started. It is not going to affect my self-belief and you need not be so mean.’ To the producers, he said, ‘I won’t pretend that I am here for the love of acting. I want to be a bankable star and see delivering viewers on aesthetic and filmmakers and brands on commercial expectations as my duty.’
In 2009, when he was still at the base-camp of the expedition, we had discussed and agreed on a few things. One, any financial capital is full of wolves. You would be careful. Two, an actor has to customise his body and switch from a 'sense of self' to character and back quite often. A team of trusted doctors will vet your health every three months. Three, you will follow the Rajnikant model of not allowing screen life to be a twenty-four-seven affair. You will take ample me-time, away from camera and arclight.
We, in the family, see him as a warrior prince. He fought bravely. He won famously. In the process, he suffered battle injuries that turned out to be fatal. We love him, so we miss him unbearably. But as a family that believes in value-creation and problem-solving, we assure him that the pursuit of excellence will continue. We see him in the league of Bruce Lee. Living short but making it large!"

The Pyramid Scheme - My Muzmatch Encounter

Al Sallamu Alaikum,

I've been meaning to write this out for a long while but didn't want to rush it as the purpose in posting my MM experiences here are in the hope that I can help sisters, (and possibly brothers too) Inshaa Allah. I am not bashing the opposite gender as obviously I can't see what the female profiles look like. Also apologies for the long post but I think details are crucial.

Early on when I first started using MM app I must admit I was rather naive to what's out there as prior to this, interest I was getting was in real life through my parents etc.
One day as I was using the app I came across a dude's profile. Let's name him.. 'Mo', he was a teacher and 5 years my senior, he later told me he was half Spanish and half Russian. He was not stunning but he looked well put together. His profile was an interesting read and seemed professional.
At this stage I decided that I was going to make the first move and swipe right. Prior to this I was like a sitting duck waiting for matches thinking it was the 1800's or something lol. Shortly after I had a notification to say that he swiped me right and it was a match!

From memory I think he sent me a short message to say Sallam and I replied. We went back and forth with the usual chit chat and within a few days of talking he asked to exchange numbers in order to speak on Whatsapp. I'm very private but agreed to exchange details as the app was really glitchy and admittedly the poor matches. The conversation on whatsapp started with him being 'cheeky' saying things like save my number as 'goregous man' and calling me 'sweet cheecks'. I was a bit taken a back by this as seemed a bit egotistical and cheesy (which are 2 traits I dislike). I did call him out on it there and then by saying 'sweet cheeks? what are we 16? lol'. I think he got the jist that I wasn't falling for that rubbish. #Redflag1 (being overly flirty too soon and trying to charm)

I asked him straight up why he was there and he came across as rather defensive and said my question was 'odd'... as mentioned before I was somewhat new to the app and thought perhaps I offended him. Looking back now I don't feel that there was a reason to be defensive but anyway the convo continued to him saying message me back at 8.15pm. #Redflag2 as this was the 'controlling' aspect coming out ... read further down to see where I'm coming from.

He bought up the question that I had asked before regarding why he was on the app ... it was weird as thought that I dealt with this already. Again I went into detail to state it's because the dudes that I had previously spoken to seemed serious on their profiles but after speaking to them were only trying to pass the time or looking for someone with loose morals such as themselves. To this he disclosed that he had met 2 girls the previous month and both seemed confused. I thought right OK finally we're on the same page...
All of a sudden he said 'I would definitely like to meet you whenever you are ready *****'. I said i'd feel more comfortable speaking on the phone prior to meeting up. He seemed to be fine with this. We decided on a day and time to speak on the phone which was a generic conversation. Can't remember too much of it tbh.
I didn't hear from him the next day after our telephone convo and thought I'll message him in the evening to follow up, he replied several hours later...midnight to be precise. Admittedly I'm a bit of a night owl so didn't mind but this became a bit of a habit the more we spoke. #Redflag3 (when they message late it means you're an after thought or a boredom toy).
That same evening he said he was preparing for an event for 'his business' and said he has another one coming up and whether I'd be interested in going to this 'event' which happened to be very close to where I lived at that time. I thought OK as it wouldn't be a pressurized environment and I can calm my nerves a bit before we go for a coffee and talk properly.
He confirmed the date and said I was on the VIP list. I did ask what type of business but he said it would be better to talk in person and for him to explain. Thought fair enough, it will be a talking point. In that same convo he said he was going to pray and read some Qur'an, I thought brilliant and asked him if he could read it in Arabic, there was no motive to the question I was merely intrigued. He said he reads it in Arabic... I thought mama..I've hit the jackpot! lol

The following few days which let up to the meeting were short conversations of what you've been up to today? what did you eat? etc. the messages were coming through late in the evening as before so I tried to keep them short as thought we are meeting soon anyway. He was trying to be a bit flirty & I ignored the compliments etc
Finally the day came to meet...I was a bag of nerves! I think it's because I liked him and wanted everything to go well. I spoke to my girlfriends who gave me some tips on questions to ask and how to chill and be myself. An hour before the meeting I got dressed in my business attire and marched my way to meet him at this place. I went into the lobby area but there were so many people... so I messaged him to let him know that I was there. When alone get on your phone, so I busied myself with that. I must have been waiting for about 10 mins or maybe less but it seemed like an eternity. Finally I heard someone utter my name and I looked up and there he was. Have to admit he looked a bit different than his profile pics in terms of his hair looked longer and he had a bit of jewellery on with a suit that had a pattern that I can only describe as kitchen towel flashbacks.. he looked cheesy. Anyway we said hi to each other and did the small talk before we rushed to sign the entry register and made our way up to the next level and waited at the front of the line in order to get into this large conference room and it was packed! He disappeared briefly and I got talking to some sisters who didn't have a clue what the talk was about either. I didn't mind as felt safe as obviously I was amongst about 100 people.
So he comes back and they open the door and he keeps calling me to sit next to him. The setup is a large room with rows and rows of seats. So I sit next to him and smile as you do, it was rather loud so no chance of a convo. Shortly after the conference started. A guy goes up to the stage and starts talking a bit about the company and how well it's doing and his reason for joining the company which was to enjoy life and to savour time and basically not slave away our lives working and get out of the car race. There were some videos basically saying the same thing and how precious our time is and how we should work smarter to make money instead of working our fingers to the bone ...yada yada...I still had no idea what this company was about... An hour goes by and the main dude on the stage starts to invite some people to this stage.. some more vague wishy washy talking...more videos from their CEO in the US with thousands of people clapping... eventually they move on to presenting some people with awards and giving a shout out to some of the 'leaders' that have done really well...one by one they stand up and people clapping away. Then the guy giving the shout outs says Mo's name and he gets up and everyone claps. Still no idea what is going on at this stage... and tbh I lost interest as it had been several hours of vagueness. I later looked up the company and there is a heck of a lot of info about the company being a pyramid scheme and even had ex employees testimonies.

Eventually the whole thing is over and we make our way out. Mo asks me if there is anywhere nearby to grab a bite/ coffee which looking back now he should have known there would be as he mentioned to me previously that every sunday his 'company' has a meeting there... (how is it your company when you're not the CEO and merely an employee amongst many others?), at the time I didn't clock as it was busy and my brain was fried from the pointless meeting/ conference. I knew the area well so suggested a nearby cafe which we went to. It was a tad awkward and I was still a bit nervous but tried my best to ask all the right questions. I asked about his family, parents, siblings, friends, lifetyle, hobbies, likes/ dislikes etc he disclosed to me that his dad was out of the picture as he was an alcoholic, he also mentioned that he had no interaction with his Russian dad's side of the family but had a great relationship with his Spanish mum and her family.
Don't worry I wasn't fan-girling over him because of his mixed background as I come from a humble mixed background myself & don't see that as a big deal but this will become more apparent later on in the story as when I saw his picture I put him down as 'asian' looking, maybe Afgani, (he hadn't disclosed his ethnicity on his bio at the time).
I was touched by his closeness with his mum and how hard he worked to support her, (he was living at home)... I felt assured that he knew how to respect women. We talked some more and walked a bit and I called it a day. He suggested he gives me a lift but i politely declined. (Never get into a strangers car ladies & gents!).

Later that evening I received a message to say 'it was lovely meeting you'. The conversation seemed positive and pleasant. He asked me what I was doing and I explained I was looking at a first-aid book which my friend had gifted me as I've been a first-aider for many years and it's one of my interests... I sent him a pic of what I was reading which included a few drawings of how to perform mouth to mouth to adults and babies. He picked up on this and was trying to low key oversexualise the drawing in a jokey way. I played it off and joked back that I wasn't trying to imply anything. I brushed it off basically. #Redflag4 (low key turning anything normal into something sexual is a sign to look out for).
The convo's continue back and forth over a few days and one day he stops messaging. I didn't bother messaging first as was busy and felt that if he wanted to talk to me he knew how to contact me and he knew that I had 4 days off work as had informed him previously. 4 days I heard nothing from him. it was like he purposely avoided contacting me. He eventually messages out of the blue saying 'hi' and talking as if we were having a conversation just yesterday. I jokingly called him out on this as would have thought it would be the perfect opportunity to talk some more and get to know each other. The convo was playful but had an undertone that left a bitter taste in the mouth a bit.

A few days go by and I come to the conclusion that it's time to step it up a notch as the convos were dying out so asked him what he'd be doing at the end of the week. He said he had plans, I thought ok fair enough and suggested another day which suited him too and we agreed to meet that day. We decided on a time and a place.
The conversations that followed were somewhat normal although he was being flirty, I put it down to his nature and thought to myself don't be a prude and laughed mostly, no flirting back from my side. So it was the day before our meeting and I thought i'd drop him a message in the evening to check in to make sure he was still up for out meeting. He replied back saying that his car was at the garage and that he was going to get it back the next day but had to push our meeting later on in the evening...much later in the evening. I thought it was weird as he didn't mention it before so I pressed him for a specific time that he thought he'd get his car back and he said he wasn't sure. I was getting some flakey vibes and arranged for other plans so told him we'd have to reschedule for another day. I wasn't willing to cancel my plans for him when we had previously agreed a date and a time and he hadn't informed me about his car at all the when we were talking. He said fine lets arrange another day. #Redflag5 (stuff happens in life but if you're genuine you will keep the other party informed and updated regarding anything that will alter the plans agreed, bearing in mind I messaged him first that evening and only then did he disclose this info).

He messages the following day with the usual 'hi, how are you? etc as if nothing had happened and he didn't provide any further explanation or apology for flopping. I tried to keep it polite but I was annoyed inside. He continued messaging every night around 12am right before I went bed so the conversations were very short. His messages were hot and cold. One night he'd be overly sweet..sickly in fact and the next he'd be cold or not message at all. I was now waking up and seeing the redflags by his behavior, being flirty and trying to brush things off, messaging late, mixed messages etc. My annoyance turned into disappointment as I felt that his behavior was belittling me and trying to make it seem like it was perfectly normal to be treated the way he has treated me and frankly I was bored of the BS and knew my worth!

I felt s*tty, so my gf's arranged for us to go out for a meal and catch up. I told them what was going on and showed them a photo of him as per their request. One of the girls eyes widened and she shrieked 'I know him!'....My heart sank. She went on to say that she had spoken to him previously on MM and they had met! She said nothing came of it as they decided to be friends. I asked her when that took place she said over a year ago which didn't line up with his story when he said he had only been using the app for a month. The more we talked, the more I realised how much BS this dude had spun.. he even lied about his racial background! She said he told her that he was half Pakistani & half Spanish and that he spoke fluent Urdu. No Russian background at all... Suffice to say I was p*ssed!

At that moment whatever respect I had for him was gone out of the window. My friends suggested I message him right there and then and ask him directly where this is going as he hadn't made any effort to meet up again and was playing games. So I did.. he played the whole 'we've only met once' and that 'we'd need more time to establish whether we want to pursue things or not' ...basically trying to make me seem like i'm being pushy.
When I called him out of giving me mixed messages, messaging me so late in the early hours of the morning, not suggesting we meet again after he flopped, flaking out of our meeting etc. I laid it all out on the table. His response was 'I work during the day dude so the fact I message you at 'random' times is better than not messaging you at all. Yes you did take the initiative to suggest meeting but you also said you had stuff on in the evening when I informed you the night before that I was without a car. I'm pretty tied up for the next two weekends with prior commitments so if you feel you're making the effort without any response then I sincerely wish you good luck'.
He was making it seem as if he was too important and sooo busy even though the so called pyramid scheme he was part of talked about freeing up time and enjoying life etc. He was also making it seem like he was doing me a favour by messaging me at all. He was also making it out that he was the one who told me about his car being at the garage even though I was the one to message him to make sure everything was OK for our meeting and he dropped this on me last minute #RedflagI'veLostCount

I could have said so many things but to me it was pointless as I had lost respect and trust in this person so I replied to 'Mo...all i'm going to say is that I wish you all the best back. Hope you find whatever you're looking for. Sallam'. He replied with 'Likewise ****, I'm sorry you feel the way you do' ...again making it seem like I was irrational and delusional and he has done nothing wrong...

I went on living my life and keeping busy with work, family, friends and I was in the process of accomplishing an important goal in my life so it was helping me forget him, not that I was in love with him but it was my fault that I had put him on a pedestal and allowed my bar to be lowered.

3 days go by and guess who pops into my whatsapp? Yip you guessed it right, our not-so-Russian mate Mo.. it was at a time when we had a lot of snow and most of the people were off work. His message consisted of 'Good morning ***** wakey wakey rise and shine. Have a great day at work or enjoy your day off like the 75% of the country :) ' ... suffice to say I ignored his message.

Another 3 days go by... I receive yet another message stating 'All the best :) '.. again I ignore this message...
A week goes by...yet another message stating 'Good Morning' .. I came to the conclusion if I don't block him he'll keep annoying me so I blocked him and put an end to it Alhamdulilah.

The moral of the story is do NOT ignore redflags, go with your gut instinct, don't put anyone on a pedastal just because they say they pray, read Qur'an and NEVER allow anyone to treat you with disrespect or make you seem like you're the crazy one ...know your self worth! Do not lower the bar for anyone and if you aren't receiving respect, honesty and transparency know that you're wasting your time and you need to move on!

If you've made it this far, I hope my story will be some kind of help to peeps out there or at least it was an entertaining read :)

"Captain Currie's War" Part 2

AMBALA, PUNJAB. 6TH MOTORIZED DIVISION HQ OF THE NEW ENGLAND EXPEDITIONARY FORCES - APRIL 27 1942
The faraway guns thundered again. Currie's heart sank even deeper into the pit of despair. Those had to be close to Delhi. The darkest hour since the Great War was at hand, the very future of the shattered Empire hanging in the balance. Yet Currie was trapped, ensconced in a bland little bungalow office behind rings of barbed wire. Locked in with the one group of Americans who had done their jolly best to avoid any fighting in one of the most turbulent times of modern history. He took a long, pained drag of his cigarette. All the other officers wanted to talk about was the situation in Europe. Every bragging tongue was sure that's where the real fight was, and that if only they were there, why the war would be over in six weeks. Big talk from small men who seemed more excited to fight the enemy thousands of miles away than the one three day's march from camp. It's no challenge, they'd say, stomping down starving scrawny Indians, when they could be in the 'actual' war, toe to toe against fanatical Communards showing Jerry how it's properly done. There were, however, a sizeable contingent of New Englanders who were real fighting men: former Feds from Mac's army, and thank goodness for them. They never said anything to Currie because they were out trudging, killing, and dying. Maybe it would be his turn to see some action soon. Why had he endured such an arduous and painful journey just to be stopped short only 200 kilometers from the front? He felt like the unluckiest man in India.
A commotion rose in the hallway outside. He recognized the voices of Corporal Howe and Sergeant Baker, but there was a new voice: one speaking the Queen's Public School English. Finally, another civilized person and these Americans were giving them the runaround. Inexcusable. The confrontation grew increasingly intense and shrill until the door burst open. An angry young Indian, slickly dressed in an expensive suit and tie stormed into the Captain's office. In one hand, a brown briefcase packed to the gills. In the other, a large map.
"There you are, Captain. A dubious honor to meet the commander of the most infamous and lawless unit in the entire Allied Army. The corporal outside tells me I need an appointment, yet it's abundantly clear I've caught you at an opportune lull," said the young Indian in the crisp and confident tone of a barrister with a bulletproof case.
"I don't know anything about that, I'm new here, Mr.-" stammered Currie, taken aback by the forcefulness of the intrusion.
"Deputy Minister Khan. Of course. Very convenient, sir. Our letters, telegrams, and telephone calls and every other missive have fallen on deaf ears, and our established channels have been deadly silent as your pack of villains pillage and plunder the Punjab!"
The Indian slammed the map down on the table and jabbed his finger into the center.
"Every one of these X's marks a village that suffered a 'patrol' from your men in the past three months. Here, the soldiers were yesterday morning. They stole the livestock of every single household at bayonet point, and then opened fire when the farmers tried to protest. Seventeen men and boys, gunned down in commission of a felony! We are at risk of a police munity and strike in the cities and a total revolt of the peasantry in the countryside thanks to your brilliant tactics. The Revolutionists couldn't have done a finer job rallying the masses to their cause."
"Now just a moment, those are very serious accusations, Mr. Khan."
"Deputy Minister Khan, Captain. If you deigned to leave the security of your office, you would see very clearly for yourself."
Currie stood up.
"Look here, sir. The armies of the Entente do not engage in such harsh measures, I can assure you of that. We are not Prussians or Totalists. And even if they did, on my honor as an officer, I would punish the guilty to the fullest extent."
"Splendid, Captain. Please take me to your men, and I will gladly point out the perpetrators and let the innocent go."
Khan now placed the briefcase on the desk and opened it to reveal reams of files, most of them with photographs attached. Khan took out a particularly fat manila folder and offered it to Currie. The Captain took one look at the photos it contained and turned ghostly pale. He picked up his phone.
"Operator, get me Colonel Amrose. It's of high urgency."
Khan glared at him as the connection was made. Currie drummed his fingers on the desk impatiently.
"This had better be good."
"Good afternoon, sir. This is Captain Currie, Charlie Company. Deputy Minister Khan is here, and he is alleging that our boys have been acting with severely mistreating the natives er, I mean the local civilians. Livestock thefts, destruction of property and even m... more serious offenses. He mentioned a Lieutenant Corte by name. We've a bit of a revolutionary situation on our hands. Please advise."
The other end of the line was silent before the gruff voice crackled over the line.
"Who the hell is this?"
"Captain Currie, sir. I'm new. We were introduced-"
"Is this some sort of joke?! Listen and listen good, whoever. I don't give a hoot in hell about goddamn natives or any native ministers or any of that nonsense. Don't you ever clog up my line with this foolishness again. Our boys are out there getting shot up by partisans and you call to bitch at me that they're blowing off steam?! I will skin you alive if I hear from this minster or priest or swami whatever again. Handle it, and don't you dare ring up my office unless I've ordered you to. Do you understand me, Captain?"
"Y-yes sir. Of course."
Amrose unleashed a torrent of vulgar epithets as he slammed the receiver down. Currie could have sworn he heard Moyers' sharp laughter in the background. The Captain gracefully hung up, took out a cigarette and lit it, then returned his full attention to Deputy Minister Khan.
"The Colonel assures me that the situation will be addressed. Now if you please, Mr. Khan, I have other pressing matters to attend to."
"Very well. In that case, I'll go to the colonel's office directly and I shall be sure to inform him of how helpful you were. And if he is too busy, I'll include in my report to the governor-general-"
Currie reached for the telephone so fast he almost knocked it off the desk.
"Get me Corte! Now! I don't care what he's doing, that's an order! Of course it's an emergency!
---
Captain Currie was appalled by the barbaric appearance of Lieutenant Geronimo Corte. His uniform was heavily soiled and abused, the blouse open and the sleeves torn off. His wide face was covered in crude warpaint made to resemble a grinning death's head. His whole squad were done up in similar fashion, with feathers sticking out of helmets and awful trophies of all kinds hung around necks. Khan took one look, then began writing notes on his pad, with a burning focus and intensity. He said nothing.
As dreadful as the visual effect was, the enlisted men whispered to each other in awed, hushed tones. Here he was in the flesh, the god of war, the Philly Killing Machine. The man who once marched with MacArthur and ate reds for breakfast on three continents. A one man counter-revolution. Only soldier's soldiers were even considered for his legendary "Suicide Squad". Most officers would claim they'd sacrifice themselves for their boys. Corte boasted of how willing his boys were to sacrifice themselves for him. To fight with him was to fight for a higher cause, even if he was technically a mercenary. No one dared approach him lest they be burned by the aura of his fame.
The arrival of their trucks had kicked up great clouds of dust, which mixed with the smoke of battle and and clouds that promised rain but refused to deliver. The sun was blotted out of the sky, leaving the world in an eerie, supernaturally red haze.
Corte saluted crisply.
"At ease, Lieutenant. Explain the disarray of your unit," Currie blurted out, still scandalized.
Geronimo Corte sized up the new guy. Clean uniform, clean fingernails. Hair neatly trimmed. Clean shaved. Silver cigarette case and fancy Egyptian tobacco. His boots were polished into mirrors. No chance this Limey swell had ever seen a lick of combat. How did this fancy lad ever make Captain? Some corrupt backroom politicking, no doubt. A waste of skin, useless in the field. It was a sure bet that this chappie was busy sucking down gimlets at the officers' club while real men cleared basements in St. Louis. They must really be scraping the bottom of the barrel.
"Fighting partisans is a dirty business, sir. With all due respect."
"I've heard stories about your exploits, Corte. I wish this meeting could have been under better circumstances, but I'm hearing serious complaints about the conduct of your unit. Care to explain yourself?"
"Permission to speak sir?"
"By all means."
"I'd just like to know, did you enjoy your steak dinner?"
Currie felt his face flush. Corte grinned.
"Seein' as how tight things are around here, my boys are doin' our best. Major said we oughta rustle up something nice for our new company CO, seein' as he's a swell fella. And rustle we did, even if the Reds put up a hell of fight."
"I well... It was... certainly. Thank you, Lieutenant."
Khan scribbled furiously.
"Now Corte, Mr. uh, Deputy Minister Khan here alleges your boys have taken a few liberties with the local civilians. I don't want to believe it, but he's got... documents. Explain yourself."
Corte's glance had drifted over to Khan. He was still smiling, but the veins in his neck bulged grotesquely. His eyes moved up and down rapidly like he was scouting a good place to stick a knife.
"Sir. With all due respect. Who are you gonna believe? Your own men out sweatin' and bleedin' fightin' to save civilization, or some upjumped native?"
"You shameless man!" thundered Khan.
Corte chuckled.
"Mr. Swami has time to write all kinds of documents about this province, but he hasn't seen it with his own eyes. I have. Our business is destroyin' enemy bases and huntin' partisans wherever we find 'em, and sir, business is boomin'. Sir, unfortunately I see firsthand what happens when Syndie sets up shop. And unlike our cousins across the pond, me and my brothers knew we couldn't run, but had to crush that red serpent wherever it reared up its head. With all due respect. And sir, we may have lost our dear old USA but we stomped that snake. But you know India, sir. Full of snakes. And snake charmers. With all due respect, callin' us back from patrol is a show of weakness. Hear those big guns? Those guns are awfully close, sir. If we don't stick a fork in the rebels now, they'll stick a knife in us when the RA shows up."
Corte's passionate impromptu oration had drawn a great deal of attention to their little tribunal. All work had stopped, and every set of eyes was focused on the two officers. Currie leaned in to the Lieutenant's personal space to prevent any more of this sensitive matter from being broadcast.
"Whatever your methods, clean it up. Just clean it up. And clean up your men. That's the first and last time I'm going to get chewed out on your account, especially by a damned civil servant have you got that, Lieutenant?"
"Excuse me for sayin sir, but are you sure he's a civil servant? Has he showed any bona fides?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Sir. You know the Reds do all kinds of dirty tricks. Can't trust these Indians. Assassination, sneak theifin'... impersonatin' officials to spy on us. Undermine morale. With all due respect, it's pretty convenient he shows up out of the blue to buffalo a naïve new officer fresh off the boat."
Currie swallowed hard.
"You watch yourself, Corte. Wait here."
The Captain stomped back over to Khan.
"Do you think you're going to make me look like a fool in front of my men, Mr. Khan?"
"What are you saying, Captain? What did he tell you? I promise you, I will not leave here until we get to the bottom of this."
"You are correct, you will not leave until we get to the bottom of this. Sergeant, please escort Mr. Khan to a very secure location."
The soldiers grabbed Khan and seized his files. His eyes were wide with shock.
"Currie! Have you taken leave of your senses? Who do you think you are?! This is a crown dominion, the military is subordinate to civil authorities! You are making a grave mistake! Currie! You- you son of a whore!"
As Khan was dragged away, kicking and struggling he ceased speaking English and began shouting and cursing in Urdu. The man swears like a poet, thought Currie as his new prisoner was hauled off.
Corte was very pleased by the turn of events.
"You did the right thing, sir. Can't take any chances when someone's tryna sell a bill of goods."
"That's absolutely correct, Lieutenant. That's why I will be accompanying your next patrol. And for your sake, I had better like what I see."

The Pyramid Scheme - My Muzmatch Encounter

Al Sallamu Alaikum,
I've been meaning to write this out for a long while but didn't want to rush it as the purpose in posting my MM experiences here are in the hope that I can help sisters, (and possibly brothers too) Inshaa Allah. I am not bashing the opposite gender as obviously I can't see what the female profiles look like. Also apologies for the long post but I think details are crucial.
Early on when I first started using MM app I must admit I was rather naive to what's out there as prior to this, interest I was getting was in real life through my parents etc.
One day as I was using the app I came across a dude's profile. Let's name him.. 'Mo', he was a teacher and 5 years my senior, he later told me he was half Spanish and half Russian. He was not stunning but he looked well put together. His profile was an interesting read and seemed professional.
At this stage I decided that I was going to make the first move and swipe right. Prior to this I was like a sitting duck waiting for matches thinking it was the 1800's or something lol. Shortly after I had a notification to say that he swiped me right and it was a match!
From memory I think he sent me a short message to say Sallam and I replied. We went back and forth with the usual chit chat and within a few days of talking he asked to exchange numbers in order to speak on Whatsapp. I'm very private but agreed to exchange details as the app was really glitchy and admittedly the poor matches. The conversation on whatsapp started with him being 'cheeky' saying things like save my number as 'goregous man' and calling me 'sweet cheecks'. I was a bit taken a back by this as seemed a bit egotistical and cheesy (which are 2 traits I dislike). I did call him out on it there and then by saying 'sweet cheeks? what are we 16? lol'. I think he got the jist that I wasn't falling for that rubbish. #Redflag1 (being overly flirty too soon and trying to charm)
I asked him straight up why he was there and he came across as rather defensive and said my question was 'odd'... as mentioned before I was somewhat new to the app and thought perhaps I offended him. Looking back now I don't feel that there was a reason to be defensive but anyway the convo continued to him saying message me back at 8.15pm. #Redflag2 as this was the 'controlling' aspect coming out ... read further down to see where I'm coming from.
He bought up the question that I had asked before regarding why he was on the app ... it was weird as thought that I dealt with this already. Again I went into detail to state it's because the dudes that I had previously spoken to seemed serious on their profiles but after speaking to them were only trying to pass the time or looking for someone with loose morals such as themselves. To this he disclosed that he had met 2 girls the previous month and both seemed confused. I thought right OK finally we're on the same page...
All of a sudden he said 'I would definitely like to meet you whenever you are ready *****'. I said i'd feel more comfortable speaking on the phone prior to meeting up. He seemed to be fine with this. We decided on a day and time to speak on the phone which was a generic conversation. Can't remember too much of it tbh.
I didn't hear from him the next day after our telephone convo and thought I'll message him in the evening to follow up, he replied several hours later...midnight to be precise. Admittedly I'm a bit of a night owl so didn't mind but this became a bit of a habit the more we spoke. #Redflag3 (when they message late it means you're an after thought or a boredom toy).
That same evening he said he was preparing for an event for 'his business' and said he has another one coming up and whether I'd be interested in going to this 'event' which happened to be very close to where I lived at that time. I thought OK as it wouldn't be a pressurized environment and I can calm my nerves a bit before we go for a coffee and talk properly.
He confirmed the date and said I was on the VIP list. I did ask what type of business but he said it would be better to talk in person and for him to explain. Thought fair enough, it will be a talking point. In that same convo he said he was going to pray and read some Qur'an, I thought brilliant and asked him if he could read it in Arabic, there was no motive to the question I was merely intrigued. He said he reads it in Arabic... I thought mama..I've hit the jackpot! lol
The following few days which let up to the meeting were short conversations of what you've been up to today? what did you eat? etc. the messages were coming through late in the evening as before so I tried to keep them short as thought we are meeting soon anyway. He was trying to be a bit flirty & I ignored the compliments etc
Finally the day came to meet...I was a bag of nerves! I think it's because I liked him and wanted everything to go well. I spoke to my girlfriends who gave me some tips on questions to ask and how to chill and be myself. An hour before the meeting I got dressed in my business attire and marched my way to meet him at this place. I went into the lobby area but there were so many people... so I messaged him to let him know that I was there. When alone get on your phone, so I busied myself with that. I must have been waiting for about 10 mins or maybe less but it seemed like an eternity. Finally I heard someone utter my name and I looked up and there he was. Have to admit he looked a bit different than his profile pics in terms of his hair looked longer and he had a bit of jewellery on with a suit that had a pattern that I can only describe as kitchen towel flashbacks.. he looked cheesy. Anyway we said hi to each other and did the small talk before we rushed to sign the entry register and made our way up to the next level and waited at the front of the line in order to get into this large conference room and it was packed! He disappeared briefly and I got talking to some sisters who didn't have a clue what the talk was about either. I didn't mind as felt safe as obviously I was amongst about 100 people.
So he comes back and they open the door and he keeps calling me to sit next to him. The setup is a large room with rows and rows of seats. So I sit next to him and smile as you do, it was rather loud so no chance of a convo. Shortly after the conference started. A guy goes up to the stage and starts talking a bit about the company and how well it's doing and his reason for joining the company which was to enjoy life and to savour time and basically not slave away our lives working and get out of the car race. There were some videos basically saying the same thing and how precious our time is and how we should work smarter to make money instead of working our fingers to the bone ...yada yada...I still had no idea what this company was about... An hour goes by and the main dude on the stage starts to invite some people to this stage.. some more vague wishy washy talking...more videos from their CEO in the US with thousands of people clapping... eventually they move on to presenting some people with awards and giving a shout out to some of the 'leaders' that have done really well...one by one they stand up and people clapping away. Then the guy giving the shout outs says Mo's name and he gets up and everyone claps. Still no idea what is going on at this stage... and tbh I lost interest as it had been several hours of vagueness. I later looked up the company and there is a heck of a lot of info about the company being a pyramid scheme and even had ex employees testimonies.
Eventually the whole thing is over and we make our way out. Mo asks me if there is anywhere nearby to grab a bite/ coffee which looking back now he should have known there would be as he mentioned to me previously that every sunday his 'company' has a meeting there... (how is it your company when you're not the CEO and merely an employee amongst many others?), at the time I didn't clock as it was busy and my brain was fried from the pointless meeting/ conference. I knew the area well so suggested a nearby cafe which we went to. It was a tad awkward and I was still a bit nervous but tried my best to ask all the right questions. I asked about his family, parents, siblings, friends, lifetyle, hobbies, likes/ dislikes etc he disclosed to me that his dad was out of the picture as he was an alcoholic, he also mentioned that he had no interaction with his Russian dad's side of the family but had a great relationship with his Spanish mum and her family.
Don't worry I wasn't fan-girling over him because of his mixed background as I come from a humble mixed background myself & don't see that as a big deal but this will become more apparent later on in the story as when I saw his picture I put him down as 'asian' looking, maybe Afgani, (he hadn't disclosed his ethnicity on his bio at the time).
I was touched by his closeness with his mum and how hard he worked to support her, (he was living at home)... I felt assured that he knew how to respect women. We talked some more and walked a bit and I called it a day. He suggested he gives me a lift but i politely declined. (Never get into a strangers car ladies & gents!).
Later that evening I received a message to say 'it was lovely meeting you'. The conversation seemed positive and pleasant. He asked me what I was doing and I explained I was looking at a first-aid book which my friend had gifted me as I've been a first-aider for many years and it's one of my interests... I sent him a pic of what I was reading which included a few drawings of how to perform mouth to mouth to adults and babies. He picked up on this and was trying to low key oversexualise the drawing in a jokey way. I played it off and joked back that I wasn't trying to imply anything. I brushed it off basically. #Redflag4 (low key turning anything normal into something sexual is a sign to look out for).
The convo's continue back and forth over a few days and one day he stops messaging. I didn't bother messaging first as was busy and felt that if he wanted to talk to me he knew how to contact me and he knew that I had 4 days off work as had informed him previously. 4 days I heard nothing from him. it was like he purposely avoided contacting me. He eventually messages out of the blue saying 'hi' and talking as if we were having a conversation just yesterday. I jokingly called him out on this as would have thought it would be the perfect opportunity to talk some more and get to know each other. The convo was playful but had an undertone that left a bitter taste in the mouth a bit.
A few days go by and I come to the conclusion that it's time to step it up a notch as the convos were dying out so asked him what he'd be doing at the end of the week. He said he had plans, I thought ok fair enough and suggested another day which suited him too and we agreed to meet that day. We decided on a time and a place.
The conversations that followed were somewhat normal although he was being flirty, I put it down to his nature and thought to myself don't be a prude and laughed mostly, no flirting back from my side. So it was the day before our meeting and I thought i'd drop him a message in the evening to check in to make sure he was still up for out meeting. He replied back saying that his car was at the garage and that he was going to get it back the next day but had to push our meeting later on in the evening...much later in the evening. I thought it was weird as he didn't mention it before so I pressed him for a specific time that he thought he'd get his car back and he said he wasn't sure. I was getting some flakey vibes and arranged for other plans so told him we'd have to reschedule for another day. I wasn't willing to cancel my plans for him when we had previously agreed a date and a time and he hadn't informed me about his car at all the when we were talking. He said fine lets arrange another day. #Redflag5 (stuff happens in life but if you're genuine you will keep the other party informed and updated regarding anything that will alter the plans agreed, bearing in mind I messaged him first that evening and only then did he disclose this info).
He messages the following day with the usual 'hi, how are you? etc as if nothing had happened and he didn't provide any further explanation or apology for flopping. I tried to keep it polite but I was annoyed inside. He continued messaging every night around 12am right before I went bed so the conversations were very short. His messages were hot and cold. One night he'd be overly sweet..sickly in fact and the next he'd be cold or not message at all. I was now waking up and seeing the redflags by his behavior, being flirty and trying to brush things off, messaging late, mixed messages etc. My annoyance turned into disappointment as I felt that his behavior was belittling me and trying to make it seem like it was perfectly normal to be treated the way he has treated me and frankly I was bored of the BS and knew my worth!
I felt s*tty, so my gf's arranged for us to go out for a meal and catch up. I told them what was going on and showed them a photo of him as per their request. One of the girls eyes widened and she shrieked 'I know him!'....My heart sank. She went on to say that she had spoken to him previously on MM and they had met! She said nothing came of it as they decided to be friends. I asked her when that took place she said over a year ago which didn't line up with his story when he said he had only been using the app for a month. The more we talked, the more I realised how much BS this dude had spun.. he even lied about his racial background! She said he told her that he was half Pakistani & half Spanish and that he spoke fluent Urdu. No Russian background at all... Suffice to say I was p*ssed!
At that moment whatever respect I had for him was gone out of the window. My friends suggested I message him right there and then and ask him directly where this is going as he hadn't made any effort to meet up again and was playing games. So I did.. he played the whole 'we've only met once' and that 'we'd need more time to establish whether we want to pursue things or not' ...basically trying to make me seem like i'm being pushy.
When I called him out of giving me mixed messages, messaging me so late in the early hours of the morning, not suggesting we meet again after he flopped, flaking out of our meeting etc. I laid it all out on the table. His response was 'I work during the day dude so the fact I message you at 'random' times is better than not messaging you at all. Yes you did take the initiative to suggest meeting but you also said you had stuff on in the evening when I informed you the night before that I was without a car. I'm pretty tied up for the next two weekends with prior commitments so if you feel you're making the effort without any response then I sincerely wish you good luck'.
He was making it seem as if he was too important and sooo busy even though the so called pyramid scheme he was part of talked about freeing up time and enjoying life etc. He was also making it seem like he was doing me a favour by messaging me at all. He was also making it out that he was the one who told me about his car being at the garage even though I was the one to message him to make sure everything was OK for our meeting and he dropped this on me last minute #RedflagI'veLostCount
I could have said so many things but to me it was pointless as I had lost respect and trust in this person so I replied to 'Mo...all i'm going to say is that I wish you all the best back. Hope you find whatever you're looking for. Sallam'. He replied with 'Likewise ****, I'm sorry you feel the way you do' ...again making it seem like I was irrational and delusional and he has done nothing wrong...
I went on living my life and keeping busy with work, family, friends and I was in the process of accomplishing an important goal in my life so it was helping me forget him, not that I was in love with him but it was my fault that I had put him on a pedestal and allowed my bar to be lowered.
3 days go by and guess who pops into my whatsapp? Yip you guessed it right, our not-so-Russian mate Mo.. it was at a time when we had a lot of snow and most of the people were off work. His message consisted of 'Good morning ***** wakey wakey rise and shine. Have a great day at work or enjoy your day off like the 75% of the country :) ' ... suffice to say I ignored his message.
Another 3 days go by... I receive yet another message stating 'All the best :) '.. again I ignore this message...
A week goes by...yet another message stating 'Good Morning' .. I came to the conclusion if I don't block him he'll keep annoying me so I blocked him and put an end to it Alhamdulilah.
The moral of the story is do NOT ignore redflags, go with your gut instinct, don't put anyone on a pedastal just because they say they pray, read Qur'an and NEVER allow anyone to treat you with disrespect or make you seem like you're the crazy one ...know your self worth! Do not lower the bar for anyone and if you aren't receiving respect, honesty and transparency know that you're wasting your time and you need to move on!
If you've made it this far, I hope my story will be some kind of help to peeps out there or at least it was an entertaining read :)

The Pyramid Scheme - My Muzmatch Encounter

Al Sallamu Alaikum,
I've been meaning to write this out for a long while but didn't want to rush it as the purpose in posting my MM experiences here are in the hope that I can help sisters, (and possibly brothers too) Inshaa Allah. I am not bashing the opposite gender as obviously I can't see what the female profiles look like. Also apologies for the long post but I think details are crucial.
Early on when I first started using MM app I must admit I was rather naive to what's out there as prior to this, interest I was getting was in real life through my parents etc.
One day as I was using the app I came across a dude's profile. Let's name him.. 'Mo', he was a teacher and 5 years my senior, he later told me he was half Spanish and half Russian. He was not stunning but he looked well put together. His profile was an interesting read and seemed professional.
At this stage I decided that I was going to make the first move and swipe right. Prior to this I was like a sitting duck waiting for matches thinking it was the 1800's or something lol. Shortly after I had a notification to say that he swiped me right and it was a match!
From memory I think he sent me a short message to say Sallam and I replied. We went back and forth with the usual chit chat and within a few days of talking he asked to exchange numbers in order to speak on Whatsapp. I'm very private but agreed to exchange details as the app was really glitchy and admittedly the poor matches. The conversation on whatsapp started with him being 'cheeky' saying things like save my number as 'goregous man' and calling me 'sweet cheecks'. I was a bit taken a back by this as seemed a bit egotistical and cheesy (which are 2 traits I dislike). I did call him out on it there and then by saying 'sweet cheeks? what are we 16? lol'. I think he got the jist that I wasn't falling for that rubbish. #Redflag1 (being overly flirty too soon and trying to charm)
I asked him straight up why he was there and he came across as rather defensive and said my question was 'odd'... as mentioned before I was somewhat new to the app and thought perhaps I offended him. Looking back now I don't feel that there was a reason to be defensive but anyway the convo continued to him saying message me back at 8.15pm. #Redflag2 as this was the 'controlling' aspect coming out ... read further down to see where I'm coming from.
He bought up the question that I had asked before regarding why he was on the app ... it was weird as thought that I dealt with this already. Again I went into detail to state it's because the dudes that I had previously spoken to seemed serious on their profiles but after speaking to them were only trying to pass the time or looking for someone with loose morals such as themselves. To this he disclosed that he had met 2 girls the previous month and both seemed confused. I thought right OK finally we're on the same page...
All of a sudden he said 'I would definitely like to meet you whenever you are ready *****'. I said i'd feel more comfortable speaking on the phone prior to meeting up. He seemed to be fine with this. We decided on a day and time to speak on the phone which was a generic conversation. Can't remember too much of it tbh.
I didn't hear from him the next day after our telephone convo and thought I'll message him in the evening to follow up, he replied several hours later...midnight to be precise. Admittedly I'm a bit of a night owl so didn't mind but this became a bit of a habit the more we spoke. #Redflag3 (when they message late it means you're an after thought or a boredom toy).
That same evening he said he was preparing for an event for 'his business' and said he has another one coming up and whether I'd be interested in going to this 'event' which happened to be very close to where I lived at that time. I thought OK as it wouldn't be a pressurized environment and I can calm my nerves a bit before we go for a coffee and talk properly.
He confirmed the date and said I was on the VIP list. I did ask what type of business but he said it would be better to talk in person and for him to explain. Thought fair enough, it will be a talking point. In that same convo he said he was going to pray and read some Qur'an, I thought brilliant and asked him if he could read it in Arabic, there was no motive to the question I was merely intrigued. He said he reads it in Arabic... I thought mama..I've hit the jackpot! lol
The following few days which let up to the meeting were short conversations of what you've been up to today? what did you eat? etc. the messages were coming through late in the evening as before so I tried to keep them short as thought we are meeting soon anyway. He was trying to be a bit flirty & I ignored the compliments etc
Finally the day came to meet...I was a bag of nerves! I think it's because I liked him and wanted everything to go well. I spoke to my girlfriends who gave me some tips on questions to ask and how to chill and be myself. An hour before the meeting I got dressed in my business attire and marched my way to meet him at this place. I went into the lobby area but there were so many people... so I messaged him to let him know that I was there. When alone get on your phone, so I busied myself with that. I must have been waiting for about 10 mins or maybe less but it seemed like an eternity. Finally I heard someone utter my name and I looked up and there he was. Have to admit he looked a bit different than his profile pics in terms of his hair looked longer and he had a bit of jewellery on with a suit that had a pattern that I can only describe as kitchen towel flashbacks.. he looked cheesy. Anyway we said hi to each other and did the small talk before we rushed to sign the entry register and made our way up to the next level and waited at the front of the line in order to get into this large conference room and it was packed! He disappeared briefly and I got talking to some sisters who didn't have a clue what the talk was about either. I didn't mind as felt safe as obviously I was amongst about 100 people.
So he comes back and they open the door and he keeps calling me to sit next to him. The setup is a large room with rows and rows of seats. So I sit next to him and smile as you do, it was rather loud so no chance of a convo. Shortly after the conference started. A guy goes up to the stage and starts talking a bit about the company and how well it's doing and his reason for joining the company which was to enjoy life and to savour time and basically not slave away our lives working and get out of the car race. There were some videos basically saying the same thing and how precious our time is and how we should work smarter to make money instead of working our fingers to the bone ...yada yada...I still had no idea what this company was about... An hour goes by and the main dude on the stage starts to invite some people to this stage.. some more vague wishy washy talking...more videos from their CEO in the US with thousands of people clapping... eventually they move on to presenting some people with awards and giving a shout out to some of the 'leaders' that have done really well...one by one they stand up and people clapping away. Then the guy giving the shout outs says Mo's name and he gets up and everyone claps. Still no idea what is going on at this stage... and tbh I lost interest as it had been several hours of vagueness. I later looked up the company and there is a heck of a lot of info about the company being a pyramid scheme and even had ex employees testimonies.
Eventually the whole thing is over and we make our way out. Mo asks me if there is anywhere nearby to grab a bite/ coffee which looking back now he should have known there would be as he mentioned to me previously that every sunday his 'company' has a meeting there... (how is it your company when you're not the CEO and merely an employee amongst many others?), at the time I didn't clock as it was busy and my brain was fried from the pointless meeting/ conference. I knew the area well so suggested a nearby cafe which we went to. It was a tad awkward and I was still a bit nervous but tried my best to ask all the right questions. I asked about his family, parents, siblings, friends, lifetyle, hobbies, likes/ dislikes etc he disclosed to me that his dad was out of the picture as he was an alcoholic, he also mentioned that he had no interaction with his Russian dad's side of the family but had a great relationship with his Spanish mum and her family.
Don't worry I wasn't fan-girling over him because of his mixed background as I come from a humble mixed background myself & don't see that as a big deal but this will become more apparent later on in the story as when I saw his picture I put him down as 'asian' looking, maybe Afgani, (he hadn't disclosed his ethnicity on his bio at the time).
I was touched by his closeness with his mum and how hard he worked to support her, (he was living at home)... I felt assured that he knew how to respect women. We talked some more and walked a bit and I called it a day. He suggested he gives me a lift but i politely declined. (Never get into a strangers car ladies & gents!).
Later that evening I received a message to say 'it was lovely meeting you'. The conversation seemed positive and pleasant. He asked me what I was doing and I explained I was looking at a first-aid book which my friend had gifted me as I've been a first-aider for many years and it's one of my interests... I sent him a pic of what I was reading which included a few drawings of how to perform mouth to mouth to adults and babies. He picked up on this and was trying to low key oversexualise the drawing in a jokey way. I played it off and joked back that I wasn't trying to imply anything. I brushed it off basically. #Redflag4 (low key turning anything normal into something sexual is a sign to look out for).
The convo's continue back and forth over a few days and one day he stops messaging. I didn't bother messaging first as was busy and felt that if he wanted to talk to me he knew how to contact me and he knew that I had 4 days off work as had informed him previously. 4 days I heard nothing from him. it was like he purposely avoided contacting me. He eventually messages out of the blue saying 'hi' and talking as if we were having a conversation just yesterday. I jokingly called him out on this as would have thought it would be the perfect opportunity to talk some more and get to know each other. The convo was playful but had an undertone that left a bitter taste in the mouth a bit.
A few days go by and I come to the conclusion that it's time to step it up a notch as the convos were dying out so asked him what he'd be doing at the end of the week. He said he had plans, I thought ok fair enough and suggested another day which suited him too and we agreed to meet that day. We decided on a time and a place.
The conversations that followed were somewhat normal although he was being flirty, I put it down to his nature and thought to myself don't be a prude and laughed mostly, no flirting back from my side. So it was the day before our meeting and I thought i'd drop him a message in the evening to check in to make sure he was still up for out meeting. He replied back saying that his car was at the garage and that he was going to get it back the next day but had to push our meeting later on in the evening...much later in the evening. I thought it was weird as he didn't mention it before so I pressed him for a specific time that he thought he'd get his car back and he said he wasn't sure. I was getting some flakey vibes and arranged for other plans so told him we'd have to reschedule for another day. I wasn't willing to cancel my plans for him when we had previously agreed a date and a time and he hadn't informed me about his car at all the when we were talking. He said fine lets arrange another day. #Redflag5 (stuff happens in life but if you're genuine you will keep the other party informed and updated regarding anything that will alter the plans agreed, bearing in mind I messaged him first that evening and only then did he disclose this info).
He messages the following day with the usual 'hi, how are you? etc as if nothing had happened and he didn't provide any further explanation or apology for flopping. I tried to keep it polite but I was annoyed inside. He continued messaging every night around 12am right before I went bed so the conversations were very short. His messages were hot and cold. One night he'd be overly sweet..sickly in fact and the next he'd be cold or not message at all. I was now waking up and seeing the redflags by his behavior, being flirty and trying to brush things off, messaging late, mixed messages etc. My annoyance turned into disappointment as I felt that his behavior was belittling me and trying to make it seem like it was perfectly normal to be treated the way he has treated me and frankly I was bored of the BS and knew my worth!
I felt s*tty, so my gf's arranged for us to go out for a meal and catch up. I told them what was going on and showed them a photo of him as per their request. One of the girls eyes widened and she shrieked 'I know him!'....My heart sank. She went on to say that she had spoken to him previously on MM and they had met! She said nothing came of it as they decided to be friends. I asked her when that took place she said over a year ago which didn't line up with his story when he said he had only been using the app for a month. The more we talked, the more I realised how much BS this dude had spun.. he even lied about his racial background! She said he told her that he was half Pakistani & half Spanish and that he spoke fluent Urdu. No Russian background at all... Suffice to say I was p*ssed!
At that moment whatever respect I had for him was gone out of the window. My friends suggested I message him right there and then and ask him directly where this is going as he hadn't made any effort to meet up again and was playing games. So I did.. he played the whole 'we've only met once' and that 'we'd need more time to establish whether we want to pursue things or not' ...basically trying to make me seem like i'm being pushy.
When I called him out of giving me mixed messages, messaging me so late in the early hours of the morning, not suggesting we meet again after he flopped, flaking out of our meeting etc. I laid it all out on the table. His response was 'I work during the day dude so the fact I message you at 'random' times is better than not messaging you at all. Yes you did take the initiative to suggest meeting but you also said you had stuff on in the evening when I informed you the night before that I was without a car. I'm pretty tied up for the next two weekends with prior commitments so if you feel you're making the effort without any response then I sincerely wish you good luck'.
He was making it seem as if he was too important and sooo busy even though the so called pyramid scheme he was part of talked about freeing up time and enjoying life etc. He was also making it seem like he was doing me a favour by messaging me at all. He was also making it out that he was the one who told me about his car being at the garage even though I was the one to message him to make sure everything was OK for our meeting and he dropped this on me last minute #RedflagI'veLostCount
I could have said so many things but to me it was pointless as I had lost respect and trust in this person so I replied to 'Mo...all i'm going to say is that I wish you all the best back. Hope you find whatever you're looking for. Sallam'. He replied with 'Likewise ****, I'm sorry you feel the way you do' ...again making it seem like I was irrational and delusional and he has done nothing wrong...
I went on living my life and keeping busy with work, family, friends and I was in the process of accomplishing an important goal in my life so it was helping me forget him, not that I was in love with him but it was my fault that I had put him on a pedestal and allowed my bar to be lowered.
3 days go by and guess who pops into my whatsapp? Yip you guessed it right, our not-so-Russian mate Mo.. it was at a time when we had a lot of snow and most of the people were off work. His message consisted of 'Good morning ***** wakey wakey rise and shine. Have a great day at work or enjoy your day off like the 75% of the country :) ' ... suffice to say I ignored his message.
Another 3 days go by... I receive yet another message stating 'All the best :) '.. again I ignore this message...
A week goes by...yet another message stating 'Good Morning' .. I came to the conclusion if I don't block him he'll keep annoying me so I blocked him and put an end to it Alhamdulilah.
The moral of the story is do NOT ignore redflags, go with your gut instinct, don't put anyone on a pedastal just because they say they pray, read Qur'an and NEVER allow anyone to treat you with disrespect or make you seem like you're the crazy one ...know your self worth! Do not lower the bar for anyone and if you aren't receiving respect, honesty and transparency know that you're wasting your time and you need to move on!
If you've made it this far, I hope my story will be some kind of help to peeps out there or at least it was an entertaining read :)

Brilliant Idea! Kashmir’s Local Newspaper Take Social Responsibility to Another Level, Puts Free Mask on Front Page Amid COVID-19

Why is Indian film music so pathetic nowadays?

[Archer] Sterling Archer's True Origins and "Real" Father

Keep in mind I haven’t seen any episodes of season 8 yet
Archer's father, at least biologically, is irrelevant. Archer is, in fact, a laboratory creation made by the American Government in a Super Soldier Spy program.
Despite his foolish, and sometimes animalistic behavior, it has been said time and time again that Archer is/was a fantastic field agent. More often than not he accomplishes his task and is quickly able to adapt to any situation. His looks are also, though perceived as very attractive, are relatively plain; plain skin, plain hair, and no distinguishable features, meaning he could blend in many places and it’s shown that he could pass for olive-skinned ethnicities such as a Latin American or Mediterranean, in addition to many of the primarily paler caucasian countries.
Speaking of looks; Archer has the body, endurance and survivability like no other in the show. He particularly adores his good looks and great features but his "perfection" is why he is able to survive such feats such as being shot over 30 times over the course of the series without dying or receiving permanent damage other than the occasional scar. He's also able to metabolize toxins better than anyone, in case an enemy tried to poison him; which is why he can drink more than anyone else in the show (except maybe Pam). Not to mention he is capable of some incredible things like scale an entire building in a matter of seconds (ep. The Honeymooners) or be revived after drowning without irreparable brain damage. Also, his immune system is top notch which is why he is able to contract a variety of diseases (STD, malaria or otherwise) and be easily cured or have little effect. The cancer he received is obviously from, as we have seen, incidences with exposure to high radiation that would have certainly killed a normal human being. He may be super, but he does have a limit. Though as a super soldier, Archer is (mostly) incapable of fathoming his own mortality. With the exception of the cancer, which would have caused a relatively slow death, any other brushes Archer has had with death is seemed as rather careless, as would be desired for a spy.
Additionally, his intellect is top notch. It’s been shown that Archer has learned 9 languages: Russian, Spanish, French, Romansch, Italian, Arabic, Yiddish, Portuguese, and Finnish (and one phrase in Urdu), so he’s able to pick up on languages fairly well. Furthermore, it’s why he can make very quick mathematical calculations off the top of his head, and count bullets being fired. He is also the largest literary scholar out of all of the characters because he makes more references to literature, culture, and history than anyone else on the show.
Aside from his anatomy, it lines up with Archer's past. Archer's past is often unknown to cloudy at best and there are very little details about it; that's because most, if not all, of his memories are either implanted there or just how he remembers it. This is why he doesn't remember being "dressed as Hitler" for Halloween, or that he didn't see his mother for basically the first few years of his birth, or even that his "birth" was in Tangiers-- which probably means he doesn't have a birth certificate, he was never really born. Additionally, that's why he perceived his childhood as being spent at multiple boarding schools where he was often alone; it's because he didn't go to boarding school, he grew up in a lab with no one else around his age. If there were any incidents of Sterling being around other kids, it seems like they were with bullies, which could have been a test to see if his specialized training was in effect yet, every time there was a “failure”, they would “bring him to a new school” every few years to retest the super soldier spy’s capabilities.
So who created Archer? Well, thinking about anyone else in the show who is able to build life from little to nothing the obvious answer is that Archer’s creator, or “father” if you will, is none other than Dr. Krieger… Sr.
Being a Nazi scientist, it could've been that Krieger Sr. did some tests on human genetics and anatomy in the Holocaust (yes, dark I know) and was one of the scientists drafted in “Operation Paperclip” and was contracted by the CIA in 1947 to create such a “perfect specimen” for the incoming Cold War. However, like many operations of the American Government, it was eventually shut down, like MKUltra or Acoustic Kitty. Not being able to create human life and possibly in danger of being somehow thrown under the bus by the CIA for Crimes Against Humanity or otherwise, Krieger Sr. fled to Brazil, like many other Nazi’s after WWII wherein he more so “created” a family, including Algernop Krieger, until he was discovered and killed (indirectly) by Mallory Archer.
Now, here is where Mallory fits into the picture. It’s obvious that Mallory has worked in espionage all of her life and she is extremely intelligent, so it wouldn’t be hard to believe that she was involved with the Super Soldier Spy program, probably as some sort of trainer, caretaker, or any other sort of person that could constitute as a “Mother”. Now, the story of Archer’s birth in Tangiers is either completely made up as a cover story, or, though maybe less likely, Mallory really did have a child but it didn’t last long after childbirth. So being the mentor and overseer of this young “perfect spy in the making”, Mallory grew matronly over Sterling until he was nearly 18 when the operation was shut down.
The cause of shutting down the operation may actually be due to the “crazy weekend” Mallory has referenced where she allegedly slept with Nikolai Jakov of the KGB and Len Trexler of ODIN (and Buddy Rich), however, being in a blitzed out state, it could have been that Mallory actually blabbed about the operation to them. By leaking information, the operation would have been shut down and likely the test subjects would have been terminated. In the episode “Once Bitten” Sterling remembers the time he was about to go to Johns Hopkins on an athletic scholarship but is then gunned down in an assassination attempt by a “crazed fan” wherein he loses his scholarship. This was actually the U.S. Government attempting to put the subject down, however, because he was able to withstand the gunshot, Archer survived and was rehabilitated by Mallory. Having a mother’s love and feeling such a guilt about nearly having Sterling killed and shutting down the project, Mallory took Sterling in and gave him the phony identity as her son and left the CIA wherein she created ISIS, she may be a bit of a bitch, but she isn't heartless. For the next 40+ years she kept romancing Len and Nikolai in hopes of keeping their mouths shut about accidentally leaking the information. Additionally, she also went to Brazil to kill Krieger Sr so that there were no others that new about Archer’s true identity.
However, Mallory is a stubborn and greedy person, so this is when she kidnaps Algernop in hopes of having a scientist as brilliant as his father and potentially create more super spies; where we have seen his failed clones in his lab, but due to advancing technology, he moved to bionics with the creation of cyborg Katya, Conway’s arm, and Ray’s lower body and hand, all in hopes of making a powerful intelligence agency. This is also why she had Lana use Archer’s sperm to create Abbiejean, to Potentially breed another “perfect specimen” into a future spy. Additionally, Mallory kept pestering Archer to get a vasectomy because she didn’t want to risk countries around the world having Archer’s “Super Genes”.
Also, why would a lab creation have a belly button? Obviously a feeding/nutrient tube while in test-tube utero.
And Brett Bunsen was an earlier test subject, which is why he could survive many gunshot wounds without dying, but was severely affected until he was shot in the head and finally died.
The vision in “Once Bitten” where Archer remembers seeing his father could easily be a dying hallucination or dream right before he gets revived with the anti-venom. The possible father mentioned in “Lo Scandalo” may have simply been Mallory testing Savio Mascalzoni to see if he would give himself away for knowing about the government operation and Archer’s true origins.
So perhaps, at best, Archer may have been from the sperm of a donor, but that barely constitutes as a father, or at least not what Archer is looking for.
TL;DR Archer is a government laboratory creation, created by Dr. Krieger's father.
(Also, MatPat, if you’re reading this, I love your shows, but please don’t take this theory from me)

The one in which she fakes dying to sabotage our first anniversary celebrations

Hi everybody! Boy, do I have a story or two to tell to you lot!
Since I'm posting here for the first time (been lurking for a while), please do forgive any mistakes I will inevitably make while writing this. This is also going to be super long, but hopefully interesting enough to keep you around by the end.
Context:
We're South-east Asian. Our communities value 'faaaaaamily' over anything else. For most people in our community, the word of their parents is the word of God. Most people will tell you that your abusive parents 'only want what's best for you' and will tell you that you are the one who needs to try harder to please them, and maybe they won't abuse you so much then. DILs are expected to tip-toe around their in-laws and respect them to the point where a lot of MILs will ride in the front seat with their baaaaby boy if the whole family goes out somewhere together. If the DIL wants to sit next to her own husband in her own car, it can be taken as a sign of utmost disrespect to The Mother and fights may ensue.
Sleeping around before marriage is a HUGE deal in our society (for women - men seem to be able to get away with it pretty easily as long as they don't announce it to the world). Suggesting that a girl slept around before getting married isn't mild character-assassination, it's pretty serious stuff that could potentially ruin a woman's chances at a happy marriage, a stable career and a healthy social life.
Characters:
MIL: We don't have a name for her in English, but my brilliant bff likes to refer to my MIL as 'Randi ki Bachi' (RKB for short). Loosely translated in English, RKB means 'daughter of a whore'. You'll be pleased to know that it sounds way worse in Urdu than it does in English. My BFF really likes to roll the 'R' in the beginning in her mouth in a venomous fashion before she spits out the actual word. Let me know if a non-English nickname would be welcome here!
MIL is basically a child trapped in a middle-aged woman's body. She has spent her entire life pandering to and enabling her extremely abusive husband (FIL) and has major FLEAS.
FIL: Full-blown narcissist. Extremely abusive. Likes using his words and his fists as a form of communication. I'm about the only person who has ever successfully 'dealt with' this fucker, and I'm very, very proud of it.
Various BILs and SILs: DH has four siblings, two brothers, two sisters. The youngest one (BIL2) is relatively normal. The rest are just as bad as their parents. Major FLEAS all around. The SILs are particularly bad.
DH: Essentially the sweetest person ever, SG of his large Nfamily. His Nfamily fed off of his job for a very long time, and forced him to take HUGE loans in his name (we're talking thousands of dollars) for them, while still treating him like shit all the same. The loans are now paid off, we're NC, and DH now sports a shiny spine as well, with pride.
Me: A person with a cold, hard, shiny spine that was acquired through putting up with and then successfully getting away from the abuse of my own father. That's another story for another day.
That's it for the background for now. Onwards, then!
DH and I had been best friends for a loooong time before we started dating. When we finally decided to declare ourselves a couple, we found ourselves living thousands of miles away from each other. We were absolutely madly in love, both in our early twenties, and the distance was super tough for us to deal with.
Fast-forward a few months from that, we're still going strong when DH sneaks me off (remember the bit above where our community hates women who sleep around before marriage? That's why we had to 'sneak off', lest people find out about my perceived sluttiness and banish me to a miserable existence as long as I lived in that country) to the Maldives for a gorgeous four days of utter and complete bliss and proposes to me. I say yes, and we both go back home, intending to tell our parents about wanting to get married to each other. Being SE Asian, we essentially have to ask our parents for 'permission' to get married. Not unsurprising when a lot of people still get married to people of their parents' choice (arranged marriages). Anyway.
My mom was super happy for me. I expected that. My father said there's no way he's going to show up to my wedding. I expected that, too, took it in my stride, got some me therapy, read some stuff on the subject, ranted to my friends about it, and moved on.
DH, who had yet to acquire a spine for himself, really wanted his parents to approve of us being together. I mean, this is a man who positively spent his entire life entirely bent over backwards for his parents. He thought he had a shot at getting the only thing he ever asked of them: for them to be happy for him and be there at his wedding. As all of us here can predict and know, that was not what was going to happen.
He told MIL first, because he thought of her as the milder one of his two parents. He later described her reaction as follows: she stiffened up, rapidly asked a bunch of questions about which religious sect my family belonged to, and without even asking my name or what I do, stated, "Your father will never approve of this. Forget about it. Your elder brother is getting married soon. Why don't we look for a nice girl in our [insert religious sect] at the wedding, loads of single, pretty girls will show up there. I'm sure one of them will have you."
DH was so shocked at that that he actually didn't bring it up with her again, until the whole family decided to take an extended trip for BIL's wedding to our hometown. I wasn't too bothered about him bringing it up with his parents; I was still establishing my career, and I had enough on my mind. I could wait, NBD.
During this extended trip, DH started bringing the topic of wanting to get married with me often enough with his mother and his siblings that she realised that every time he stepped out of the house, he'd be going to see The Woman who did Evil Black Vagina Magic on her Baby Boy, aka me (please note that they later actually accused me of using a combination of black magic, sex and red lipstick on DH to ensnare him, and this is not a figment of my imagination. They specifically mentioned the red lipstick. I wear the deepest of deep red lipsticks available on the market to date, with matching red high heels).
Suddenly, MIL would fall violently sick every time DH would ask to step away from some of the less important 'wedding festivities' (SE Asian weddings compose of multiple events and and can go on for days. We have dance practices and everything. It can fun if your family isn't evil). She'd start gasping and would demand to be laid down on the living room couch, where she would be the centre of attention and would lie for hours, sweating and gasping for air, and resolutely refusing to be taken to the doctor. Meanwhile, all the rest of DHs siblings would be nowhere to be seen near her sick bed, and they'd be off merry-making at a mutual friends' house for the dance practices for the wedding. If MIL found out DH was just planning to step outside the house to attend one of these dance practices (where he could meet a pretty girl from their community) or run an errand, she'd wave a tired hand at him and 'allow' him to go.
She also started making random demands for DH to put his head in her lap right now, where she could stroke his hair and pet his neck like a dog's. Basically, DH got stuck at his place with her for hours at end, crouched next to her deathbed like a dog on the floor while she petted him. He was getting increasingly weirded out by it, but didn't tell me any of these things until much later.
Where was I in all this? DH, being used to managing other people's emotions, decided to 'protect' me from all the madness, and just made excuses about not being able to see me much. I didn't think much of it because he'd normally be all over me when he was visiting our city, and I just thought that he was busy with his brother's wedding. In hindsight, I should have known something was up because he loathes his elder brother with a passion, but I was young and naive, and had enough going on in my own life, so I didn't.
However, our first anniversary of being engaged was drawing near and I really wanted to do something special for it. DH said he had plans starting from early in the morning all the way into the night. I got super excited for. I took a day off work, got dolled up early in the morning, and I waited.
And I waited. And I waited some more. Hours passed. I tired calling him, but his phone was switched off. I was so angry at missing a day off from work and being stood up for it. I was also worried because our city can generally be extremely unsafe to live in, and what if something had happened to him? I was going out of my mind with worry and anger, when he finally called me eight hours after he was supposed to pick me up.
He said he was very sorry. Said his mother was extremely sick, she was sweating and gasping for air, but wouldn't let him take her to the doctor, and wouldn't let him move from her side. She had been sick since she saw him going out in the morning (he was dressed up. The bitch probably guessed what was up). She wouldn't let him grab his phone to text or call, and made him switch it off.
My brain could not process this information. Would not let him out of her sight and would not let him grab his own phone to send a text? Made him switch off his phone? What the actual fuck? The full extent of this madness was starting to dawn on me.
I laid it into him. Told him he's pretty spineless and that I'm sure there was a way to take care of his sick mother (I didn't know she wasn't really sick then) while sending me a quick text in the eight hours I was waiting for him to show up that he had no plans of showing up. I asked him where his other siblings, including his older brother, were and why they weren't huddled around their mother's sick bed, too. He said they're at dance practice. Mostly dumbstruck, I said that I need some time to process this bs, said goodbye, and hung up.
He texted me, apologising profusely, and said he finally managed to get away and that would I please let him take me out. It's our special day, please let's go somewhere. Blah blah blah. I was pissed off, but I did also want to go out, mostly because I wanted him to tell me face-to-face about how he got himself into this mess to begin with.
He picked me up, and we are literally five fucking minutes out when his mother starts blowing up his cell with calls. He ignores the first TEN (!!!!), picks up at the eleventh. I could hear her screaming that she needs to be taken to the doctor, right now.
He swings the car around, with me in it. Says he doesn't have time to drop me back home, his mother needs to go the hospital right away. I'm getting a little concerned now. I agree to go along. DH shoots quick calls at his siblings to get to XYZ hospital, and races home.
We arrive at his place to see his mother gasping and sweating as per what was now usual to him on her living room couch cough throne cough. I saw her eyes momentarily narrow into slits when she saw me trail in behind DH, but she quickly got right back into character. I introduce myself to her as fast as I could, we slip our arms under hers, and half-carry, half-walk her to the car. I start pushing down the front passenger seat for her to lie down on, but DH shoves her into the back, where she lies down, now gently moaning to herself. I get in the front seat. We drive at full speed to the nearest hospital, and she moans some more at every speed bump and pothole that we drive over.
We roar into the emergency, and I see two of DH's siblings (SIL1 and BIL2) waiting for us at the entrance. I step out of the car first, and SIL1 takes one look at me, takes a gulp of air and shouts, "What is SHE doing in the front in seat? Why is mother not in the front seat?!"
You'd think there were more important things to worry about then, but clearly not. I didn't have a clear idea of what exactly was going on then with his Nfamily, but I'm generally not one to take shit from anyone. I shot her a Death Glare. I have spent my entire life practicing mine. It really is something to behold. She shuts the fuck up.
DH bundles MIL into a wheelchair and everybody rushes pell-mell into the emergency. There's utter chaos in there, and the attendants told all but one of us to stay out. DH opts to go in, because of course he does. I'm left outside with SIL1 and BIL2 and I'm seething at being left alone with this bitch, but also trying to be the bigger person here because MIL is supposed to be sick and all.
SIL1 rounds up on BIL2 (he's okay): "What is she doing here?" she shrieks at him. BIL2 grabs her by the arm and leads her away from me. I can see exaggerated hand motions, but I just roll my eyes and look away. I find myself a relatively quiet spot to sit in and I call up one of my friends (who is also DH's childhood friend and has practically lived with his Nfamily) and ask him if he could come over to give me some company (I just needed a friendly face around that wasn't shoved up it's mother's ass at that moment). He said he'd come, and I decided to wait for him.
DH troops out of the emergency. Practically demands that SIL1 go in and see MIL now, and comes finds me. Gives me a huge hug in front of SIL1 and says thank you for bringing his mother to the hospital with him. I've had a crazy day and I'm not feeling very gracious but I grudgingly accept the thank you. Our friend shows up and we all wait around to hear what the doctor has to say.
At this point, it's almost midnight and I'm dead on my feet. With our city being unsafe and everything, my friend offers to drop me home, but DH says thanks no thanks, I'm taking her home. I just go along with it at this point. DH posts SIL1 and BIL2 at his mother's side, and leaves to take me home. I haven't eaten much all day so we stop at the only place open at this hour to eat something: McDonald's. I'm trying to force down a Big Mac when DH's phone starts blowing up again. It's SIL2. She's still at 'dance practice' and hadn't bothered coming along with the other siblings to see their mom at the hospital. She now wanted to be picked up and dropped off to the hospital, and couldn't even give us the exact location of where she wanted to be picked up from.
I was super tired but I wanted to finally get some time to talk to DH about all this, so I asked him if I could come along to pick her up (because of course we were going to pick her up, it's not like DH had much of a spine back then). He said of course. We get back into the car and drive on. We get lost because she gave us the incorrect location of where she was at. We stop in front of a well-known landmark, a hotel, because we thought maybe she could tell us where to go from there. We call her up and DH says, "I'm in the car with Sylvia'sdead. We're in front of XYZ hotel. Could you please tell us where to go from here?"
Do you know what that bitch went and told her family afterwards? She said DH and I had been at that hotel in a room, sleeping together, before we went to pick her up. I'm 100 percent serious about this. We somehow managed to leave the hospital, eat at a McDonald's, sleep together at a hotel, constantly call her all the while for proper directions and pick her up all in the space of about an hour and a half. Slow. Motherfucking. Clap. (Please see Context above for why it's such a big deal for her to accuse me of sleeping with her brother at a hotel in our city.)
We didn't know she was going to say this at the time, so we somehow managed to get the correct location out of her and pick her up. She crawls into the car, I say hi. She ignores me. DH swells up in anger. Asks her to acknowledge my presence and say hi. She huffs, doesn't say hi, brings out her phone, dials a friend and spends the rest of the journey talking to her friend about how concerned she is about her mom, and that she's on her way to see her. Wtf, bitch? You were at dance practice all this time! Your mother has been in the hospital for FIVE HOURS now. You could've come in when your other siblings did! Actually, you could've maybe not gone to dance practice since your mother has apparently been sick since the morning, which was after you left home! W. T. F?!
My brain honestly STOPPED working at this point. I told DH I want to go home. I'm not going to be taken to the hospital again to drop SIL2 off and then go home. I felt for him at this point, I really did, but I had to look out for myself against the crazies, too. I just wanted to go home and cuddle up with my cat and go to sleep, and I had work the next day. He got me home, hugged me again before I left (this time while SIL2 was obviously still in the car), and drove back to the hospital to see if the doctors had gotten to his mom yet.
Annnndddd guess what, llamas? The doctor said there was NOTHING WRONG WITH HER. Said that maybe she was a bit stressed out about the wedding planning or something like that, but physically, she was okay. They even ruled out panic attacks. There just was absolutely nothing wrong with her. All of this? All of it? Was over absolutely fucking nothing.
That's all for today, folks! If anyone's interested in knowing about the time FIL decided that calling me a whore would be a good idea, let me know!
Edit: The follow-up is here, everyone! Llamas, nom away!

A Guide To Delhi

A Quick History
The legend of the current city of Delhi begins in with the story of Brahma forgetting the Vedas. Upon prayer, the sacred knowledge was regurgitated by the Yamuna, on its banks, at a place which is now the famous Nigambodh Ghat, its name meaning “gained knowledge”.
Following this holy significance, the Pandavas decided to build their Indraprastha here, and the general location has been inhabited more or less throughout history, as the village of Indrapat.
As a gateway to the rich doab of the plains of Northern India, the region of Delhi occupied strategic importance and offered relief from the heat owing to its presence in the foothills of the Aravalli Range.
From the tenth century, the region now called Delhi has seen 7-10 historical settlements, all located within the triangle formed by the Yamuna and the two rocky ridges (North and South West).
The first city of Delhi was called Lal Kot / Qila Rai Pithora, settled by the Tomars and the Rajputs, including Prithviraj Chauhan. Its walls are still visible in parts in South Delhi, near Saket and Malviya Nagar. As the earliest settlement, it was built on the ridge away from the river, to guard against flooding.
In 1192, Mohammad Ghori defeated Prithviraj, and left the region to his slave and commander, Qutbuddin Aibak, who built the city of Siri, which was also used and consolidated by the Khilji dynasty. The vestiges of the battlements of Siri are still accessible near the urban villages of Hauz Khas and Shahpur Jat.
Next came the Tughlaqs, the first of whom built Tughlaqabad on the banks of Yamuna. Ghiyassudin Tughlaq’s impressive fort-city, which can still be visited, was cursed from the start, and his successor Mohammad bin Tughlaq fortified the walls of Qila Rai Pithora and Siri, and encapsulated them into a new city: Jahanpanah. Parts of this, in the form of Bijay Mandal and the Begumpuri Masjid are still there.
His successor, Feroz Shah Tughlaq, was the first to build a fort along the Yamuna, recognised as the fifth city of Delhi. His citadel, the Feroz Shah Kotla, stands proudly flanking the Ring Road, home to one of Delhi’s two Ashokan Pillars (transported from Topra). Feroz Shah’s city was humongous by the standards of the day, extending from the Northern Ridge (where the other Ashokan Pillar stands) to Hauz Khas, where the king built a madarsa and a mosque, adding on to the tank (hauz) built by Alauddin Khilji.
Their successors, the Sayyids and Lodis, were too busy consolidating and repelling central Asian invasions to leave anything except a peppering of forlorn and numerous tombs in the city.
Then, Sher Shah Suri, upon defeating Humayun in 1540, returned to Indrapat, a purportedly ancient village, and built his city, Shergarh, at the same site. Humayun came to power in 1555, and added to that, building the Purana Qila as his city, Dinpanah.
Shahjahan was the next Mughal to reign from Delhi, and gave it the most recent historical city,Shahjahanabad. Northward along the Yamuna, it had fourteen gates, and enjoyed the Golden Era of Mughal rule. It continued to serve as the Mughal capital until the end of the dynasty in 1857, in the decades before which it saw a brilliant cultural renaissance, a time of high etiquette, courtly graces and flourishing literary and music culture.
The British commissioned New Delhi with the Durbar of 1911, and Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker were brought in, both visionaries sensitive to the possibility of self-rule for India. Baker was surveying sites for the center of the new city, and atop a hill named after a Rajput (Rai Sina), he saw a smattering of tombs and mosques spreading across the ridge, signs of Delhi’s macabre past. However, on cue, a spell of rain came and went, and a rainbow appeared over the whole scene, which, to Baker, was a heartening omen. Thus, the Viceroy House was built upon that hill, which is now the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
A Quick Guide To Food
A Trail Of Kebabs In Delhi

Al-Kauser, RK Puram, for the best Kakori and Galauti Kebabs.
Azam’s Mughlai, Khan Market, for great Kakori and Galauti Kebabs.
Aap Ki Khatir, SDA Market, for more great Kakori Kebabs.
Qureshi Kebab, Khan Market, for Seekh and Kakori Kebabs (of the non-Awadhi kind).
Rajinder Da Dhaba, Safdarjung Market, for great Galauti Kebabs.
Karim’s, Jama Masjid, for amazing Seekh Kebabs.
Kale Baba Ke Kebab, Moinuddin Kebabs, Jama Masjid, for softest buff kebabs.
Ghalib Kebab Corner in Nizamuddin, for great Shami kebabs of both mutton and buff.
Bhaijaan Kebabs, Chitli Qabar, for the best Shami Kebabs
Wenger’s Bakery in CP and the Triveni Tea Terrace near Mandi House, for great Shami Kebabs.
Subhash Restaurant in Khan Market for more amazing kebabs.
Al-Quresh in Yashwant Place for good Kakori kebabs / mutton tikka / raan / burra / nihari (winters).

The Two Breakfasts of Old Delhi
Old Delhi offers famous and beloved breakfast fare of the Hindu and Muslim varieties.
For Nihari, supposed to have been invented as a spicy, ghee-rich breakfast for manual workers in the time of Shahjahan, head to Karim’s and Al-Jawahar (mutton) and Haji Shabrati (buff) in Old Delhi.
Nihari is a long-cooked stew of mutton / buff, cooked in spices and ghee, unbelievably tender, fatty and delectable, topped with ginger slivers and chillies. To be eaten with Khamiri Roti / Kulcha.
For Aloo Puri / Chhole Puri / Nagori Halwa, the popular Hindu breakfast, you can go to:

Standard Sweets just outside the Chawri Bazar Metro in a lane to the left.
Shyam Sweets in Chawri Bazar.
Jeha Caterers and Arihant Sweet Shop, known popularly as Sardarji and Jain Saab in the Ansari Road area of Daryaganj.

More Of Old Delhi

Haji Mohammed Hussain for original fried chicken, with a combination of 12 spices. In Gali Kebabiyan, Matia Mahal, right in front of the Jama Masjid Gate 1.
Aslam Chicken and Anmol Chicken in Matia Mahal and Urdu Bazaar respectively, for delicious roasted chicken drenched in a butter-masala gravy.
Babu Bhai Kebab Wale in Chitli Qabar, famous for sutli kebab, so soft that they are held wrapped by a string and unfurled directly onto your plate.
Kallan Sweets in the beginning of Matia Mahal, famous for Paneer Jalebis, Buff Keema Samosas, and shahi tukda (sweet).
Shereen Bhawan in Chitli Qabar offers some uniquely Old Delhi sweets, including the hot Habshi Halwa.
Zaika / Changezi Chicken / Khan Foods are on Netaji Subhash Marg, and are all equally good for korma,nihari, biryani and kebabs. Do try the tikkas at Changezi, they are in a special marinade gravy.
Ashok Chat Bhandar right next to the Chawri Bazar Metro, for the best chaat.
Heera Lal Chaat in Chawri Bazar, for kulle chaat, scooped out fruit / vegetable shells filled with spicy anaar and condiments.
Jain Coffee House in Raghuganj for fruit sandwiches.
Kuremal Mohan Lal offers a select range of kulfis, from fig to paan, to a unique variation stuffed inside a frozen mango. Take a rickshaw into Kucha Pati Ram from the Chawri Bazar Metro Station.
Kake Di Hatti in the Fatehpuri area of Old Delhi offers the best, gigantic tandoori stuffed parathas, with a dal makhani to die for. A close second is Sanjay Chur Chur Naan at the Moolchand Metro Station.
Naan Khatai an Indian shortbread / cookie made then and there in kilns on carts around Old Delhi.
Daulat Ki Chaat in the winters, around Old Delhi, a dessert of milk froth that will disappear like a sweet cloud in your mouth.
Wenger’s and Wenger’s Deli are iconic, old and must-visit bakery / deli in Connaught Place. Have the chicken / mutton / veg patties, Shami kebab, sandwiches, quiche, burgers and panini there.
Ashok and Ashok Meat Dhaba offers the best indigenous Punjabi korma in Delhi. The legend goes that the two were local “toughies”, who made the dish in the evenings. Their fare attained such popularity, that they gave up their day activities, and the dhaba became a Delhi legend. Their gravy is thickened with keema, and the dish is served with free tandoori rotis. Located in Basti Harphool Singh in the Sadar Bazar area, they start at 1.30 and the food gets over by 3. Mutton is served only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. They now have a branch in West Patel Nagar, and their cousins run Z Corner in East Patel Nagar, which offers the same korma. A branch opened this month in CP.
Roshan Di Kulfi on Ajmal Khan Road in Karol Bagh for the best chhole bhature and kulfi faluda.
Art of Spices in Karol Bagh for the best Kathi Rolls.
Kay’s in Ashok Vihar offers the best Doner Kebab roll. Delhi-style shawarmas are best served at Concept in Defence Colony and Al-Bake in New Friends Colony.
Hunger Strike in Amar Colony and Lahori in Defence Colony offer the best tandoori momos. The ones in North Campus are blatant fakes and unworthy of expenditure.
Bagli Kitchen at the Parsi Anjuman near Daryaganj has some authentic, home-cooked Parsi food. Book lunch one day in advance.
Purani Dilli Restaurant in Zakir Nagar serves some of the best Delhi Mughlai food. Good haleem, biryani andkorma.
Mazaar and Kabul Delhi in the Afghan colony in Lajpat Nagar offers good Afghan fare, including chopan, kabuli uzbeki pulao and a delectable Afghan kulfi called sheer yakh.
Moet’s Arabica in CP and Habibi in Bangali Market offer cheap decent Lebanese chow.

Places To Visit

Qutb Minar and the Qutb Complex.
Mehrauli Archaeological Park.
Hauz Khas.
Jantar Mantar.
Feroz Shah Kotla.
Purana Qila.
Streets of Old Delhi / Red Fort.
Nizamuddin Dargah (has the dargah of Amir Khusro next to it, and the grave of Ghalib adjoining).
Agrasen Ki Baoli.
Lotus Temple.
St. James' Church.
Daryaganj Book Market (Sundays).
Surajkund Crafts Mela (Feb only).
India Gate. (plus National Gallery of Modern Art / National Museum).
Jogmaya Temple in Mehrauli.
Lodi Gardens.
Humayun's Tomb and the complex (highly recommended).
Chhatarpur Mandir.
Akshardham.
Majnu Ka Tila (with a Tibetan colony and nice food).
The Sunday Book Market In Daryaganj

There are many little, obscure places, if you want to visit in a group:

Chilla Nizamuddin: Behind Humayun's Tomb, where Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya said prayers and took visitors.
Pir Ghaib: Near the northern ridge.
Lal Gumbad: Peaceful place near Malviya Nagar.
Chor Minar and Idgah: Small minaret in a residential colony in Hauz Khas.
Qila Rai Pithora Park: Walls of the first city and a little museum.
Array of tombs on the road to Hauz Khas Village.
Bhulbhulaiyan in Mehrauli.
Hauz-Shamsi and Jahaz Mahal in Mehrauli.
Zafar Mahal, adjoining the dargah of Qutbuddin Bahktiyar Kaki, Bahadur Shah Zafar's summer lodge.
Mutiny Memorial.
Bijai Mandal (nice view of South Delhi from atop) / Begumpuri Masjid (part of Jahanpanah, the fifth city) near IIT.
Flagstaff Tower and Ashokan Pillar on the Northern Ridge.
Sanjay Van, a thick forest with a lake that holds the walls of the first city, Lal Kot.
Bagh-e-Bedil, the alleged grave of one of the most celebrated Sufi poets of all time, Abdul Qadir Bedil, near Pragati Maidan.

A Reading List

City Of Djinns by William Dalrymple
Twilight In Delhi by Ahmed Ali
Ghalib: The Man, The Times by Pavan K Varma
The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple
Delhi, A Tale of Seven Cities by Urmila Verma
Forgotten Delhi by RS Sethi
Delhi Metropolitan by Ranjana Sengupta
Korma, Kheer and Kismet: Five Seasons in Old Delhi by Pamela Timms
Chandni Chowk: The Mughal City of Old Delhi by Swapna Liddle
Delhi: A Thousand Years of Building by Lucy Peck
Where Stones Speak by Rana Safvi
Mind The Gap: Walking Delhi With The Metro by Wilson John
City Improbable edited by Khushwant Singh
Celebrating Delhi edited by Mala Dayal
Delhi: Unknown Tales of A City by RV Smith
Delhi By Heart by Raza Rumi
Ancient Delhi by Upinder Singh
Delhi: Pages From A Forgotten History by Arthur Dudney
Delhi by Khushwant Singh
Delhi: A Historical Sketch by Percival Spear
Twilight of The Mughals by Percival Spear
Delhi Between Two Empires by Narayani Gupta
Delhi Through The Ages by RE Frykenburg
Eicher City Guide: Delhi
Discover Delhi by Anjana Motihar Chandra

I wrote parts of this on the State Of The Week thread on india, and got some requests to put the info back.
Here you are.
Dilli ke the na kuche, auraq-e-musavvir the, Har shaql nazar aaye, tasveer nazar aaye.
Meer Taqi "Meer"
cc: u/boredboredbored2

[NP] A Quick Guide To Delhi

Al-Kauser, RK Puram, for the best Kakori and Galauti Kebabs.
Azam’s Mughlai, Khan Market, for great Kakori and Galauti Kebabs.
Aap Ki Khatir, SDA Market, for more great Kakori Kebabs.
Qureshi Kebab, Khan Market for Seekh and Kakori Kebabs (of the non-Awadhi kind).
Rajinder Da Dhaba, Safdarjung Market, for great Galauti Kebabs.
Karim’s, Jama Masjid, for amazing Seekh Kebabs.
Kale Baba Ke Kebab, Moinuddin Kebabs, Jama Masjid, for softest buff kebabs.
Ghalib Kebab Corner in Nizamuddin, for great Shami kebabs of both mutton and buff.
Bhaijaan Kebabs, Chitli Qabar, for the best Shami Kebabs
Wenger’s Bakery in CP and the Triveni Tea Terrace near Mandi House, for great Shami Kebabs.
Subhash Restaurant in Khan Market for more amazing kebabs.
Al-Quresh in Yashwant Place for good Kakori kebabs / mutton tikka / raan / burra / nihari (winters).

Standard Sweets just outside the Chawri Bazar Metro in a lane to the left.
Shyam Sweets in Chawri Bazar.
Jeha Caterers and Arihant Sweet Shop, known popularly as Sardarji and Jain Saab in the Ansari Road area of Daryaganj.

More Of Old Delhi

Haji Mohammed Hussain for original fried chicken, with a combination of 12 spices. In Gali Kebabiyan, Matia Mahal, right in front of the Jama Masjid Gate 1.
Aslam Chicken and Anmol Chicken in Matia Mahal and Urdu Bazaar respectively, for delicious roasted chicken drenched in a butter-masala gravy.
Babu Bhai Kebab Wale in Chitli Qabar, famous for sutli kebab, so soft that they are held wrapped by a string and unfurled directly onto your plate.
Kallan Sweets in the beginning of Matia Mahal, famous for Paneer Jalebis, Buff Keema Samosas, and shahi tukda (sweet).
Shereen Bhawan in Chitli Qabar offers some uniquely Old Delhi sweets, including the hot Habshi Halwa.
Zaika / Changezi Chicken / Khan Foods are on Netaji Subhash Marg, and are all equally good for korma,nihari, biryani and kebabs. Do try the tikkas at Changezi, they are in a special marinade gravy.
Ashok Chat Bhandar right next to the Chawri Bazar Metro, for the best chaat.
Heera Lal Chaat in Chawri Bazar, for kulle chaat, scooped out fruit / vegetable shells filled with spicy anaar and condiments.
Jain Coffee House in Raghuganj for fruit sandwiches.
Kuremal Mohan Lal offers a select range of kulfis, from fig to paan, to a unique variation stuffed inside a frozen mango. Take a rickshaw into Kucha Pati Ram from the Chawri Bazar Metro Station.
Kake Di Hatti in the Fatehpuri area of Old Delhi offers the best, gigantic tandoori stuffed parathas, with a dal makhani to die for. A close second is Sanjay Chur Chur Naan at the Moolchand Metro Station.
Naan Khatai an Indian shortbread / cookie made then and there in kilns on carts around Old Delhi.
Daulat Ki Chaat in the winters, around Old Delhi, a dessert of milk froth that will disappear like a sweet cloud in your mouth.
Wenger’s and Wenger’s Deli are iconic, old and must-visit bakery / deli in Connaught Place. Have the chicken / mutton / veg patties, Shami kebab, sandwiches, quiche, burgers and panini there.
Ashok and Ashok Meat Dhaba offers the best indigenous Punjabi korma in Delhi. The legend goes that the two were local “toughies”, who made the dish in the evenings. Their fare attained such popularity, that they gave up their day activities, and the dhaba became a Delhi legend. Their gravy is thickened with keema, and the dish is served with free tandoori rotis. Located in Basti Harphool Singh in the Sadar Bazar area, they start at 1.30 and the food gets over by 3. Mutton is served only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. They now have a branch in West Patel Nagar, and their cousins run Z Corner in East Patel Nagar, which offers the same korma. A branch opened this month in CP.
Roshan Di Kulfi on Ajmal Khan Road in Karol Bagh for the best chhole bhature and kulfi faluda.
Art of Spices in Karol Bagh for the best Kathi Rolls.
Kay’s in Ashok Vihar offers the best Doner Kebab roll. Delhi-style shawarmas are best served at Concept in Defence Colony and Al-Bake in New Friends Colony.
Hunger Strike in Amar Colony and Lahori in Defence Colony offer the best tandoori momos. The ones in North Campus are blatant fakes and unworthy of expenditure.
Bagli Kitchen at the Parsi Anjuman near Daryaganj has some authentic, home-cooked Parsi food. Book lunch one day in advance.
Purani Dilli Restaurant in Zakir Nagar serves some of the best Delhi Mughlai food. Good haleem, biryani andkorma.
Mazaar and Kabul Delhi in the Afghan colony in Lajpat Nagar offers good Afghan fare, including chopan, kabuli uzbeki pulao and a delectable Afghan kulfi called sheer yakh.
Moet’s Arabica in CP and Habibi in Bangali Market offer cheap decent Lebanese chow.

Places To Visit

Qutb Minar and the Qutb Complex.
Mehrauli Archaeological Park.
Hauz Khas.
Jantar Mantar.
Feroz Shah Kotla.
Purana Qila.
Streets of Old Delhi / Red Fort.
Nizamuddin Dargah (has the dargah of Amir Khusro next to it, and the grave of Ghalib adjoining).
Agrasen Ki Baoli.
Lotus Temple.
St. James' Church.
Daryaganj Book Market (Sundays).
Surajkund Crafts Mela (Feb only).
India Gate. (plus National Gallery of Modern Art / National Museum).
Jogmaya Temple in Mehrauli.
Lodi Gardens.
Humayun's Tomb and the complex (highly recommended).
Chhatarpur Mandir.
Akshardham.
Majnu Ka Tila (with a Tibetan colony and nice food).
The Sunday Book Market In Daryaganj

There are many little, obscure places, if you want to visit in a group:

Chilla Nizamuddin: Behind Humayun's Tomb, where Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya said prayers and took visitors.
Pir Ghaib: Near the northern ridge.
Lal Gumbad: Peaceful place near Malviya Nagar.
Chor Minar and Idgah: Small minaret in a residential colony in Hauz Khas.
Qila Rai Pithora Park: Walls of the first city and a little museum.
Array of tombs on the road to Hauz Khas Village.
Bhulbhulaiyan in Mehrauli.
Hauz-Shamsi and Jahaz Mahal in Mehrauli.
Zafar Mahal, adjoining the dargah of Qutbuddin Bahktiyar Kaki, Bahadur Shah Zafar's summer lodge.
Mutiny Memorial.
Bijai Mandal (nice view of South Delhi from atop) / Begumpuri Masjid (part of Jahanpanah, the fifth city) near IIT.
Flagstaff Tower and Ashokan Pillar on the Northern Ridge.
Sanjay Van, a thick forest with a lake that holds the walls of the first city, Lal Kot.
Bagh-e-Bedil, the alleged grave of one of the most celebrated Sufi poets of all time, Abdul Qadir Bedil, near Pragati Maidan.

A Reading List

City Of Djinns by William Dalrymple
Twilight In Delhi by Ahmed Ali
Ghalib: The Man, The Times by Pavan K Varma
The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple
Delhi, A Tale of Seven Cities by Urmila Verma
Forgotten Delhi by RS Sethi
Delhi Metropolitan by Ranjana Sengupta
Korma, Kheer and Kismet: Five Seasons in Old Delhi by Pamela Timms
Chandni Chowk: The Mughal City of Old Delhi by Swapna Liddle
Delhi: A Thousand Years of Building by Lucy Peck
Where Stones Speak by Rana Safvi
Mind The Gap: Walking Delhi With The Metro by Wilson John
City Improbable edited by Khushwant Singh
Celebrating Delhi edited by Mala Dayal
Delhi: Unknown Tales of A City by RV Smith
Delhi By Heart by Raza Rumi
Ancient Delhi by Upinder Singh
Delhi: Pages From A Forgotten History by Arthur Dudney
Delhi by Khushwant Singh
Delhi: A Historical Sketch by Percival Spear
Twilight of The Mughals by Percival Spear
Delhi Between Two Empires by Narayani Gupta
Delhi Through The Ages by RE Frykenburg
Eicher City Guide: Delhi
Discover Delhi by Anjana Motihar Chandra
Once There Was A City Named Dilli by Intizar Hussain

brilliant meaning in urdu video

Some of urdu meaning of brilliant in english to urdu dictionary are تاباں,تیز طبع,ذہین,روشن,شوخ along with translations, synonyms, ideoms, phrases, references, related words and many more. There are always several meanings of each word in Urdu, the correct meaning of Brilliants in Urdu is شوخ, and in roman we write it Shokh. The other meanings are Roshan, Taban, Chamak Daar and Shokh. There are also several similar words to Brilliants in our dictionary, which are Baguette, Bauble, Bead, Bijou, Birthstone, Brilliant, Gem, Gemstone, Glass, Hardware, Ornament, Rock, Sparkler, Stone and Trinket. After English to Urdu translation of Brilliants, If you have issues in Meaning in Urdu. Urdu meaning of Brilliant is عمدہ, it can be written as Umda in Roman Urdu. There are 6 different senses of Brilliant stated below. Umda. Brilliant Meaning in Urdu. Brilliant meaning in Urdu is munawwar and Brilliant synonym words Brainy, Bright, Glorious, Magnificent and Splendid. Similar words of Brilliant are also commonly used in daily talk like as Brilliants, Brilliantness and Brilliantine. The page not only provides Urdu meaning of Brilliance but also gives extensive definition in English language. The definition of Brilliance is followed by practically usable example sentences which allow you to construct your own sentences based on it. You can also find multiple synonyms or similar words of Brilliance. All of this may seem less if you are unable to learn exact pronunciation of Brilliance, so we have embedded mp3 recording of native Englishman, simply click on speaker icon Find English word Brilliant meaning in Urdu at UrduWire online English to Urdu dictionary. Brilliant & thousands of English and Urdu words Synonyms, definition and meaning. Google's free service instantly translates words, phrases, and web pages between English and over 100 other languages.

brilliant meaning in urdu top

ENGLISH JURISPRUDENCE LECTURE#8 IN URDU-BY BRILLIANT LAW COLLEGE

hi.in this video, we have discussed a topic of islamic jurisprudence.the main topic of this video is qazi of islamic state. like this video and subscribe to ... HI.IN THIS VIDEO, WE HAVE DISCUSSED A TOPIC OF ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE.THE MAIN TOPIC OF THIS VIDEO IS SUNNAH AS SOURCE OF ISLAMIC LAW. LIKE THIS VIDEO AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL AND SHARE IT WITH ... Hi. This is Fourth Lecture of English Jurisprudence. The Topic of this video is Imperative Theory of Law. Like this Video and Subscribe to our Channel and Share it with all your Class Fellows ... Hi. This is Eighth Lecture of English Jurisprudence. The Topic of this video is Punishment and theories of punishment. Like this Video and Subscribe to our C... HI. IN THIS VIDEO, WE HAVE DISCUSSED Some Salient Features of British Constitution/UK Constitution.LIKE THIS VIDEO AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL AND SHARE IT ... 8 videos Play all ENGLISH JURISPRUDENCE-LLB PART-1 Brilliant Law College Alpha Bravo Charlie's famous character Gul Sher exclusively on Subah Say Agay - Meet Qasim Shah - Duration: 31:42. HUM News ... Video shows what animate means. That which lives.. Possessing the quality or ability of motion.. Dynamic, energetic.. Animate Meaning. How to pronounce, definition audio dictionary. How to say ... Hi students. We are back with lectures of LLB. In this video, We have discussed some IMPORTANT sections of PPC. We hope you will like this video. Stay Subscribed!!! Share this video with ... hi. in this video, we have discussed some basic definitions of laws of torts and easement. the topic of this video is general explanation.like this video and... HOW TO LOOK STUNNINGHey, girls! Watch this video and find cool ideas you will love:- If you accidentally left a red sock in a load of whites and all your ...

Brilliant Meaning In Urdu - Brilliant Definition English