THE SUCCESS OF MARRIAGE 
Once upon a time a married couple celebrated their 25^th marriage anniversary. They had become famous in the city for not having a single conflict in their period of 25 years. Local newspaper editors had gathered at the occasion to find out the secret of their well known “happy going marriage”.
 
Editor: “Sir. It’s amazingly unbelievable. How did you make this possible?“
 
Husband recalling his old honeymoon days said:  ”We had been to Shimla for honeymoon after marriage. Having selected the horse riding finally, we both started the ride on different horses. My horse was pretty okay but the horse on which my wife was riding seemed to be a crazy one.
On the way ahead, that horse jumped suddenly, making my wife topple over. Recovering her position from the ground, she patted the horse’s back and said “This is your first time”. She again climbed the horse and continued with the ride. After a while, it happened again. This time she again kept calm and said “This is your second time” and continued. When the horse dropped her third time, she silently took out the revolver from the purse and shot the horse dead !!
I shouted at my wife: “What did you do you psycho. You killed the poor animal. Are you  crazy?” .
She gave a silent look and said: “This is your first time!!!”.”
 
Husband:“That’s it. We are happy ever after. “

source unknown…………..

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SOHNI MAHIWAL

Sohni was the daughter of a potter named Tula, who lived in Punjab near the banks of the Chenab River. As soon as the Surahis (water pitchers) and mugs came off the wheels, she would draw floral designs on them and transform them into masterpieces of art.

Izzat Biag, the rich trader form Balakh Bukhara, came to Hindustan on business but when he saw the beautiful Sohni he was completely enchanted. Instead of keeping mohars (gold coins) in his pockets, he roamed around with his pockets full of love. Just to get a glimpse of Sohni he would end up buying the water pitchers and mugs everyday.

Sohni lost her heart to Izzat Baig. Instead of making floral designs on earthenware she started building castles of love in her dreams. Izzat Baig sent off his companions to Balakh Bukhara. He took the job of a servant in the house of Tula, the potter. He would even take their buffaloes for grazing. Soon he was known as Mahiwal (potter).

When the people started spreading rumors about the love of Sohni and Mahiwal, without her consent her parents arranged her marriage with another potter.

Suddenly, one day his barat (marriage party) arrived at the threshold of her house. Sohni was helpless and in a poignant state. Her parents bundled her off in the doli (palanquin), but they could not pack off her love in any doli (box).

Izzat Baig renounced the world and started living like a fakir (hermit) in a small hut across the river. The earth of Sohni’s land was like a dargah (shrine) for him. He had forgotten his own land, his own people and his world. Taking refuge in the darkness of the night when the world was fast asleep Sohni would come by the riverside and Izzat Baig would swim across the river to meet her. He would regularly roast a fish and bring it for her. It is said that once due to high tide he could not catch a fish, so he cut a piece of his thigh and roasted it. Seeing the bandage on his thigh, Sohni opened it, saw the wound and cried.

From the next day Sohni started swimming across the river with the help of an earthen pitcher as Izzat Baig was so badly wounded, he could not swim across the river. Soon spread the rumors of their romantic rendezvous. One-day Sohni’s sister-in-law followed her and saw the hiding place where Sohni used to keep her earthen pitcher among the bushes. The next day her sister-in-law removed the hard baked pitcher and replaced it with an unbaked one. At night when Sohni tried to cross the river with the help of the pitcher, it dissolved in the water and Sohni was drowned. From the other side of the river Mahiwal saw Sohni drowning and jumped into the river. 

This was Sohni’s courage, which every woman of Punjab has recognized, applauded in songs: Sohni was drowned, but her soul still swims in water.

HEER RANJHA

Waris Shah’s composition, the love story of Heer Ranjha takes a pre-eminent place, in what may be called the ‘qissa’ literature of Punjab. It is the story of the youngman and a youngwomen, which did not receive the sanction of society in the shape of marriage, a major theme of literature, music, dance and drama not only in Punjab, but everywhere in the world. 

The story prformed in the form of an opera as well as a ballet is very typical. Heer was the daughter of a feudal landlord Chuchak Sial from Jhang. Before her sacrifice for Ranjha, she proved herself to be a very courageous and daring young girl. It is said that Sardar (Chief) Noora from the Sambal community, had a really beautiful boat made and appointed a boatman called Luddan. Noora was very ruthless with his employees. Due to the ill treatment one day Luddan ran away with the boat and begged Heer for refuge. Heer gave him moral support as well as shelter.

Sardar Noora was enraged at this incident. He summoned his friends and set off to catch Luddan. Heer collected an army of her friends and confronted Sardar Noora and defeated him. When Heer’s brothers learnt of this incident they told her,If a mishap had befallen you why didn’t you send for us? To which Heer replied, What was the need to send for all of you? Emperor Akbar had not attacked us.

It is the same Heer who, when she is in love with Ranjha, sacrifices her life for him and says, Saying Ranjha, Ranjha all time I myself have become Ranjha. 

No one should call me Heer, call me Dheedho Ranjha.

When Heer’s parents arranged her marriage much against her wishes, with a member of the house of Khaidon, it is Heer who plucks up courage during the wedding ceremony and reprimands the Kazi (priest). Kazi, I was married in the presence of Nabi (Prophet). When did God give you the authority to perform my marriage ceremony again and annul my first marriage? The tragedy is that people like you are easily bribed to sell their faith and religion. But I will keep my promise till I go to the grave.

Heer is forcibly married to Khaidon but she cannot forget Ranjha. She sends a message to him. He comes in the garb of a jogi (ascetic) and takes her away. When Heer’s parents hear about the elopement they repent and send for both of them promising t get Heer married to Ranjha. But Heer’s uncle Khaidon betrays them and poisons Heer. 

In this love tale Heer and Ranjha do not have the good fortune of making a home. But in the folklore sung by the ladies, Heer and Ranjha always enjoyed a happy married life. 

It was Heer’s strong conviction, which has placed this tragic romantic tale on the prestigious pedestal along with Punjab’s religious poetry.

A Business executive was deep in debt and could not see any way out.
Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.
Suddenly an old man appeared before him.
"I can see that something troubling you". He said
after listening to the executive's woes, the old man said, "I believe I can help you".
He asked the man his name, wrote out a cheque and pushed it into his hand saying, "take this money, meet me here exactly one year from today and you can pay me back at that time".
Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.
The business executive saw in his hand a cheque for $ 500,000 signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!
"I can erase my money worries in an instant!" he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed cheque in his safe knowing that it might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.
With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals, restructured his business and worked rigorously with full zeal and enthusiasm and completed several big deals. Within few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.
Exactly one year later he returned to the park with the uncashed cheque. At the agreed upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand him back the cheque and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.
"I'm so glad I caught him!" she cried." I hope he hasn't been bothering you. He's always escaping from the rest home and telling people he's John D Rockefeller" and she let the old man away by the arm.
The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he'd been wheeling and dealing buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him.
Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

A drink in a bar.
It was a hot evening and into the long,narrow bar walked a dove with a broken wing.It walked the length of the bar to where beer crates were stacked seeking shelter in dark recesses. I told the barman and together we walked over and he picked up the bird, there were other drinkers but no one seemed to have noticed the drama, he put the bird on a ledge outside and said.It has not got a fucking chance at all and back in we went to continue the serious business of drinking. The thought of the bird did not leave me so after a few more drinks I went outside to have a look and found two healthy doves pushing the crippled one off the ledge,they succeeded and the invalid fell to the ground.I picked it up and it died in my hands.i Buried it in a waste bin full of fag packs and greasy chippy paper and went into the bar for another drink. In this drama of death, which no one will ever remember, I did feel as if I had died a bit inside of me but have done something worthwhile.