Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - A gifted super star

Last week Sunday, Gauteng was in for a treat with a knock out performance by the International super star, Sufi singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Rahat Saap has been singing from the age of three years old; born into a legendary family with his uncle being none other than Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan who graced South African shores in 1985. He was coincidentally a guest at my uncles home in Durban. The venue, Emperors palace was perfect for the well orchestrated event. Rahat saap sang one hit song after another and enthralled the audience with his beautiful voice. I was captivated with the manner in which he played the harmonium with such control despite singing so many high pitched difficult songs. The first half of the show was simply a warm up to the second half of the show where the crowd took to their feet and clapped to the beat of the music. Rahat Saap has an electrifying stage personality. Whilst introducing members of  his band, he forgot his cousins name and burst out giggling on stage.." Mein apne bhai ka naam bhool gaya" he said with a huge smile on his face. Rahat saap received a standing ovation from the audience who shouted " We want more. We want more." Without any music he ended the show with the song " Dil to bachcha hai jee" During the show I had an opportunity to interact with the show compiere from Pakistan, Mr. Salim Ahmed. He came across as a really humble, down to earth personality and mentioned that Rahat saap is very much a peoples person who loves interacting with his fans especially people who have a flare for music, song and dance. I come from a family that truly appreciates all genres of Hindi music, from Ghazals, Qawwali, Indo pop to Sufi music. I was really looking forward to meeting the maestro himself having met and interacted with numerous Bollywood stars over the years. Whilst Rahat's entourage granted my family and I permission to meet him after the show, members of the organizing company quite rudely prevented us from meeting him as they had already chosen individuals he could meet after the show for a photo shoot. Of course, their friends and family were allowed only.It was also brought to my attention that Pakistanis who were in South Africa for the concert and traveled all the way from New York were also prevented from meeting him despite having met Rahat saap on a number of occasions abroad and of course in their native country Pakistan. It was almost as though the promoting company owned the star. Whilst the show was a sell out, mind blowing event with breathtaking lighting and sound effects, it would be an excellent idea next time if the star had an opportunity to interact with the fans after the show. There were so many young up coming singers in the audience. Meeting a living legend in the singing world would only boost their confidence and encourage them to work harder towards achieving their dreams. 

THE SEAT BESIDE ME

I wrote this article almost a year ago. I totally forgot to post it on my blog..

                         http://retirement-rocks.blogspot.com/2009/07/first-class-travel.html - Picture

One of the best things I love about being able to travel frequently is having the opportunity of coming into contact with people from all walks of life and socio-political backgrounds. Whenever, I need to travel I try my best to be at the airport well in advance so that I have a stress free, smooth sailing journey. Naturally I would also be one of the first people to board the flight when the boarding gates open. I would take my allocated seat in the plane and then eagerly anticipate the arrival of the passenger next to me. Of course on some flights I came across really friendly individuals who gave me a brief insight into their own lives, and there were times that I wished that the plane landed quickly so that I could escape from the annoying passenger next to me. On my return flight to the Kingdom a few weeks ago accompanied with a family friend of ours who resides in Medina, we landed up sitting next to a young woman from Cape Town who was accompanying her grand mother and uncle on a two week Umra trip. What surprised me about her was the fact that she conversed with the air hostesses in fluent Arabic. At first I was under the impression that she was a Saudi girl until I discovered that she was in fact a South african girl that was born and resided in the Kingdom for the first ten years of her life. Her father is a professor and lectures at one of the universities in the Kingdom. Returning to the Kingdom brought back a few painful memories for her as her parents divorced due to her fathers infidelity. She had caught her father having a few illicit relationships with female students from the university and naturally told her mother. Eventually the truth came out and her family fell apart. What I admired about this young woman though was the fact that she had such a positive, bright outlook towards life. She aspires to complete her university degree and stand on her own two feet. Her biggest wish in life is to see her mother getting married again and leading a life of happiness that she failed to acquire during her initial marriage. Sitting next to this vibrant and energetic young woman made the entire flying process quite a pleasant experience and the flight even seemed shorter than normal. I guess time always flies when you having fun. During my connecting flight from Jeddah to Riyadh, I landed up sitting next to the CEO of a company here in Saudi Arabia. Seeing me all veiled, he was under the impression that I was a Saudi woman and was initially reluctant to sit next to me. Since there was no other seats available he was forced to sit next to me. Ofcourse I eased his tension by informing him that I am not a Saudi woman and that I have no issue if he does sit next to me. Suddenly I witnessed a huge smile on his face and he breathed a sigh of relief. Naturally, during the trip we engaged in a meaningful conversation. He enlightened me about his family life and roots and of course he was equally fascinated with my origins and history. Whilst we had lots to talk about during the short flight, as soon as the plane landed he got up and left speedily. As per the customs and traditions of the country he would not want to be caught chatting away to a female on the airport premises.What really surprised me though was the fact that he tracked me down and called me the next day. He managed to get hold of my mobile number through a friend of his who works at the airport. It was quite a fantastic gesture on his part to invite me over to his family home and date farm situated outside of Riyadh city. His family were kind and pleasant and they went out of their way to make me feel comfortable in their home. They shared family photo albums with me and gave me an indepth insight into Saudi culture and customs. Naturally I will never forget them due to their sheer kindness and hospitality. It is individuals like these that build countries and nations. They are the ambassadors of their country by promoting their country and customs in a positive manner. Two weeks ago I was on a flight from Riyadh to Jeddah and as always the plane always takes off late due to the fact that all the passengers need to be rearranged on the flight to prevent unwanted males and females from sitting next to each other. The seat next to me was allocated to a religious Saudi man who refused to sit next to me. He asked me to stand up and move to another seat. I refused telling him that there are no other seats available and that if he is uncomfortable sitting next to me then he should leave. After his short performance with the air hostesses, he eventually returned to the seat next to me. But what really made me laugh about him was the fact that he sat in the extreme left corner of the seat, took his shemagh (red and white chequered scarf) and covered his face with it. It was as though he was sitting next to a poisoned ivy lololol. For the entire one hour flight he never moved or said a word and neither did he partake of the onboard snacks and refreshments. During my trip to Dubai last year I recall being sandwiched inbetween two obese gentleman. It was the most horrific flight I ever had as I could not move. Both gentleman hogged the chair armrests and I was unable to pass to utilize the bathroom. I felt suffocated. But the passengers who took the cake for me was a Chinese couple my family and I encountered during a trip to Dubai from South Africa. Mom's younger sister sat to my left and on my right was a Chinese gentleman who was seated next to his wife. Correct me if I'm wrong but I am yet to encounter Chinese people who are friendly and approachable. Any way, there was no real interaction with the couple, that is until the gentleman started drinking like a fish. He became rowdy and started arguing with his wife. His wife moved over to another seat so he then decided to start an argument with mom's sister and I..." You talker talker.....talk, talk talk, talking too much...." he said whilst pointing his fingers at us. I fail to understand why do airlines serve alcohol onboard a flight. It turns a sweet, quiet, meek individual into a monster.The person becomes an absolute nuisance to other passengers on board. The UAE always prides itself in believing that it is a Muslim country, yet their is nothing Islamic about the country, its policies or its airlines. Having encountered numerous issues with Emirates over the years I have stopped using the airlines. Well folks these are just a few of the colourful characters that I have encountered whilst traveling. As Ralph Crawshaw once said, "Travel has a way of stretching the mind. The stretch comes not from travel's immediate rewards, the inevitable myriad new sights, smells and sounds, but with experiencing firsthand how others do differently what we believed to be the right and only way." Having said that I do look forward to my next trip and who knows the seat beside me could be yours!!

Medix Pharmacy in the news for all the right reasons

Medix Pharmacy Drug Awareness Workshop 2014

" Ek sal nou vir hom dood skiet. Ek is moeg van hom".. said the middle aged Afrikaans speaking gentleman as he made his way into Medix pharmacy a few weeks ago with his 25 year old son who is addicted to CAT and heroin for the past few years now. At first when I seen the young man I thought that he was involved in an accident as he was barely able to walk. Slowly he made his way into the clinic room whilst clutching onto his tummy. " I can't take the pain any longer. It hurts too much. I need pain killers." He shouted. His legs looked as though he was suffering from DVT or had some sought of skin acne at first but when he told me that he was overdosing on CAT regularly, I then realized that his body was actually trying to find an avenue to get rid of the toxins and poison from his blood stream. I can not forget the anguish and sadness that I witnessed on his father's face. As a result of this young gentleman's addiction , his mom has now developed a neurological problem due to the stress, tension and anxiety associated with her son's addiction problem. 

Muhammed is young well educated Malay gentleman residing in the Florida area. He frequents the pharmacy on a regular basis but recently he passed by the pharmacy to warn us against providing his mom with sleeping tablets and tranquilizers. His mom is a prescription drug addict ever since he was a teenager but her condition has worsened over the years. Muhammed blames the pharmacies in the area for feeding his mom's addiction. Whilst it is against the law to simply dish out schedule 5 drugs to patients over the counter, it is a known fact that there are pharmacies out there who are only interested in money and business without taking the patients well being at heart. It is these type of pharmacies that feed addictions and in the process destroy homes. 

The above two cases certainly paint a very grim picture but unfortunately this is the reality of the situation. In the first scenario the young gentleman obtained his fix at a street corner in Florida. His pill pusher being non other than a notorious Nigerian drug lord. In the second scenario, the middle aged woman obtains her fix from a certified legalized pill pusher. In both cases though, the results and outcome is catastrophic. In both cases, the family unit is disrupted. In the second scenario though, the addiction could have been prevented if the pharmacist had taken more responsibility towards the well being of the middle aged woman.

Drug addiction is a world wide epidemic that has plagued the lives of the rich and poor. In the past drug addiction was usually associated with rich upper class societies, but now it has spread into every echelon of society from the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor. Cat, Tick, cocaine, heroin, whoonga, dagga, marijuana and nyope is readily available within our societies for as little as R30 a fix. The drug addiction problem that the Florida community is currently facing will spiral out of control unless the community stand together and say, enough is enough. There are two components that need to be dealt with. The first aspect is dealing with the addict, in other words treatment and rehabilitation. The second component is demanding that the police force take more action against drug dealers. It is a known fact that many policemen are involved with drug dealing as well. 

It has only been three months since Medix pharmacy has re opened, but the situations we have encountered thus far are horrific and heart breaking and hence we decided to put together a drug awareness workshop so that we can give back to society. Even if we help two or three people, at least we have empowered and liberated another human being from the clutches of addiction. This person in turn can help another addict and so forth. Dr. Anwar Jeewa, the founding director of the Minds Alive Wellness Centre gladly accepted to be a part of the workshop and the team at Medix pharmacy would like to thank him for the excellent ongoing work he is doing with regards to drug addiction.

To those health care professionals and pharmacists out there who persist in feeding a patients addiction, please go back in time and assess why have you chosen to become a doctor or a pharmacist. If it is just because of name, fame and wealth, rather than patient care and serving humanity then unfortunately you have failed miserably as a health care professional. The staff at Medix pharmacy are consistently abused by patients for refusing to hand over tranquilizers, sleeping tablets and antibiotics over the counter and that is because we have a social responsibility towards our patients. We rather be abused than being a part and parcel of another human beings destruction.

To the youth out there, our message is clear: Life is beautiful. God has given us just one chance to live our lives to the fullest. Just one chance to achieve our goals and dreams in life. Poverty should never be an obstacle towards success. Do not be influenced by friends.There is no better friend than your family. Be in the rememberance of God Almighty. Work hard to improve yourself in all aspects of life and live to be an inspiration to others.