Wrapping up 2013 - some thoughts, some memories

It's almost the end of the year! That means that the New Year posts on social media will start coming soon. Towards the end of every year we are used to looking back at how the year has been and it's always interesting to see how people rate their year on their Facebook posts. In a couple of days, it is all people are going to be talking about. You're going to hear about achievements, failures, parties, friends, grades, purchases, vacations and every thing that happened to people in 2013. While some will be happy about how things turned out to be, some will have reasons to complain and will look forward to a new year and new beginnings. When I'm done with the final exams of my fall semester every year, which is usually 10-15 days before the end of the year, I start thinking about how the year has been. But I believe that no matter how bad the year has been, everyone will have had something happen to them that would've made the year worth cherishing. And it would only be fair if we take a moment to thank God for all those precious little moments.

As I was thinking about how this year has been and how I hope the next year will be, I thought of writing a blog post so that everyone reading can also have a few moments of reflection. Such moments of reflection make us gain appreciation for all that we have. So why not bid goodbye to the year with happy thoughts and welcome the new year with good hopes? 2013 has been a great year for me. Nothing extra ordinary, but it is the ordinary things that make life beautiful right? Two great semesters; lots of new friends; my first job; a great summer; lots of quality time with family; finally visiting Dubai after wanting to do so for as long as I can remember; meeting a best friend after two years of being apart; a bunch of good books; starting this blog; making some progress on the path of self discovery; being touched by the kindness shown by strangers and waking up everyday healthy, at home, with family. I've every reason to celebrate the year 2013 and I'm sure you do too!

Since we're talking about all the good things that happened this year, let me share with you an incident that touched my heart and left me feeling overwhelmed. It was sometime in October, a week before a really hard midterm that I went hunting for the textbook for that class. I don't use textbooks unless exams are around the corner and it was only natural that I couldn't find it when I first looked for it. When I couldn't find it even after looking around the house thrice, I was starting to get worried. I know I'm careless with books but have never lost one. I then asked one of my friends and she agreed to lend me her book till I could find mine; but I still kept looking. After considering all possibilities, my aunt remembered returning a few library books a week before. It was a very small possibility but I might have returned my textbook with the library books. Though it seemed preposterous, she thought of giving it a try. That is how the two of us ended up going to the library that Wednesday evening, one day before my midterm. I was convinced that I'd lost my textbook and went along only because she insisted. We went in and told someone about what happened. The events that happened afterwards were nothing less than miraculous. The woman we spoke to, informed a couple of co-workers and all of them went out in different directions looking for it in possible places. I was amazed at the amount of effort they were putting in even though it was entirely my fault. When I told them it was a college textbook, they were even more determined to find it. After looking in a bunch of possible places, we could still not find it. They'd asked me to leave my phone number and other details about the book so that they could keep looking for it. I did so and left, still convinced that my book was never returned with the library books. I hadn't even reached home, when they called to let me know that they found it. We rushed back to the library and as soon as I walked in, a kind looking elderly woman came to me and told me that they had all been looking for the book since college books were expensive and they didn't want me to have to pay for it again. By then, I'd become famous in the library as "the girl who lost her textbook"! They then gave me my book and reminded me as I left, to be more careful with my books in future. I was stunned by how kind these people were to stop doing whatever they were doing to look for my book, even though it was in no way their fault. This is not easy to forget and every time I think of the year 2013, I'll remember this heart-warming incident. You'd have also had some incredible things happen to you in 2013 that are worth remembering. As you bid farewell to the year, keep those in mind and be grateful for all those blessings. Who knows how many around us have had so much to be thankful for?

The beauty of being yourself

It's been such a long time since I last blogged. I'd promised myself that I'd make sure never to take such a long break but school work always gets in the way of my promises. So anyways, I'm back to blogging! I'd watched a video a month ago. It was a short film that spoke about how Tamils living both in India and abroad do not encourage their children to speak in Tamil, as a consequence of which the language would disappear in a few years. As someone who strongly believes in maintaining one's identity and regularly speaking in one's native language, this film touched me and haunted me for days to come. Then I decided that I'd blog about it.

A few years ago, when I was in high school, I was asked to write a short essay on my thoughts on "What should one do on moving to a new country? Should they change to suit their surroundings or else strictly stick to their identity?" I didn't need time to think. I straightaway went on to write that no matter what, there is nothing that stops you from maintaining your own identity. Looking back, I realize that at that point of time, life was all black and white. Now, I can see the grey areas as well. But, that hasn't changed my opinion on the matter one bit. I still believe that no matter where you live or who you live with, you can keep your identity and always be proud of your culture and heritage. I'm not sure where or how I picked up that stand but I've had it for as long as I can remember. Though I'm Indian, I've spent most of my life in Saudi Arabia and a few years in the United States. For the last 13 years or so that I've spent outside India, every time someone asked me who I was, I would proudly say "I'm Indian, from the southern state of Tamil Nadu." I'm asked that question almost on a daily basis and my answer remains the same.

I've always taken pride in my mother tongue Tamil, in it being one of the classical Indian languages, in its centuries old heritage, in how beautiful it sounds, in coming from a country with such a rich cultural background, in our languages, our colors, our clothes, our cuisines. Having lived in three countries, each one as different from the other as possible, I only added on to myself what i liked about the people there. Those additions never took away from me what I already was. This might have been because of my confidence in who I am or else the fear of losing myself in the crowd. I strongly believe that taking pride in your culture and individuality brings you more respect in the new place than if you'd tried to blend in. Now let me add the grey to that high school essay. Blending in is necessary. But, blending in to such an extent that you might lose your identity is dangerous. I've always felt that when I look back at life, i want to be all that I was a few years ago. I don't want to lose myself anywhere along the way.

We can find something beautiful about every culture, every country. There is only the issue of identifying the beautiful things about your background and beginning to love them. On moving to any country, you can still be yourself. It is all about being yourself. You've got no one to impress and forgetting your identity is certainly not going to impress anyone. If you come to think of it, certain countries are well known for their multicultural population. What would happen if we erased those cultural differences? Would the earth be the same if we all began to look and act the same? There is nothing more beautiful than people maintaining their individual identities and still living together in harmony. The identity of our planet is in all those different cultures. Remember that. Spend some time every now and then, reminding yourself of who you are. I do that too. I tell myself that I'm an Indian Tamil Muslim and I couldn't be any prouder. 

One word for women. One voice for India.

 The Indian woman has been in the news a lot over the past 6 months or so. Unfortunately, it hasn't been for good reasons. Those news reports have only further reiterated the fact that the Indian woman will never be treated anything but inferior to men. No matter what she achieves, or what she has in her to achieve, she will never be considered equal to men. Yes this post has been triggered by the gender-based attacks against women in India and the insensitive stuff people post on social media in response to those attacks, but the thoughts I am going to put in here have originated much, much before these attacks ever came into limelight. I am just bringing together thoughts gathered since childhood.

I've never experienced any sort of discrimination at my home. I've been given all that freedom and privileges that were given to my brother. Yet, I've experienced and seen this kind of a discrimination at many a places. In our country, any wrong that happens with a woman is her fault. They say, "It happens because of the clothes she wears, the cellphone she carries, her dancing at weddings, her going out to school/work, her breathing, her existing. Women are harrassed because of their inappropriate clothing." Really? And a woman's clothing is the license for a man to do anything he wishes? "A man never goes wrong. We will blame our daughters but never our sons. We will constrict our daughters every way possible but never say no to our sons." What is even more disheartening to see is that not only men but women also have similar ideologies. They say that it is a dangerous world for women out there. Yes it is. But why is it so? Have we ever asked ourselves that question? We teach our daughters to be alert and guarded, but never teach our sons to respect women.

Most people still consider a girl child to be a burden and their son's bride as their money tree. We take pride in being a fast developing country. We take pride in our culture and how we are able to balance between our values and western influence. Yet, our newspapers are filled with these stories. I recently watched an episode of a television show that talks about social issues about a man who abandoned his wife and three daughters only because they were women and he considered them to be a burden on him. Opening the news app on my phone has become a painful thing. You never know what you might see there that might make you lose your peace of mind. You never know what city in India has now been deemed unsafe for women. I was so disturbed at these stories and annoyed at those comments that only talked about staying away from trouble that I started thinking about how to put a complete stop to all these crimes. It took a lot of thinking but I could finally see what we must do. 

Parents are capable of way more than what they realize. It is those little things that our parents teach us at young ages that stay with us and guide us lifelong. We are of course exposed to influences outside home. But at the end of the day when you come back home, it is in your parents' hands to get rid of all those unwanted influences. I have heard really young boys say that girls should stay home and play with their dolls and that is all they must do. What is it that contaminates these young minds at such a tender age? Shouldn't we set examples at home for the child to follow? If a young boy never saw his father mistreating his mother, where will he learn to do that from? If a boy never got any more love, respect, freedom or privileges than his sister did, from where will he learn that women are inferior to men? If his parents never considered his sister to be a burden on them, why would he ever think that about his daughter? I am not saying that if we implement the above, everything will be perfect. All I am saying is that doing these will take us a step closer to ensuring that our women have a better, safer life. But, these are some questions to ponder upon. It is about time that parents realize their mistake and correct themselves even if they don't want to. They wouldn't be doing it for their sons but for the entire country.

A backpack full of memories

The other day, I was cleaning up my cupboard and came across a bunch of things I'd saved up from school days. Then I was undecided about whether I want to write about my school because once I start talking about my school, I usually go on for hours. But I couldn't resist for too long. After all, I started blogging to talk about things I like to discuss and I guess this tops the list. Anyways, let me dive into the story! When I was at school, the day after the last day of exams my mom used to make me sort through school stuff and throw away all those that I wouldn't be needing anymore. I never looked forward to cleaning up but every time I did, I'd find things that would for no reason bring a smile to my face. Usually there would be records of written conversations my friends and I had during lectures. I ended up not throwing away many of those things. So, over the years I'd gathered enough things to fill up a huge backpack. Even after I left school, these things were there to calm me down every time I got too nostalgic. Of course, eleven years in the same school is bound to make you feel attached to the place.

Coming back to the present, I looked at all these things and wondered how over the years they had transformed from being day to day things to being memories. The first thing I saw was my Chemistry lab record. I still remember every single detail about our Chemistry lab. We were each given an unknown salt and were asked to identify it by doing a bunch of tests on it. After identifying the salt, we would set out to write the record. We had a whole week to complete the record. But if we finished it on the same day itself, our teacher would put a V.good next to where she had to sign. I remember how we used to race with each other to complete the record on time. And the joy each of those V.goods would give us. I'd have stayed right there at the Chemistry lab if there wasn't so much noise at home to bring me back to the present. 

Next to come to my notice was the library card from my last year at school. The library brings back so many memories! As soon as I enter the library for our 45-minute long library periods, I'd rush to the fiction shelves of the library and would go through the whole lot of books. There have been days when I'd sit on the floor infront of the cupboard and try to make a decision on what book to borrow. Another memory that is still very fresh is the first ever time my name was in the newspaper for a prize I won and someone told me about it, I'd rushed to the library to have a look at it. More memories come flooding back to me of those many, many times when my friends and I got in trouble for not staying quiet in the library. Right then something poked me and I was aroused from my day dream. Time to go back to looking at the rest of the stuff.

Each of the things I looked at, took me back to school.There were a few that I never knew I'd saved up. There was my school diary, my fee card(?!), notes that my friends and I wrote to each other while the class was going on, pretty much every piece of paper I took to and brought back from my first ever Model UN Conference, a couple of projects, and every badge I'd worn since 6th grade. Each object had a story associated with it and by the time I was done recounting each of these stories, at least an hour had passed. But after that day, what I came to realize is that things that seem ordinary and of no particular value today will have gained the status of a memory a few years later. When I saved up all those things, I did it only because I didn't have the heart to throw them out. But today, I'm glad I did. Those seemingly trivial things do not only remind me of my school days but also bring to my notice, my thought process from back then. After putting those things away, I could reflect on the changes in thinking and maturity that have come over me as I moved from school to college. Who knew memories had the power to invoke so much thought? I guess every moment, every little object in the present becomes a memory in the future. Just imagine how our lives would change if we began to live every moment and treat everything around us with that realization!

Mastering the art of coexistence

In those moments of extreme boredom when I could be doing awesome things like watching movies or picking up my favorite book to read, I instead choose to wonder about the weird ways in which the human mind and in turn our society works (don't ask me why I do that, I myself am not sure). Today being one such boring day, I went on to think about who or what set the norms for us to follow. Of course the norms of our society were not agreed upon by everyone. We 7 billion people, each with our own perspective towards life can not all possibly agree upon anything. In those cases probably the majority or the most influential were instrumental in setting up the norms. What was once decided upon by a certain group of people is what we consider to be the face of perfection today. We add on to that and impose our own ideas on others. We seem to forget that the world is all about perspectives. What you might think is great might not be that great to others.

Each of us has our own way of thinking, own ideas and our very own perspectives. For so many of us to co exist, we need to learn to find a midpoint between our views and others'. Sadly that is not the case. We are all forced to comply by the society's rules. If you think about it, that is a great way to prevent chaos. Let us all be robots, forget our personal likes and dislikes and do what others expect us to do. But isn't it important for us to take into consideration everyone's needs? I'm not going to talk about how the views of everyone living in a society should be considered. It would be extremely chaotic and impractical. Since I don't have any ideas on how to achieve that without making a mess out of social life, I'm going to keep mum about that. But as individuals, we need to realize that any interaction or relationship works mutually. It needs two people for it to work. It needs both their perspectives to be considered for it to work. And that is where most of us make a big, big mistake. We seem to forget that the other person needs to have a say. We impose our ideas upon others. We assess other people using the same scale that we use for ourselves.

Each of us is different. When you think you are being perfect, another person could find a thousand flaws in you. Keep in mind that when you point others' flaws to them and expect them to change themselves to suit your taste, they might be ready to do the same with you. It might be time and energy consuming but remember to not impose your ideas upon anyone but to take everyone's ideas into consideration. Remember that you maybe perfect in your perspective but not necessarily so in others' perspectives. Keep in mind that if each of us began to act the same, look the same and think the same, we would all lose our identities and the beauty of being human. 

Some magic, a friend and seven books

As I was scrolling through my face book news feed, I noticed a link to an article on things that happened after the Harry Potter books ended. That took me on a walk through memory lane. So many thoughts and memories came flooding back to me that I decided to dedicate a post to what is probably the greatest children's fiction series ever!

I was eleven when I was first introduced to the Harry Potter series. Eleven also happens to be the age in which you receive your invitation to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in the series. I'm sure many kids of my generation spent the whole of their eleventh year waiting for their letter from Hogwarts. Unfortunately no such thing happened. But, as the years passed by, I would imagine what my life would've been like if I actually went to Hogwarts. Most kids my age would have done that. I guess that is the biggest achievement of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling. They brought magic into our lives!

It was probably the most popular and the most celebrated book series ever, popular among both kids and adults. The most special thing about the series was that it made magic seem believable. It made many, many kids like me imagine a parallel life at Hogwarts. The books were my best friends through out all the chaos that was middle school and early years of high school. I wasn't one of those kids who started reading from the first book and moved in order till the final book. I was gifted the 5th book when I was in 7th grade. Within a period of two years, I read the first six books in the most haphazard order possible. And when the 7th book came out, in the summer of my first year at high school, I made sure that I was prepared for it. I bought the book on the day it came out and finished reading it overnight. When I finished reading it though, I felt a void. Every summer, I would take out all the books and re-read them. When I moved to the US for college, I had access to loads of books through the public libraries. That is when I took a break from Harry Potter and read other books. But even today, when I don't feel so good I turn towards my Harry Potter collection for comfort. I have read many other fiction series ever since. But none stuck with me like Harry Potter did.

Along with reading the books myself, I'd encourage (more like force) the younger kids in the family to read as well. When they were too young to read the books, I'd narrate the stories to them. If you ask me, I'd tell you that you'd have an incomplete childhood if you never read Harry Potter. I'm sure I'd probably be reading the books even when I have grand kids and I'd ask them to read as well because we all need some magic in our lives.

Desert Safari - an unforgettable experience!

After a week long trip to Dubai, I'm all eager to share my Dubai stories. But this post is reserved for my favorite part of the trip - the Desert Safari. Though I've spent most of my life in the Persian Gulf , I've never ventured into the desert. I've never given a thought to how these cities would have been before the advent of tall buildings. For those living outside the Middle East, we were living in the desert. For those of us living within, we were living in big, bright, never sleeping cities. So, the desert safari was my first chance to have a look at the real face of the Arabian Peninsula. But that's not what made the experience interesting. The sheer adventure this experience provided is what made it unforgettable.

Having heard people talk about the desert safari and watching it on many, many travel shows, it was the first thing on my list of to-do's in Dubai. It was also one of the first things I did on my trip. There are a number of tour companies in Dubai that offer Desert Safari packages. All the groups going with a company went at the same time everyday. My family had a car all to ourselves and we went with four other groups. We had experienced drivers, taking us on the Safari. We thought we knew what was to come but of course we had no clue. It was one big roller coaster ride! The drivers made it all the more fun by going on particularly bumpy routes. Going up and down the sand dunes was way too much fun. At one point, when we were going downhill on a sand dune, the cars stopped, almost vertical! Halfway through the ride, you'd look around you and realize that there is nothing but sand. Deep in the desert, it was hard to believe that we were not very far from the city.

 After the safari, we were taken to a desert camp, to experience more of the desert life. The camp included camel rides, henna, traditional Arab food, souvenir stores and Arab dance performances. Sitting under the starry sky, in the moonlight at the desert camp, looking around at all the activities, far from civilization, it was an experience to cherish. This was the most unique part of the trip. If you're ever visiting Dubai, DO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT GOING ON THE DESERT SAFARI.

P.S - In this post, pictures are capable of saying much more than what I could put into words.

Forget the past..Really?

We've all heard people say over and over again, "Forget the past. Don't give a thought to what has already happened. Move on." Yes, we need to move on. But I believe that we don't really need to forget what already happened in order to move on. In fact, we need to keep the past in mind as we move forward. I realized that, when I noticed that people often say things in an overflow of emotions. Most of us do not go back to think about what we said or did, nor do we think about what impact our words and actions had on other people. It is often said that people do not think before acting when in anger. When you think about it, this is true not only for anger, but for excess of any emotion. People are incapable of thinking clearly when they experience too much of happiness, sorrow, anger, annoyance or any other emotions. How does this relate to not forgetting the past?

Not staying entangled in memories of the past is important, but there are certain things that you should never forget. I never forget things I said or did. Most of the time, we do not think before speaking. Later we forget all about it. While talking to others, we need to make sure that our words do not hurt them. We also need to keep in mind that we don't say something we would regret later. It's human to act in the heat of the moment. We can't afford to spend time thinking before saying something. But we can sure try.

Never forgetting what you said, gives you a chance to not make that mistake again. Learning from your mistakes is the best way of learning. Remembering our past actions gives us an opportunity for that kind of learning. Next time you think you spoke to someone in too much anger or excitement, run that conversation through in your head. If you realize that you'd said something you weren't supposed to, you're probably not going to make that same mistake again. Some things about the past should be forgotten but certain other things need to be stored in some corner of your brain so that they can serve as a reminder in the future.

My journey to and in the kitchen

I don't really remember the first time I made something by myself in the kitchen. But it probably was when I squeezed a lemon, added some water and sugar to it and proudly showed off my first lemonade at the age of 7. I remember making milkshakes (basically milk+fruit essence+sugar) during later years of elementary school. I also remember making the occasional bread pudding during middle school and early years of high school. But ultimately what gave me the love and passion of cooking was that batch of brownies I baked during junior year of high school. Those brownies weren't much work on my part as I used a ready-to-bake mix. But it was an instant hit among my friends. I became their favorite brownie chef. I did try explaining that its pretty easy to make and that they should all try too. One of them tried and accidentally burnt them. That convinced the whole lot of them that only I can bake brownies. Their love and encouragement took me back to the kitchen over and over again. I baked often, but every time using the mix. The occasional custard now and then, the tea I made for my dad along with my brownies were all I made as long as I was in high school.

High school was soon over, all my friends scattered around the world. That put a halt to my visits into the kitchen for quite some time. When I started college, I'd come back from classes, sit at the table in the kitchen and talk to my aunt about my day. That took me back to the kitchen. She'd cook and I'd watch her. Slowly I started looking for recipes to try out. On Friday evenings when I'm about to start studying or am unable to answer that one annoying homework question, the kitchen seems like the best place on earth. The kitchen became my getaway from weekend studying. I started trying out all those recipes. Sadly, most of the things I've tried out so far have been desserts. Well, who doesn't love desserts? I tried out new things and most of the time, my creations didn't disappoint me. In this short span of time, I've got a few signature dishes of my own. My family loves my mango cheesecake, and family friends love my Badushah/ Balushahi. I've tried a bunch of cheesecakes, cupcakes, cookies and Indian desserts. Once in a while, I'd wander off to the savory side too. The only couple of meals I've ever made have been supervised by either my mom or my aunt, so I wouldn't yet call them my own. I've dreamt of making my own meals but I haven't gotten there yet. Hopefully someday soon I'd serve my family a meal made entirely by me. When I get there, I'd make sure that a blog post is dedicated to my first meal!

Along the way I've realized that cooking can be a lot of fun if you really like doing it. From what I've learnt in the kitchen, the joy of cooking doesn't lie on how good the food tastes. The joy of cooking lies in the smiles that people give you after having the food you made. The joy of cooking lies in sharing the food with others. The smiles and the feedback I've received, have given me all the motivation I need. Fortunately I'm surrounded by people who've always encouraged me to try out new things. My journey in the kitchen started with my friends' requests for brownies. And it continues.....

P.S: The pictures are my creations :)

Your Hijab, your choice

Finally, here’s my kind of a topic! I’ve been thinking about and debating with others on this topic for quite some time now. Here’s my chance to express my thoughts on this matter. Islam is a beautiful religion. Women in Islam are empowered, yet protected. The rights Islam gave women in the 7^th century AD were not made available to other women till the 20^th century.  The confidence and the sense of security that I feel, as a Muslim girl in Hijab is enormous. Yet, I see women being unfairly judged and criticized by other Muslim men and women everyday.

Firstly, someone’s Hijab is not an indicator of her piety. Please go back and read that sentence again. Yes, Islam requires us women to cover ourselves. But, to be able to fully understand what the Hijab is about and to accept it wholeheartedly is more important than covering yourself just because society asks you to. Sisters, your Hijab is a decision that concerns you and Allah alone. Please do not let any one else, be it your parents, husband or community members interfere in that. You have to accept it willingly and shouldn't be forced into it. My Hijab was my personal choice. My family did not have a say in it and I’m glad it happened that way. If my family had forced me, I’m sure I wouldn’t have the kind of love and dedication towards my Hijab as I now have. I’ve taken my time to learn more about the Hijab and to gradually improve it. I realize that it is a slow process. Similarly, any girl/woman needs her time to learn about the Hijab and slowly accept it.

What the rest of the community is supposed to do is to encourage them and make the process easier for them. But what are we doing? We are posting things on social media that say, “What you are doing is not Hijab, wearing an Abaya and covering your face with a Niqab is Hijab.” I’m sorry, but who has given us the right to dismiss someone’s efforts that easily? It might not be that easy for someone to accept the Hijab as it had been for you. For those of us who have lived or are living in Islamic countries, the Hijab is an easy choice. But for others, it might not be all that easy. We do not know how hard they must be trying to finally get there. Being fellow sisters in Islam, it is our duty to help them with the process. Now for the men whose Social media posts always concern the Hijab. You have absolutely no clue how big of a decision the Hijab is and rude posts on social media are not going to inspire any woman to accept the Hijab.

Let us take a moment to realize that the Hijab only takes us one step closer to becoming better Muslims. It is not true that every woman who wears a Hijab is a good Muslimah and every woman who doesn’t wear a Hijab is not. Let us please not shun anyone or say rude things about a fellow sister in Islam, just because she hasn’t yet taken that brave step towards Hijab. Yes, you can advise them about it. But be careful in choosing your words. Be encouraging. Be supportive. Remember that Allah has asked us to not judge anyone because we are not aware of his or her intentions and in Islam intentions matter more than actions. We are striving everyday to become a better Ummah and in order to achieve that, we need to help each other out and not dishearten anyone.  

The peaceful haven that I call home

I’ve been debating for the past three days if I want to do two similar topics back to back. But, my grandparents’ garden reminded me too much of the place I spent the earliest days of my childhood in: my little hometown at the tip of mainland India, peaceful and unadulterated, green and brimming with scenic landscapes. The neighborhood where I grew up is a tranquil haven, in the middle of coconut farms. Astonishingly, it remains the same even after all these years. If there is one place that I don’t see changing, it is there. The summers that I have been spending there literally transport me to another world, as different as can be from where I spend the rest of the year.

Imagine. You are on the way to my neighborhood from the town. Houses and stores line the road on either side. You then see a water channel ahead. As you cross the channel, the scene changes. A light breeze – neither too warm nor too cold caresses your face. There are coconut palms everywhere you look, dotted with a couple of houses here and there. The greenery is overwhelming and for a moment you wonder if civilization even exists here.  The vehicles speeding by are the only indication that people live there. You make a turn and enter the street where I grew up. You’d find more houses here and in the backdrop, more coconut palms. If you were to visit anytime between noon – 3pm or between 9 pm and dawn, you can be assured that you won’t see anyone outdoors. Apart from the crows cawing and the occasional moos from the coconut farm, it is as quiet as can be. But the mornings and evenings are the exact opposite, brimming with life: kids going to and coming back from school, playing outdoors and the vendors selling vegetables, milk, fish and whatnot. The place is a treat to look at, anytime of the day. But as you go into the farms, you discover wonders. My favorite among those is the narrow waterway that transports water from I’m not sure where to where. As the stream descends in height, it forms a miniature waterfall there. The noise of water gurgling is all you can hear apart from the occasional bird song.

What astonishes me is that the place remains virtually unchanged in the 16 -17 years of my life that I can remember. Yes, the technology invasion has touched my neighborhood too, but in spite of that life still continues there as it did all those years ago. Every year, when I go back home, I anticipate some sort of change but fortunately or unfortunately, everything remains the same and every single thing seems to be shouting, “Welcome back home!” My mom often says that every time you cross the water channel and enter the neighborhood, the breeze is always there to remind you that you are back home.

Growing up in my grandparents' garden

The harsh Saudi Arabian summer (Wait! What am I talking about? It is always summer here. Anyways..) reminds me of my favorite kind of weather that I just left behind in the US. Spring is not only my favorite time of the year because it is a much-needed relief from winter, but spring symbolizes life and rebirth. You’ve been used to seeing the bland landscape and lifeless plants and trees around you, the whole of winter. And then, spring comes along, brings not only warmth and rain, but also life. The landscape slowly turns green; flowers start to bloom, gradually bringing color to the lifeless – looking plants and trees. For me, spring means throwing away my winter jacket, going for evening walks and getting rid of the depression that winter brings.

Earlier this spring, when my aunt and I finally brought our plotted plants outdoors after the whole fall – winter phase, seeing the plants sway with the wind, gave me unexplainable happiness. A sudden thought occurred to me and I told my aunt, “Doesn’t it look like the plants are doing some sort of happy dance? They must be so excited to finally have sun rays fall upon them.” Plants always give me that kind of happiness. The reason behind it is that I've been spending a lot of time with plants, since as long as I can remember.

Growing up in my grandparents’ house in India, their garden has always been my wonderland. Everyone in my family loves plants, so much so that when you tell them you are bored, they say “How can you be bored when you have all these plants to water and take care of?” My grandfather is an avid gardener. He had all sorts of plants in his garden. Given the part of the country we lived in, coconut palms were a must. Apart from those, we also had neem, pineapple, bananas, guavas, pepper, jackfruit, sandalwood, hibiscus, roses and a number of other plants and trees in the garden. At one point of time, we also had grape vines. The garden was and is an integral part of our lives, as dear to us as the house itself. As a kid, when I'd play pretend - kitchen with my friends, pretend - food would always come from the garden. I loved chopping up hibiscus buds! :D Growing up there, plants have been very, very dear to me. Even today when we see a bud in one of our rose bushes or pick a mango from the mango tree in our garden, the whole family rejoices!

Today, as I complain about the Saudi summer and miss my favorite season, I couldn’t help thinking about the life spring brings with it. I couldn’t help thinking about plants and the happiness they give me. I couldn’t help thinking about my grandparents’ garden.

P.S - These are pictures of flowers from our garden :)

A trip to your childhood is all you need....

So this time I didn’t have to “smile at my cluelessness” or anything to come up with a topic. I guess I’m just getting better at this :D Anyways, this is something that I’ve thought about for quite a while. Now that I have my blog, I can write about it too! [Evil victory laugh] I suppose I’m a bit too excited about blogging.

10 – 14 is what I called the “weird phase”. This could be because those years were awkward and embarrassing for me, now that I think about it, extremely immature too. The moment we enter middle school, we think that we’ve grown up. One day you’re doing awesome things like playing kid-ish games and the next, you’re talking only to people your age and refuse to do anything that involves kids or what kids would do. Then we move into high school and then college and forget that we were kids not so long ago. The effects are more pronounced when you don’t have younger siblings at home. We then go on to complain about how awful life is, how much work is dumped on us at school, how going to college means “not having a life” and also how we wish we were still kids – carefree and happy. What we don’t realize is that when we don’t do anything to make us feel carefree and happy, there is no point in complaining either. What we also don’t realize is that spending some time with people of other ages isn’t going to make us any less cool. I’m not going to go off on tangents and talk about how we should interact with people of all age groups. That’s for another blog, maybe (Told you, I’m getting better at finding stuff to write about).

I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t go through that phase. I did too! But, on spending more time with kids, playing games with them, listening to them talk, watching Disney movies and playing like a kid, I realized that school is so much more bearable. On a weekend when you’re not doing homework or other things, go to one of those places that you used to ask your parents to take you to, as a kid. Go play some games and collect tickets and feel excited at Chuck E. Cheese’s. Or else, go bounce around at Sports Bounce. Watch a kids’ movie once in a while. Such fun, once in a while will make you stop wishing that you were still a kid. Trust me, it’ll give you a few hours of your childhood back. 

PS – I love Sports Bounce, hence this picture :D

Smile…. It looks good on you! :)

After starting my blog, I’ve been hunting for the perfect topic for my first blog post. As I kept thinking and my thoughts revealed no clues, my lips curved upwards and I smiled at my cluelessness. I smiled at how lost I was for a topic to write about after starting the blog, whereas when I did not have a blog, I had loads of ideas. I smiled, thinking about how uncooperative the brain can be. at times. I smiled… Yes, I smiled! I then smiled because I had a topic to write about. Smile!!

For those who have met me, what they would never forget about me is my smile. Yes, I smile that much! I’m not really sure how or when I picked up that smile. But I’ve been smiling loads from as long as I can remember. What is so special about a smile? A smile could be the perfect invitation for someone to get acquainted with you. A smile could be that feature that gives someone confidence in you. A smile could give someone the hope that they really need. A smile could be the perfect gift! 

When someone smiles at you, you cannot help but smile at him or her. That contagious quality of a smile is what makes it so special. And at that one moment when you are smiling, you can be nothing but happy. The Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) is reported to have said, “Smiling in the face of your brother is charity.” Nothing can describe a smile better.

I smile because it makes me happy. I smile because I like to see other people responding to my smile with a smile. I now smile because it has become my identity.

Keep smiling. It looks good on you! :) :) :)

Finally....

Finally, its here! So, this idea of a blog has been around for quite some time now. When I come across something that is really blog-worthy, I’ve regretted not having my own blog to publish it through. In spite of all that, I never came forward to start my own blog. I suppose schoolwork and laziness always got the better of me. I love to talk and to write. If I could do both at the same time, it would be great. Blogging seems like the perfect hybrid of both, hence this blog. I hope to post things regularly and more posts will follow soon :)