Daily Prompts
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Blogging goals
When I started blogging on WordPress at the beginning of this year, my goal was basically to delve into the realm of creative writing using prompts. In short, to write more ! My writing mainly revolves over spirituality, books and personal reflections. Having gone through a severe quarter life crisis, my faith and the written word are what has helped me to keep going through the tough times. As I interact more with different people around the globe and read countless blogs, I truly realize the effect a few positive words can have on an individual we haven’t met or will never meet in this lifetime ! My aim with…
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Calls Answered
I have never tossed a coin in a fountain and wished. I have never crossed my fingers and wished. I have never looked on a shooting star and wished. …..but, I have prayed to my Lord, with my eyes closed, and tears springing, in the wee hours of dawn to protect me from sadness and grief. I have prayed to my Rabb in the green carpeted Rawdah to remove the difficulties of my family and friends. I have prayed in front of the Kaabah for all my affairs to be set right and bless me with tranquility. I have prayed standing on the mount Safa to bless me with professional…
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Weekly Photo Challenge : Threes
Pictures speak more than a thousand words. My lovely cousin sisters giving me hope, not all of childhood innocence and curiosity is devoured by pixels on a screen. May they be blessed and protected. (Weekly Photo Challenge : Threes. Tell a story in three pictures ) Linking it to NaBloPoMo. Phew 21st day.
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The hijab – My choice
From the time I was 11 or 12, whatever is it that I chose to wear- skirt & top, jeans & kurta, salwar kameez or the abaya – there has been an extra fabric on my head, covering my hair, popularly called as the HIJAB. On doing a quick Google search, you will realize the fact that the Hijab is one of the most controversial topic regarding the Muslim women. The extra fabric hasn’t prevented me from gaining a degree, working in a hospital, travelling alone, outing with my friends or in short, living my life. It is a personal choice after studying and comprehending my religious texts. It is…
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A city and a village.
Place where I grew up : Doha, Qatar Class gradation and caste differences was something I was not aware of during my childhood days. Everyone had the same Staedtler Pencil and Faber Castell Colour Pencils. It was assumed everyone was from reasonably well-to-do families. Some of our neighbours were from Syria, Egypt or Palestine (besides Indians!) and though we wished each other on New Years and Eid, we were not much in contact otherwise. Outings, community get-together at the local club, Eid meet at the Park – every community mostly socialized with its own kind. Though a cosmopolitan city, cohesive nature and intermingling among st the expatriates and natives are…
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Word-hu(o)b
(The Daily Prompt from Daily Post today is : If you could wake up tomorrow and be fluent in any language you don’t currently speak, which would it be? Why? What’s the first thing you do with your new linguistic skills?) For me, without a doubt, the answer to the above question is ARABIC. A beautiful Semitic language of poets and writers, Arabic literature is vast and rich in information related to culture and history dating to almost 16 centuries. Closely related to Hebrew, Aramaic and Phoenician, Arabic also has influenced many languages of the world including English. It has been a major vehicle of language to Europe, especially in…
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Neighbourhood.
It has nearly been 6 months since I and my mom have been staying alone, back in our hometown, after a gap of nearly 20 years! Used to the idyllic slow paced life of Doha, safe and secure with Dad and brothers around, staying in Kerala was as adventurous as it was hard on both of us. We are not aware of the Doctors, Plumbers or the Painters around. We do not know about the local Electricity board, neither do we know the local grocers and shopkeepers. Heck, we dont even know the brand name of the milk powder packets used here commonly! (In Doha, it is either Nido or…
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Message in a bottle.
While rewinding myself at the beach, after the big fat battle against exams, I was caught up in my daily dose of day dreaming when a glistening glass caught my eye. My Nancy-Drew-honed curious mind went over to investigate only to find a glass bottle with a note inside. Excitement crept over me. I seek adventures or adventures seek me – I cannot fathom which is more appropriate. Opening the tight shut wooden cork, I came across a beautiful message : Laugh at life’s absurdities. Learn from daily oddities. Strengthen inborn abilities. Polish innate capabilities. Engage in useful activities. Nurture selfless qualities. Open to new possibilities. Fulfill family responsibilities. Reminder…
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Generation gap
The generation before me did not grow up using Google for their school projects. The generation after mine would not have used Encyclopaedia Britannica for the same. We used both ! The generation before mine did not know what it was to listen to one’s favourite music over and over again. The generation after mine would probably not know what a Sony Walkman /MP3 is. We know both ! The generation before mine was not familiar with X-box and PSP during their childhood. The generation after mine donot spend their time playing ‘Hide and Seek’ and ‘Tag’. We played it all ! The generation before mine typed on their typewriter.…
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Weekly Photo Challenge : Windows
….because, eventually after all the darkness, light will shine through. (Prompt titled ‘Windows’ from Daily Post)
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Unique in His uniqueness
Every leaf that flutters. Every branch that sways. Every foliage that has changed it shade to the autumn yellow. Every dew drop on every petal of every colour – red or purple, magenta or white. Every secret of the blue sky. Every sunset that bursts with the brilliant chroma of orange. Every land that looks brown, white or green from the plane window. Every object of every colour seen – indigo, violet, pink or grey. Every thought of every human being. Every cell-size of every being that breathes. Every duration of every creation that has been created. By His knowledge. Infinite. He is Al Aleem – The All Knowing. (Daily…
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Happiness – Different definitions
At the age of 7, happiness meant having a set of Faber Castell colour pencils. At age 10, it meant procuring a Tamagotchi. At 12, it meant securing the highest grades in school. At the age of 16, I thought happiness would evade me, have I not had a mobile phone.At 18, I thought getting in to the top ranked university would make me happy. At age 20, ‘trim down’ was on top of the list-of-things that would make me happy. At the age of 23, when I became a doctor, I presumed I conquered happiness. At the age of 24, I thought a man would make me happy. How…
