Hitting a century

Me cutting cake in celebration

 

 

Sachin Tendulkar is one of the world’s most fêted cricketers. He has made a century of centuries in his career. The entire cricket world celebrated the occasion. Everyone admires him for achieving such an unimaginable feat. But only a few would have realised the hard labour he has gone through and the devotion he paid throughout his career to scale this height.

I have realised it today. I have realised that it is easy to talk about centuries than going through the tough terrain to reach this summit.

I am talking about centuries today because after two years of writing regularly, I have hit the first century of my articles published in a newspaper.

Now as I have accomplished this feat, I am thrilled. It is a big surprise for me that I am writing my 100th article which, as I have experienced, is no easy job. I had never imagined that I would have come so far.

I thank The Gulf Today for providing me this platform on which I could showcase my talent to the world. Readers also had a big role in this.

Everyone was amazed when my first article “No Dessert in Desert” was published in December 2011. My friends, teachers and relatives encouraged me a lot. Their encouragement motivated me and it led me to my 100th article.

My parents had the main role in this. They were always by my side to encourage me and boost my confidence. They kept supporting me. My father was my guide. He steered me to this path and today I too feel proud of myself, just like others.

I wish that I continue writing like this so that I can make everyone proud. I wish to scale greater heights and bring laurels to my family and my country just like my idol Sachin Tendulkar.

(Published in The Gulf Today on February 15, 2014)

Proud moments

Two days in the calendar are of utmost importance for every Indian – Independence Day on Aug.15 and Republic Day on Jan.26. These two days see every Indian heart swell with patriotism , joy and enthusiasm.

Several times I had watched India’s Republic Day Parade live on TV. It was quite thrilling to see the Indian armed forces battalions marching all the way on Raj Path in New Delhi. Whether old or young, everyone celebrates it with great pomp and joy while wishing each other peace, prosperity and progress.

Later, when I joined the Indian High School, Dubai, I was thrilled to see that the Republic Day parade and cultural programmes are also organised at the school. Although it was held on a much smaller scale, it had a similar effect as it used to fill us all with great pride.

I was elated when I got selected to participate in the school’s Republic Day programme this year. I felt a very strong spirit of nationalism while performing on the Republic Day.

One thing that pleased me the most was that although we were so far from our dear nation, I didn’t feel so. Instead, I felt that I was performing in India itself. I had a wonderful experience while practising. We all were very enthusiastic about it. Neither the harsh sun nor the cold weather could affect our spirit, excitement and thrill.

Someone has rightly said, “You can take an Indian out of India, but you can never take India out of an Indian.”

(Published in The Gulf Today on February 8, 2014)

‘Promotion’ or ‘commotion’?

Since Dubai is home to people of about 190 countries, it is common to find people speaking in different languages, all in their unique accent. Although English is the common language, sometimes an unfamiliar accent makes conversation difficult over the phone. At times it even leads to misunderstandings.

I realised this yesterday when I got a call from my cousin.

Recently she had received a phone call from a newly-opened restaurant in her neighbourhood.

“There is a ‘commotion’ going on in our restaurant,” said the caller.

My sister was confused as what would her father do if there is a commotion. Later, her father clarified that the caller wanted to inform about a ‘promotion’ and not a ‘commotion.’

This made me recall a similar confusion my friend once had. Once a friend phoned me and said, “My new neighbour is very charming. When she came to meet us, I just kept ‘boring’ her.”

I was surprised. Later, she clarified, “I kept ‘adoring’ her and not ‘boring’ her.”

As we had a hearty laugh at the confusion, she shared a similar experience she had gone through.

Once she visited a new store to avail of a big promotion. But she turned back from its entrance when she heard a few people saying that the shop had ‘useless stuff.’

During her next visit to the store she found amazing collections but poor service. She then realised that they were talking about ‘useless staff’.

(Published in The Gulf Today on January 25, 2014)

Aping He-Man hurts

(He-Man)

The recent Indian blockbuster films, Dhoom 3 and  Krrish 3, became the talk of the town. I heard almost everyone talking about the fascinating stunts in both films. Thankfully, there was no news about kids getting hurt trying those stunts.

I was worried about it, because I’ve heard many incidents of children who have hurt themselves while practising dangerous stunts that were performed by superheroes like He-Man, Spiderman and Superman in cinema.

Some of those incidents still linger in my memory.

I can’t forget the one involving a child who used to live with his parents and elder sister in a high-rise building.

He was always in search of a chance to try the stunts performed by his favourite He-Man. Once his parents were out and his sister was sleeping.

He realised this was the chance he was waiting for and leapt out of the window just like He-Man. Many people came to his rescue but he got badly hurt.

Recently, our teacher was narrating a story similar to this one. She said, “A boy was captivated by the stunts of He-Man and always wanted to try them. One day he jumped out of the bus thinking he would land safely but unfortunately had a hard landing on the road.”

“He lay there unconscious with a cut chin, a broken tooth and a fractured hand. Luckily for him, an ambulance was passing by, which carried him to the hospital where he had to stay for almost a month,” she concluded.

I also remembered my cousin who at that time was in the first standard and had just begun to read comics. One day, he came across a comic book of He-Man and was extremely fascinated by the stunts. He too wanted to try them out. He, therefore, climbed up on the cupboard and jumped down.

The moment he landed on the floor, he fell unconscious, his legs were numb and his hand was fractured. Fortunately, he was alright soon.

Hope every child will realise that those stunts are performed by experts who learn the tricks for years before enacting them in front of cameras.

(Published in The Gulf Today on January 18, 2014)