Buddies forever

Do you have any???

Our hearts feel heavy when it comes  to keeping secrets. You need someone with whom you can share any secret with full trust. Who is better for the job than your friend? 

But how would you find the trusted one? Because in the modern era, everyone you know or have met a couple of times are termed as a friend, but only a few would have the privilege to call someone a true friend.

This is what I got to learn from the result of a survey conducted in our school about friendship. A majority of students felt that they were very friendly while very few admitted themselves being choosy. 

The maximum number of respondents had friends who were schoolmates, while many others had friends among their relatives. A few children said they choose friends who are equally talented in academics while many others just wanted their friends to be good at heart. 

The survey also revealed that most of the students felt that standing for their friends in need is very important to maintain a friendship. Others believed that sharing would strengthen friendships. Some other students felt that there should be a better understanding between friends.

I have noticed that many times even if someone gets in trouble due to their friends, he/she would not like his/her friends to be in a problematic situation because of them. 

Most of the children want to continue their friendship through thick and thin. I salute such friends for their unbreakable trust and friendship. 

It needs only a little amount of cooperation, better understanding and complete trust to lead your friendship to a height many would have just wished for.

(Published in The Gulf Today on October 11, 2014)

Spirit of sacrifice

I have noticed that in this fast world, very few people have time for others. Many people are so busy that they don’t realise what is going on in their neighbourhood, leave alone the incidents taking place in other parts of the world. But thanks to festivals, these busy people sit with others and talk for at least a while.

That is why I always look forward to festivals. Eid Al Adha, or Festival of the Sacrifice, is one of my favourite festivals. During Eid Al Fitr many people leave for India. But on Eid Al Adha, all of us have time to sit together, especially we children, and discuss  various things — from schools to games, movies to cartoons, etc.

Eid Al Adha is also an occasion that reminds us about making sacrifices and submitting to Allah to seek His blessings.

This festival honours and reminds us of the two prophets of Islam, Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) and Prophet Ismail (PBUH) who submitted to Allah’s will. Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) was ready to sacrifice his son, Prophet Ismail (PBUH), and the latter was ready to give up his life for the sake of Allah. Allah accepted their act and provided a lamb to sacrifice, which we still follow.

Unfortunately, it looks like it has become just a ritual and people do not follow the actual message. It is hard to find people submitting themselves to Allah’s wish or sacrificing for the sake of Allah. I hope we all realise our mistake and begin sacrificing as well as submitting ourselves to Allah.

(Published in The Gulf Today on October 4, 2014)

Caution key

I was surprised recently when I read the news about Facebook’s plan to give access to children under 13 years too, although I knew that many children have created their accounts on it giving a false age.

Many of my friends as well as cousins, younger than 13, have also created their accounts.

The good aspect of the new service is that the account will be under parents’ supervision. The children’s account will be connected to the parents’ FB account. No one would be able to send friend requests or accept it without the parents’ knowledge.

Yet I have a doubt. Will Facebook remain safe for them? I have heard many people talking about cases when strangers obtained one’s address from his account and reached the house. 

Many people have reacted to the news in positive and negative ways. A few of them have said that children should go out and play instead of sitting and chatting with friends. Facebook is no place for kids. While others felt that Facebook has taken a good decision and support it.

Later, I realised that this news shouldn’t have surprised me, because many schools have already started a similar system for students, who can create accounts on “educational sites.” Unfortunately, the students are slowly turning it into a chatting site.

Once, my cousin shared her experience. She said, “The teachers asked us to create an account on an educational site only for school purposes. Through it we could request teachers to clarify any doubt after the school hours, while teachers could put important notes on it. But many students have started chatting on these sites instead of asking doubts or clearing them.”

I suggest all children not to waste time on these networking sites.

(Published in The Gulf Today on September 27, 2014)

Evergreen writings

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet,” so true was this famous quote of William Shakespeare, the greatest litterateur of the English language.

Shakespeare is the greatest poet, dramatist and playwright of the English literature which makes me a great fan of him. Many dialogues and phrases from Shakespeare’s plays and poems have become part of our day-to-day life. His great understanding of human nature is another reason of him being my favourite. He was baptised on 26 April, the month I share for my birthday.

You must be wondering why am I talking about Shakespeare all of a sudden?

No prize for guessing it right.

I decided to recall this great dramatist and his work because of the immense interest generated by an upcoming Hindi film, Haider, which is based on the famous play Hamlet.

The movie is directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, who has adapted the play and presented it in the Indian context. I have read the story of Hamlet so many times that it has made me curious about the film. I am eagerly waiting for the release of the film to know whether it does justice to the play or not. While watching the trailer and listening to the songs, I keep comparing it with the original one.

I am quite hopeful, because this is not the only movie made by Vishal Bhardwaj based on Shakespeare’s plays. Haider will complete the trilogy of films made by this illustrious filmmaker based on Shakespeare’s plays. The other two movies — Maqbool adapted from Macbeth and Omkara, story of Othello — have been blockbusters starring Irrfan Khan and Ajay Devgan respectively.

I am sure that Shakespeare would have been proud if he had been alive. More so, because Vishal Bhardwaj’s these three films are expected to be published as books too.

Besides, the famous play Romeo and Juliet has also provided an easy plot to many Indian filmmakers who have made many hit films based on it, be it Aamir Khan-starrer  Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Salman Khan-starrer Sanam Bewafa, or the recent blockbuster Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela.

Be it a film, a short story or the original works, I am sure Shakespeare’s evergreen writings will continue to entertain everyone, for generations.

(Published in The Gulf Today on September 20, 2014)

Magnificent Mary

Priyanka Chopra as Mary Kom

Any discussion about boxing icons revolves around male boxers. Boxing legends Mohammed Ali and Mike Tyson, who are considered all-time greats, are equally popular among elders as well as youngsters across the world. Vijender Singh, who won India’s first Olympic boxing medal, has become a hero of young Indians.

All of a sudden, we the Indians have got another boxer to feel proud of, the Magnificent Mary or Mary Kom.

But, she isn’t a new sensation. She has been the five-time World Amateur Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each  of the six world championships. 

Achieving such success is not an easy job. But she was maintaining a low profile, staying far away from the madding crowd. Her achievements were barely known to ordinary Indians until the news of her biopic caught fire.

Thanks to the Hindi film industry which reintroduced her to the world. Famous actress Priyanka Chopra, portraying Mary Kom on the screen, has really done a good job.

Mary Kom is not the first film to bring a forgotten sportstar to the limelight. Only a few of the young generation would have information about Milkha Singh, until a film on his life and achievements was released.

Hats off to all those creative minds who got the idea of making feature films on these famous personalities, be it Omung Kumar — director of the biographical sports drama film on Mary Kom, or  Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra — who made the film on Milkha Singh.

It is frequently mentioned that Bollywood is nothing but songs and dances. I hope these films prove them wrong. Bollywood is more ahead than just songs and dances.

(Published in The Gulf Today on September 13, 2014)

Guiding lights

   Cruel Teacher                 l               Kind Teacher

On Sept.5, Indian students paid tribute to their teachers, who have always been their guiding light. I too take this opportunity to thank all my teachers for being my inspiration and encouragement.

Teachers are very important for children. They teach children who in turn become the leaders of next generation. They spend their entire life just to teach and help children gain confidence. Teachers have their own ways of teaching. Some might be grumpy, but most of them are supportive with a good sense of humour and teach in fun ways. Yet they all understand their students very well.

One of my favourite teachers had said, “If a teacher shouts at you that means, it means that she loves you. She wishes to see her students become famous leaders of the next generation.”

I trust her, because, at times we feel bad when a teacher shouts at us. But as we get promoted to the next grade, we miss her. We want her to be promoted with us too.

After spending a year with the teachers, the student–teacher relationship scales a new height. It graduates to a relationship similar to that of a mother and her daughters. Teachers are the second parents for any child. Just like parents, they too encourage you, boost your confidence, and stand by your side. They help you cope up with studies. Like parents, teachers too can easily understand the feelings of a student. When their students achieve good grades or marks, their happiness knows no bounds.

I have had an amazing experience with my teachers. Be it complicated maths problems or difficulty in understanding a scientific formula, they have always been on my side. They never gave up hope.

Unfortunately, this student–teacher relationship has been portrayed in a negative way in Bollywood movies. Blockbuster film, 3 Idiots, shows the principal as a grumpy man who never tries to understand his students. Aamir Khan in Taare Zameen Par represents a supporting teacher. But his advice are turned into jokes. No one believed his advice. And Rishi Kapoor’s character in the film Do Dooni Chaar shows that a good teacher would remain poor throughout his life.

I just hope that Bollywood starts showing positive sides of the profession and present teachers as role models, as I see them.

(Published in The Gulf Today on September 6, 2014)