From Fiction to Reality

The Golden Burj Khalifa

Visiting popular landmarks of Dubai is not unique for people who live in different parts of the UAE. But a trip to explore various places of the emirate reveals many interesting aspects of the city.

I realised this during a recent hangout with my friends. One of our destinations was the famous Dubai Gold Souk.

My past visits to the Gold Souk were limited to a few shops. Now, as a tourist, I was going everywhere and was noticing everything. We all felt amazed seeing many unique things.

It was remarkable to see several gold shops in a row displaying huge amount of gold jewellery. I was fascinated when I saw huge necklaces on the walls of these shops. They looked as if they were golden armours of the soldiers in a king’s army.

Many other things too astonished me. In a jewellery shop, I saw a gold bar that weighed about 160 kilogrammes.  It is not easy to exhibit the extraordinary gold bar. Next to it was a tall and astonishing model of Burj Khalifa made from pure gold. I could not believe it at first sight. Soon I noticed a display board saying stating that it was made of pure gold.

But the third exhibit left me stunned. It was a shirt made of pure gold. I felt as if I was in a fairyland. I recalled a story about a princess who wore a robe made of gold, on her birthday. I enjoyed reading the story thinking that it was a fictional work. But here I was seeing it in reality.

But I had to convince myself because Dubai is such a place where fiction can become reality.

(Published in The Gulf Today on March 28, 2015)

Silent spring

Tiny, Cute Sparrows

March 20 is observed as the World Sparrow Day. It reminded me of our friends’ and relatives’ concern about decreasing number of the commonly-found birds that used to make our homes lively with their chirping. The talk often focused on sparrows, mynahs and cuckoos, especially with the arrival of spring.

They often shared old memories when sparrows used to be their guests. Every morning, there would be a few birds to wake them up with chirps. Perched on trees, roofs and visiting in the courtyards, the tiny and cute sparrows used to make everyone happy.

I understand the reason why it is difficult to find sparrows in cities. It is believed that the changing lifestyle, construction of huge buildings and deforestation are causing a major effect on sparrows. But I was surprised when I could hardly spot them in smaller towns or villages too, when I visited India. 

 The Sparrow Day is a signal to make us realise the importance of the animals and birds that are getting lesser in number due to mistakes made by human beings. 

The number of tigers in India and population of giant pandas in China are decreasing rapidly. Hammour, the popular fish in the Gulf countries, is next in the line. But I am happy that the initiatives have been taken to limit overfishing, while some people have also made call for a fishing ban on all hammour smaller than 43 centimetres in length.

I strongly believe that efforts to protect animals and birds from extinction should be made now, instead of waiting for the moment when they would be a rare sight.

The World Sparrow Day comes as a reminder to make concerted efforts so that the spring season does not become silent.

(Published in The Gulf Today on March 21, 2015)

Avoid pampering

A pampered child...

It is very common to see parents pampering their children too much. Whatever the children would want, their parents would fulfil each wish. But they don’t realise that pampering so much will lead to weakness. The children start losing their confidence and forget that they are capable of doing things alone. A good example of this was recently seen when holidays started in schools after the annual examinations.

My cousin was also invited for a hangout with her friends. First she refused to join them as her parents had never allowed her to go out alone. But after a little persuasion, she was able to convince her parents and she was allowed to go out with her friends.

She was quite excited. As the friends arrived home to pick her up, she was given pocket money to spend with a lot of advice. Just before crossing the doorsteps, her parents gave her a Smartphone, not to take selfies, but to track her all the time.

She said, “I had never ventured alone like this. So I was nervous for a moment. But my excitement overcame my nervousness. Without my parents, I had only gone out for a picnic along with my schoolmates. But there too teachers were keeping eyes on us.”

The venue was the special Al Qasba. Everyone had brought mobile phones and money too that they were told to handle properly. Although they had gone to Al Qasba several times, on this occasion it had become entirely a new place for them. It was as good as any other picnic spot.

But this had also given them a new sense of responsibility. They realised that besides having fun, it was also an opportunity for them to learn new things. They all took care of themselves and spent the money carefully.

After a day out, she opined that every parent must to allow a child capable enough to take care of himself, to go out with their friends, because too much pampering creates weaknesses.

(Published in The Gulf Today on March 14, 2015)

Testing times

Oh no! Not again!

Observing incidents taking place around us can be amusing at times. Exam season is one such time when people around us grab our attention.

One may find students busy having one last look at the chapters taught in the class. It is common to see students with nervousness writ large on their faces. Sometimes, parents also get worried. 

Many of them can be seen giving tips to their wards until they enter the school campus. It is another matter that the children fail to take note of the advice and it simply adds to their anxiety.

Recently I saw a girl, so engrossed in her book that she failed to notice her steps and bumped into a grumpy teacher.

In such circumstances, one feels good when he sees a child walking confidently.

Sometimes we also come across students, though nervous till the end of exams, start boasting and claim to get first rank in the class. It is quite hilarious to see them escaping after failing to grab high ranks.

Open House Day, when results are announced, provides more interesting sights.

It is common to see parents refusing to fulfil their promises of giving costly gifts to their wards just because the child failed to get two more marks to achieve the threshold set by them.

Many other parents lose their cool and start shouting at their wards without thinking twice about the place and time. 

They fail to realise that their acts will embarrass the child forever in front of his classmates.

Hope parents-children equation as well as their attitude towards life will change with time.

(Published in The Gulf Today on March 7, 2015)

Meeting deadlines

Can't think of anything...

During my free times, I love to surf the Net and look for inspirational quotes of famous personalities. Not just because they inspire me a lot. I love to read them as most of the time I realise they reflect feelings of the common masses, while sometimes they make observations much ahead of their times. Many times I have realised that their observations were quite true even in the contemporary scenario.

But today I want to talk about two quotes that left me pondering over the importance of “deadline” in life.

Famous English author Douglas Adams once said, “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”

While Charles Bukowski, a German-born American poet, novelist, and short story writer, was once quoted as saying: “Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I’m not going to make it, but you laugh inside remembering all the times you’ve felt that way.” 

Both these quotes have been proved correct in my life. 

I have been writing short takes for over three years, yet there are times when I don’t get any topic to write, till I reach the deadline, almost. 

After reading these famous authors’ observations, I have realised that actually I too enjoy doing things at the last moment, although I know that the habit of postponing your duty till the last moment is not good.

Maybe because I too have gone through Charles Bukowski’s experiences. While reading his above-mentioned observation, I realised that he wrote about people like me.

By now, you must have guessed correctly. Yes, once again I was unable to write a short take for this week, but finally managed this before meeting the deadline.

(Published in The Gulf Today on February 28, 2015)

Convincing logic

Its so funny!!!!!!

During a recent visit to my uncle’s place, I was surprised to see him watching a TV serial meant for kids. I thought he must have stopped for a moment while switching between various news channels. But I was wrong, because he was watching it with great interest. I couldn’t withhold my curiosity any longer and asked him the reason for it.

On this, he replied, “Already there are so many tensions in the office and at home. Why should I increase my tension by watching TV serials that show family problems or movies full of violence or by going through various news channels that love to present violent protests, tense political situations and grim social matters from across the world?”

“Although there are people who get hooked to their television sets as soon as they arrive home and start watching whatever is being presented on the Idiot Box. I don’t like to be one of them. Instead, I love to watch these cartoon shows and kiddish serials that make me laugh and help me forget my problems and office-related tensions for some time,” he added.

I found his logic quite convincing.

Maybe because I too prefer to watch those kiddish cartoons and comic shows instead of watching those forceful movies that my friends like a lot. 

Though I frequently read fictional as well as non-fictional works of great authors, I also love to read books penned by Enid Blyton and comic books such as Tinkle during leisurely hours.

(Published in The Gulf Today on February 21, 2015)

Dear grandfather

Death is unavoidable. We believe that the time of everyone’s death is fixed even before a person comes into this world. Thus we should not grieve over the demise of our loved ones. This is what I used to believe whenever I thought of death. But recently, I realised that I was wrong.

It is more than two months since my name appeared last in these columns. Everything has a reason and the reason of my absence is a painful one — the sudden loss of my grandfather.

I could not control my tears and grief. Still whenever, I think of him, my eyes get filled with tears. 

He always supported me. He was a fun-loving, kind and a honourable man dedicated to the family. He was one of the renowned Urdu poets in Bihar. I too used to spend time with him and listen to his poems. He always encouraged me to write poems and stories in Urdu. 

He inculcated in me the love for Urdu. He taught me how to read and write Urdu. Without him, I could never have got the chance to realise the richness of Urdu literature. 

My grandfather was my greatest ideal and no one else can attain this position. It is unfortunate that I lost him so early.

It was not only my loss, because he was a great poet and had contributed so much to Urdu literature and Indian culture.

Now I have realised that if you lose someone very dear to you, others can only comfort you but the real pain remains. 

Death is, what I think, just a simple reminder to everyone that irrespective of our plans for the future, we have only little time to live in this world. I think that a man should always be prepared for death and live his life to the fullest. 

(Published in The Gulf Today on February 14, 2015)

Inspiring fair

Inspiring Fair...Sharjah Book Fair

Have you ever noticed a galaxy of stars walking on the earth?

No?

Well, I have noticed at the 33rd Sharjah International Book Fair where literary celebrities from various parts of the world came to inspire the booklovers. 

I am happy that the fair saw the largest Indian participation in its history. My idols Chetan Bhagat and author Shashi Tharoor, who have authored many literary books, were among the guests from India. The list of prominent writers included Amitav Ghosh, Shiv Khera, Amish Tripathi, Sugathakumari and actress Manju Warrier to name a few.

I was greatly inspired by the speech of Shashi Tharoor as he narrated his journey and recalled that his parents never encouraged him to become a full-time writer, yet he is a world-famous writer. 

I am proud that we have something in common. I am also an avid fan of Enid Blyton, I too finish the book even before reaching home from library and I too have the passion for writing. 

Another Indian author, Amitav Ghosh, has motivated me to continue writing. His words always ring in my ears, “Writing is an act of imagination. When students are not paying attention and are day-dreaming, they are using their imagination — that is also a part of their education.”

Shashi Tharoor, Amitav Ghosh, Shiv Khera, Amish Tripathi, and many other writers stimulated the minds of thousands of students during their meets at the book fair.

Though today, the book fair is concluding, I feel satisfied as I have learnt a lot and have been very inspired. I am proud that I am a resident of Sharjah. And I would surely like to visit the Sharjah book fair, not as an audience but as a Guest of Honour with thousands of fans sitting in front of me. 

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

Not my cup of tea

Is flattering your cup of tea?

“Our waitresses operate on flattering,” declared a restaurant owner as he wrote this welcome note on the wall.

Just like other visitors, I was also surprised to read this during my visit recently. Even after coming back from the restaurant, I kept thinking about it.

I realised that it was yet another truth of life. Most of us can’t live without flattering, but very few would dare to acknowledge.

If we want something from someone, many of us start flattering. We notice this too often in our surroundings, but just let it fly away. Mothers flatter their babies while dressing or feeding them, children flatter their parents to get a hike in their pocket money.

Recently when I visited a friend, I found her cajoling her sister to gift her an iPad on her birthday. Soon she started flattering her. The very next day my friend was flashing her new iPad.

I realised that a few people can get anything with these skills, flattery is certainly not my cup of tea.

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

Virtual companions

He is cute! Isn't he? 

It is difficult to survive loneliness. Everyone needs a companion. While many people think that human beings are the best companions as their friends can reciprocate their feelings, for others the options are unlimited – ranging from pets to diaries.

A number of people prefer pets as their best companions, because they think that a pet can understand them well. Pets will reciprocate their love and affections. Also one can share his feelings with no worry or fear of pets revealing the secrets.

But there are a few pet-lovers who think that pets can be a great chaos at their home. They find solace in virtual pets that have spread like wildfire. This way pet-lovers get rid of the notion that pets create havoc, yet they would not feel sad of not having one. Virtual pets may get you the feeling of true pets. You can feed them, play with them and even make them sleep.

Some of the most popular virtual pets are Talking Tom and Talking Ginger.

Now the number of original animals being caged is decreasing, thanks to these famous virtual pets. But sometimes we get so attached to these pets that even if we are busy somewhere, we can’t resist checking on our pets. 

I hope that these virtual pets become more popular so that pet animals can gain freedom. At the same time I don’t want anyone to be so dedicated to these virtual pets that they start ignoring real-life duties.

(Published in The Gulf Today on November 1, 2014)