Demystifying mysteries

Demystifying Mysteries

Mysteries have always enthralled us. It has always been the suspense in a story that makes a book unputdownable. Similarly, the mysterious climax of a movie is what enchants cine-goers.

Mystery is a preferred genre of most of the bookworms or film-goers. Perhaps it is the element of curiosity in fictional works that gets us excited. Since mysteries provide us a break from our daily mundane activities, many of us get attracted to it. Or, maybe because many readers love to solve a mystery.

It is difficult to pinpoint any particular reason.

But I do understand that hadn’t mystery been an aspect of our lives, life would have been plain boring. Mysteries are a rollercoaster in our lives as they fill us with thrill. We do not know when the plot will take a twist and throw the readers to the side.

This fascinating, attention-grabbing world of mystery isn’t limited to just fiction. Our universe too is full of mysteries. 

There have been strange incidents that keep boggling our mind. Many questions often pester us. Are UFOs real? Are ghosts a reality?

Mystery fictions pique our curiosity, while we rarely pay much attention to the non-fictional mysteries. How many of us have Googled the Bermuda Triangle, the Taos Hum or even about the Voynich Manuscript?

Though we fancy being surrounded with mysteries and love finding solutions to them, we do not prefer pondering on the mysteries of the world.

And, that remains a mystery to me.

(Published in The Gulf Today on October 8, 2016)

Home sweet home

What do you choose?

A house. A home. Two simple words. Considered synonymous. However, they carry different meanings. A house is made of brick and mortar but a home is made of hopes and dreams. We all know that, don’t we?

But I would dare to disagree. I think a house is not different from a home. At least not in the modern world.

Don’t get me wrong!

A house is supposed to protect us from elements, while a home is where happiness is nurtured. 

Therefore, a house is a house until a family starts living in it. Our love for each other, our hopes and aspiration, our care and concern for each other transforms a house into a home – sweet home, in fact.

But the sweet homes were built long before the modern gadgets were introduced. People used to live together and make merry with their family until electronic gadgets came in vogue. Earlier family was a priority. Now it appears that a home is nothing more than a house thanks to television and smartphone.

At dinner table we interact with our friends and colleagues through smartphone and, in turn, we tend to ignore our family members sitting around us at the dinner table. Our guests too start fiddling with gadgets rather than conversing with their host. And hosts don’t mind as if it has become a kind of norm.

I have noticed that the rise of the smartphone has created a nasty dent in the world called family. Now a sweet home is turning into a house without people realising it.

The warmth and love one used to feel sitting with one’s family beside the hearth during the freezing nights, hearing the peaceful crackle of the burning fire is no longer found in many houses.

Let’s find out ways to change our ways and work hard to convert a house into a home. Then only we’ll be able to sings songs like: “Home! Sweet Home!” or “Country Roads Take Me Home.”

(Published in The Gulf Today on October 1, 2016)

Let’s say grace – together

Let's Say Grace - Together

How many of us spend dinnertime interacting with our family members? I don’t think many of us do.

Since the evolution of mobile phones and the rise of the Internet, we have started paying less attention to our family members – even when they’re sitting just next to us.

During supper, we prefer to check the latest comment on our post on Facebook or watch our favourite daily soap – soaking in tears or laughing our hearts out – instead of sharing our day’s experience with our siblings and elders.

Doing so we enjoy ourselves, don’t we? Many of us feel keeping ourselves busy with electronic gadgets is the best way to relax. 

However, I don’t think it’s the best way to unwind. I prefer indulging in small talk at the dinner table waiting for the dinner to be served, and later praising the culinary skills of my mom or grandma. 

During the course of meal, we discuss a range of topics. These conversations help me to connect with our family and understand the world around me.  

I have noticed some parents set up their children in front of the television as a bribe for finishing their dinner. In my opinion, this is an unsavoury trend that parents need to avoid.

I wonder if the parents in question ponder the pros and cons of their action. Being a couch potato can have an adverse effect on children’s physical and emotional well-being.

On the contrary, when children spend time interacting with their parents, siblings and elders at the dinner table, it lifts their mood and brings about a lot of good behavioural and attitudinal changes. 

Light-hearted conversations at the dinner table boost children’s mental capabilities. They develop personality and even improve our vocabulary.

When the menu consists of delicious dishes and candid conversations – instead of a meal with free tickets to the “cartoon-world” – it can do wonders for physiological and emotional health of both parents and their kiddos.

However, children need to be respectful of their parents in order to get maximum benefits of dinnertime conversations. And, yes, parents should be engaging and supportive, rather than being intrusive, restrictive and judgemental.

So from now onwards, let’s gather at the dinner table and say grace – together.

(Published in The Gulf Today on September 24, 2016)

Rise of selfies

Hold your smartphone at a perfect angle, select the filter, put on your best pose ... and click!

Capturing a selfie is a piece of cake, isn’t it?

The art of taking selfies is probably the only art that almost the entire world has mastered. It has gained lots of practitioners in recent years.

Seriously, lots...

On Instagram alone, more than 30 million posts are just selfies. From celebrities to national leaders to regular folks - everyone is fond of selfies.

So, it didn’t come to me as a surprise that “Selfie” was declared the 2013 Word of the Year by the Oxford Dictionaries. But despite its popularity, selfies leave both positive and negative impact on its fans.

It has been observed that selfies boost self-confidence. However, they might even lead to narcissistic tendencies.

Selfies have the potential to improve our self-esteem. But, we should watch out for associating our self-confidence with the positive comments and “likes” that we earn upon posting selfies on social networking sites.

Some believe that selfies help teenagers develop their own identity. But don’t you think that the process of clicking and uploading selfies, which were meant to be casually taken photographs, becomes an addiction for teens, thanks to various social media apps?

I don’t know whether a selfie creates an identity, but it can take someone’s life.

Danny Bowman was one of the victims of this craze. The selfie-obsessed teenager almost committed suicide. Thankfully, his mother got there on time.

He was depressed. But, why? He could not get a perfect selfie after having spent 10 hours. Reportedly, he used to click 200 selfies every day. Mamma mia!

Often, people become oblivious to their surroundings while clicking selfies. A girl fell off a cliff into the sea while taking selfies in Mumbai. Selfies even caused several holiday-makers to fall at the popular Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Like everything in life, selfies too have their own pros and cons. So, indulge in some selfie fun, but be on your guard against its adverse effects.

I must confess that I take one or two selfies once in a while. Still I’m not a “SelfiNatic!”

(Published in The Gulf Today on September 17, 2016)