Read, as you like it

Many people believe fast reading isn’t the best way to read, while slow reading is the habit that a reader should acquire. On the contrary, there are many others who believe otherwise (though I do not know how it matters whether you are a slow or a fast reader).

My friends often criticise me for reading too fast. They believe one cannot grasp enough of the plot if he/she reads fast.

“Try to read slowly,” they prescribe.

“You just skim through the book.” 

“Do you even remember what you have read?”

Reading fast, according to these well-wishers, implies that you read just as a frivolous pastime. You don’t actually pay attention to what is written. While slow reading can help you savour the plot, grasp the content, be captivated with the characters, provide time for imagining the scenery, wondering about the characters you come across. And the list goes on.

However, the question remains – do they really have a point? And, is their viewpoint relevant in all situations and for everybody?

Can’t it be that fast readers understand better, remember more?

I have met a few who support speed-reading. They are keen on proving that slow reading is not a good idea as it proves less fruitful than speed reading. 

“Slow readers often aren’t able to retain information for a long period of time. On the other hand, a fast reader is able to do so,” one of my fast-reader friends said fiercely when others were bent on proving us wrong. 

I have often read that few slow readers experience tension, since they read for a short time and they fear exceeding the time limit. Conversely, a fast reader can remain relaxed while reading. Often slow readers lack concentration while those who read fast are in a position to concentrate well by being able to avoid distractions.

However, I fail to understand why it is necessary to hold a debate on such a trivial topic. Read at your own pace and enjoy reading a book the way you like it.

How does it matter whether a person is a slow reader or a fast reader as long as he/she is an avid reader?

I would just like to pitch for reading. One must find time to read, anywhere, anytime, anyhow. Because, as they say, “the world belongs to those who read.”

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

Ode to the editor

It is difficult to speculate the speed of time. Oh, how swiftly it passes! It seems as if I had started contributing to the Short Take column only a year ago, although I completed five years this month.

I remember being nervous when I had sent my first piece. I had never thought that I would reach this far. The fact that I have written over 200 articles during this period makes me feel grateful towards my family and friends and my readers for continuously encouraging me. But it is the editor who deserves the most credit.

Editing is a tough task. Going through each and every line of the article, deleting some and rewriting other passages. It is quite taxing.

Editing is no five-finger exercise. Looming over the computer, pushing his glasses up with one hand while the other is busy typing; the keys of the computer forming a rhythmic sound; the words magically appearing on the screen; smiling inwardly, and praising the modern technology for the assistance; reading word by word, line by line and wondering whether the particular line is significant or not; spending even hours on a single article.



I realised this when I experienced the busy lives of editors recently, after I was appointed as one for my school magazine. Convincing others to send their parts. Correcting the improper grammar. More often than not, rewriting the sentences. Creating a sensible version of something which was incomprehensible initially. These were what occupied most of my time.

It made me realise that the job of an editor is much more challenging than an outsider can imagine.

A few of my friends believe the job of an editor is to simply go through the articles once and compile them while the writer is the one who does the hard job. If only they knew how wrong they were! If only they could understand the effort behind it all.

It’s not just collecting all the articles and glancing at them once. To make an article worth admiring, it requires the same amount of dedication and persistence that any other art does.

Ace American author Stephen King has rightly said, “To write is human. To edit is divine.”

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

It’s the spirit that counts

 VS

Last night, as I was trying to sleep, my phone vibrated. It was a message from my friend – Those who are successful start their day differently. You too should plan something new for the next morning.

I pondered upon the message for quite some time. It wasn’t new for me. I have often heard people saying so. But I always beg to differ.

I believe it is the spirit with which you start your day that determines success, not the morning habits. Successful people don’t have a much different lifestyle.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates spends two hours on the treadmill every morning. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg loves to check his Facebook account. Howard Schultz, the owner of Starbucks, prefers taking his three dogs for a morning walk. Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon.com, prefers having a family breakfast.

While many of us share their habits, we don’t follow their spirit.

Think about a common man: as the sunlight filters through the window curtains and the alarm clock echoes throughout the room, he would use a hand to cover up the yawn and think, “Today is going to be another boring day. I am already tired.” 

If that’s what you also think, then indeed, your day will be filled with weariness. 

But, that’s not how successful people start their day. The optimistic approach they have towards the new life differentiates them from us. They would rather think, “Today, my day is going to be perfect. It will be better than yesterday.”

It doesn’t matter whether you are an early bird or a night owl, whether you start your day by hopping online or diving into emails, whether you give priority to having a breakfast with your family, or exercising or sending kids to school.  It is, in fact, the spirit you have upon waking up that counts. 

(Published in The Gulf Today on December 10, 2016)

It’s all about perspective

Wayne W. Dyer, an internationally renowned author and speaker in the fields of self-development and spiritual growth, had once said, “Changing the way you look at things can change the things you look at.”

True, indeed.

Alas, not many of us follow it.

I have often met people who complain that they are so used to the daily routine of life, it has become boring.

I believe they should look at their surrounding with a new perspective. They will find many more interesting things among their usually dull lives. Instead of the grey pavements, they might be able to notice the rainbow.

With a new viewpoint, your usual journey home from work can turn out to be interesting too, despite the fact that you are used to the scene unfolding in front of you.

A feeling of idleness creeps into your heart, as you take a seat in the bus. You know that the journey home will be boring – the traffic, the car honks, children on the beach, as usual.

But change your perspective a bit and take a glance beyond the glass windows. You can see the evergreen trees, the blossoming flowers, the cotton-candy-like clouds. You might notice a young girl waving as your bus zoomed past her, with a smile carved upon her innocent features. You see glistening water of the beach, as the sun tries to take over the water, killing small droplets. And, the sea recruiting new ones in place of all martyred droplets for defence. 

And you would think, “How could I fail to notice these beautiful views earlier?”

Yes, a change in perspective can help you see the world under a different light. Different perspectives can attract you towards what you once felt was uninteresting. 

There are too many clichéd hero-villain fights in movies, where hero always manages to win. People would be bored, knowing the climax. Yet, the fighting scene picturised at the climax of the classical Indian film ‘Sholay’ is still remembered by many. For, the filmmaker had filmed the same plot with a new perspective.

A columnist would have written many articles on nature and pollution, yet he manages to write another piece on the same topic and grab the reader’s attention by writing with a fresh perspective. 

The adaptations of Shakespearan play Romeo-Juliet, Heer-Ranjha and Laila-Majnu, managed to win the hearts of the audiences even though they knew the story, because it showed the same story under a different light.

So, if you ever feel tired of your life, try to look at the world with a new perspective. For, it needn’t be the rose bush that has thorns, it can also be the thorn bush which has roses.

(Published in The Gulf Today on December 3, 2016)

Feminism ‘fiasco’

A woman is like a drop of sea-water – flowing in freedom, caring nothing about the boundaries that could limit her and she feels nothing for rules or customs. 

Women have achieved the right to equality in many parts of the world. They are not inferior to men. They need not pay attention to what the society says.

Then, why do we still have feminists around?

As you log on to your Facebook account, you see 1,897 likes to a post on feminism. Log in to your Twitter account, and find 465 comments on supporting women.

Posts and images revolving around supporting women’s rights have flooded social media sites.

The other day, I overheard a couple of friends discussing feminism. One of them said, “I am sick of hearing about it.”

“The topic has now turned old. Whenever I open my Facebook account, posts on feminism fill the page,” another replied. It was quite surprising to find females criticising “women empowerment.” But on second thought, they weren’t wrong.

Feminism, in today’s world, is no more a fight for woman’s rights. It has become en-vogue to just talk about it – a hot topic for debates on news channels; one of the favourite topics for discussions at family gatherings; a common sight at social-networking sites.

Once I had asked a self-proclaimed feminist the reason behind her being one.

She replied, “Why not? Just have a look around.”

Her counter-question had caught me a bit.

Unfortunately, feminism too has lost its cause. Mere talks will never help accomplish the real objective. It seems that people have got tired of it.

I wonder whether there is a need for another “revolution” to help women across the world fully achieve their fundamental rights.

(Published in The Gulf Today on November 26, 2016)

Daddy’s girl

The audience erupted in applause, as celebrated Indian author-politician Shashi Tharoor and his rising son Kanishk Tharoor ascended the stairs that led to the stage in Sharjah. The father-son duo was there to release their books from the same platform.

Everyone had one thought in mind – like father like son. For, they shared every aspect of their personality, their conduct, their passion, their knowledge on contemporary topics, from A to Z.

This was just one example of father-son pair among thousands of others in the world. Ask someone to prepare a list of such pairs, and it would take days to complete.

Former presidents of the United States John Adams and John Quincy Adams, singers Julio Iglesias and Enrique Iglesias, Hollywood actors Kirk Douglas and Michael Douglas,  Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek. The list goes on...

On the other hand, most people would be lost if you ask them to prepare a list for all the possible instances of “like father, like daughter.” As a matter of fact, such a phrase is not even canon.

Agreed, there is equality between men and women in today’s world. A girl has the approval for education. A girl is independent. A girl has the freedom of speech.

There are many feminists in our society, who love to fight for women’s rights. I wish they would have fought with as much zeal for giving equal importance to “like father like daughter” expression. 

Why should the society always associate sons with fathers and daughters with their mothers?

It may not be a big issue for many, but it sure would make a girl happy.

A girl (myself included) grows up considering herself her father’s princess. She would be overwhelmed with happiness when her success is mentioned along with her father’s accomplishments.

Indeed, it would be gratifying if the phrase, “like father, like daughter,” becomes canon.

(Published in The Gulf Today on November 19, 2016)

Plug in to your ‘inner-net’

Though an unusual sight, it was a wonderful session when Gopi Kallayil, the Chief Evangelist, Brand Marketing at Google, addressed the crowd at the Sharjah International Book Fair.

Wonderful because of the message conveyed – to reconnect ourselves with our inner- selves. Unusual, because a man belonging to the world of technologies was cautioning us against his own source of living.

What an irony, you may say.

But what he said, could not be ignored. His suggestion to go back “from Internet to Inner-net” could not be disregarded.

It’s obvious that Internet has become the backbone of today’s society, but it has become the “Weapon of mass distraction” too. 

The best example is watching people walking on the streets with their heads bowed down, as if in some deep meditation.

Today, we give more importance to this 79th organ – as Gopi Kallayil calls it for it is inseparable from us – than we have ever given to our other sensory organs, who have served us loyally to date.

Your heart skips a beat as you notice the low battery sign flashing across the screen of your smartphone. You have a hide-and-seek game with your charger. And amidst the game, if the mobile is switched off, you would run at a lightning speed and plug it in to the switchboard, praying for it to survive the ensuing life-and-death battle.

As if it was your relative in the ICU and not a discharged mobile phone.

Our relationship with this 79th organ has increased so much, that it has become unhealthy for us. But what can we do? For it is impossible for us to plug out of this life in the modern world, where the world revolves around the technology, and plug in to your inner-net.

Well, we could probably hold weekly appointments with ourselves. Or spend only a few minutes daily on ourselves. These are but a few of the golden tips that the maestro of technology has laid out for us, so that it becomes easier for us.

What harm would connecting to your inner-net, without disconnecting from Internet, do to you? Better to follow such advice than to cry over spilt milk later.

(Published in The Gulf Today on November 12, 2016)