Eid-ul-Azha Greetings.

Here is to wish all Muslims around the world a very blessed Eid-ul-Azha:

A time to celebrate and deliberate
A time to reassess and reflect upon
The holy act of the divine sacrifice
And the priceless lessons that can be drawn
Of sacrificing in the name of Allah
Of giving up things that are prized
Of sharing Allah’s bounties with the loved and dear ones
And with the needy and the pauperized
Of strengthening our devotion towards the Almighty
Of bracing our humanly ties
Of practicing purity in faith and obedience
Of letting the spirit of piety rise
May this day be filled with pleasure
And with all things nice
May our minds and souls be enlightened
With the divine dimensions of the sacrifice

Happy Eid-ul-Azha :)

Eid-ul-Fitr Greetings.

Here it is to wish all Muslims around the world a very blessed Eid-ul-Fitr:

As the divine crescent heralds the Eid celebrations

Bringing joy, delight, and immense delectations

Let us greet each other and cherish the valuable relations

With heartiest wishes and words and prayers

Let us bow to Allah with supreme dedication
For blessing us with another moment of jubilation
Let us spread an ambience of love, unity, and affection
With the true spirit of kindness and care

Wish you a very happy

E mbrace
I ts
D ivinity

Mubarik!

Happy Eid-ul-Fitr to all and sundry.

Century's Longest Solar Eclipse on July 22nd - The Divine Solar Slice.

These images have been shared by one of my friends, Munawar Ahmed, who takes delight in taking pictures of the miracles of Mother Nature.

While I saw these for the first time, it reminded me of a slice of orange and therefore, I decided to name it as the "Divine Solar Slice."

Aren't these beautiful?

Stare at these for a while and let me know :)

5th 20SB Blog Swap - La Meme Chose

While another post featuring the spectacular "Century's Longest Solar Eclipse" is on its way, it is time to present my first-ever blog partner for the 20SB Blog Swap named Nora. While Nora would be revealing some interesting info about herself on my blog, I will be found sharing an amateur poetic attempt on her blog.

For the time being, here it is what Nora has to say:

Okay, okay, I know this is a meme, but my blog swap partner asked me to add some "color," to her blog, and because I wanted to do this meme and because, perhaps, her readers are interested in learning a bit about me, here I go!

I always...

* Have cheese in my refrigerator. I can't help it, I love cheese!
* Buy my dog new toys, even if he doesn't need them (and perhaps to the chagrin of my boyfriend)
* Hit the snooze button in the morning
* Wish for more hours in the day
* Drink an insane amount of water each day
* Long to be a tad skinnier. I think it's a woman thing.

* Choose Coke over Pepsi and Dr. Pepper over Coke.
* Long for simpler times

I sometimes...

* Stay up so late on a work night that going to bed doesn't even seem purposeful.
* Think about getting a tattoo... but chicken out when someone suggests I commit to the idea
* Get Blogger Envy: yearning for a cooler layout, special URL and more commenters
* Wish that I could round up my favorite bloggers and in-real-life friends, go on one HUGE trip and have one of the best time's of my life
* Contemplate picking up and moving to a new place. New job. New life.
* Become one with the couch, watching too much TV and reading too many blogs

I never...

* get enough sleep. Never, ever.
* handle making a mistake well
* learned to hide my emotions, even if I should

* like being the center of attention
* thought I'd be a part of Corporate America
* realized the power of the blogging community until the last year

* go a day without a piece of chocolate

Nora

Happy Reading!

Rain and Reminiscence.

Another day and another time of the year, with the same sound of silence around, one could clearly hear the tapping of raindrops on the window pane again. And there she was, standing by the window, staring into the wilderness and deeply immersed in her thoughts. She tried reliving the moments that had brought her joy and wondered if why time and destiny has brought her to a place where she only has her blessed solitude to embrace.

She never realized if how far she had journeyed through time while thinking. Although, she appeared to be an isolated silhouette to many, yet she knew that she was not alone…she knew that God loves her and she knew that He is right there watching over her.

Wiping off the tears, she sat to write and while she started penning down her thoughts onto paper, she recalled one of the favorite lullabies from her childhood times that perfectly harmonized with the heavenly downpour outside.

“I hear the wind as it rustles through the treetops.
I hear the leaves as they drink the falling rain.
I hear a dove softly cooing by my window,
I hear God speak to me.”

___ By Windy, Songbook: Heaven's Magic Songbook

To be continued… When it rains again…



A question arises if who she could be.
None other than the wandering soul in “me”

Punctuations – An Altered Place Could Give an Altered Meaning.

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“The writer who neglects punctuation, or mispunctuates, is liable to be misunderstood. For the want of merely a comma, it often occurs that an axiom appears a paradox, or that sarcasm is converted into a sermonoid.”

___Edgar Allan Poe

It's been a long time since I wrote anything for the blog, and therefore, I thought of creating a short and sweet blog post narrating a text message being sent by one of my closest friends, Anila. While it may sound familiar to many, I decided to put it up on the blog as I found it interesting enough to be shared. The content of the message revolves around the use of punctuation, which could impart different meanings to the same sentence when used at different places with an underlying notion that the perceptions may vary from individual to individual and there is a striking difference in the noetic views when it comes to men versus women. The message goes like this:

An English professor wrote the words, "Woman without her man is nothing" on the blackboard and directed the students to punctuate it correctly.

The boys wrote: "Woman, without her man, is nothing."

The girls wrote: "Woman: Without her, man is nothing."

Isn't it amusing that the placement of a single comma can change the intent of the entire message?

If you have any other interesting example to cite, please post it in the comments section - and together we shall celebrate the beauty of punctuation.

Happy Reading!

My Maiden Interview at TPS.

While blogging had always been one of my productive leisurely pursuits, I never expected to be interviewed as a blogger someday. Being interviewed by “The Pakistani Spectator” is one of the memorable experiences for me to be cherished. The lady behind the blog, Ms. Ghazala Khan, is one of the successful bloggers herself, and she has provided a lot of motivation through the recognition of my earnest efforts and time.

If you wish to read more of the maiden interview, you may follow here:

http://www.pakspectator.com/interview-with-blogger-sarah-rahman/

Happy Reading!

An Epistle to my Mother.

With fountains of love, true, pure and divine
She nourished and nurtured my life
There’s nothing in my world that could be compared
With her million sacrifices and the ways she strived
While I continue to cherish the everlasting bond with my mother
Who is as sweet as the morning dew
Here’s a wish wrapped with love and lots of gratitude
Happy Mother’s Day to you

Tired of Fighting Against Myself

Haven’t we come a long way fighting with each other?
Pretending as if we do not care if we go asunder
Harassing and hurting through words and ways spelling hatred and displeasure
Marring each one’s divinity to an extent beyond measure
Fighting against ourselves as we explore our lives further
Dawning and dying each day in our thoughts, sentiments, and whispers
Haven’t we come a long way fighting with each other?

Can’t we put an end to it and start life anew together?
Can’t we let the autumn leave and bring in the spring weather?
Can’t we travel hand in hand and vow to leave never
Can’t we be a single soul or just best friends forever?

Life Goes On As It Never Ends.

Life nowadays seems to pass by fast. About a year ago, I felt myself as a failure having nothing to do in my life; I seemed to have lost in a darkened tunnel that appeared to have stretched over a thousand miles; I was surrounded by feelings of despair and regret and even felt suicidal at times, depression was all that I had. But then if I see myself now, the conditions have improved to a great extent, I never could have imagined that time that I will be gaining my will power again. Two years have passed and I am still waiting for the lost to return, a person who never used to stay without me even for a week went away and hasn’t returned yet. Two years ago, I had been thinking if how I would be able to move on with life with wounds that could never heal but with the passage of time, I occupied myself with varied tasks so as to divert my mind and my life seems to go by too fast now and I am glad it does!

The Seven Wonders of my Life.

While “life is a necklace of fears” as Björk expresses in the song “Bachelorette,” I may define life as a priceless necklace embellished with beads of miracles, marvels, and momentous experiences woven together by the divine Creator. Among the countless spherules (events) of varied shades and hues, the significant seven of them that impart beauty and spark to my life’s necklace are:

The day my brother was born and I was able to hold him in my lap.

The day I received the results of my matriculation examination since the grades were much higher than expected.

The day I secured admission in the AKHSS.

The moment when I lent my first gaze to the person who was not destined to be mine.

The day I received the first billet doux of my life.

The day when I was notified about one of my poems being published in a book.

And above all, the times when I mustered up my strength with the assistance of my family and friends.

Without a doubt, I can tag the above-mentioned events as the “Seven Wonders of my Life,” which had been infused with diversified kinds of beliefs, emotions and sentiments.

The inspiration for the respective post has been drawn from the WritingFix's Random Daily Prompt Generator and the respected readers are requested to share their wonders of life in the comments section only if they feel comfortable in doing so.

Happy Reading!

From Homey Household to Hostelry.

Having spent a considerable time of my life in a hostel, I decided to write a few lines about hostel life. As there are two sides to every question, life in a hostel has two faces; it can be advantageous as well as harmful at the same time. Since the atmosphere is entirely different, one learns a lot while staying at a hostel. Hostel life teaches one if how to be dependent on his own. I, myself, became confident after spending time in a hostel otherwise I had been a shy person earlier. Communicating with people having different backgrounds certainly improved my communications skills, though it made me more talkative too. I learned to develop adaptability, which helped me in coping with varied environments. But one of the things that I certainly missed being a hosteler was the care and affection of my parents as I had no one to look after me in times of sickness. I had missed long talks with my loved ones but the little sacrifices that I made definitely paid off.

My Best Teacher in Life.

We all have various experiences in our life and experience teaches us what nothing else can do. Whether it is a good experience or a bad one, we do learn something from it in the end. However, sometimes we do learn the lessons very late as well. I, too, have many experiences in my entire life, and sometimes I have a feeling that I have experienced much more than the others at an age of 24. The periods of pain, grief and agony have taught me to be patient. They have made me realized if what faith in Allah means and how much is it important and how does belief in Allah results in bestowing blessings upon us. The failures of my life have taught me to struggle more instead of repenting. The experience of betrayals have taught me if who to trust upon. It has helped me in recognizing my friends and foes. Undoubtedly, experience is the best teacher in my life.

Practicing Patience.

Patience and tolerance are one of the moral acts that should be practiced in our everyday life. Patience empowers us while lack of it causes troubles. But how many people amongst us are practitioners of patience? I am sure there would be a few as you can see hundreds of impatient individuals each day. While driving, each one of us is in a rush to reach our destination and we seldom give way to the ambulances, just because we aren’t being patient enough. Have you ever seen a queue outside a bank, a line of people waiting to get their bills done? You would always find them complaining that the worker doesn’t work well, however, the truth is that the people can’t wait for their turn patiently. What do we do while we are facing hardships in our life? We start complaining to Gods, don’t we? We do realize that everything happens for a reason but we do not realize it then just because of being impatient. Patience needs to be practiced in every sphere of life as it certainly bears fruits in the end.

Communicare - My First Group Assignment at FAIMC (Feroze Ahmed Institute of Mass Communication).

Mass Communication is a vast and diversified field covering varied literary horizons that keep on expanding with time; however, journalism has always been a significant component of this field, and therefore, being the students of Mass Communication, we had been asked to prepare a sample newspaper as a part of our English assignment. After days of toil and relentless efforts by a team comprising of six students including myself being the editor and Safina, Ibtesam, Rizwan, Fatima and Ailya as the reporters, we finally managed to transform our vision into reality in the form of Communicare.

While working in a group, I realized if what teamwork is in its real essence. I can never forget the little arguments that we had while deciding what needs to be included in the paper or not, the cheers and laughter as we tried putting our creativity in the doodles, and the moral support we gave to each other at different times.

Communicare is indeed a significant part of my scholastic voyage to the world of journalism and media. Below are a few images of Communicare-my first group assignment at FAIMC.




Happy Coup d' oeil!

Untitled.

To be happy and content with whatever you have in your life is very important. Happiness doesn’t necessarily mean success or achievement or it does not come with winning things only but it is a state where you feel satisfied in whatever you may have achieved. I had always wanted to pursue medical field as a career but I landed up in Mass Communication. I never knew if I could be a writer someday. However, writing is what makes me feel content today and I cannot even dream of living without it. One should always realize that everything happens for a reason and it happens for a good reason most of the time for Allah Almighty can never plan anything that goes against us.

I would request my beloved readers to suggest a suitable title for the post and I will be choosing one soon :)

Believe in Yourself.

It is said that the easiest thing to find in this world are people who may tell you of things that you cannot do. It is hard to find people who may encourage you morally or motivate you in life but yes, every other person in this world is ready to find out flaws in you. I had a habit of taking my decisions according to what people say but then, I realized that they won’t ever let me explore my hidden talents or capabilities. It was then that I decided to follow my heart. I started doing whatever I felt like doing without lending ears to what others say and this has not only helped me become more confident than before but also lets me achieve things that I had thought that I won’t be able to. Therefore, “believe in yourself and your abilities and aim for the stars and never pay attention to the people who discourage” is one of the significant lessons that I have learnt in my life.

Soliloquy.

People might consider me insane and crazy but I like having conversations with myself. A man’s best friend is his own inner soul and speaking to oneself helps a great deal in finding solutions to one’s own issues. Whenever I am facing a certain problem, I talk it over with myself. This not only helps me understand the issue more clearly but also provides space to think about the matter again. And there have been times when I had been able to come up with a fruitful conclusion as well. Soliloquy also helps in making me realize my potentials and flaws. It is in solitude that one discovers a lot about himself. Above all, I do not have to bother my friends in my problematic situations as I always have a best friend accompanying me all the time. However, it should be remembered that besides being a best friend, a man is the worst enemy of himself as well. Whether you land up being your own friend or enemy largely depends upon the way you think, the way you converse, and the way you feed your subconscious mind.

Reaction Counts More.

Once I was having a talk with one of my friends who told me an interesting story, according to which, life consists of 10% of what is happening around us and the rest of the 90% depends on how do we react to it. For instance, there is a family having breakfast on the table and the little girl spills some tea on his father’s shirt unintentionally. The father scolds her daughter and goes upstairs to find another shirt for himself. The girl misses her van because of spending some time crying and her father needs to drop her at school then. He reaches office a little late and gets a scold from his boss, consequently ruining the entire day. However, if her father would have reacted in another way, he wouldn’t have suffered much. What if he did not scold his daughter and she wouldn’t have cried? She wouldn’t have missed her van and her father would have reached his office on time and would have spent a good day. This shows that it is not what happens around us that decides the fate of the day but it is how we react to any situation that does.

Thank you, Dawood for sharing a meaningful story, which, I hope, my readers would find interesting too.