Ammani (http://jikku.blogspot.com/) is a writer I admire so very much. She had asked her readers to write a letter to their own teenaged self for "If I knew then what I know now".
This is what I would tell my own self: You never regret the things you did, but will always regret things you did not do.
It is here in Ammani's blogspot too: http://lettersforall.blogspot.com/
:-) Thanks for the opportunity Ammani....keep rocking!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Iranian Souq
Last few weeks have been quite hectic at work, but I have had loads of fun during the weekends. I finally made it to the Iranian souq/Old souq/Souq Waqif as it is called. Apparently this souq, which is about a hundred years old, has been majorly renovated in the last few years using of course, lots and lots of money! The first thing that struck me….” Ok does not look too bad! Can still step without inhibition on the stone pavements…..quite clean in fact!” and once we entered, “wow, what an amazing smell!” It actually smells like a native medicine shop, for whoever is familiar with that kind of smell from India. There are so many small shops around and they all look so inviting, as you feel like going and discovering all the hidden goodies in these small places :-) Most of the items are not packaged goods, but rather open in boxes and they will weigh out what measure you want and pack it up. While Asians may be used to this concept from olden days, it is no longer the custom in most places, and is hence very refreshing. I felt like I was walking the streets of old Tamil Nadu, with the small shops, and wooden planks for doors…..anyone remember those types? ;-)
One can get almost anything from these small shops in the souq……henna powder in huge boxes…..so many varieties of them – black henna, red henna, coarse types, softer types, etc; Other herbal powders, dried flowers for various purposes, dry fruits, including dried pomegranate arils; this is one of the best discoveries I have made in any shop in recent times! It is so deliciously sour, goes so well with other dried delights like almonds and walnuts, or even with breakfast cereal. All kinds of spices used in cooking are also available in their original state. The huge barks of royal cinnamon are an example! Best part, you are allowed to sample anything edible before you buy ;-)There are also things like dried, whole limes, crushed and dried garlic (that looks like chips), etc, which are all apparently widely used in the native cooking here.
Once you finish this side of the souq, the alley opens into a broad area with some very nice, what I call “junk-jewellery shops”! I started using this term since my childhood because my father always thought buying gold was the best thing you can do; it is an investment and good planning. I, his daughter, always loved anything that: 1) was not made of gold or any other metal of value 2) was huge and antiquey looking (mostly) 3) usually had no resale value of any sort and 4) were usually quite expensive too! These lovely shops carried beautiful chains, bracelets and earrings made of stones, antique looking metals, beads etc. Some of them were a bit on the expensive side, but many quite reasonable. I am trying to convince fellow family members that I can actually wear some of them for my wedding, but am met with caustic glares (or rude admonitions if on phone) that often silences me after some initial mumbling :-(
I have already been to the souq twice in three weeks for, of course, what else but these shops!
Now are you imagining the souq to be made of all these kinds of shops? Just when a newly visiting person may start to write it off so, a Basking Robins/Dunkin donuts branch appears, inside the souq!!! Just as you are beginning to recover, there is a Costa coffee! And also………….wait for it…………….a Häagen-Dazs outlet! There are also other restaurants, shisha (?) cafes and some interesting eat outs. The best part about it is you can sit outside in the open stone pavements and enjoy your cup of coffee or food here. This of course is subject to temperature conditions and by that I mean “NOT NOW in summer”! It is a boiling 50° Celsius already and nobody fails to inform me that it is “just the beginning”!!!
There were also some clothes, shoes, and kitchen accessories kind of shops, which did not interest me too much. There is also a ‘pet shop’ kind of area where they sell birds, kittens, rabbits, etc. these kind of places usually only make me sad and I left that area as soon as I could!
On the whole the Souq was a wonderful experience and I am sure I will be there for some essentials and not so essentials quite often ;-) Looking forward to showing some people around soon, so people, start visiting!
One can get almost anything from these small shops in the souq……henna powder in huge boxes…..so many varieties of them – black henna, red henna, coarse types, softer types, etc; Other herbal powders, dried flowers for various purposes, dry fruits, including dried pomegranate arils; this is one of the best discoveries I have made in any shop in recent times! It is so deliciously sour, goes so well with other dried delights like almonds and walnuts, or even with breakfast cereal. All kinds of spices used in cooking are also available in their original state. The huge barks of royal cinnamon are an example! Best part, you are allowed to sample anything edible before you buy ;-)There are also things like dried, whole limes, crushed and dried garlic (that looks like chips), etc, which are all apparently widely used in the native cooking here.
Once you finish this side of the souq, the alley opens into a broad area with some very nice, what I call “junk-jewellery shops”! I started using this term since my childhood because my father always thought buying gold was the best thing you can do; it is an investment and good planning. I, his daughter, always loved anything that: 1) was not made of gold or any other metal of value 2) was huge and antiquey looking (mostly) 3) usually had no resale value of any sort and 4) were usually quite expensive too! These lovely shops carried beautiful chains, bracelets and earrings made of stones, antique looking metals, beads etc. Some of them were a bit on the expensive side, but many quite reasonable. I am trying to convince fellow family members that I can actually wear some of them for my wedding, but am met with caustic glares (or rude admonitions if on phone) that often silences me after some initial mumbling :-(
I have already been to the souq twice in three weeks for, of course, what else but these shops!
Now are you imagining the souq to be made of all these kinds of shops? Just when a newly visiting person may start to write it off so, a Basking Robins/Dunkin donuts branch appears, inside the souq!!! Just as you are beginning to recover, there is a Costa coffee! And also………….wait for it…………….a Häagen-Dazs outlet! There are also other restaurants, shisha (?) cafes and some interesting eat outs. The best part about it is you can sit outside in the open stone pavements and enjoy your cup of coffee or food here. This of course is subject to temperature conditions and by that I mean “NOT NOW in summer”! It is a boiling 50° Celsius already and nobody fails to inform me that it is “just the beginning”!!!
There were also some clothes, shoes, and kitchen accessories kind of shops, which did not interest me too much. There is also a ‘pet shop’ kind of area where they sell birds, kittens, rabbits, etc. these kind of places usually only make me sad and I left that area as soon as I could!
On the whole the Souq was a wonderful experience and I am sure I will be there for some essentials and not so essentials quite often ;-) Looking forward to showing some people around soon, so people, start visiting!
Can a letter be romantic and practical at the same time?
What a beautiful letter (below) by Beethoven to his beloved! How can one write such a romantic letter that is also so practical at the same time?
My angel, my all, my very self -
Only a few words today and at that with pencil (with yours) - Not till tomorrow will my lodgings be definitely determined upon - what a useless waste of time -
Why this deep sorrow when necessity speaks - can our love endure except through sacrifices, through not demanding everything from one another; can you change the fact that you are not wholly mine, I not wholly thine -
Oh God, look out into the beauties of nature and comfort your heart with that which must be -Love demands everything and that very justly - thus it is to me with you, and to you with me.
But you forget so easily that I must live for me and for you; if we were wholly united you would feel the pain of it as little as I -
My journey was a fearful one; I did not reach here until 4 o'clock yesterday morning. Lacking horses the post-coach chose another route, but what an awful one; at the stage before the last I was warned not to travel at night; I was made fearful of a forest, but that only made me the more eager - and I was wrong.
The coach must needs break down on the wretched road, a bottomless mud road. Without such postilions as I had with me I should have remained stuck in the road. Esterhazy, traveling the usual road here, had the same fate with eight horses that I had with four - Yet I got some pleasure out of it, as I always do when I successfully overcome difficulties -
Now a quick change to things internal from things external.
We shall surely see each other soon; moreover, today I cannot share with you the thoughts I have had during these last few days touching my own life -
If our hearts were always close together, I would have none of these.
My heart is full of so many things to say to you - ah - there are moments when I feel that speech amounts to nothing at all -
Cheer up - remain my true, my only treasure, my all as I am yours.
The gods must send us the rest, what for us must and shall be...
My angel, my all, my very self -
Only a few words today and at that with pencil (with yours) - Not till tomorrow will my lodgings be definitely determined upon - what a useless waste of time -
Why this deep sorrow when necessity speaks - can our love endure except through sacrifices, through not demanding everything from one another; can you change the fact that you are not wholly mine, I not wholly thine -
Oh God, look out into the beauties of nature and comfort your heart with that which must be -Love demands everything and that very justly - thus it is to me with you, and to you with me.
But you forget so easily that I must live for me and for you; if we were wholly united you would feel the pain of it as little as I -
My journey was a fearful one; I did not reach here until 4 o'clock yesterday morning. Lacking horses the post-coach chose another route, but what an awful one; at the stage before the last I was warned not to travel at night; I was made fearful of a forest, but that only made me the more eager - and I was wrong.
The coach must needs break down on the wretched road, a bottomless mud road. Without such postilions as I had with me I should have remained stuck in the road. Esterhazy, traveling the usual road here, had the same fate with eight horses that I had with four - Yet I got some pleasure out of it, as I always do when I successfully overcome difficulties -
Now a quick change to things internal from things external.
We shall surely see each other soon; moreover, today I cannot share with you the thoughts I have had during these last few days touching my own life -
If our hearts were always close together, I would have none of these.
My heart is full of so many things to say to you - ah - there are moments when I feel that speech amounts to nothing at all -
Cheer up - remain my true, my only treasure, my all as I am yours.
The gods must send us the rest, what for us must and shall be...
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Cruelty
In my opinion, anyone who is cruel and abusive to children and animals is not a human being; does not deserve to be treated as one. Period. It is such a horrible thing that people use religion to get away with these kinds of acts too! The article below just made me so sad…..can you imagine the number of children who have suffered for so many years in the hands of idiots and perverts disguised as fathers and nuns?!!! No one interfered too; there was nobody the poor, helpless kids could turn to! How can anyone be religious seeing such acts? Whom do you trust?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/20/AR2009052003809.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Look at this link below from yesterday’s Hindu Metro supplementary:
http://www.thehindu.com/mp/2009/05/20/stories/2009052050070600.htm
Somebody actually tied a dog using barbed wire!!! I do not understand how people can be this cruel. Same goes for killing any animal. Non-vegetarians can give hundreds of examples or references, religious and otherwise as to why they eat meat; I will never understand or accept it though. How can you eat meat knowing somebody killed that animal and in all probability it suffered horribly before its death? Don’t get me wrong, most people around me are non-vegetarians, including members of family, and many dear friends. While I am opinionated in this issue, I do not force anyone to convert; all the same I request everybody to stand up for certain issues as human beings and make sure in your own way you make some small contribution to animals in this world.
This recent post on his blog by Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States is very interesting.
http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2009/05/michael-vick.html
I have always admired the work by this society and thank them for exposing so many issues to the public and saving so many many lives. The Michael Vick trial had me boiling for months….’how could he?’ was a question I could not get out of my head for a very long time. I wanted him to suffer more than all the dogs he killed and injured put together! This post by Mr. Pacelle made me very happy this morning though. I appreciate how the society is trying to use Vick to change the attitudes of many growing boys from similar backgrounds, thus ensuring removal of any new Michael Vicks coming up in this world. I hope and pray that Vick is really honest in his efforts and somebody is always watching him, because I am not going to be able to trust him for a very long time! This is also important, especially because no matter what he did, there are people who still worship him for the Quarterback that he was! When the six year long dog-fighting operations were finally discovered, many fans of his actually wrote in public forums “So what if he killed dogs, it’s not like he killed human beings”!!!!!!!! As you can imagine, my BP shot up so much after reading those kind of statements, that I would have gladly killed whoever wrote that myself and had no regrets.
If anyone wants to know more about Vick and repercussions he faced due to his actions etc, here is the wiki page about him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Vick
Kindly also follow Mr. Pacelle’s blog, http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/ if interested, and I strongly urge all my friends to do your part, however small; volunteer for animals, donating just little bits of time for them, or make financial donations, however small. Every small good act or thought counts!
As long as I am in the link-giving spree ;-), here is also Qatar Animal Welfare Society’s (QAWS): www.qaws.org
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/20/AR2009052003809.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Look at this link below from yesterday’s Hindu Metro supplementary:
http://www.thehindu.com/mp/2009/05/20/stories/2009052050070600.htm
Somebody actually tied a dog using barbed wire!!! I do not understand how people can be this cruel. Same goes for killing any animal. Non-vegetarians can give hundreds of examples or references, religious and otherwise as to why they eat meat; I will never understand or accept it though. How can you eat meat knowing somebody killed that animal and in all probability it suffered horribly before its death? Don’t get me wrong, most people around me are non-vegetarians, including members of family, and many dear friends. While I am opinionated in this issue, I do not force anyone to convert; all the same I request everybody to stand up for certain issues as human beings and make sure in your own way you make some small contribution to animals in this world.
This recent post on his blog by Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States is very interesting.
http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2009/05/michael-vick.html
I have always admired the work by this society and thank them for exposing so many issues to the public and saving so many many lives. The Michael Vick trial had me boiling for months….’how could he?’ was a question I could not get out of my head for a very long time. I wanted him to suffer more than all the dogs he killed and injured put together! This post by Mr. Pacelle made me very happy this morning though. I appreciate how the society is trying to use Vick to change the attitudes of many growing boys from similar backgrounds, thus ensuring removal of any new Michael Vicks coming up in this world. I hope and pray that Vick is really honest in his efforts and somebody is always watching him, because I am not going to be able to trust him for a very long time! This is also important, especially because no matter what he did, there are people who still worship him for the Quarterback that he was! When the six year long dog-fighting operations were finally discovered, many fans of his actually wrote in public forums “So what if he killed dogs, it’s not like he killed human beings”!!!!!!!! As you can imagine, my BP shot up so much after reading those kind of statements, that I would have gladly killed whoever wrote that myself and had no regrets.
If anyone wants to know more about Vick and repercussions he faced due to his actions etc, here is the wiki page about him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Vick
Kindly also follow Mr. Pacelle’s blog, http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/ if interested, and I strongly urge all my friends to do your part, however small; volunteer for animals, donating just little bits of time for them, or make financial donations, however small. Every small good act or thought counts!
As long as I am in the link-giving spree ;-), here is also Qatar Animal Welfare Society’s (QAWS): www.qaws.org
Monday, May 18, 2009
When?
When did I grow up from a girl into a woman?
When did the world start to matter less and my inner voice more?
When did I start making my own rules according to the way I live and want to live?
When did I first fall in love?
When did you walk into my life?
When exactly did I fall in love with you and decide you were the love of my life?
When did we start fighting?
When did I begin to lose confidence in your unconditional support and love?
When and will all this be over?
When will you give me my childhood back as you promised?
When did the world start to matter less and my inner voice more?
When did I start making my own rules according to the way I live and want to live?
When did I first fall in love?
When did you walk into my life?
When exactly did I fall in love with you and decide you were the love of my life?
When did we start fighting?
When did I begin to lose confidence in your unconditional support and love?
When and will all this be over?
When will you give me my childhood back as you promised?
Monday, May 11, 2009
Trust and courtesy
It has been a long time since such a thing happened to me……..I have only seen people doing such things when I was a small girl! Yesterday I paid few thousand riyals (Qatari currency) to a very nice man (professional who owns a real estate and car rental company) for a rental car. He simply put it in his pocket without counting! I had to insist that he counted it at least once in front of me. He gave me a questioning look filled with embarrassment and then did it.
Are such trusting people still left on the face of this earth? Wow! Granted he might have counted the money after I left, but still it’s been a while since I experienced this kind of courtesy to fellow people. Glad to get back in touch with some of these roots that so make up Asian culture :-)
Are such trusting people still left on the face of this earth? Wow! Granted he might have counted the money after I left, but still it’s been a while since I experienced this kind of courtesy to fellow people. Glad to get back in touch with some of these roots that so make up Asian culture :-)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
To my mom on Mother's day!
Happy Mother’s day to the fantastic lady who is my mom! This post in dedicated to her :-)
Obviously this is not the only day I am thankful to God for giving me such awesome parents….but lets make today special by writing a little more about my amma. Post dedicated to my dad coming up soon on Father’s day! ;-)
What has she not done for me? Nothing…..what I am today is totally her making. Such an awesome mixture of beauty, brains and courage, she made the perfect role model; could not have asked for more! She made me work very hard….tough task master that she was (you can never be working up to your full potential!); she had rigid rules when I was younger about cleanliness (shower just 2-3 times a day? Why so lazy?!!!), sleep timings (the lesser, the better!), friends (talk to them in school….no wasting time again at home in the evenings, talking over phone!), vocabulary (the words, ‘no’, ‘can’t do’, ‘can’t find’, ‘don’t know’ etc did not exist in her dictionary!), etc etc…..
She also taught me the joys of charity and well-being, by being the most generous person I have seen! For example, she did not give leftovers to the maid we had then (single mom supporting three daughters), but actually made fresh food for her one day simply because she thought she looked tired that day! Now that she knows I am blogging, she has given me a list of topics to blog about, that would put Mother Teresa to shame ;-) “Blog about poverty, talk about various important diseases that need more funding, or can help poorer people” etc. I may not have responded too enthusiastically ma, but I am so proud of you for reminding me of such topics……that’s what makes you, you! I most definitely will too, coz I am her daughter and it is in the genes, right? ;-) If I do forget some values at any point in life, I am sure she will also remind me of the lost ones and give me one good talk that will make me wish the earth will open up and swallow me ;-)
At times of need, she proved to be the most courageous person in the family and was, is and will always be the most optimistic person I know! She never gives up when the rest of the world does…..I like to think I inherited little bit of that, but I do know I have a thread of pessimism in me many a times, that I inherited from appa’s practical approach to things. But I do like the balance that brings ;-)
She has also been my best friend throughout life and there is not much she does not know. I also firmly believe that if I can’t tell my mother about something I am doing, then it is wrong and I shouldn’t be doing it in the first place! Have also learnt this the hard way ;-) But who is always there behind me after I make those mistakes and am recovering? It’s always her and I am so glad for the total, unconditional support in life!
To end this senti post I thought I will write 10 things (facts, quirks, and nerdy things) about my mom (I may be killed for this)!
1) Floors at home have to be cleaned at least twice a day, with her best old friend, the bleaching powder!!!
2) She used to hate having pets at home, but now Dippy and Dashy are her children; more so than my cute brother and me! :-(
3) She actually does not mind food in planes!!!
4) She loves to gossip and makes sure she is aware of her neighbors’ activities, although she will swear otherwise ;-)
5) She is so young at heart, knowing all about the latest actors, singers, etc. and she is a fan of many as much as I am, or even my younger cousins in college and school are!
6) She is a great business woman too, even more than I suspect she thinks :-)
7) When I got bday cards from secret admirers way back in school, she actually decoded and gave me the name of the card sender!!!
8) She knows all about my secrets and crushes, even the ones I did not tell her; the shrewdest person I know in the world!!!
9) Jealousy is not in her nature at all
10) She wishes she had achieved so much more in life, without knowing how much she has influenced the world around her by being herself and her achievements are priceless!
Love you ma…..if I am even 50 % of the mother you are, I would be a fantastic mom too :-)
Keep rocking this world!
P.S – Happy Mother’s day to all other moms reading this post too :-) I am sure you are all rocking your kid’s world too!
Obviously this is not the only day I am thankful to God for giving me such awesome parents….but lets make today special by writing a little more about my amma. Post dedicated to my dad coming up soon on Father’s day! ;-)
What has she not done for me? Nothing…..what I am today is totally her making. Such an awesome mixture of beauty, brains and courage, she made the perfect role model; could not have asked for more! She made me work very hard….tough task master that she was (you can never be working up to your full potential!); she had rigid rules when I was younger about cleanliness (shower just 2-3 times a day? Why so lazy?!!!), sleep timings (the lesser, the better!), friends (talk to them in school….no wasting time again at home in the evenings, talking over phone!), vocabulary (the words, ‘no’, ‘can’t do’, ‘can’t find’, ‘don’t know’ etc did not exist in her dictionary!), etc etc…..
She also taught me the joys of charity and well-being, by being the most generous person I have seen! For example, she did not give leftovers to the maid we had then (single mom supporting three daughters), but actually made fresh food for her one day simply because she thought she looked tired that day! Now that she knows I am blogging, she has given me a list of topics to blog about, that would put Mother Teresa to shame ;-) “Blog about poverty, talk about various important diseases that need more funding, or can help poorer people” etc. I may not have responded too enthusiastically ma, but I am so proud of you for reminding me of such topics……that’s what makes you, you! I most definitely will too, coz I am her daughter and it is in the genes, right? ;-) If I do forget some values at any point in life, I am sure she will also remind me of the lost ones and give me one good talk that will make me wish the earth will open up and swallow me ;-)
At times of need, she proved to be the most courageous person in the family and was, is and will always be the most optimistic person I know! She never gives up when the rest of the world does…..I like to think I inherited little bit of that, but I do know I have a thread of pessimism in me many a times, that I inherited from appa’s practical approach to things. But I do like the balance that brings ;-)
She has also been my best friend throughout life and there is not much she does not know. I also firmly believe that if I can’t tell my mother about something I am doing, then it is wrong and I shouldn’t be doing it in the first place! Have also learnt this the hard way ;-) But who is always there behind me after I make those mistakes and am recovering? It’s always her and I am so glad for the total, unconditional support in life!
To end this senti post I thought I will write 10 things (facts, quirks, and nerdy things) about my mom (I may be killed for this)!
1) Floors at home have to be cleaned at least twice a day, with her best old friend, the bleaching powder!!!
2) She used to hate having pets at home, but now Dippy and Dashy are her children; more so than my cute brother and me! :-(
3) She actually does not mind food in planes!!!
4) She loves to gossip and makes sure she is aware of her neighbors’ activities, although she will swear otherwise ;-)
5) She is so young at heart, knowing all about the latest actors, singers, etc. and she is a fan of many as much as I am, or even my younger cousins in college and school are!
6) She is a great business woman too, even more than I suspect she thinks :-)
7) When I got bday cards from secret admirers way back in school, she actually decoded and gave me the name of the card sender!!!
8) She knows all about my secrets and crushes, even the ones I did not tell her; the shrewdest person I know in the world!!!
9) Jealousy is not in her nature at all
10) She wishes she had achieved so much more in life, without knowing how much she has influenced the world around her by being herself and her achievements are priceless!
Love you ma…..if I am even 50 % of the mother you are, I would be a fantastic mom too :-)
Keep rocking this world!
P.S – Happy Mother’s day to all other moms reading this post too :-) I am sure you are all rocking your kid’s world too!
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