Speaking doctors

Ramadan Kareem nostalgias  Days are approaching Ramadan. Month of fasting, sharing and  spirituality. I remember my first fast, aged 6 or 7. I forgot that I was fasting when I saw the kulfi cart. I ate the whole kulfi and then was reminded that am fasting. I took this fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) problem to my Quran teacher. She said   "You are so tiny, you cant be fasting!" I was the eldest of five siblings and always felt mature and responsible. "Show me your tongue", she went on. Am till date not sure what she was looking for. My mouth was moist with kulfi. I guess I eventually figured that eating accidentally does not break the fast.  My earliest Ramadans were in summers. I remember our lips turning purple with thirst by maghrib. We used to spend a lot of time at my Nanas (maternal grandfather) and iftars  there were with rooh afza syrup drink and mangoes and at times some pakoras. This was immediately followed by goat curry and fresh chapatis with raw ...

  There is a charm to the second cup of tea. It signifies time, another chance, chance to just sit there and chat, chat to yourself, be slow. Super slow. 

 This year has been interesting, thats for sure. Have I evolved as a person? I don't know. Do I have more gray hair now? Yes.  Here is what I had been up to this year: Sindhi love Yes, I am Sindhi and I love my mangoes and I love my fish. I continued to experiment with food. Made a million chaats. Tried my hand at baking. Am so tempted to bake cakes but the crazy amount of sugar holds me back. And yes, Dilmah tea bag, evaporated milk and a cardamom is my favourite kinda tea.   Sway with me I learned that in this life, there are plenty of thorns but then there are roses. Your times comes, and when it does, remember to bloom and sway in the breeze. If there is no one to dance along with, dance on your own. My own travel partner I took a solo trip to Newcastle. The food was fish and chips. The beach was set up for it. It was that time of the year, when Covid was not crazy and real smiles were not masked.   There were coffee shops which looked like this. The co...

  There is something about a slow cup of chai.  Sip by sip. Thought into thoughts. As birds chirp away and sun continues to shine, just slow down. Breath.      All that, with that slow cup of chai.  

 A couple of seats away, in the train a man continues to eat directly from a pack of Greek yogurt. He is in his own world, where there are just two entities, him and the yogurt.  I smile to myself (it's easier doing it now with a mask on). Am in my own world too. The train and my world of observations......

Friendship goals !?!   "The only way to learn new things is to either read books or meet new people". This is my very wise friends  Cassie's wisdom. She then went on to talk about babies, " they learn something new, then go to sleep. Then they wake up full of energy to repeat the cycle". I was so impressed by her observation. She self decided that both of us should do this, atleast during the time off.  Qasim Ali Shah (motivational speaker) quoted Wasif Ali Wasif in his talk. He had said that if you want to spend time with someone, ensure that the person is 'daana' (wise). If not 'daana', then must be atleast 'raana'  (beautiful). If not both, then don't bother spending time there.  My friend is both daana and raana.  Hobbies One of my many hobbies is listening to Qasim Ali Shah's talks. Here are my notes from his recent talk:   His talks are awesome! What a remarkable man. Here is the link   of his talk. I usually listen while do...

There is always a start, I call it 'today' My dear friend Uzma wants me to write again. So here I go. In perfect shopkeeper tone, 'Baji, sirf apkay liyay' Pick up your chai and lets begin... Random Surprises Met this beauty of a book in the shopping place library. Such gem. That too for free. I have only read the first page till now. And it says that effective speaking can be learnt. That gives a lot of hope, doesn't it. Will keep you guys posted of things that I learn on the way. Creative is what creative does Was looking for a gift for my friend. Then this gift idea came down to me like 'amad' in shairi (poetry). Took label off the jar (for this fill jar with boiling water. Close with lid. After a while, take the label off while jar still hot. For the remaining sticky feeling, apply whatever kitchen oil you have on a tissue and wipe off the glue). I throwed in some dark chocolates, added a label and twine. The gift is with my friend now. The chocolates are...