Winter Break

By -
Another cold season is upon us, and the schools are off. Sleeping, eating and chilling are high up on the list of 'to do' things. But there are things near the bottom too: grading papers, making presentations, lesson planning, catching up on reading and getting some quality family time.

My brother went off back to Toronto with his family earlier this week. But on the up side, my other brother is coming back after five long years in a bit... my sister and I have planned pranking him at the airport - so what if I'm too old to be doing this stuff - one should be young at heart.

With the winter comes wedding madness. Left and right, people are falling into matrimonial bliss. This of course, poses the problem of sufficient attire. There is a certain untold law to attending weddings in that you can't be repeating an outfit if the same crowd is going to be there. But I have to be honest - dressing up still gives me a kick, especially for weddings. More so when people drop compliments and you think to yourself 'you still got it!'

Here's a strange thing that happened a couple of days ago. A lavish wedding lunch (yes, the trend is catching on thankfully) was overcast by sadness and despondency as just a couple of days prior, a little baby in the immediate family had passed away. If there was ever someone to proclaim 'The show much go on,' this would be that place. Everyone made the best of it. My colleagues and I had a good time - good company matters so much. But life can be such a paradox - in fact it is just one gigantic cloud of antitheses.

Life goes on - even when children are taken from the their mothers and mothers are taken from their children. Life goes on. Winter comes back as certain as day even when in the midst of summer it is hard to really recall if the temperature actually does ever drop in good old Karachi.

For now my fleece socks are about enough shielding I need from the cold which is expected to increase over the next few weeks. Hopefully by March, the weather will be moderate again as I am to pay a visit to my brother abroad.

Until there are breaths, there is hope. And until hopes are fulfilled, we live on and live on well. If I have learned anything in life it is this. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What the Young Tree Whispered in my Ear

By -
Image
I rested my head against the car window, adjusting my angle to avoid the sharp noon sun rays. They filtered through the thinning foliage of the young tree that caressed the car door. I looked up lazily. She was not a big thing, young - but not too young. She had not seen many winters I suppose, but enough at least, to give me respite against the glare of the sun, the kind of glare that looks specially sharper in the midst of winter. Until then, I had not noticed the tiny red flowers that were scattered scantily all over her branches. They danced in the soft breeze, carelessly, along with their green counterparts. The beauty of the scene mesmerized me, until nothing in my peripheral vision existed any longer. Suddenly, it was just her and me.
Read more

The Thirsty Sparrow and what it Taught Me

By -
Image
There is an image in my head. It's been quite a few days, but it has not faded. It was a fleeting thing. The type of thing nobody would give a second thought to. I also remember thinking it's funny how even mundane things can be a source of inspiration, but more on that later. There was a little sparrow, dipping its beak with rapid precision, smack right in the middle of the traffic junction, in a little puddle of murky water. It was oblivious to the moving seas of cars swishing past. The puddle was in the 'neutral zone' of the junction- right in the center where no cars could overlap. In all fairness, it is Karachi and the traffic can get out of hand at any given second, yet this bird knew only its thirst and probably noticed that this particular crevice was somehow, immune to any danger. As I looked on for a minute at its incessant task, I realized that this was such a fitting analogy of the life I currently live.
Read more

Getting reacquainted with reading

By -
Image
For a couple years now, I haven't really read a book - as in properly - as in with the respect it deserves. Without distraction, with a cup of tea, without my mobile in close proximity, but with my favourite cushion giving support to whatever part of my body that needs it.  It was not due to a lack of books. Indeed, I have a healthy pile of all sorts of books waiting to be read: mysteries, self-help, thrillers, classics - you name it. Was it perhaps a lack of will power? Whatever it was, this tiny mountain of books would nag at me whenever I'd open the cupboard to grab an extra pen. Sitting pretty on the shelf, they would seem to nag at me, jeer at me and taunt me for being weak. The door would quickly and adamantly be shut and that would be that.  Then it all changed. Unexpectedly.  With my young niece and nephew having recently moved in with us, and with me being an English teacher (trumping me being their aunt in this matter), it was incumbent upon me to instil within them t
Read more