Lessons Learnt the Hard Way

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 ...

 ... are tipped slightly against us. No one in their right frame of mind would or could doubt that. It is this very notion that makes life interesting - worth living. What good is the prize if its right there for the taking? What sweetness would be got from low hanging fruit?  When we raise children, an age old tested method to get them to do something is to make them work for something they want. It develops grit and enables a child to gain a deep seated appreciation for hard work. (Something being lost as time goes by, but that is another blog for another day.) I remember dangling novels in front of my daughter for doing her chores. Sure some might call this bribery but I beg to differ.  However, one must always resort to making people work to get at something (call it bribery if you will) in moderation. You can't dangle candy in front a baby and then quickly take it away. Wouldn't sit right with anyone. You want to keep it at a distance, laying in the far corner noncha...

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This age, I think, is The Ticket to adulthood. There's no denying it at anymore. 21 and you're a full fledged, professionally acclaimed, undeniably, absolutely, an adult. Is it a good thing? Yeah, it is.  Now people have to listen to you and you actually have an 'adult' voice. The ID card and driver's licence just adds to the 'bigness' of the moment.  Is it a bad thing? Kinda, yeah. Because now you have a voice and a measure of freedom. Choices. Decisions. Independence... and the zeal, zest and vigour of what can yet be. No bitterness, no resentment. Just an inexplicable and boundless energy that reverberates in your every drop of blood and every bone: you know you are going to make the world a better place. To those who have just turned this magical age: write down your life ambitions and then revisit this vision 10 years from now. If and when life fails you, which it undoubtedly will, just open that piece of paper and you will remember that you have it in ...

Last night I had a dream. The kind that puts you in a stupor. The kind that when you are in it, you live it, breathe it, drown in it. It is both real and surreal. And now I've half forgotten it but the uneasiness remains. The kind of uneasiness that lingers ever so like a dark cloud on an already downcast day. The kind of dream that when you wake up from it, you woe the hour you fell asleep. 

What a couple of months: school reopened, marriages started in full swing, Biden got elected and Covid is coming back - hard! Oh! And I won an award: The Meritorious Mention Award (story writing competition - SPELT conference). In fact, they even asked me to participate at the closing ceremony of the prestigious educational conference. I didn't expect to win, but I did. The prompt was to write an inspirational story from the classroom. I couldn't pin point just one, so I did what I do best and subverted expectations - and won. And for your reading pleasure, I'll put it up for you to read:

It's been a while, but in my defence a lot has been happening. First, my sister had a baby, her third boy. But it was a risky surgery with her life on the line. Thankfully, all ended well and then she came over to stay. They're gone now, after a month, and it's quiet. I miss the kid the most - she named him after my third born. Simultaneously, I've been giving online classes. I have a dirty little secret: I actually enjoy planning and executing these online sessions. There are just so many great interactive sites to get students' thinking juices flowing. And the impact has warranted an unprecedented amount of ... love. It's so humbling... kids are awesome. So much better than adults who just chew you and spit you out... well not all adults... ha ha. Case in point from a little 5th grader (excuse her English - I was subbing in for a fifth grade teacher): I didn't even know she had put this post into the Zoom chat until my co-host teacher saved it and i...

This virus is sweeping over entire nations like a swell that births in the middle of the vast ocean, insignificant at first, but gradually building into a crest, rising, gathering a deep rumbling power, developing momentum, coming head on, swallowing anything and finally leaving devastation and despondency in its wake. As a daughter, I fear for my elderly parents, even more so because my brother, who was diagnosed a couple of weeks back is in quarantine in the next room, although he has recovered for the most part. As I sister, I still worry about him. My dad still goes out and carries on, but he understands that wearing a mask is not crazy and that keeping a distance is a good thing. As a teacher I feel so much sadness from my kids when they say they can't submit an assignment because of the death of a loved one and infected parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles. This morning a beautiful talented young lady wrote an apologetic email citing that two of her uncles had pa...

With norms of society being rewritten everyday, some things never change. - With remote/ distance learning being all the rage and teachers the world over stepping up their tech game, the fact remains we all miss our classes and student interaction like crazy; I believe the opposite holds true for students too. The only thing is, we just took it for granted before. It will be a happy happy day when we are all together again. - With most of the world in self-isolation, it has been a moment of glorious reconnection. Ironic how it took the world to retreat into the recesses of their homes to bring hearts closer to each other. Absence does, in the words of someone wise, make the heart grow fonder. - In the face of uncertainty, humanity it turns out, is pretty resilient. And there really are more good people out there than I realised. Well good as in really trying to help out people in dire need. Any good person is a 'bad guy' for someone I guess. - About myself, I am...

The current global climate has been taking a toll on everyone: from moms to kids, from teachers to students, from employees to employers, from the homeless to the elite. Nobody has been spared this minuscule organism's wrath. But just like all things that encompass tragedy and adversity, there is always a silver lining. This post will unveil the wonderful things that have come my way, even as I sit here missing my work, drowning in anxiety over the fate of my O Level students in the wake of the cancellation of exams, craving a BBQ roll, and yearning for family that can't be in close proximity.

Winter Break is ancient history - so is Spring Break. A cacophony of memories evoke complicated feelings that are on either side of the positive and negative spectrums, ultimately negating each other. But current affairs are happy. Let me explain. It's not too difficult. I have yet another niece to add to my  portfolio of being an aunt. She's perfect in every way. And while I have enjoyed my time with my brother and his family, I have also enjoyed (unexpectedly) taking in the sights here in Doha; and I still have a couple of weeks left on the itinerary.

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.

It has been quite a while since I've posted, but in my defense, I have been super busy. Busy with work and also busy with doing nothing. Let me explain. Ever since I've quit giving tuition at home, I've found myself with a lot more time (although I still can't understand how it gets over so soon). So I lounge around doing nothing, except enjoying the lounging after a hard day's work. As age catches up with me, I am finding myself increasingly exhausted. Exhaustion is a good thing though - makes for decent sleeping at night. And the cold has set in - kind of. I feel super cold all the time. It's me really. Yesterday my mother retorted it was quite weird for me to be wearing my fleece socks and sitting with the fan. Yes, admittedly it was, but as I explained, I am perhaps more sensitive to the plummeting temperature than others (possibly any other) - a quality that really works out in the heat of the summers. I have also been splurging. There's somethin...

People will talk about things that they are not in control of. But the irony is they seek to control them anyway. And although it is true there are things we can't control in life, there are I think, shades of degrees involved. Human choice: it is the most formidable of human powers. And the most abused. But one thing I know you have no control over without a shadow of a doubt, is how others feel about you.You can be the kindest most compassionate being and yet you will have haters. You can be the most vilest of creatures and yet you will have admirers. Most people exist between the two extremes and obviously bias drives a lot of our behaviour. But no matter what, if the heart feels a certain way about someone, there isn't much you can do about it. The heart may even change, as it so often does, but even then it's just so beyond human control. You could be a breath apart and hate; you can be on the other side of the world and love. So what do we do? People who live w...

I've been sitting for a while thinking what I should name this piece. Knowing that it would be a hotch potch of scaterred ideas, I decided to just go with the obvious choice. Speaking of a jumble of thoughts, there are so many circulating in my mind... the first and most recent one (I'll try reverse chronological order) is that I don't think I've seen this much rain in Karachi in the 5 years I've been here. The drainage system of the country is nothing to boast about and many people (and sacrificial animals for that matter) are in extreme distress. I've been looking at people posts on Facebook. Sometimes I think that the people are the new media. Journalists might become completely redundant one day. Coming back to the rain, scary videos of people half submerged in water, animals sprawled dead in the rivers of what were once streets and general flooding in areas is indeed very sad. Sitting on my comfy bed, in my comfy and dry room seems so much more of a bles...

There come some junctions in life that give the opportunity of starting afresh. Sometimes those junctions branch off into completely new directions and sometimes they provide a fresh start to something specific. Say for instance marriage. That's a big one. Life takes a 180 degree turn and everything changes. Except a mother's love I suppose. Or for a student a new grade. That may seem like a lesser deal, but for the student, it is completely uncharted territory with potential and promise.

Ah, the weekend finally arrives. I feel like there is nobody who truly feels a weekend quite like a teacher does. As we approach the end of the year, things only seem to get crazier. Half the stuff is about next year! But back to the weekend. With Ramadhan right around the corner, this is the last day I'll be able to go out to lunch with my sister. We've planning something for weeks, but like all fun plans, they don't always materialise. Let's see if we can make it happen today. It's such a simple notion- planning to go out to lunch with someone you love- just planning, Yet, it's these small things in life that matter so much.

There is a half hour before the school van comes to pick me up and then I'll be on my way to another day of hard work and trying to make a difference. It's bright and sunny outside, the lull of the fan is oddly soothing and I can hear a bird in the distance. It's going to be a hot day. I can tell because of the hue of the sunlight- a very yellowish gold. I don't mind the heat much. I'm too busy to notice actually.