Weekends are so short that I can almost swear that they never were there. They seem so much shorter than the long, dragging weeks. My husband has a logical reasoning for it: That’s because weekends are shorter than the weeks. But that’s not the point. The point is that two days of the week seem like two years but two days of the weekend seem like two moments. So what did I do this weekend? A bit of shopping, a visit to my aunt and a lunch with my husband’s colleagues. And that’s it. Before I knew it, it was Saturday night when I was frantically trying to pack my husband’s lunchbox, iron my clothes for the next day and get my hyperactive baby to sleep- all at once. Its been years since I have been wanting to tidy out my cupboard, clean my news desk, go on a long drive, watch a movie, read a book, bake bread, make some cookies, etc. , etc.
But I believe in optimism…one such weekend will come when I will get to do at least 1 in the above list. Amen to that
Accession Day
With absolutely no fan fare and adulation the accession day of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum on January 4th was a pretty quiet affair. Nothing surprising about it because the accession day is generally a quiet affair. This trait in UAE rulers has never failed to surprise me. In many countries around the world, rulers bask in extravagant and lavish ceremonies for their accession days, birthdays, etc. They use the occasion to pump up their glory. Here all such dates go unnoticed- unless the media brings it up. Here it’s never about the rulers, its always about the country.
This takes me back a few years down the memory lane. It was in 1998. It was the first year of Dubai Shopping Festival. It was about 7 or 8 in the evening. My family and I were walking down the streets near Gold Souq when we saw a few people gathering on the sides of the pavement. The police were clearing the road off. Curious, we also joined the crowd and waited for about 10-15 minutes. Suddenly there was a bit of whispering and everyone turned. There, walking on the pavement with a walking stick in his hand was the then ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum. With him were a few others including HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Photographers and the police rushed to the group. But Sheikh Maktoum just waved them aside with a smile. And his expression was evident- I am just walking through my city. Why are you making a fuss about it. We all just stood there transfixed and amazed. If this had been in India, my homeland, that particular street would have been cordoned off for 5 hours, troubling the people there and causing traffic chaos.
Years have passed. UAE has grown. And living here has almost become a luxury. But the humility still remains. That’s probably why the country has thrived so. Yes, we have had our share of problems…but hey, which country doesn’t. So here’s wishing success to the current rulers and those to come…may the Lord bless you
This takes me back a few years down the memory lane. It was in 1998. It was the first year of Dubai Shopping Festival. It was about 7 or 8 in the evening. My family and I were walking down the streets near Gold Souq when we saw a few people gathering on the sides of the pavement. The police were clearing the road off. Curious, we also joined the crowd and waited for about 10-15 minutes. Suddenly there was a bit of whispering and everyone turned. There, walking on the pavement with a walking stick in his hand was the then ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum. With him were a few others including HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Photographers and the police rushed to the group. But Sheikh Maktoum just waved them aside with a smile. And his expression was evident- I am just walking through my city. Why are you making a fuss about it. We all just stood there transfixed and amazed. If this had been in India, my homeland, that particular street would have been cordoned off for 5 hours, troubling the people there and causing traffic chaos.
Years have passed. UAE has grown. And living here has almost become a luxury. But the humility still remains. That’s probably why the country has thrived so. Yes, we have had our share of problems…but hey, which country doesn’t. So here’s wishing success to the current rulers and those to come…may the Lord bless you
Mehreen's List of Seven Wonders of the World
Its a real pleasure to watch children- especially if they are not yours…coz then you dont have to worry about whether they fall down, start crying or poison themselves. Mine is 8 months old now and she can get interested in the most random things. I have compiled a list which I want to share with you guys…
The Bathtub: Every time she kicks her feet, the water splashes around and she will stare at it for a long time. And then she kicks until the bathroom and I are soaked
The exhaust fan in the bathroom: she can lie for hours on her changing table staring at the exhaust fan turning. Sometimes she even giggles at it
Housefly: Yesterday, she discovered a housefly for the first time. She stared and stared and finally tried to put a finger on it. When she found out that it could fly, she started crying in terror
Wind chimes: she gets a kick out of the jingling sound that the wind chimes make. Every time they pass through the corridor, she will look up at the chimes and want her dad to jingle them
Hands: She doesn’t really care whose hands they are, she will look at them for a really long time and then put them in her mouth. I think she is researching on the tastes of different hands
The Dancing Squirrel: it’s a toy of hers. She loves looking at it and can do so for as long as you want her to…but she will go no where near it.
Paper: Be it the newspaper or a magazine or just about any bits of paper, she has found the joys of tearing it up and stuffing it into her mouth
The Bathtub: Every time she kicks her feet, the water splashes around and she will stare at it for a long time. And then she kicks until the bathroom and I are soaked
The exhaust fan in the bathroom: she can lie for hours on her changing table staring at the exhaust fan turning. Sometimes she even giggles at it
Housefly: Yesterday, she discovered a housefly for the first time. She stared and stared and finally tried to put a finger on it. When she found out that it could fly, she started crying in terror
Wind chimes: she gets a kick out of the jingling sound that the wind chimes make. Every time they pass through the corridor, she will look up at the chimes and want her dad to jingle them
Hands: She doesn’t really care whose hands they are, she will look at them for a really long time and then put them in her mouth. I think she is researching on the tastes of different hands
The Dancing Squirrel: it’s a toy of hers. She loves looking at it and can do so for as long as you want her to…but she will go no where near it.
Paper: Be it the newspaper or a magazine or just about any bits of paper, she has found the joys of tearing it up and stuffing it into her mouth
Hello World
Ok…so this is my umpteenth attempt at blogging. Keeping my fingers crossed that at least this one will work. While listing down my New Year resolutions, of which blogging topped the list, I asked myself why I wanted to blog. And here are the reasons I came up with:
1. I’m 24 and Im juggling a baby, a married life and my job as a journalist. It can get trying at times and I dont get any time for myself. Blogging will keep me sane and give me some time to indulge myself.
2. Blogging will help me socialize with different people (need I say that whie juggling so many things, my social life is next to dead?)
3. I enjoy cooking and try to experiment with recipes every now and then…but since I cannot keep anything safe (my clothes periodically disappear and reappear every 3 months…) I keep losing my recipe books and sheet. This blog will probably help me keep my recipes safe…
4. I just want to see if there is anything in the world that I can do diligently and meticulously…
5. ok…I am running out of reasons.
So, hoping that this will not be my last post…I sign off.
HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!!!
1. I’m 24 and Im juggling a baby, a married life and my job as a journalist. It can get trying at times and I dont get any time for myself. Blogging will keep me sane and give me some time to indulge myself.
2. Blogging will help me socialize with different people (need I say that whie juggling so many things, my social life is next to dead?)
3. I enjoy cooking and try to experiment with recipes every now and then…but since I cannot keep anything safe (my clothes periodically disappear and reappear every 3 months…) I keep losing my recipe books and sheet. This blog will probably help me keep my recipes safe…
4. I just want to see if there is anything in the world that I can do diligently and meticulously…
5. ok…I am running out of reasons.
So, hoping that this will not be my last post…I sign off.
HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!!!
ONE TV AD 1
One of our first projects was to shoot an ad for a local Tv station called Dubai One which has a logo of a red apostrophe. That's what I have used in the ad. I had actually made one ad which my professor asked me to split into two. So this is part one of that ad.
While at it, lemme also thank Zuresh for all the graphics he did. Poor guy had to spend quite some time on this one. Thanks a bunch buddy...
A video news release
I am sure that most people would have heard about cable cars in dubai. On an assignment to create a video news release, I thought why not shoot the cable cars. So here is my work. Hope you enjoy it.