Kanwalful meets world

Street rat

2013-02-28T09:28:00.000+05:00

Sun bleached hair. Unwashed and sticky. Matted to a tanned forehead, above large hazel eyes.

A perfectly heart-shaped face with deceptively full cheeks that don't give away her hunger pangs. It is speckled with dirt.

She is poker-faced with laughing eyes.

A frail body clothed in a dull pink shalwar kameez. It is too big for her. It looks like it was washed in grime.

She stands, plastered to a closed car-window.

Begging. Helplessly. Hopelessly. Persistently. Tapping occasionally when she loses the attention of the audience.

The window rolls down.

A voice hollers at her. Tells her to back off. Tells her she stained the windows. Tells her she's a filthy piece of scum.

The window rolls back up.

She takes it all in without an apparent twitch of the little mouth. Yet, her eyes give her feelings away.

But only for a fleeting moment.

Because she then turns around. And skips over to the next shiny car on her six-year old naked feet.

Image Courtesy: cool advertisements.blogspot.com

Disjointed

2012-09-18T02:50:00.000+05:00

The past few days I have just been feeling really empty inside. And in the past whenever I have felt that way I usually attributed it to the fact that I was not working or studying.

So in November 2011 I started my business. But the feeling still nagged me. And I thought that maybe I was still not keeping myself busy enough.
So seven months later I started doing some freelance Real Estate work. Being on the field really exhausted me and I said to myself, oh look - now I feel so complete! I made some money, found some people their dream houses and did something constructive with my life.
Somehow it was just not enough and a month later I added a little more work onto my plate in the form of working part-time at a designer store in the Marketing Department.

So here I was, with one job and two businesses under my belt. I spent enough time working and enough relaxing. So if one was to theoretically analyze my life, it could be agreed that I was living a very complete existence. But that gaping hole in my chest just would not go away. And it was not lack of prayers or religious duties that got it there in the first place. I knew it, because it was just a different feeling altogether. It just felt like something was not right.

Then today I was at the store buying myself some chocolates - assuming and hoping, as always, that this was the key to satisfaction in life - when I saw my husband absorbed in talking to one of the workers at the store. This young, rugged-looking Pathan who always had a smile and helping hand available when we went to the store. He came to Bahrain, like many other workers, on a visa given out by agencies who help find jobs for manual labor in gulf countries. I knew it was something serious that they were discussing so I waited till they were done. We paid our bill and the guy insisted on carrying our grocery to the car, as usual refusing the tip we offered - since he considers us to be his friends.

It was after we drove away that I got to know the story that was being discussed. The Taliban had bombed the neighborhood where our friend's family lived in NWFP and his 12 year old brother was critically injured. I have a twelve year old brother of my own and hearing the story gave me goosebumps. I wanted to know if he wanted any monetary help or medical bills to take care of. And if he needed us to do any, any thing. It is besides the point, that yes we will help out our friend! But what I figured out was what was bothering me for all this time.

It was the fact that like many of my other countrymen I was doing nothing to help those in need. I am just like every other person who burns down a gas station or pelts stones to protest - because my silence is as bitter and dangerous as is the violent protest of a psychotic protester who hardly knows what he is screaming about.

And I think about all of us, who just update their Facebook statuses to show their disapproval for a dumb video - which by the way means nothing to me. I could not care less about what some mentally disturbed person in a corner of USA has created. And I do not think God or my Prophet (SAW) do either. But yes, I am pretty sure that God is very angry at the fact that as a Muslim I do not do anything when the Taliban kill my innocent neighbors. Or when target killers attack my brothers and I merely flip over the page as if their deaths are just another number. Or when my sisters roam the street begging, for mafias, getting raped in the process (and much more).

I know today, I have done nothing except write this down in words. But today is just the day I have finally understood the deafening silence of my empty life. There will be a tomorrow and without losing any time I will be doing something.

The world always betrays me into believing it is things that I want. But there always comes a time when I come back to realizing that there is nothing more that I want than for the innocent to be served justice. This time, hopefully, my path will not deter. Amen.

Image courtesy: Google.

Literary pet peeves

2011-11-26T20:07:00.000+05:00

Some pieces of writing just piss me off. Not because the views expressed on those articles are different from mine - but the way they have been written. Yeah, I am close minded like that. I do not appreciate all styles of writing. And today I'm going to tell you all, all about it. So that I can brainwash you all enough to hate them too. And together we will create a world of hate that will hate the hateful writings. Or whatever.

1. The imma-be-squeezing-all-the-fancy-words-I-know-in-one-line.

These writers just give me head-ache - as simple as that. A typical sentence in their piece would go something like:

The convoluted thoughts marred the initial certitude of my beliefs and I sensed myself plunging into a grueling tussle between the verdicts of my recalcitrant brain and mulish desires.

Seriously? I mean cut it out. Do you stuff a dictionary through your digestive system every meal time. Why could you not simply say, "dude, I can't decide what to do?" rather than bringing recalcitrant brains and mulish desires into the matter.

Screw you, for giving me a headache just because your recalcitrant brain decided to go bulimic with a word-vomit.

2. The imma-be-cutting-down-my-sentences-to-almost-nothing-to-save energy-or-something.

These freaks write the shortest sentences you could possibly imagine. And believe in putting a full-stop/period after every, EVERY GOD-DAMN word. Something like:

Hi. I'm bored. Let's go. For coffee. I will. Pick you. At five. Ok. Great. See. You.

I mean, DUDE - I honestly don't know what you're trying to prove with the short sentences and ten thousand full-stops. Do you realize you could have saved:

A. Yourself a lot of humiliation (which you are facing right now)

B. A lot of full-stops that got wasted.

C. Me, from utter annoyance.
D. English Grammar from being disgraced.

If only you had said, "Should I pick you for coffee at five because I'm really bored?"

GOD.

3. The imma-be-bowing-my-head-in-prayer-all-day-long-because-I-am-self-righteous-and-all-that.

These guys are SO annoying. As obsessed with religion and happiness as they are, their every second word is that of either reprimanding others or displaying their own sense of self-righteousness. A standard paragraph by them goes something like:

There is a girl I know who does not wear the hijab properly. Her hair show from it, Astagfirullah, and she is going to go to a place near hell because of that. There is another one who does not wear hijab at all and she will fully go to hell. As for me, I'll go to a place near heaven because even though I cover my head I do not cover my face. Mash'Allah I am such a good Muslim. Alhumdullilah.

For perspective, I know some one who has said EXACTLY that. And guess who they said it about - ME! Yeah, apparently I'm such a sinner because my hair show from my head-scarf. So I am totally going to be sued on the Day of Judgment.

If you want to know where you will be placed in the here-after, let me know and I'll ask 'Ms. Holier-than-thou' to pass a verdict for you on her blog.

4.The-imma-be-screwing-up-English-for-good.

God, save the English Language because these individuals are hell bent upon exterminating the poor lingo from the face of this earth. Their vocabulary is so deformed it is not even funny. Not only do they have pathetic grammar and incorrect usage of words they make sure their sentences are so bizarre in construction that the world dies while reading them. Something along the lines of:

i m@k3 fRanDzZz oN f@c3bUk 2daYz........... sO kEwlZzZz....lOlZzzZ......

If literary geniuses like Doyle, Dickens and Keats were still alive they would have collectively sued freak-shows like these and not even needed a lawyer to win the case.

***

Wow, just writing this post gave me a headache! A note to all those who write/speak any of the above ways - do us all a favor and STOP.

Oh, did I just hear you ask who gave me the right to tell you?

THIS DID:

Image Courtesy:

Google Images

Of Jungli-ness and Pakistani "Spas"

2011-08-29T18:38:00.002+05:00

Consider this another sequel in the series "The Life of a Stay at Home wife" because going to the Spa is a recent addition to my otherwise totally un-glamorous life. You see, in the past I have never been a nail-painting, massage-craving, hair-dyeing sort of a female human bean and apart from basic grooming practices I do not prefer to spend much time at the Salon/Spa. Why waste money over a manicure when you can get two Big Mac meals in the same amount, right?

The married woman inside my head just screamed "WRONG!"

In the world of post-marriage life, especially in the early years, a girl is expected to look her best. And badly filed nails do not fit the category of "best". So while I was in Karachi and had a lot of free time on my hands I decided to pay some of the best Spas here for some unneeded indulgence. The reason I chose to go to the best ones was because I did not want inferior quality products being used on me and I assumed that the women there would be better trained in their job.

So my first trip was to Bina Khan - supposedly one of the top-notch salons in the city and overly popular for its makeup routine. I went there for a protein treatment with a friend who was having trouble with her hair. It was not even half as great as I was told it would be.

A. There was no water at the salon, leaving the women no choice but to wash our hair by constantly refilling water bottles. A tedious process with awfully cold water and not something I paid thrice the amount of money for.

B. During the course of the "stress-buster" shoulder massage, that accompanied the treatment, the woman in all her jungly-massaging techniques pulled a muscle leaving me in extreme discomfort for the week to follow.

C. As I proceeded to pay the bill I was informed that a way more expensive treatment, that I had NOT asked for, had been done to my hair as opposed to the one I had asked for. And this new, expensive treatment was meant for "damaged" hair - which I am not even close to having! Not only was I extremely irritated at the thought of xyz chemicals penetrating my hair, I found it very unprofessional that they could not even get the service right!

D. I wrote to the owner of the Salon, soon after lodging my complaints but it has been a week and I am yet to hear from her. Hence, the disgruntled blog post.

My next stop was at "Neelo's Spa" - today! Now having heard lots about how it was "oh-so-grand-and-amazing" I was definitely going to get a manicure, pedicure and Haircut that would be out of this world - right?
The experienced woman inside my head just screamed: WRONG!

The attendants at the salon were unprofessional and disorganized. Heck, they offered a client to sit on the staircase during the course of her protein treatment due to lack of chairs in the Spa! How relaxing - NOT!

However, the worst part of my afternoon there was not their lack of professionalism but how they were under trained. As one of the attendants massaged my hands during the manicure, she kept applying an insane amount of pressure despite my constant reprimanding. And when I arrived home I noticed dark, purple bruises on my arm in the exact area she was massaging. When I called up Neelo's to complain, rather than apologizing, I was told in typical Pakistani fashion: "This sort of thing never happens here."

So now, as I vow to never spend my money on ridiculous indulgences like these I advise you all the same. And most of all to avoid the fore-mentioned salons not just because they mistreated a client but because they continue to NOT acknowledge the mistakes they made.

Signing off - a highly disgruntled Kanwalful!

The sight of blood to crowds begets the thirst of more

2011-08-08T01:50:00.000+05:00

I arrived in Karachi two days ago. In a flurry of excitement. Anticipating good despite the cracks on the walls of my self-absorbed bubble. The cracks that appeared when Karachi bled. What is left now is only shards. The bubble is long gone. I thought it would hurt when it broke - instead it feels numb. Maybe it is the numb that appears when the pain is too intense to be felt any more.

I was on the way for a night in with my family. To relax and spend time with my parents. To catch up with my cousins. And annoy the crap out of my brother.

Ethnic fire got in the way.

The same war I have spoken about on many occasions. But only as an outsider with shallow views and artificial feelings.

The cars turning around on the main road were the first sign. Anes put his own car on reverse too. Maybe it was too late - maybe it was the flash of his ethnic color. The next thing we heard were possibly the worst sounds of my life. And I felt the rear window screen shatter. Ducking was instinctive and anticipating the pain of the bullet was too. I waited for the blood but there was none.

Instead there were men, bricks, screams and more shattered glass. Our car was the soft target and every carnivore wanted a bite. Before we knew it they were in from everywhere. I prayed furiously as Anes shouted to inform them of my gender and hand them our belongings. The car struggled to speed away but the hungry hung on with their weapons. The ethnic warriors who fought for nothing. And drank another's blood like it was everything.

They tried to drag Anes out of the car. Possibly to kill him. But our pleas and flashy cellphones got the better of their greed. And while they rejoiced their jackpots with another round of pelting, we finally managed to get away.

I was not hysterical or crying. In fact not even scared. Just disappointed. It killed me now to think of those who actually got injured and the families of those who died for a cause that never was. I share this not to gain pity, but to say that the love I came with for my city lives on. That my heart goes out to the innocent who get hurt in the matters of the evil, self absorbed politicians. And my soul, despite the efforts to stop it, prays a deathly prayer for those who drowned the city of lights in an irrevocable darkness.

What became of the car...

An old joke gone bad

2011-07-08T15:11:00.001+05:00

Even if in contemporary times Muammar al-Gaddafi is certainly not the example most of us are yearning to follow, in his relatively saner days he is noted to have said: "Nations whose nationalism is destroyed are subject to ruin."
Putting complex issues aside that is definitely the root cause of trouble in the land, ironically called pure.

Now even though I am very much an ordinary, rather ignorant individual when it comes down to politics and everything associated with it - even I can assess that the current situation of Karachi, in specific, and the entire country, in general, is not one we can take pride in. And for once in my life, it is not Zardari, evil politicians, crazy mobs or for that matter any other institution I would like to condemn for this condition. It is myself. You. And all of us supposedly educated beings, who had enough to be able to access a computer, the internet, my blog and the time to read this post.

I vividly remember how even in elementary school, discussions on ethnic and religious backgrounds were often the topic of discussion. And not for educational purposes, mind you. For gossip purposes.

"Oh have you heard - she's a Memon. They're so weird! Their girls get married at 16! Eww!"
"Oh my God why are you friends with him? He's a Shia! Their religion is so different from ours!"
"Listen, he's a Pathan - no wonder he's so slow!"

And as bitter as the above lines sound, we have all heard them some time or the other. They were things we picked up from people around us - older people who we probably looked up to. For example, in the fifth grade a certain teacher drew us kids aside and lectured us on why Shias were different. And not a historical background - but a meaningless one that was meant to drift us away from them.

However, it is not just baseless conversations but jokes too that have targeted different groups so much so we think it is okay to laugh at them. You see: Pathans are slow, Memons are kanjoos, Muhajirs are black, Punjabis are wild, Balochis are insane - and the jokes could go on.

In the past, nations would create jokes on those they intended to harm or were up against. So to say the Nazis made fun of the Jews to degrade them, to crush their spirits. Black Americans were for long targeted for their skin color, possibly to prevent them from gaining confidence. Those in Mecca who had not accepted Islam would make fun of the Prophet (PBUH) in an attempt to demoralize his followers.

And despite being the self-righteous people that we are, we still indulge in (yet another) trait that is anything but clean. We believe in creating rifts between our own people. And if you try to defend this by saying that jokes are trivial, you are delusional. Because there comes a time when the same joke stops sounding funny and actually becomes a nightmare. Someone who you put down might start seeming worthless to your face and any reason to shut him off from your life might seem appealing to you. And if it sounds like a good idea to you, it would be a dream come true for a gangster with a gun.

If anything, at least educated people should make a conscious effort to stop discriminating between themselves. That applies when it comes down to ordinary things like marriage too. People are, more often than not, hesitant to marry outside their ethnicity - a trend that is absolutely absurd. It gives us yet another chance to look at those from other backgrounds with disgust because, hey our daddy said they are not worth marrying.

So the next time you read about ten bullet-ridden bodies being found in a mini bus, you should know that it was not just the xyz political motivations behind it. It was your old joke gone stale.

Image Courtesy: Dawn.com

Beating the shadow

2011-06-19T19:14:00.001+05:00

Looking up to someone out of respect is one thing. Looking up to someone out of respect, intense love and appreciation is entirely another. The latter is what I harbor for my parents.

My father was only seventeen when my grandfather passed away leaving his very young children and wife with an impecunious amount of savings, but a large house. Considering how my father was still in medical school and his older brother was only two years older than him there was no breadwinner in the family: only another two younger siblings to care for and a widowed mother, who had only received minimal schooling.

My father’s older brother, set off abroad with lofty plans and a young wife within a year with all the savings, to work and eventually call the rest of the family members to the states. His efforts were in vain, as he soon lost all the money and had to struggle to keep up with his own small family’s needs.

Stranded alone now, with his mother and younger siblings as well as the demanding life of medical school my father had to be the one to make all the sacrifices. He tells me about times when there was barely enough to eat at home.

He had about three fourths of a rupee to spend each day, and sometimes not even that much. That was only enough to catch a bus ride to college. But having lost it all, money now had a new significance in his life. So he would not treat himself to the luxury of traveling in a bus and instead walked to college. That would take him forty five minutes under the blistering heat of Karachi’s sun and in the most worn-out of tennis shoes. He saved the money, for a rainy day.

He studied really hard. He never wasted time, money or efforts on friends or parties. The only friends he had were true ones, who were with him through it all. To whom partying did not matter.

He worked his way up, my dad really did. After marrying my mother he was still earning a meager salary, as is the condition with most MBBS holders in Pakistan. So he worked extra hours, door to door in rundown areas and slums. He worked through disrespectful teachers and tiresome shifts. Through foodless nights and payless months.

And my mother? Oh she was there by his side, all along. She is the bravest woman I know, Mash’ Allah. Having being brought up in one of the richest Memon families in Pakistan, she had been thoroughly spoilt by her family as a child. But with my father she was a new person. She bore more than any other woman I know and she bore it with a fearless amount of passion. If she had not been by my father’s side with her constant inflow of energy, positivity and advice he would never have been what he is today.

I don’t mean to brag but their hard work really did pay off. Mash’ Allah. The position my father escalated to over the past fifteen years was unimaginable for the scrawny seventeen-year old who walked in utter pensiveness to college, trying to beat his own shadow at it.

The best part however, is not the fame, fortune or money. But the fact that my father spends a large portion of his time working to help the unfortunate. He travels not only to poverty-ridden places in Pakistan to operate for free on hundreds of ailing individuals, but to countries like Iraq so that immediate medical attention can be given to war stricken individuals. He works each day not only to provide medical attention to the wealthy who can afford it, but also to those who live in the mosquito-infested slums of Karachi. And the sweetest part of it all is that he makes them feel equal to each other - the way they get checked under the same roof in the same clinics.

Abu, you really did beat your shadow. And mummy, you helped him do it. (Mash'Allah x 1000). I love you both very much.

Little Daddy-o hard at work

How to earn money online V

2011-06-16T15:56:00.000+05:00

*This is the fifth part in the series "How to earn money online". Please visit the archive for the previous parts.*

Okay so, now that you are all acquainted with my favorite freelancing site I feel it is time for me to answer a few questions that were raised by some readers in my last post. As far as I know, signing up was not an issue for you people and hopefully no one had any troubles during that process.So I will get to the questions straight away.

Question. (Asked by Bluesy)
I've been familiar with this site for a while now, and I can see the number of options available, but it all comes down to getting the first job. Because I have tried bidding for some, and there are always numerous candidates who are better than me in some way or the other. And trust me, even bidding the least possible amount doesn't get you the job. Then what does? How can i establish my credibility as a writer if I don't even get a chance? :(

Answer.
Winning bids is definitely the most important part of the process as after you have won a bid you are given a project to work on. However, unlike auctioning for products - money is not the primary concern of the person auctioning their project. What IS in fact of utmost concern is whether or not the bidder is able to do the job and if he meets the description required.

So your first task as a member of the freelance writers community on this website should be to build your profile. You may upload your resume as well as specify the particular skills you are acquainted with as well as samples of your writing or a link where your samples are available. The reason why I place emphasis on having a good profile is because there are numerous bidders for every project and most of them have incomplete or incoherent profiles. Hence, your profile needs to stand out - if the employer happens to visit it.

However, the more important step is to word your bid correctly! Because if it is just like the rest of the useless bids and on top of that has no stars to show your experience (which you gain after working on a few projects) you will definitely not get the bid. What I personally do when bidding is carefully read the description asked for by the employer and if I feel the job is for me I place a bid that underlines all the things I can do as well as my experience in the task required. An example is displayed below:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Project Description

Need 10 articles on various topics. Keywords will be provided.
I will provide the keyword for that. It will be tested for grammar, spelling and the quality of the content.
*Each article must pass copyscape
*Content must be well researched and informative
*Must have no grammar, punctuation errors. Also no typos.
*Only pay once I receive the articles, No milestone payments.
*You agree that upon sending me the articles all rights to the articles transfer to me. This means you will not sell, reproduce or re-use these articles in any manner.

Only bid if you are willing to work under $0.4/100 words($2 for 500 words)
Bidders must provide sample of their writing and if not it will be neglected.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
My Bid

Hi. I believe I fit the description you are looking for. I have been freelancing for the past xyz years and am also an accomplished blogger. I can write on both - research based as well as fictional subjects and am well versed in English Grammar. Also, I do accept your contract of selling the rights of the article.

Moreover, I have attached a sample of my writing for your convenience in the private message. Hoping to hear a positive response from you soon.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

So that was my version of a bid. I generally make sure I include these details in my bid as opposed to the private message because I have noticed most other bidders just write "Please check PM" or "I am available to start work" in their bids. And considering the amount of bids that are made per project I doubt the employer has time to sift through his Private Messages. So to have these details on hand as he is scrolling down the list of bidders is probably more convenient and definitely makes the bidder stand out.

Another thing I always do is attach a sample of my writing to my bid in the Private Message - regardless of whether or not the employer has asked for it. That really helps in winning the bid because the employer can get an insight to your style of writing and quality of work. Especially if you are a new freelancer and do not have credits or feedback from other employers to speak for you.

This happens to be the end of today's post. I hope it was useful and I will be writing soon to answer more queries that were placed in the previous posts. Please keep your questions rolling in - I will get back to them as soon as I can.

PS. While you're at it, check out the awesome new welcome page I built for my Facebook Fan Page: Click here to access it

Image Courtesy: Google Images

My Top Freelancing Website

2011-06-04T13:22:00.000+05:00

*This is the fourth part of the series "How to earn money online". The previous three tutorials can be found here, here and here.*

In my previous tutorial, I said I would be talking about the top five secrets of good writers. But I changed my mind and decided to first introduce you to my favorite freelancing website. This is because, I feel that those interested should start exploring the website alongside reading up my tutorials because it would give more of a hands-on feel to it. And probably help understand better. Moreover, I am sure once you all get down to business there will be a lot of questions and my tutorials would be more helpful then!

So, *drum roll*, I introduce to you my favorite freelancing site ever: www.freelancer.com

For those of you who are already acquainted with this site - I do not know what your opinions are about it, but I personally love it! The community at freelancer.com is built of contractors (who are the job-givers, so to say) and the workers (job-seekers - us)! Moreover, at freelancer.com almost anyone - with skills such as graphic designing, web designing, creating animations, writing and so on - can find themselves a paid project.

Since I write, the specialties pertaining to this particular skill are the ones I cater to, which include: Copy Typing, Copy Writing, Ghost Writing, Technical Writing, Proof reading, Research, Editing, E-book Writing, Fiction, Newsletters and so on. Once you join this community you specify your areas of expertise so that the perfect match for your skill and the employer's requirement can be made!

So for today, I would suggest going over to freelancer.com and creating a free account. Once you do so you can acquaint yourself with the place a little bit more and then come back to me with questions. When you go there you will find that you need to auction for a job. The one with the best bid gets the deal. So in my later tutorials I will be teaching you on how to place the "most-wanted" bid as well as some ways to establish your credibility when you do so.

Till then, have fun scavenger hunting through freelancer.com =)

Image Courtesy: Google Images

The Life of a Stay at Home Wife IV

2011-06-03T16:58:00.000+05:00

When you are a housewife, you are often responsible for getting the grocery. It is part of the package. So the first few months your husband spends some time training you for it. Training in the housewife dictionary of grocery shopping means "a husband's attempt to teach his wife how much money to spend when going grocery shopping".

The above given definition is a brief explanation of a broader phenomenon. While training his wife, the husband explains to the wife what should be included in the grocery and what should not. What the budget for the monthly grocery is and what items are considered extravagant (and useless). How there should be a preset list before going shopping and things should not be picked up just because they "look pretty" or "smell nice". Most importantly, just because something is on sale or a discount does not mean it has to be bought - especially if their are ten of its kind lying at home already.

The wife comes across as an eager student and her steady progress, during the training months of grocery shopping, makes the husband confident of unleashing her into the colorful world of hyper markets ALONE. So he drops her off to the grocery store feeling slightly accomplished and trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. He reminds her a hundred times to spend no more than 'xyz' dinars and then drives off (driving off in our case is an assumption because the husband in my scenario has no driver's license yet).

Now the wife, bursting with happiness at the freedom of shopping without the constant nagging of her soul mate, enters the grocery store/hyper market with ambitions as fresh as that of a newly graduate. She buys herself a coffee on the way because that's what all keen people in the movies do on their way to work. It makes her feel important. And she walks confidently towards the entrance wheeling the trolley with one hand and balancing her coffee on the other. She hears a distinct, "maydam staap, maydam staap" in the background but she ignores it. Some other idiot "maydam" must be doing something wrong to be stopped at the entrance like this, she chuckles to herself before a fat guard comes in the way to stop HER.
"Maydam no food in shaap," he says to her.
Shocked at how she could be the despicable "maydam" in this situation and the center of attention of other shoppers she tells the guard,
"Okay I won't drink this inside," and puts her coffee in her cart, feeling considerably less important now.

However, she does not let this little incident spoil her day because a whole world of "nice smelling", "pretty looking" products await her. You see, she has already started forgetting the guidelines that were attempted to be ingrained in her. And obviously, there on, the piles of products on her cart start getting bigger. She lost her list while she was juggling the coffee and maintaining her composure in front of the fat guard so now its all up to her and her non-existent memory. Not to forget her instincts, which are definitely attracted to everything that looks like it would play a happy role in the house.

An hour later, she loads what she purchased on the counter feeling proud of herself only to be told the the bill and instantly lose all that pride. It exceeds the allowed amount by miles and she feels that there is nothing that can be classified as unimportant enough to be discarded. So nothing can be done except facing the wrath of the husband. That is definitely easier to handle.

The wrath of the husband when faced with a sad face - at "how much prices have risen," "how nothing in the entire grocery shopping was bought for her own self" and "how she almost started crying when the cashier told her the bill" - disappears entirely, as he tries to calm his poor, grief-stricken wife. Little does he know, that this pitiful creature is cackling with glee beneath this facade of misery over the happiness of buying tons of "pretty looking," "nice smelling" merchandise.

PS. NO MORE TUTORIALS ON EARNING ONLINE FOR Y'ALL BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF RESPONSE ON THE PREVIOUS POST. HMPH.

Baby-steps towards writing

2011-06-01T15:35:00.002+05:00

This post is the third part in the series: "How to earn money online".

A popular concern amongst budding writers - including those who have written to me and posted comments on the previous articles I wrote - is the inability to "write well" and the subsequent lack of confidence in their work.

For starters, "writing well" is a subjective term and what may be writing well for me may not be the same for someone else. Everyone has their own style of writing and should develop it as opposed to trying to copy some one else's! I have often seen people trying to copy writers they fancy and while doing so end up making a fool of themselves as well as the topic they are attempting to write about.

Having said that, what I do find alarming in potential freelance writers is: bad grammar, spelling mistakes, lack of knowledge, the ability to plagiarize like a pro, lack of professionalism and little or no interest in meeting deadlines. Following are some steps you can take to lessen the fore-mentioned atrocities frequently committed by freelance writers.

a. Start working on your command of the English Language
In order to start your own freelancing business (and succeed at it) you need to make sure that you are well-versed in the language of use - in our case, English. Poor grammar, typos and spelling mistakes are a total turn off for the prospective client. No one wants to pay a writer for a bunch of gibberish and you cannot expect to proof read some one else's articles if you are unable to write correct ones of your own! Hence, the first step recommended by me is to seriously start brushing up on your English language skills. Nowadays it is very easy to do so because there are lots of resources available online. The ones that I found helpful, not just to brush up on vocabulary but also to be able to differentiate between British and American English (since you will be working with a diverse range of clients) are: EnglishPage.com and Englisch-Hilfen.de

Both these websites have online lessons as well as exercises to practice on. All of this may seem boring in a glance, but as you go further along you will definitely realize the significance of good language skills. And to save face as well as disappointment, on the part of your client, you need to be an expert in the services you claim to offer. Another good technique to brush up on your vocabulary is to learn ten to fifteen new words from the dictionary every day. The trick is to keep expanding it but at the same time knowing when and how to use the words you learn. Moreover, just because your vocabulary is on a roll does not mean that every sentence has to be a bunch of flowery words strung together!

b. Start reading
Get your reading glasses on and pick up a stack of books, newspapers, articles - whatever it is you can get your hands on. Most of us, today, do not have a healthy reading habit and if you want to be a writer you need to have as much knowledge as you can gather about topics you will potentially write about. Moreover, reading helps you cultivate your own style of writing because you pick up cues from other writers. It also helps you expand your vocabulary especially if you make sure to check words, you do not understand, in the dictionary.

c. Get rid of copy-pasting
As sad as it is, a lot of educational institutes (especially in Pakistan) do not prevent students from picking up the habit of copy-pasting information from the internet. Hence, most of us grow up writing assignments that are essentially ripped off from websites and online documents.

However, this sort of behavior is unacceptable and is considered cheating. Moreover, your clients will check your submissions through programs such as copyscape to make sure that they are original and not plagiarized because they do not want to be caught red-handed or sued by others for posting copied content on their publications. So if you indulge in this activity not only will your assignment be rejected but you will build a terrible brand image for yourself and lessen your chances of being hired.
What I would recommend is to practice in this department by giving yourself a couple of topics to write on. Research on those topics and then write an original piece using all the information gathered. These pieces can later be added to your portfolio* and will also help in brushing up your writing skills.

Conclusively, the remaining two issues - namely lack of professionalism and timeliness - will be discussed in the upcoming tutorials, so keep checking this space. And in the meanwhile read the following blog post for a humorous recap on the categories of unacceptable usage of the English language: Literary Pet Peeves

Don't forget to leave some feedback so that I know whether or not this is helpful and what questions you have in mind.

Watch out for "The Top 5 secrets of good writers" in the tutorial on Friday!

*I will talk about how to build a portfolio for yourself in my tutorial on Sunday.

This is NOT the goal. (Image courtesy: Google images)

How to earn money online II

2011-05-29T20:16:00.001+05:00

The response to my offer of helping all budding writers earn a few bucks has been met with a lot of enthusiasm and my mail was flooded with requests for the topics I should cover. So I am going to try and cover those topics - not chronologically, but in order of relevance so that I start with the basics and move on to the more technical aspects of the system.

For starters, the one question that is on a lot of people's minds is whether or not writing content for others is ethical.

There are actually a lot of different kinds of writing assignments available on the internet and it really depends from case to case. For example, writing academic papers is by no means ethical - at least not in my opinion!

I started off writing (for a living) by doing academic papers for an organization based in Pakistan about four years ago. At that time I was new to the concept of freelance writing and I was told that these assignments were lesson plans for instructors and other companies who outsourced it to us to lessen their own burden. But when I got to know the website through which the organization functioned I found out that it was actually a billboard for students who wanted to outsource their homework! So if a student did not want to do their homework they could just post it on the forum, pay a few bucks and one of us writers would get it as work in our mail box! And so I backed away from this job because this was full-blown cheating!

However, other kinds of ghost-writing (writing anonymously for someone else) are not unethical - such as web content for web pages. You basically just sell the rights and privileges of your work to another party and it becomes their property. So they can post it anonymously, without even mentioning your name. But, if your work is being posted with some one else taking credit for it - just because they paid for it - it is still unacceptable (at least in my eyes).

To further clarify my view-point, I would like to bring forth the kind of work I do and find ethical. My current work entails:

Proof-reading: Meaning, I check errors and correct them for my clients when they send me their written work before they publish it.

Magazine Articles: I write for all kinds of genres - such as health, life style, beauty, parenting etc. These articles are credited to me.

Product Reviews: A lot of people trade online and they need professional reviews of their products to post on places such as Amazon.com linking to their own site. So I write product reviews for them which are not credited to me but posted anonymously. These product reviews are often technical and require a good amount of research on the subject.
Web-content writing: I am often hired to write the content of websites - such as its "About Me" page, description of the various sections of the site as well as the content of the actual section. Once again, this is ghost writing with no one being credited and I am paid to sell the rights of the write up.

So this concludes the little session for today. I hope I was able to answer this important query, that a lot of you had. In my next blog post - on Wednesday - I will be talking about how to develop your writing skills because some of you have confessed that you find writing hard and are not confident about the work you produce.

Till then, adios!

Image Courtesy: magnet4marketing.net

The life of a Stay At Home Wife III

2011-05-29T16:40:00.000+05:00

When you are married (and young), your relationship may not be as serene as you would like it to be. You pretty much argue over everything - ranging from where to place the new microwave, why it was not worth the money spent over it, how life could have gone well without a microwave and where the money could have been spent instead (such as, an upcoming summer sale). These arguments are far more dramatic than are fights between older couples because as a younger couple you feel it a religious duty to add some Holly/Bollywood into the picture. Hence, "I just want to die," and "You just don't care about me" are regular portions of the dialogue in this non-stop sequel of "Domestic-wars."

Then comes the middle part - of the episode - where it is decided that you do not want to speak to each other. And one of the two may busy themselves on the laptop while the other flicks through TV, neither of them actually paying attention to what they are doing.

Five minutes later they are back at the topic of discussion. In fact, by this time a lot of more grievances have been brought to the table such as how one of the two leaves her credit card lying around the house or how the other never puts his shoes on the rack (and the rack should just be chucked out of the house, because it has no use). This wanna-be heated discussion frolics around for another half an hour or so, during which the drama intensifies and then the two realize that it is time to watch a movie. Heck, if they did not watch any movies where would they pick up the lines from? So everyone says sorry to each other (obviously the girl first, because God forbid the man commits such a monstrosity as apologizing first!) And they all live happily ever after.

PS. To prevent domestic violence, young couples often like to beat each other up virtually - on Wii - as demonstrated below. So say no to domestic violence and go microwave a cookie!

How to earn money online!

2011-05-24T19:52:00.002+05:00

Working from home and earning a few bucks online is something almost everyone dreams of. Heck, I am pretty sure a lot of you even try to Google your way through it only to land up on scams and useless bits of information. However you no longer need to do that, since you have (luckily) landed smack - in the middle of my (attempted) tutorial on earning money online.

You see, a week ago, one of my readers emailed me after going through my Hire Me page suggesting that I share my experience as a freelance writer so as to help all other budding freelancers. Now, to be honest I have not had as much experience as a lot of other freelance writers out there, but the little time that I have spent writing for magazines and websites is enough to help others get started with their little home-based businesses.

Home-based businesses are definitely an attractive option for all kinds of people - even those with full-time jobs - especially with the rising standards of living and expenses. And being a freelancer gives you the option of creating your own work hours, salary range as well as the flexibility of choosing the kind of work you want to do. So a Finance manager by day might spend an hour or two each night freelancing as a graphic designer - just to pursue his passion - and grab a couple of hundreds along the way! Similarly, a stay-at-home-mum might be bound by circumstances at home but still be able to earn through her freelancing career - and trust me I know quite a few successful ones!

Moreover, considering how a lot of my readers are either fresh graduates or those in the middle of their university careers, entrepreneurship and part-time jobs are on everyone's minds. Freelancing is the safest bet in this field because:

a) You do not need any start-up money to start your own business.
b) You are paid per piece of work and you can choose your clients so scams are easier to avoid.
c) You do not need to invest any money even as you go, just a little bit of effort and dedication.

So what I had in mind was building a bi-weekly tutorial for all those who need help becoming freelance writers. In my tutorials, I will teach you all not just how to write but where to find clients, how to approach them, capture their attention, retain them and so on. If you feel this is a good idea and that this is just the kind of work you were looking forward to start - let me know by commenting below! If I get a good response I will start with the tutorials within a day or two.

Cheers!

Image courtesy: Google Images

Back with a bang!

2011-05-17T23:29:00.000+05:00

*Drum roll please*

I present to you, the made-over version of Kanwalful Meets World. After much deliberation, it was decided that the old template was starting get really old. And as much as I loved it, it was about time that we all got some change. This time around, I wanted something brighter too - hence the hot pink - but that does not mean that it will be a girly/girls-only blog. The theme of the blog remains the same i.e. senseless rambling (in an attempt to make you all babbling baboons) and the pink should not drive away my male readers. In any case, recent trends tell me men are as big fans of the color pink as girls.

Anyway, enough talking. Now for the much deserved credit! This blog was designed by my best blogger friend (and one of my first). She blogs over at The Mercurial Wife and prefers to maintain her anonymity so that she can write about whatever she wants. She is great with web designing and I am currently in the process of convincing her to make it a part-time job.

Now your job: is to tell me what you think of the new design. I am hoping you all love it as much as I do. And I'll be really sad if you do not. But no pressure - you can be honest about. No you can't. Yes, even if the little voice in my head says you cannot.

The life of a Stay At Home Wife - Part II

2011-05-10T17:24:00.002+05:00

When you choose to get married early, life can be tough. That is if both the boy and the girl (man and wife?) are young. And especially if the two, venture out of the country together - as sure as Dora the explorer to find their way around it. More so, if they are struggling to run the house together on a very measly amount of money. I will tell you how.
1. Money management is a non-existent concept.

The new salary, at the beginning of the month, usually entices the wife to order an unlimited supply of McDonald's. And the man to watch as many movies as he possibly can in the theater. It also makes them party like rock stars - 'rock star' is a term that denotes spending above 8 hours aimlessly walking in the mall and returning home drunk with exhaustion.

Later, when the middle of the month brings with it new financial needs - such as a beautiful pair of wedges in Forever 21 - the wife has to cheekily ask for more allowance. And the husband only has to give her one dejected look of: "I ain't got it either honay," for them to sadly ride all the way back home.

Oh wait - I forgot. They cannot have gone out of the house or to the mall, in the first place, during such a period of financial famine, because taxis = money and money = zero.

2. Paying bills are more important to them, than Osama's death is to Obama.

The rent, the phone bills, the outrageous internet bill - you get my flow right? A certain amount of money needs to be kept aside at the start of every month - lest the wife get her McDonald's loving hands on it - just so that the evil bills can be paid on a timely basis.

If they pulled a "War on terror" and took 10 years to pay the bills - after using more than they could afford - they would be sitting on the streets right now. Not in the comforts of their off-White House. After all, unlike Osama bin Laden, the wrath of their house bills is not staged.

3. Emotionally traumatizing each other comes naturally to them

Having entered their twenties only recently, the man and wife really know how to be each others teenage nightmares and tantrums are commonplace. After a tantrum follows the "how could you do this to me?" marathon. Its the one in which the wife always wins because the man is half-asleep. Such an event occurs especially when the wife's McDonald's allowance runs out and she retires on the couch with her laptop and Nutella, in a grouchy manner, to spend the rest of her money-less days.

The man too is no less. Although I cannot come up with an example right now to prove my point. But I will, soon enough.

4. The house looks like it gets hit by a hurricane every ten minutes

Even though it is just the two of them, the house seems to get messy in a matter of sheer minutes. And while the husband happily trots off to work, the poor little wife is left behind to clean it all up.
However, it is still not understood how it comes about to be this messy after every little while. I am still trying to work out the diagnostics of this syndrome.

One of the answers could be: "a little while" to them possibly means "light years," in reality.

And so ends the blog post, for today. I will be back with more insight into the life of a stay at home wife, soon enough. And just so that you know - I am not talking about myself and Anes in the above written piece. Jeez, how whacked out and disorganized did you think we were, anyway!

PS. I am soon shifting my blog, making it anonymous and inaccessible for all the current readers. Only because very few people comment nowadays and those who do are eager to spew hate all over it.

Always at the mall and eating...

Or rollin' with the family...

And friends!

The life of a Stay At Home Wife

2011-05-09T03:56:00.000+05:00

Key: Stay At Home Wife = SAHW

In today's world when people go bonkers over women empowerment aka (for most of the people out there) giving women the RIGHT to be educated, work and what not - it is almost unacceptable for someone to NOT WANT to study/work. Take my example, for starters: ever since I left IBA at the brink of graduation to go live with my husband in Bahrain I have constantly been the target of raised eyebrows and the much-detested-by-me-question - "So when do you plan on finishing your degree?"

And only because it would rub off on people the wrong way, I simply cannot bring myself to say (rather, shout) a stubborn "NEVER!" in their faces. But truly, that is exactly what I feel. After all, just because I started a degree and was almost about to finish it, does not mean I actually finished it or even intended to in the first place!

The thing is, human beans generally have diverse interests, obsessions and ambitions. Those obsessed with garbage and interested in trucks become garbage-truck drivers. Those infatuated with curtains and fascinated by designs become curtain-makers. Et cetera - you get my flow right?
So I, as an individual human bean of the female species, happen to be interested in staying-at-home and obsessed with being a wife. Which gives me every right to become - yes - a Stay At Home Wife.

Now to some people - who perceive me to be a super-intelligent-flying-and-creating-space-ships sort of person - this may come across as a shock. Because hey, it is only the idiotic imbecile variety of the female species that CHOOSE to stay at home. After all, it kills all ambitions and makes a woman a useless robot that can function only as a stirrer of the soup bowl. And cutter of the salad. And marinat-er of the chicken. In short - an aimless, wandering-around-the-kitchen soul that will probably just produce babies and live her life as a slave to her family's needs.

But that, is an UTTERLY irrational opinion of the actually very-exciting life of a house wife. Because in reality, the life of a SAHW is so much beyond the kitchen, so much more satisfying than that of an average Out-of-Home-Worker and makes her achieve self-actualization so much sooner than an OFHW. Heck, I am already drenched in Nirvana and its not even been three months since I started my life as a SAHW.

The End.

Please keep a look-out for the next episode of The Life of Stay At Home Wife, only on your favorite-st blog on the planet, only if I do not pull of another disappearing and forgetting-about-it act like I always do.

Things I do as a SAHW: Have wannabe romantic meals with my husband on our little two people dining table. (Image courtesy: my feeble phone camera)

He don't need no education

2011-04-28T00:21:00.001+05:00

Since the decision by the court for Mukhtar Mai's case, her topic is the highlight of many news channels and discussions on social media. The recent accusations and derogatory remarks by Mubashir Lucman, an Urdu Channel's show host, hurled at the rape victim is one of the elements of this entire scenario and is being talked about by various journalists. However, I do not feel the need to talk about him and his ignorance today. And not just because it is already being talked about, but because I have real-life versions of Mubashir Lucman attempting to shower their senseless remarks on my very blog!

Since the individual, I am going to talk about today, failed to comment on my blog - except once - I felt his "behind the scenes" stunt was a must for this blog. I call him 'Ignorant Individual' (below), not just for his lack of knowledge on the topic being discussed, but because: a) he considers authentic sources such as BBC - fake; b) he continues to dismiss the case as being "fabricated" and/or insignificant and c) he resorts to personal attacks not only on the topic of discussion, but the blog writer and other commentators. I feel that he is not to blame - considering he probably spends most of his time on ignorant-individuals-broadcast TV and that is not the most authentic news channel now, is it?

Anyway, enjoy! (If the below conversation is too minute to read, just zoom in your browser.)

As the match draws closer...

2011-03-27T20:01:00.000+05:00

Passion really is running high. My facebook is perpetually flooded with people discussing the match, in anticipation. That is where I found the song, I have posted above. It really is hilarious - you HAVE to listen.

I think I will save this to play every time someone gets out in the Indian team/Pakistan hits a boundary!

My favorite verse is: "What kind of man wears powder blue pants?" HAHAHAHAHAH.

Ok bye.

Pakistan vs. India

2011-03-25T16:54:00.008+05:00

The thing is I know absolutely nothing about cricket, or about the history of the Pakistan-India rivalry in cricket, or about the great legends or about the 101 intricacies of the game.

All I know is that this time, we will be sending the Indians home crying. Just the way we did the Australians a few days ago. So Dhoni better stuff a nice pack of handkerchiefs in his little pocket. We don't want the whole world watching while his men bawl their eyes out on International television, do we now? ;)

No one gets in our way right now, 'cause baby we be saying hello to another FABULOUS round of the cricket World Cup 1992!

PS. No offense to my Indian readers - just a little bit of reality check. You know you love me and I am pretty sure you feel the same way about us right now. ;)

A hilarious moment from the Cricket World cup 1992

This post is in honor of the extreme anticipation, the writer feels, of the Pakistan win over India in the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup 2011 on 30th March 2011.

From inside of Bahrain - Part VI

2011-03-24T00:12:00.000+05:00

In my last post, I talked about how things were really, really bad in terms of the protesters going all out to hurt Pakistanis and create chaos in the city. Since the past week, though, things have started to get somewhat relaxed but only because the GCC and Saudi army is literally crawling over every inch of the main areas. And though the enraged have been subdued temporarily, by force, they seem to be still steaming inside.

For example, two nights ago Anes, Bilal bhai and I went to our house to pick up a few things and when we were walking out of the house we heard people in the neighbouring houses shouting "Allahu Akbar". Now even though the meaning of this phrase is beautiful and simple: "Allah is great", the way they were shouting it really freaked us out. It seemed as if they were trying to scare unwanted people away.

It has also come to our notice that Pakistanis are still being harassed in many parts of the Kingdom by protesters. Especially in smaller areas where there is little security. Apparently, a few channels also televised the detailed news of the murders of the Pakistanis by the Bahraini protesters, leading our family back home to completely freak out and ask us to come back.
Apart from that, the curfew time has been extended which meant we got some time to go out to the mall today - finally! It was very refreshing to actually get out of the house, but sadly the mall was as deserted as it could get and was still haunted by the ghosts of the tragedies that had happened in its vicinity only a few days ago.

On a lighter note, I realized today that I have been eating more than a person of my size should and so I exercised on the treadmill for exactly 6 minutes and 49 seconds, only for my hard-work to be COMPLETELY ruined by a giant chocolate chip muffin and tons of dinner.

From inside of Bahrain - Part V

2011-03-19T21:58:00.001+05:00

And so we moved into their house the next evening and kicked off the evening by being glued onto Al-Jazeera and Bahrain Television (even though BTV is in Arabic and we could not understand a word of it). Other things we did during that evening were: searching for good airfares and comparing them. We also noticed that even inexpensive airlines like FlyDubai had hiked up their fares almost thrice as much as they were originally, just to benefit from this unpleasant situation.

It was also confirmed, that the random news of Pakistanis being killed, were actually true. And two Pakistani workers were killed whereas the other injured ones were seeking refuge in "Pakistan Club" and were to be transported to the hospitals the next day by a group of Pakistanis. According to reports, the killed/injured Pakistani workers had been peacefully residing in their houses when a group of protesters barged in and beat them up for their "blasphemous" nationality.

The next rumor in town was that, the protesters had taken over many of the hospitals and were refusing to treat the injured who belonged to the Sunni sect as well as expatriates. And this news was confirmed today morning when the injured were taken to the hospital. Fortunately, the hospital they were taken to is not yet taken over by protesters and they are currently being given medical attention.

We, on the other hand, are waiting. Waiting for things to get better or worse, so that we may take a decision. Waiting for the knees of the job market to shake, and selfishly hoping that we are not affected by it. Waiting for the next verdict of God. Because as I discovered, open-mouthed, that life is as difficult as it gets. And the bubble we call school-life does not make you realize that.

To be continued...

From inside of Bahrain - Part IV

2011-03-17T21:48:00.001+05:00

Now even though I did not display much emotion as I narrated the incident of how we met those masked men with sticks on our lane - we were, at that point in time, scared out of our wits. All of us, except for the one on the driving seat - Anes's cousin. And thank God for that, because he got us home without a single nervous twitch.
For the rest of us, which includes yours truly, Anes and the cousin's wife, this was definitely a big adventure and the topic of discussion for the next hour to follow. Apart from that Anes's cousin and his wife were planning to leave for Dubai as were many other expatriates, whereas Anes and I could not decide what to do. So we spent the rest of the few hours, before sleeping, to google flights and half-heartedly watch a random movie we picked up from the DVD drawer.
By morning, when our frazzled nerves had calmed down we decided to go back to our own house - assuming that people who were out on the streets at night would be resting by now - to pick up a few belongings and our passports in case we decided to leave the country. While we were packing at our place, the cousin and his wife, who had been planning to leave for Dubai, finally got hold of tickets and left for the airport as soon as they could. We, on the other hand, were picked up by the other cousins since we were going to live at their place for as long as would be necessary.
And on the way to their house we found the same troops of men who had been blocking the way to our house the night before, except now they seemed a lot less scarier. We found out that they were also residents of the same area out to protect their homes from anyone who was out to harm them. Their only weapons were a stick or two and barricades made of steel trashcans and bricks. Most importantly, their intentions were pure and not meant to harm the innocent. They were only up against those who were using the situation to their advantage to raid homes and cause disruptions.
That was definitely a sigh of relief. But we still felt it would be safer to live with the cousins, since there is always strength in numbers and their house was within a compound.
To be continued..

From inside of Bahrain - Part III

2011-03-16T18:01:00.005+05:00

Now the cousins (whose house we were at) live in a compound - where lots of other houses are built within another set of walls with a decent amount of security - so after hearing the sirens (which were probably coming from the main road) some of us went outside to inquire what had happened. The guard's side of the story was that there were strange men with sticks deployed on the streets and they had just picked up a man coming out of a mosque, in their truck. This was definitely very alarming, especially since Anes and his cousin had just returned from the very same mosque only an hour back. Things were changing fast and clearly not for the better.

Another rumor floating around, at that point in time, was that the protesters were targeting Pakistanis. It seemed as if they held a grudge against them, since the Bahrain police consists of a large number of Pakistanis and the anti-government protesters obviously did not hold a very good impression of them. Apparently, the protesters had severely beaten up some Pakistani workers and critically injured a few of them. But then again, this was unconfirmed news that we had only picked up from different Facebook pages. The news channels were not showing anything, except for the fact that the Saudi and GCC army were moving into Bahrain to support the government against the protesters.

Such a large amount of foreign troops moving in was to mean there was going to be a large amount of turbulence to follow and a military operation of sorts. Anyway, after reading up on the bits and pieces of news we had come across, we left for home with the other cousin and his wife. And as a security measure we kept the cousins (whose place we were previously at) on the phone with us as we drove back home.

The streets were unnaturally empty and dim. And when we turned toward the street where our apartment is we were confronted by two huge black cars (something like Land Cruisers, I am terrible at cars) and a horde of men in masks and sticks. So without wasting a second to experience their reaction or gauge their intentions our car was reversed and swung out of that scary lane. And it was decided that we would spend the night at the cousin's house (whose car we were in), since their lane was relatively safer.

To be continued...

Tear gas being shot by police at the protesters to disperse them. (Courtesy: Google images)

From inside of Bahrain - Part II

2011-03-16T14:46:00.002+05:00

When I skipped my last semester at IBA to get married and move to Bahrain, I had no idea that I was going to be a witness to one of the biggest happenings in the history of the middle east. I thought life would be about sleeping late, cooking/eating good food and building a home.

(By witnessing I mean staying at home when the rest of the people are revolutionalizing and sometimes experiencing the waves first-hand.)

My initial month at Bahrain found me a new family and I really bonded with Anes's cousins. So much so, that we spent/spend almost every waking hour at their place. And I missed them when we were in Karachi, the same way I miss my parents and siblings when in Bahrain!

Obviously, when things were safe, there were a great many trips to the malls and loads of dining out. Every weekend was packed with fun things to do and I had delightedly adapted to this lifestyle. Anes and I were attempting to budget our way through our measly income as well as furnish the apartment - finishing our money well before the month ended! But it was still fun to learn this way - that Kitkat chunky and Chips Ahoy were not a priority.

When the initial protests started, Anes took it seriously and scanned the news constantly in his typical i'm-alarmed-to-death manner. I took it very non-seriously and scanned the news constantly just to figure out when things would be safe enough for me to go to the mall again. And so life went for another three weeks before things got really, really serious last week.

Then two days ago, when Pakistan was playing against Zimbabwe, we decided to spend the day at Anes's cousins place. Well, the match was probably just an excuse since we love being at their place all the time, anyway. So in between the irritating match, that was consantly disrupted by the weather, we kept hearing news of how things were worsening outside. A few phone calls even informed us that the area outside the house was not safe - even though ours is considered a relatively safe area. And soon we heard sirens, that validated that statement.

To be continued...

Our Bahrain Family