Sonya Syed

I am upset with my blog tracker, lately it has started to show multiple visits by facebook company. The average visit by facebook inc. per day is more than 20, which is quite irritating and getting on my nerves. First it was Google Inc. visiting my blog 40 to 50 times a day and now we have facebook. What should I do in this case? Anybody, please guide… Yesterday I accidentally landed on PTV Global channel and they were airing an episode of a talk show called Zavia (Perspective). The show is based on the discourses and life experiences of our very respected writer and intellectual Ashfaq Ahmed saab. I have heard him once or twice before and it was after years that yesterday I heard his words of wisdom. Although I got to watch only last minutes of the show but what I heard was of great value. He said that one can be in pain or misery or gloom but one should never allow him/herself to get into the state of hopelessness or disappointment, irrespective of what happens. H...

There are some crazy situations when people would prefer to break someone’s nose or neck for causing pain or chaos in their life. But then they surprise you, when instead of breaking someone's nose they react by praying for their health & happiness, and wish them a beautiful life. People exhibit strange reactions in extraordinary situations of their life. Nevertheless, it gives us  comfort that such forgiving behavior saves everybody a great deal from creating more misery, and more importantly it tells us that there is still some sanity left in this world.   Before Eid many things were required to be taken care of and then during the holidays I got hugely involved with household chores. Plus I also had final exam papers to check and grade. Honestly teaching is not as easy as I thought it would be. Tests, quizzes, mid-term are nothing when you get down to the business of finals. My problem was that I wanted to give everybody good grades, which is of...

It’s 7.30 pm I have completed all my chores and did all that was required to be done. At 8 pm sharp I am all set in front of the TV to watch Tanhaiyaan but there is no play and they started to show something else. I got panicky and thought, ‘Oh my God they have cancelled the show, how they can do this? This play is going to be a hit so why aren’t they airing it today.’ In a more panicked state I opened the channel’s website and then it hit me, ‘Ms. Syed today is Friday and your program comes on Saturday’. In the excitement of watching the play I forgot what is the day today. I mean this is crazy, really crazy. This is the height of my desperation. On a serious note, today Eid Ul Azha is celebrated in many parts of the world, so I wish everybody a beautiful and peaceful Eid. May God bless you and your loved ones with all the health, prosperity and love. In Pakistan Eid is going to be celebrated tomorrow with all the zeal and spirit. Male member of the families are ...

Tired exhausted can't even think properly, for two weeks now I have been running around finishing one task only to find out something new needs to be handled. Actually the work is not that exhaustive but I am a bit of Delicate Darling. You take me to shopping and within an hour I am hungry or thirsty to the point of fainting. Everyone around me feels fine although slightly tired; but me, I have to feel the extremes. A large cup of coffee might do the trick, it might take me out of my current state and enliven me. We human are strange entities even though we believe that we far apart and have no verbal connection with each other yet at our very core we are all connected. We can feel each others pain, fears or happiness without even knowing that what we feel at times doesn’t even belong to us. As I write this post today I could hear the distant voices of cows, goats, sheep that are bought for the great sacrifice. Entire neighborhood is bursting with the excited vo...

I have just spoken with my friend who is living abroad these days and I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to talk to her. I feel light as a feather. We talked about so many things but the topic of Tanhaiyaan and its sequel were the highlights of our conversation. For few minutes we were reliving those childhood memories and reminiscing how everyone looked then. Unfortunately she missed the first episode which was telecasted yesterday at 8 pm on ARY Digital and PTV simultaneously. Yeh two channels are showing this drama at the same time. Well for me yesterday’s one hour which I spent in watching Tanhaiyaan was marvelous and I am still under its spell. The moment it began my mind started to recal all the characters from its earlier version. Thankfully Haseena Moin is writing it along with my another favorite writer Muhammad Ahmed and Marina Khan is directing the play. However, the highlight of the play is its one crucial or lead character of Zara played by the very beau...

Finally the wait is over and today we are going to watch the sequel of Tanhaiyaan ( Solitaries), a famous TV play of mid-eighty’s. I have very loving memories of this drama and each character is still engraved in the mind. From the beautiful Shahnaz Sheikh, Marina Khan, to amazing (Qabacha) Behroze Subzwari, Durdana Butt, Asif Raza Mir, Yasmin Ismail, and many other greats. Nothing could beat the splendour which Tanhaiyaan had created in the hearts and mind of its audience. It was simply a brilliant TV play directed by the exceptional late Shehzad Khalil and story written by our veteran writer Ms. Haseena Moin. Haseena Moin is well-known for her romantic comedies although she has written several plays on variety of topics. I don’t know whether she is writing the sequel or they have opted for someone else. Whoever would be writing the sequel has to live up to very high expectations because what we had seen earlier was epic performances with splendid direction, beautiful dia...

For few I have been struggling to write something worthwhile but couldn’t put it all together and then suddenly I got it. So let’s begin shall we. First I need to express my despair for all the clashes which are taking place in Karachi and everywhere else in the country. One after another there is some disturbing news; I recently saw burnt theaters/ cinemas in the city’s downtown area and my heart ached for all the people who have lost livelihoods in this and many other similar mob attacks.     There are strong reasons for us to feel intensely about some issues but I couldn’t understand why does it have to destroy everyone and everything that comes in its way? Why are we unable to focus the fire within us in the right direction? A person who picks up a gun can be trained to become either a soldier or a terrorist.     But in hope and many prayers we must live. I just saw this image on facebook and couldn’t resist sharing it with you. The Secr...