Sonya Syed

Sundays are mostly dull for me and today hasn’t been any different but I had something to ponder. For some peculiar reason since few days whenever I switch on my TV I happen to see the repeat telecast of an interview of a gentleman called Asad Umar, who is the president and chief executive officer at Engro Corporation Ltd. Although I have never seen his complete interview but whatever bits I have seen it either points me to some new direction or make me ask myself some serious questions. For instance in the segment I saw today the host asked him, " how does he recognizes passion in people whom he select for job s." He said, to know about someone just ask them what are your dreams and aspirations. He said that the person who is passionately driven would always speak enthusiastically about how he can contribute and do his best for his company, moreover for his country. On the other hand an ordinary mortal would always say what he wants for himself; that is to have

m y childhood garden lush and green it was so happy it made me scream my joy and hopes and all my mopes my childhood garden my childhood garden with the ups and downs when I jumped I could not touch the ground with my purple pony's it made it homey my childhood garden my childhood garden flying high with the little lies the grass fine up in the sky my kite my childhood garden my childhood garden now in the past I now know that it can never last now as I get taller it was different when I was smaller my childhood garden   ..................   By Danielle Eager * ______________________________________ Now coming to the present - the city is becoming a concrete jungle, everywhere there is bombardment of high-rise towers, apartments, malls or shops but what we are beginning to lack are play grounds for children. There are very few grounds and the ones we have are ill-maintained. Fortunately the local government has made some wonderful parks but the actual grounds

After waiting for quite some time I decided to go for the renewal of my driving licence, the wait was not deliberate though but things just came in the way and the renewal got delayed. However on reaching the nearest branch I found out that they were not authorized to renew my licence because the earlier license was made in another branch. So I was back to square one and now I have to go to my designated branch. I must say that the people who work in this or any other government office deserve standing ovation. It was 85 degrees outside humidity was at its peak and the entire staff was sitting without any fan except for couple of officers. It was a large room with hardly any ventilation; walls were dusty with cobwebs and the electrical wiring loosely hanging all over the roof. The wooden furniture which was used by the staff was made some 150 years ago. In the main hall there were stacks of records and documentation which were lying in one corner.     Like many people I wa

You decide and plan to do something and then at the eleventh hour you have to suddenly stop. It is more like when you are driving at a high speed, unaware of the newly made speed-breaker, and as you see it you apply emergency brakes. Nothing much happens except that your flow, your speed is broken which is of course a cause of some irritability.   This has been more or less my situation today, I had a meeting late in the afternoon and it was postponed at the last minute. It was a bit frustrating because I canceled everything for it, yet I decided that I shall not let this negativity get into my way. Every morning as soon as I wake up I make a to-do-list in my mind; as I go through each thing in the list I say Thank You in advance for everything. I thank God in such a way as if I am writing this list at the end of the day when everything went perfectly. Like I say, thank you God for a perfect exercise session and so on. With all this in mind I just couldn’t allow this p

This is what happens when one is inspired, there are days when I want to express but cannot articulate effectively and then there times when I could go on writing and sharing. I guess rain has casted its spell on me.   Today I have been remembering my academic life, my teachers, facilities I received throughout my education. I remembered in gratitude my teachers their academic teachings and life lessons. In the midst of all this, the most prominent memory was of my Botany Professor Sir Abbasi’s words, when once during our tuition my class-mate who topped in Matriculation said, “We should always compete because competition is the only way to succeed in this world”. Sir Abbasi with all his affection replied to her that, “a successful person is not the one who compete with others but he is the one who competes with himself”. He said, “Competition is pure jealousy; thus when you say you are competing, you are actually jealous of other person’s success. Competition with others

What a beautiful day we have in Karachi; early morning it was bright and shinny with breezy winds, clear skies and the tree leaves gleamed as the sunlight poured its love on them. Then the clear blue sky transformed into the most delightful hues of grey. Finally it rained and the fragrance which emerged from the earth as rain-drops touched it is the wonderful aroma we could ever experience. It seemed as if the angels are pouring white diamonds from the heavens. Irrespective of who we are or where we are, it is like a reflex action that we run towards window or terrace to get the glimpse of rain. Fried food, especially pakoras and tea become natural inclinations in this weather. (Interestingly as I was writing this paragraph I looked up on the internet to have an English alternate word for Pakora. To my sheer surprise Pakora is a recognized word at the Oxford Online Dictionary and this is truly amazing.) I wanted to have pictures of this weather and share with you how I

These past of couple of days my post titles sound more like the tag lines from mobile and balm advertisement rather than blog titles. There, finally after a lot of pondering for months I changed the blog design. I wanted to do this for a long time but instead of doing anything about it I just thought and thought and today without even giving it a second thought I abruptly altered the look. Do give me your input about this new avatar I'd love to hear from you.   This is what happens when we waste our precious time in unnecessary hesitation and apprehension. If you know what you want, if the opportunity presents itself, if there is a strong gut feeling; then don’t think, don’t doubt, don’t second guess- just go for it ! Probably the quarter of the anti-allergic that I took last night to relieve my flu did the trick. Due to that tiny amount which I took hours before, I am still walking around like a zombie. I cannot think clearly, I want to sleep but simply am unable

Daily I wake up to the cock-a-doodle-do of my neighbor’s rooster followed by the clucking of three hens which are probably his wives, earlier the neighbors took the fancy of having ducks as well so you add quacking to the cock a doodle do (unfortunately dear ducks became the dinner of some goonda cat). Then few minutes later comes the gentle chirping of the birds along with the cuckoo of Koel and suddenly a sense of serenity enters my being.  It feels as if I am not living in the hustle & bustle of a cosmopolitan city but at a farm house somewhere in the countryside; it is both amusing and peaceful to have nature so close by.   Although rooster/ hens are the fascination of our neighbors but their breakfast and brunch is for some reason is the responsibility of the trees and shrubbery which we have in our boundary. So every morning as uninvited guests this rooster family enters our plants to have their favorite worm food at the cost of muddling the tree roots. The R

Playing with children is one of the most charming activity, revitalizing every cell in your body and today I had one such ecstatic experience. Its been a long time since I had this experience, I played hide and seek with this amazing little girl at home Sana. I started with doing the counting so she can hide but with some cheating I found her in few seconds, then it was decided that I shall not find her the next time. We played for quite some time and every time she won, of course. When our game ended she was thrilled and happy to beat me in every round and her joy filled laughter was priceless. As a child I could never understand why my adults got so easily tired within few minutes into the game but today I finally get it. A child has abundant energy because there is no stress, no anxiety and definitely there is no thinking so you are always enjoying every bit of life with full energy. When you are a child there is just this present moment for you, there is no past for yo

Yesterday I went to University of Karachi to get copies of my degree, it was hot, humid and it felt as if my head was boiling so much that you could fry an egg over it. I was in my complaining mode of how hot it is, how thirsty I am and why is it taking too long to finish the work here. With all this going in my head I came to my car parked in the ground where the students were sitting, standing and chatting in the sheds. There I saw this girl who stood right in front of me with her white stick, she was blind. However, there was a strange beautiful smile on her face even in that near-boiling-point heat. She was standing alone there but I strangely felt that she was smiling at me. I couldn’t understand what I was seeing because the way she was focused on me and smiling, for a moment I thought she is playing around posing to be sightless. I was bewildered as to why she had that peculiar smile, in my heart I was also thanking for my eyes and the fact that I can see, protect mys

I didn’t intend to write today’s post but here I am magnetized to you all and saying a word or two. First things first, Thank you Thank you Thank you to many of this blog’s silent readers and Star, Masood Uncle and Mom for visiting the blog and giving your appreciation. Mom & Masood Uncle being family are genetically programmed to like and support me, but honestly it is so wonderful that you and many other readers of this blog take time out from their busy schedules to read my wanderings and give me your amazing feedback. There was so much to write about Nazia Hassan and her work but due to the paucity of time I just gave some highlights yet still with my own means I have tried my best to do justice to her. And yes Many Thanks to all the readers who visit the blog in their quest to know about the mysteries behind Sarwana Cottage. Since my earlier posts F.R.I.E.N.D.S and Sarwana Cottage there has been a great input on this topic from many of the readers. Today someone, wh

April 3 rd 1965, a Pakistani Pop and Disco music legend Nazia Hassan was born. More than a legend she was the first iconic figure of Pakistan who along with her brother Zohaib Hassan revolutionized music and introduced Pop music in both Pakistan and India. She recorded her first song App jaisa koi meri zindagi mei aay (‘If someone like you comes into my life’) for the Bollywood movie Qurbani in 1980 produced by Feroz Khan. She was only 15 years old then when that song’s success sky-rocketed. Both the brother-sister duo made musical history and sold over millions of copies of their albums Disco Deewane, Young Tarang etc. – not just in Pakistan and India - but their popularity spanned across Latin America, the Middle East and South East Asia.  Nazia was the first Pakistani singer whose song made its way into the British charts. The English rendition of ‘Disco Deewane’ called ‘Dreamer Deewane’ acquired immense popularity in the West. Regrettably, while this brother-sister