Sonya Syed

To say something in a dream state is not a very good idea, it is always better to be fully awake and in complete awareness of our mental faculties.  It was I think in 2007 or 2008 Umrah (Muslim religious pilgrimage) or probably on both occasions when I sat before Kaaba Muazzama, prayed, cried with all my heart for the approval of my three deepest desires.  One of them was to visit Europe/ Paris or London, I wasn’t very clear but these three words were echoing in my mind.  In 2005, when we sent our travel documents via a tour company, they were all returned to us as UK embassy was not allowing tour groups. In 2007 when we applied directly to the embassy, our passports were amicably returned because we provided insufficient documents. It was since then my heart was burning with an intense desire but somehow nothing happened. I always thought no prayer is ever refused when we are on the pilgrimage, so why am I unheard?  I knew little then, that not...

What could be a better way than to start my post with warm and loving wishes & many prayers for all of you.  May Allah bless us with His divine light, guidance, love, peace, health, joy and wealth. Many of you have already celebrated first day of Eid and for people on my side of globe will celebrate today and also tomorrow. Wherever you are my wishes for all you shall remain the same. Eid in Karachi, especially chand raat (a day before Eid) is the most enjoyable- sometimes more than the Eid day. Many of the Karachites spend chand raat shopping, window shopping, ladies waiting in long waiting lines for henna, last moment salon calls and of course the dresses- which by the way are never ready on time. Husbands or brothers are continuously visiting tailors to get the dresses and every time master sahib (the tailor) gives them a highly logical answer to get extra fifteen minutes until the dresses are finally done.   Every Eid I promise myself that this time I...

Saw some old pictures and found couple of my favorites of my Dad. It’s been around seven years since he passed away but it feels as if he is still with me and actually he is. Whenever I need his advice I could feel him around, guiding me- showing me the ropes. Daddy Birthday with Abbu, Amma, Kanwal, Fariha, Tabussum Aunty, Saman & Touseef ul Haq I don’t like to talk about my relationships especially the people who are no longer with me, it frightens me. This father’s day I so much wanted to write about my father but there were so many things that jumped right between me and my writing, and probably that was not even the right time. I don’t get this father’s day or mother’s day. What are these? I don’t understand the logic except that it is a great marketing stint for manufacturers. Every day is a father and a mother day. Why does it have to be that one particular day that we are showering our parents with so many facebook and twitter updates? These soc...

Getting back to life and some kind of normalcy, it has been crazy few months. It feels really nice to be back to the point where I have started this wonderful journey for all of us to be connected and share, to vent out.  Teaching is one of the best thing that could happen to anyone, it changes you for good. In my class when I bombarding my students with last moment tests and course extensions, one of my students said ‘you are like our Mom, and Moms don’t give children tight study schedules’. It is funny how I suddenly became what I am today, yes like a mom of more than 80 children. And then came the finals, long grueling hours of checking every paper carefully so no injustice is done. It is really a proud moment that all my students worked hard and got wonderful results especially when I pushed them over the edge. Ramadan came and now they are leaving us, it has been an overwhelming month with Amjad Sabri’s sudden death. It was in 2005 when I went to Sonu Nigam’s con...

Listening to such painful news from Brussels one is left without any words to express sorrow. It is upsetting to see how a developed and resourceful country like Belgium is completely chaotic and in the grips of tension and fear.     Nothing however can be taken out of the context, there is a chain of events that had lead the world to such a vulnerable situation. The problem of Palestine which have maintained status quo amongst the world leaders had ignited a chain reaction which spared no one. Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and other disturbances created within the Muslim world partly due to lack of unity amongst Muslim leaders and partly because of over-involvement of unconcerned international parties in our problems.        All these unresolved issues lead to sever injustice, and constant injustice is similar to a dormant volcano. Today what we witness before us is the eruption of the silent volcano. Everything is linked ...

Last night was a sleepless, anxious night. I felt the discomfort I have never felt before, and when I did get some sleep it was filled with strange dreams. In the long series of dreams I had, I remember couple of them. In one dream a man and woman, probably husband & wife, were sitting in a waiting room. The wife kept crying and her husband looked away. Then in another dream I saw a man slapping a woman and then that woman began crying. She yelled at that man, ‘you have hit me, now I will throw you out of my house, you cannot live with me anymore’. Then she was running from one corner to another trying to find someone- but no one was there. Entire series of these dreams I saw a woman anxiously moving around a house, it was crazy and chaotic. When I woke up I was seriously worried about those dreams, my heart and mind were heavy. I thought probably it was because of my caffeine intake. It felt as if I was on the edge ready to collapse. But why I was happy yesterday e...

Oh my goodness! It feels as though twenty years have passed since I last wrote. Life has dramatically altered, time is restricted and there is a deep regret that there are only 24 hours per day. Like it or not, everything has to be managed within this time-frame. And I have discovered that I have quite poor time management skills. There was a time when I ‘was’ so punctual for my meetings and other duties that people used to manage their watches with my timing. And now….I am Miss Late. Only God could solve the mystery of my time mismanagement, although I don’t waste a single second yet the result is mostly the same- ten minutes late.   Probably when the dynamics of our life change- our behaviors and attitudes alter accordingly. This is the time in my life when I have become a pure academic lawyer involved in research projects, today my priorities are different and targets are more focused. Teaching has become a soulful enriching experience and it has opened so many...