Monday, June 30, 2014

Al Qamar - القمر

It came, in paucity. A thin curve, the shape of a sickle. You'd think that God sharpened His silver pencil to get the sharpest-edged nib possible and then drew half a circle with it. You'd think that that pencil had a silver gleaming nib that drew that circle sleekly. You'd think that the curve was so flawless that one couldn't draw it without a compass. It was scarce in the beauty of a complete silver circle, but it contained the aura of bliss and blessings. And they watched it. They came out to find that beautiful thin curve. They found it and their hearts started to get filled with the blessings coming down from the sky which contained that curve. So they drank they view and got their hearts filled with the beautiful sight.

They wished each other the blessings that this crescent was about to bring and prayed to collect them all.
They told me they saw the moon of Ramadan.
I smiled.

Ramadan Mubarak!

P.S. القمر is the arabic word for 'The Moon'.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

You Dived!

That day when your dream took a dive in the pool of risk. The day when your dream struggled to stay in that pool, to swim through it. The day when the water rippling around your dream looked more like a lasso being thrown at it to strangle it. Do you know what happened that day?

I'll tell you what happened that day.

The sky remained its usual blue colour. The birds continued their flight in search of food. The grass was the same green colour. That one squirrel leaped the same usual way whenever it felt the footsteps of danger. The water remained colourless, tasted the same taste. The sound of bells jingling at that little girl's window whenever a breeze would blow over them sounded the same subtle sound. A butterfly stripped off its cocoon and fluttered off in its vivid colours. A child dropped a stone in water farther than his friend did and laughed heartily at his accomplishment. The water rippled and overlapped, making the same sound, as it would always make. The fire burned in the same colour. The flames danced and died like they always did. The sand flew and rested in a suitable corner. Somewhere a baby cried and his mother's embrace comforted him. A thief looked greedily at a wad of bucks going into a person's pocket. A rose bloomed and flaunted off its beauty. A girl plucked it off and smelled its sweet smell. A sparrow couple continued collecting straws for their nest. A fruit ripened while hanging by its stalk. An ant succeeded in lifting and carrying a crumb of bread to its cave. A guy took a drag on his cigarette and puffed out the smoke cloud, savouring it. Outside his window he saw a cat chasing after its food. A boy cycled around his neighbourhood, singing wrong lyrics to a song, not letting anything get in the way of his happiness. A woman gossiped to feel lighter. A carpenter hurt his finger while hitting a nail in the wood. A snake shed its skin. A singer hit his best note. A writer transformed his thoughts into words by pushing the keys of his typewriter. The sound coming from those keys made him happy like it always would. A painter played with colours and patterns. A drop of ink stained a student's uniform without him knowing about it. A baker looked inside the oven and smiled at his perfectly baked cake. The smell of the baked cake wafted out and dispersed in the town. A minister lied to his people. His people trusted him, like they always did. A horse galloped around the stable. The moon above glowed the same silver glow. The stars sparkled in their usual way. A bride smiled at her groom. A groom smiled at his bride. A leaf fell off the tree and swayed its way to the ground. A child stepped on it while running after a butterfly. The pages of a book left open flipped with the blow of wind. A person died. A person was born. Life went on. Nothing stopped. Nothing stalled. Everything remained the same, that day. The universe remained the same. And you..

You made your dream dive into the pool of risk!