Work smart, not Hard

Sadia my friend. She just sent me this email and thuogh I had read the anecdote somewhere before, it still made me smile. :)
I have Mashallah been very lucky with the people around me...so much like the son in the story...especially my friend Anisa...wonder if I can ever love people unconditionally like she does. When she wants to do something for me, or for anyone for that matter, well, she has the will to do it. And we are so much happier for it. May Allah bless her kind soul...

Here's the aforementioned email copy:
An old man lived alone in a village. He wanted to spade his potato garden,but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him,was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation: Dear Son, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden, because your mother always loved planting time. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren't in prison. Love, Dad.

Shortly, the old man received this telegram: "For Heaven's sake, Dad, don't dig up the garden!! That's where I buried the GUNS!!" At 4 a.m. the next morning, a dozen local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden without finding any guns. Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what happened, and asked him what to do next. His son's reply was: "Go ahead and plant your potatoes,Dad... It's the best I could do for you from here.

"NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN THE WORLD, IF YOU HAVE DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING DEEP FROM YOUR HEART YOU CAN DO IT. IT IS THE THOUGHT THAT MATTERS NOT WHERE YOU ARE OR WHERE THE PERSON IS."

Laughed again today...and some soothing Dua'as

Yep. That's me again, Alhamdulilah. Atleast two people must have said that to me today; "Nice to hear you laugh like that again." Oh well. C'est La Vie. And of course there is solace in prayers.

"And when My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I respond to the du'a (prayer) of every suppliant when they call on Me" - Quran 2:186

How true. Here are some more prayers from the Holy Quran which I am sure will provide succor to whoever seeks it from the Almighty:

Our Lord! Bestow on us endurance and make our foothold sure and give us help against those who reject faith. (2:250)

Our Lord! Take us not to task if we forget or fall into error. (2:286)

Our Lord! Impose not on us that which we have not the strength to bear, grant us forgiveness and have mercy on us. You are our Protector. Help us against those who deny the truth. (2:286)

Our Lord! Lay not upon us such a burden as You did lay upon those before us. (2:286)

Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate from the truth after You have guided us, and bestow upon us mercy from Your grace. Verily You are the Giver of bounties without measure. (3:8)

Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and the lack of moderation in our doings, and make firm our steps and succour us against those who deny the truth. (3:147)

Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and efface our bad deeds and take our souls in the company of the righteous. (3:193)

Our Lord! We have sinned against ourselves, and unless You grant us forgiveness and bestow Your mercy upon us, we shall most certainly be lost! (7:23)

Our Lord! Pour out on us patience and constancy, and make us die as those who have surrendered themselves unto You. (7:126)

Our Lord! You truly know all that we may hide [in our hearts] as well as all that we bring into the open, for nothing whatever, be it on earth or in heaven, remains hidden from Allah (14:38)

Our Lord! In You we have placed our trust, and to You do we turn in repentance, for unto You is the end of all journeys. (60:4)

Our Lord! Perfect our light for us and forgive us our sins, for verily You have power over all things. (66:8)


And finally....

Allah puts no burden on any person beyond what He has given him. After a difficulty, Allah will soon grant relief. (65:07)

On the occassion of Hajj, here's wishing everyone a very blessed pilgrimage and may Allah grant us all enough wisdom to put implicit trust in him. For Allah says again;

"And He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine. And if any one puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is (Allah) for him. For Allah will surely accomplish his purpose: verily, for all things has Allah appointed a due proportion." (65:03)

Ameen to these wonderful verses...and may we never despair in times of test and in times of peace, and may we always have enough grace to submit ourselves to the caretaker of the Universe.

A sadder and wiser me...

"He went like one that hath been stunned,
And is of sense forlorn :
A sadder and a wiser man,
He rose the morrow morn."
-S.T. Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner


If life was a piece of cake, few would have relished its taste. Err, food surfaces predominantly even in my profound thoughts, ahem. Jokes apart, adversity does indeed make us sad, but it also offers oppurtunity to become wise. 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going.' Heard that one before.
But you know, sometimes it makes us very sad. And then you don't understand what to do. And then you realize that when effort and understanding fail, then it only means one thing-that Allah had a different plan...and surely there must be some good in an apparant evil. Or else it would have worked out just the way you wanted it to. Oh well, C'est La Vie. Easy to say, hard to follow. Hard yes, but not impossible.
Prayers, they say, can change destiny. And I have seen that happen, way too many times to ignore that bit. And have also seen how prayers not answered work favorably too...because what you wanted so bad at one time, wasn't so good after all, in fact; we are often better off without it.
Easy to say I know. Or else there would have been no tears. No moments of despair. But then again, a phoenix rises from the ashes too. And Allah is close to those who bear with patience. And I hope we have enough grace to accept that. Ameen.

Dear Diary...Confessions of a 'Blogs of Note' wannabe

Dammit. The more great 'blogs of note' I see, the more inadequate I feel. There are probably millions of wannabe bloggers like me who will never make it to the A-list because...well because we are just not upto it! These pros must be real geeks to understand the gobblydook and nitty-gritties of blogging. There's some new tech thing on almost all blogs and you know you will never be able to catch up! If just good ol' writing could do the trick, sigh! (Actually, it wouldn't help even if that were the criteria, considering the stuff we dole out! LOL)
Hmmm...the problem is, except the occasional and inconsequential ramblings, mere mortals like me have err, precious little to blog about, which is I think, pretty evident by the way I am going on now. Ahem.
Now let's see. Should I talk about the painful dentist's appointments I have been having every week since 2 months (If only medical prosecution was more real in India, I would sue my previous dentist for the disaster he's done with my teeth) or should I blog about the delicious cakes I had today, or maybe about how I haven't gotten upgraded to the beta version of blogger yet??? Hmmm...maybe there should be something wild like the Blogger's Rasberry Awards, maybe I could win an accolade or two there! Hehehe....and I thought I was 'creative'...You never realize how sparse innovative ideas are untill you begin blogging. And while you engage in a losing battle with your muse, the blog serves as your redressal system. Just like the ol' 'Dear Diary...' days. Only it's more public now. Bet Bridget Jones would never have had those 'profound' thougts if she knew they were going to be fodder for public consumption. And now, if my snooty li'l blogger brother reads this, he will drive me crazy by gloating on his 'Told ya I was better' refrain. Sigh. The things lack of inspiration does to you!

The Great Healer and an inspired brother

Phew. So I am back. After a loooong hiatus. So much has happened, transpired, occured and well, changed since then. Been occupied with quite a bit...
Life-teaches you a lot. Well, I say, Time is a great healer, and Allah the Greatest healers of 'em all. And come to think of it, things could have gotten far worse. What's important, perhaps, is what you take with you from the not-so-good times. So here I am- back to my chirpy self. Armed with some fresh persepectives. With some wisdom. And maybe some more maturity. And yeah, a brother who's taken to blogging, or rather 'quality writing' as he may well prefer to call it. Here's the wannabe William's page: http://musababid.blogspot.com The accompanied claim is that the blog is errr..'far better' than mine. Ahem. Now you know how these kids are! (Roll of the eyes)

Capt. Jack is Back!

Wanna know how I liked Capt. Sparrow's latest antics? Read my review here (and then maybe you could 'review' my review). The first one was a real rocker but somehow Dead Man's Chest was not the same. Sigh. What to say.

A Bad Blog Week...Phew!

Had a little misadventure which you must have noticed if you had visited my blog this last week. I had this great weekend getaway to the Konkan region. To Agar Daanda, to be more precise. And then I had these awesome pics to show the world (which incidentally were clicked by me). And then I came across thise site called bubbleshare that allowed my to display all of 'em here. So I pasted the code on my blog so that all could see the beauty of God, Agar Daanda and my two megapixel camera, in that order. But to my horror, the 'window' displaying my pics appeared after every single post and no matter what I did, it just didn't go away! In desperation I deleted all my pictures from bubbleshare, thinking that if there were no photos in the 1st place, there would be none here to bother me either. I was so wrong. The windows showed even after that. Albeit empty ones this time.
So I did what I had to do. Sent an SOS message to another blogger called javshak, who is really tech savvy and all that, and thanks to his timely suggestion, my blog's back in place. It looks a bit different okay, but it doesn't look BAD.
Phew. Alhamdullilah. It's a good thing I browse to other 'specialist' blogs. Or else it would have been a long time before you heard from me again. And oh! by the ways, I am uploading those pics again. Hopefully this time the blunderer in me won't mess it up.

I am a bad, bad writer!

I feel so dissappointed with myself...when was my last post? Lemme see, it was so long ago I can't even remember! That's it! The last time I had a 'writer's block', it lasted for like four years! LOL. So if I am getting it again, it's reason enough to be alarmed. This SHOULDN'T happen to good (or even POTENTIALLY good) writers! I can't possibly go on this subject forever, can I? WAIL!
Now what do I do???
Tell you what. As good readers, you MUST help me. Tell me what I should be chronicling about! I know this is not done, but HELLO! How many of your (ahem!) 'favorite' writers ACTUALLY ask you what you want to read? LOL. So please keep those 'comments' (shhhh... Don't tell but I mean 'ideas'!) coming!

A new community on Orkut

Calling all alumni of the Abeda Inamdar Senior College for Girls, Pune. Orkut.com now has a new community catering just to them. So all you who have ever felt, feel or are likely to feel for this fun institute, join in!
orkut

Same old standard excuse

So I didn't post anything for a looooong time. I had what they call as a 'writer's block'. I had almost promised myself that I'd never begin any post with the standard 'I-couldn't-think-of-anything-so-havn't-posted-for-a-long-time' crap but whaddya know, I am a victim of my own pride. Actually, if I read half as much of the newspaper as I should, I would have truck loads of ideas to work on. But the slug that I am, everything is 'not done'. Got a book from the British Library (I pay half of my subscription fee in fines to them). It's a nice book on how to write for magazines. ( I am trying to be a feature writer if you havn't noticed) and they say I should be always 'Open' to ideas around me. Yeah right. I am too numbed by TV and the internet to receive idea inspirations. Should really get my act together. Technology kills our drive, don't you think? But then again, we n always find a way to blame our failures on things other than ourselves. Boy. Am I sinking or what? Hehehe.

Maladies of a newly registered Puneite

I was feelin' like a writer today. And my Yahoo blog was looking hopelessly neglected. So I just put two and two together and wrote on Yahoo instead! Am I smart or what? As for my Blogger audience, I wouldn't dream of leaving them out of anything. So here's a copy. Hope you identify.

Pune

Don't have the pictures yet! Sob!

Ok so I promised that I would get some awesome pictures of my dear 'ol Azam Campus to back up my last post while here I am, three days later, reaping the ills of a procrastinating disposition. Two days went by because I couldn't get my camera to be charged. Today I finally managed shove in my camera and charger in my bag despite being hopelessly late for college. Thought I'd charge it in college and then go click, click, clicking after work. Sounded simple till I forgot the camera in the department before running off to my Scholar batch class. Thank God I have a good colleagues who cover up my callousness. I have already lost one of my digicams and can't possibly afford to lose another. I even forgot to pick it up from the department cupboard after my Head of Deparment had safely tucked it in. Darn. My apologies. I really should have gotten those pics by now.

Let me be verbose today...

I usually keep my posts short and crisp; not because I talk less but because I want people to actually READ my blog rather than just 'skim' through it. Hehe. I have heard tons and tons about the oh-so-short attention span of a web-surfer and how on the net being prolific does not translate into profit. But today I thought I would make an exception. Today, I want to talk. it isn't about any earth-shattering experience that has changed my all perspectives so much that it compels me to share it with the world in its absolute totality. (Phew!) Just a mood. A self indulgent desire to speak...
College re-opened (officially) today and it was wonderful. Wonderful to be back to my musty-dusty department; to breathe in the pristine monsoon air of Azam campus.; to feast my eyes on the vast open expanse in the form of the sports complex and wonderful to take in the luscious green trees. (Which by the way get even lusher in the rains). Oh, to speak of the misty cloudy skies. And the soft, silent zephyr. And then of course, old friends. Friends who have been there by me for years. And some friends who till a year ago were my teachers, and now my colleagues. What do I say...Allah has been kind.
The expansive Azam Campus, nestled cozily in the heart of Pune has become a part of me now. Five years as a student and a year as a lecturer has made it more than just an address for me. I fall in love with it every monsoon, because that's when it's at its brightest best. Not a single start of term since 2000 that I haven't felt so happy about being in it. It's like a tiny world in itself. You step out and the contrast hits you. Traffic, garbage and all that yuck. But once inside, it's a different stage.
You may argue it is not all 'heavenly' as I make it out to be. Of course I am biased. But what the heck. Sometimes you just get a feel of belonging to somethings. Even if you hate a lot of things about it.
I like it here. I like working here. I like to be contributing in some way in its progress. And there are nice people around too. People who have been a part of my growing up and people who I connect with. Plus, there won't be another job in the world where I can be so 'me'. Like in another set up, I would think a zillion times before I can picture myself scaling a wall as a lec. Not here. Here I can sit on the college 'kattas' with my pals, fool around in the canteens, race my friends to the exit, play about without a care and just be. Because I have been a student here, because I have my closest friends here, I can care minimally about what people will think.

Okay. Time to break the reverie. Ideally I should have ended this piece with a very dramatic close. But I wouldn't force that kinda thing. Perhaps posting some pictures of it would have been 'befitting'. Oh well, I said what I wanted to say. Maybe not as well as I meant to. But it's done. And thank God for that. I am blessed. Period.

Anonymous Comments Again!

Now tell me; Why can't people STAND UP for their comments? Anonymous comments (and their respective commenters) really pique me 'coz there's no way you can get back at them! Check out this comment on my previous post: "Does begging on your blog really fetch you things?" Grrrrrrrr. Well in my case, it fetches me comments!
If I only knew who wrote that! Well, to the 'commenter's' credit, I did laugh out loud when I first read it. But still...WHO WAS THIS? (With the audacious piece of devilry.)
At the risk of repeating myself, here's my humble request: Will the 'The Anonymous' please stand up and take responsibility? I solemnly promise I will not throw anything at you. Even if I wanted to. It's cyberspace remember?

I want a new cellphone!!!

Yeah. Sure want a new one! Sob. Sob. When I had gotten my Nokia 3100, it was a pretty neat thing to flaunt. But now I need more!
I would have set up my wishlist, of course, but the technologically challenged person that I am, I don't know how to do it! (WAIL!) Of course, while I am dreaming I could have well shot for the N-Series. But no. I am going to keep it simple 'coz I have a slick plan up my sleeve. (Wink! Wink!)
Ahhhhem!
I am ("sincerely"?) hoping that some good friend reads this and buys me this pink 3250. Awesome machine. Of course, keeping my sense of style in mind, he or she could also get me a Motorazr V3 in hot pink (this thing reeks of style, man!) or better still, the Motorazr V3x-more features even if it doesn't come...well you guessed it... in Pink. Hmmm...so err, WHERE are all the good samaritans, again???

My desk..definitely one of my tidier days...hehehe...the quintessential me! And ahhh! The books! Right now I am simultaneously reading Robin Sharma's 'The monk who sold his Ferrari', Daphne Du Maurier's 'The French Creek' and Robert Ludlum's 'Acopalypse now'. None of them particularly rivetting so I am going to take my own time..might just dump a couple of 'em midway if they don't start getting interesting soon!

Vague comments from Anonymous readers

Ok. So I open my inbox and see that my dear 'ol blog has gotten a comment. Now just ANY blogger will tell you that getting comments is the prime reason why we write blogs in the first place. So it was quite an anti-climax when all I saw was errr a very vague comment by an even vaguer person. Ahem. And the 'commenter' was smart. Signed 'Anonymous', this one really knew how to cover his (or her?) tracks. Grr.
The comment on my post 'Readathon' says (I quote) "ewrewtt". Hmmm..now is this some new lingo that I am not in the know of? (God, I am not that old yet to be obsolete!) If someone can offer some translation, please come forward in the noble mission of enlightening a fellow blogger. Or can the 'The Anonymous' please stand up and clarify?

Read-A-Thon

Ahem. So now that I have semi-vacations (still have to work thrice a week despite the hols-not that I mind it though), I thought I might as well invest some time in reading. I try in vain to keep up with the newspaper but it always ages faster than I expect it to! Well. I started reading a book on fundamentals on banking. Boring, I know. But I thought that by the end of it I would be a banking pro. Left the book midway even when it was getting interesting! It was just too long. Another interesting book? Essentials of English Language Teaching (a MUST-READ), alas, I left that midway too (why do I have such a short attention span???). I finally got to read Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, some famous short stories (Raold Dahl, Evelyn Waugh and the likes) from Present Laughter (ed. Malcolm Bradbury), a few from Muriel Spark's collection, I began reading 'Preparing for the 21st century' (Paul Kennedy-whatever I read of it was pretty impressive) and some sparkling essays from R. K. Narayan's 'Writerly Life'. Phew. Needless to say, I was able to FINISH only one book from this catalog!
They say that there is a sect of readers who read only to be able to flaunt about it later. Now that I am done with the flaunting, I leave the categorization to you. Ahem, ahem.

Food for thought

"The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them."
-Robert Frost

Which one are you? Hehe.

Shuuu-myyyy-laah!

Yep! That's the name of my dear darling friend-Shumyla. Apparantly she was miffed because my blog mentioned my three other friends and there was no sign of her. Oh oh. Hell hath no fury as Shumyla in rage! Ahem. Okay she was not really angry, but felt a bit 'left out'. Soooooo, this ENTIRE post is dedicated to HER! If that doesn't make her feel good, I don't know what will! Hehehe. So what's this Shumyla like? Imagine a theatrical laughathon. Well there! You have imagined her! She would put any cartoon character to shame. She can conjure the most dramatic facial expressions and can make me laugh till tears roll down my face! (Actually that happens EVERYTIME I laugh, so maybe it's not that big a deal anyway!). LOL. Well! Someone's gonna get a surprise next time she checks out my blog! Hehehe! Seeya Shu!

Another Best Friend's Wedding!

Well, well, well! One down, two more to go! LOL. Ateeya's wedding was an absolutely amazing affair (pretty elagant and stylish I must say!). Now it's the turn of best friend no. 2! (numbering in purely random order-lest I am found killed!)
So last minute packing and shopping again! But I think this time the idea is going to sink in easily. In the begining it was like, "I can't believe one of us is ACTUALLY getting married!!!" LOL. Now it's like, you have seen one wedding, you have seen 'em all! Hehehe. Number 3 gets married in November. Plenty of time to start discussing that!

Pink makin' me feel real Blue...

I can't believe this is happening to me. It seemed so easy in the begining. We are moving into a new house and we wanted everything 'special' and individualized. My brother chose yellow as the theme of his room, my mum and dad chose blue, the living room's a beige-green and mine was supposed to epitomize girl power-all PINK. Seemed easy. All you had to do was choose cooridnated bathroom ware, paint color and well, the color of the furnishing's formica. Easy. Until it came to my room. Somehow someone chose peach wall tiles for my pink floored bathroom. Okay so that was a major blow, especially when everyone's else's room turned out just as planned. I was just severely heartbroken for six months. Then it came to the room paint. I chose one magenta colored feature wall and light strawberry pink for the rest of the walls. 'Never mind the bathroom', I finally said, after half a year of sulking and lamenting. Maybe the theme of the room would undo the wrong. It seemed simple. Till I saw what the painter did today. The strawberry pink is fine Alhamdulilah. It's just that the magenta feature wall is not magenta at all. It's flourescent GULAL pink!!! Actual GULAL pink! I can't believe this is happening. For a while the severity of it all hadn't sunk in I think. That's why I was able to go shopping after seeing it. But five hours later, I feel decidedly depressed. Very sad. In fact, I think I feel nothing. Just feel numb. Sob.

Thought for the Day

"If we could sell our experieinces for what they cost us, we would all be millionaires."

-Abigail Van Buren

15 things I should have done

Well there are procastrinators and there are procrastinators. And then there are some weak willed persons. Have you ever felt that you have so much time on your hands and yet you do nothing about it? And there are so many things you would rather do but just don't do them for... umm..no particular reason at all! (Laziness not counting). Well, here are some things that I have always wanted to do, have planned to do but never got down to doing: (In random order)


1. Join Yoga classes
2. Watch my diet (Ahem)
3. Do a post graduate course in Enlish Language Teaching from Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (CIEFL), Hyderabad
4. Learn to drive a car
5. Learn to drive a geared scooter
6. Go for daily walks
7. Do a Ph.D.?
8. Be more attentive in my prayers
9. Behave better with my parents
10. Read! There is soooo much that I need to read but just keep putting it off
11. Learn how to use a bank! Manage my finances! I can't even differentiate between a withdrawal slip and a deposit one. Sigh. Always ask mum or dad to do the 'dirty' work. Don't know if you have read the short story 'My Financial Career' by Stephen Leacock, but I feel embarassingly like the hapless protagonist in the bank.
12. Become a fashion designer. Wonder why I am still stalling my childhood dream
13. Be more tuned in to my loved one's needs (I ain't getting nowhere there-that' the price for being a self absorbed narcissist-a price that others pay!)
14. Become PUNCTUAL!
15. Become a good housekeeper! I am aweful at managing anything, specially at home


Phew! So much to do! There's more...I just chalked out some fifteen points out of my idealistic 'to-do' lists. But that does not mean such lists are absolutely useless; atleast they remind you that you needn't be all smug and complacent. And atleast they tell you WHAT you want out of life. No?


Of course there are SOME things that I HAVE begun working on; like I want to be a GRRRREAT ELT teacher and I am working on it-not as much as I would have liked, but atleast a tiny bit. And then I am trying to read more...the restless creature that I am, I actually lose patience halfway through because of my very short attention span..hehehe..but I am trying! Reading makes you feel empowered really and I kinda like that feeling! Hehe.

I leave tomorrow

These last few days have been busy with last minute shopping and trips to my designer (best friend's wedding no?). In all this excitement, however came some bad news. She called today and said that one of her uncles suffered a stroke last night. So paradoxical really. And so sad. May Allah help him recover soon and may Allah help the family to have patience. Ameen.
I am sure (and hope that) he will be fine soon, Inshallah.

My Best Friend's Wedding!

Yoohoo! Got an off for a whole week! Reason? One of my BEST friend is getting married next week! Inshallah. Have been waiting for this like since ages! (Two years atleast). Well, I am off to Mumbai. Have known my friend since we have been in sixth grade and Alhamdullilah, 13 years later, we are still going strong. Thankfully, my shifting to another town 8 years ago didn't affect our friendship. Actually, back in sixth standard, I kinda hated her...hehehe. Well, that was eons ago and now I pray that she has a verrrry happy life ahead of her. Ameen.
Well, that's all three of my best friends getting committed in a month's time! LOL. Does that escalate the social pressure on me? YOU BET! LOL.

Can money buy happiness?

"Whoever said money can't buy happiness didn't know where to shop!"

This was the theme for my lesson in class today. Would love to elaborate, but the four thirty power cut slot strikes any moment now...so will update later!

Hehehe...that was when the power went off...Well, learnt to live with that now. As I was saying, this new batch wanted me to do conversation practice in class. Many of them come from English medium schools and so they talk more. Well, I saw this article in the paper which said that Bill Gates DIDN'T want to be the richest man on the planet (Can you believe that?). So as starters I posed this question before the class: "Would it be really such a nice thing to be the richest person?" and "Can money buy happiness?" I told them to discuss that in groups and come forward one by one with their opinions. Hmm, I had expected a more animated discussion, but atleast they were all coming forward to speak. I should have had some controlled discussions first, but nevertheless. Next, I gave them the newspaper clipping (Asian Age, May 6, 2006). I had an urgent call and so I had to leave midway but I did tell them to read the thing and form atleast TEN sentences about what they feel about being the richest person. Next I plan to go over DIRECT/INDIRECT speech forms that are so ubiquitous in a report. It will help them nararate things they have read too. Lastly, I want them to underline the sentences in the report that have Past tense and Present tense and compare them. I know that grammar bit should have come before the writing task, but I didn't have the time.
Anyways, I have told them to carry a newspaper with them daily, along with a notebook only for my class, with a section devoted only as a personal glossary. Let's see.

As for my views on the topic? I sure DO think that money can buy happiness. Not ALL happiness, I agree, but a great deal of it! And I sure do know where to "SHOP"! I mean, who doesn't feel happy when he gets a brand new stylish car? Or a set of diamonds? Well, of course, none of these can actually GUARANTEE happiness...happiness is a state of mind; the richest can be the saddest and the poorest, well, the most content. Peace of mind, a loving family, friends, faith in God, these things bring ACTUAL happiness; however, once those are in place, money doesn't fail MISERABLY either. Now, don't get me wrong, I am no materialistic bitch; I know my priorities and God forbid that money becomes the top most one; it's just that it makes me happy to be able to buy my kid brother a cute piggy bank, or fund his summer camp too! (Not to mention, to be able to buy my own scooter and other little luxuries!)

Naive freshmen

Hehehe. Don't you just love the naivette of freshman students? You hold absolute power in class! Hehe. Okay so that won't last very long. Sooner or later they will discover the power that college life bestows upon them. But by that time, I will have created a rapport with them too. It's horrible to step in a class of teens who already have preconceived ideas about how they are gonna take their teachers! The new batch is an eclectic mix. Some from really humble backgrounds and sooooo eager to learn, some (the female kind) who will hang on to every word you say, some who want to really talk to you and some who think they are God's gift to mankind and have the perpetual "So what?" scowl plastered on their faces! LOL. Have a kid from St. Vincent's School, Pune in the class and it seems he has already set ideas about how he's going to respond to everything in Azam Campus. Well, we'll see to that! ;)

Bakin' Hot and not liking it

You step out into the sun and it's like a blazing furnace. Pune is burning and how! The midday sun is at its scorching best and the worst part is, that's exactly the time I have to go to college. Today was horrible. The amount of time I spent in the merciless sun, someone would think I was looking for a fashionable tan! Ugh! May Allah have mercy...the heat's getting unbearable. Add to it the idiotic power cuts and you have the perfect recipe for freshly baked humans. "Eww" I know, but that's just the way it is.

It's Official! No Holidays!

LOL. Yeah. No holidays for poor me! I begin with another course of remedial English with the next batch of 'scholar' students tomorrow. Should I be complaining? Wellllll....it could be a learning experience; I am still fresh from the last batch and I think this could be a good oppurtunity to improvize. I kinda like the job, plus it will keep me occupied through the hols (only an hour a day) but I don't think I am going sacrifice my next holiday for anything! And that's gonna be sometime in October I think. Oh well! C'est La Vie! Atleast I enjoy my job! Alhamdullilah! I am sure it's going to be fun. Let's see what this next batch of kids have to offer. Wish me luck!

Tell students to SPEAK to their books!

I had a discussion with one of my colleagues today. While I dealt with the elementary level students, she took the more advanced ones. We were discussing teaching strategies when she told me that the best way to teach students to TALK is to make them WRITE. She asks her students to write atleast something at regular intervals and makes it a point to check it and assign marks or grades to their writing because as she says, "Boys LOVE competition". She asked them to TALK to their books if they weren't comfortable to talk to the class at first. And the best way to talk to your book? With your pen! Just WRITE!
She emphasized that only making them write will do little good if they are not told where they are going right and where wrong. We have EVALUATE them every WEEK (preferably by an 'outside' teacher). For Basic students she suggested that we give them not whole essays but just sentences, say ten having the simple present tense, ten with present progressive, and so on.

When it came to speaking before an audience, she suggested making them talk in their OWN language first. That helps losen up stage fright. Stage fright kinda doubles when there's the added pressure of speaking in an alien language. Later we could give them ready lists of topic related vocab which they could refer whenever the uncomfortable 'umms' and 'uhhs' set in.
Plus, she selects a few really good students, makes them group leaders and makes them responsible forALL the students in their group. She then gives them topics for group discussion, which each group discusses amongst themselves, and then presents their views ONE BY ONE infront of the whole class. If ALL the group memebers don't speak, well then the group does not get any marks. And I guess I can add to that, "Boys HATE to lose in competitions!"
I think contests can always been used to our advantage. They give the students something to look forward to. Keeps them on their toes and gives you a feedback too.
She said something about getting the student to become better, the better ones to become the best and the best to become simply excellent. If that doesn't happen, well we are lagging somewhere then. Thanks Zenab!

A Saudi Princess and her Art

I read this article that appeared in the Asian Age written by Siraj Wahab a couple of days ago (April 23, Culture Plus). It was about the grand daughter of Late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. She practices photography as a hobby and is quite a pro at it, hosting several exhibitions to display her photos, all essentially black and white. She's been covering the mammoth pilgrimage of hajj, where she had been received with overt hostility because many Muslims consider photography as forbidden. Here's what I liked about her views on artistic expression:
"One of the basic ills in Muslim society is that we think that art is luxury. I say art is not a luxury, it is a necessity...Go to a mosque (in a village in Pakistan) and you will find there was someone there who painteed the mosque-who drew flowers on the walls. There is beautiful calligraphy. it doesn't mean that the person had been through art school. It was a part of society. It was a natural expression...The probles is we have separated art from utility. There is this mistaken belief that what is useful cannot be beautiful. As a result, it is almost as if Muslim society no longer appreciates beauty...the Quran in itself says you have to appreciate beauty. Part of the Prophet's miracle is that he fascinated the Qureish of Mecca more than 1400 years ago with the language of the Quran. They were genuinely impressed with the beauty of the Quran language. That is also an art."
Hmmm...I say, as long as there is nothing anti-Islamic about a piece of art, I agree.

Three Cheers for Ahmedinejad!

Iranian Prez Ahmedinejad is one gutsy man. The point in question is his decision to allow ladies to attend sports and game matches. After nearly three decades, Iranian women will be allowed to sit in stadia and watch and cheer their teams play. While this has been opposed by some clerics, he was right when he said that many rules have been established without necessarily being Islamic rulings. They are just orthodox rules. And besides, if there is ever anything immoral, we just tend to blame the women. He said it was high time men took some responsibility too. Kudos to him. And since segregation of the men's and women's seating is going to take place anyway, I think this is a good decision.

Meeting with the Princi today!

Yeah. A long meeting with the Principal of the college today. Must say, I respect Dr. Khan for his utmost dedication to his work. I just caught something he said...that we must never forget that we are teachers for the whole day, not teachers just for the six hours that we spend in college time. Well. I agree. But I still need my annual summer vacation. Thuogh I like his vision of empowering the youngsters in every possible way through our dedication, I don't quite fancy the idea of working through the hols! Especially since I have gotten my termination letter for this academic year. (Junior teachers have to reapply every new academic term). Well, it's worse for him I think- he hasn't gotten a vacation in 18 years!!! Phew!

So what was the meeting about? Well fresh high school 'scholars' arrive in the college this week. Most of 'em really bright and talented but from non English schools and quite a few of them not very well to do. The batch is selected from throughout the state and the neighboring ones as potential merit toppers. Often referred to as the 'cream'.
So then? Well, The Mission begins. Give 'em the best so that in two years they walk out from this college with admission letters from the best medical, dental, engineering colleges, et al; with the ability to speak and make presentations in English confidently, with know-how about using computers; with overall developed personalities, with orientations on religion, health and nutrition, public speaking skills, the works. And after their graduation, they should come back for some more training to take civil service examinations. Great vision, I know. So where do we fit in? Well, to equip them with English language skills of course! He gave some ideas...will elaborate on 'em soon I guess.

Taliban Sucks

Yesterday the Taliban killed an Indian engineer whom they had kidnapped. And for what? They wanted the Indian govt. to pull out of Afghanistan. This ain't Islam. This ain't what our Holy Prophet (PBUH) taught us. Even in war, he asked us not to target civilians. To not kill without reason. This was totally unwarranted. It was brutal. It was uncalled for and uncouth.
So ok they had some issues with the Indian govt. So they wanted them out ASAP. Fair enough. But to resort to killing of innocent lives? Man, they have Allah to answer to.

Quote Unquote and the 'Speaking' Problem

Oh oh. I think I am on a writing spree. Guess the 'writer's block' is gonna hit pretty soon, but till that happens, I am makin' hay while the cerebral sun shines.

Ok. Here's another one. How about using quotations in the ELT class? It would be helpful if the students can quote famous lines, no? I mean, before they present their favorite quote to the class, they would have made SOME attempt to understand the meaning of it and make SOME MORE attempts to explain its meaning to the rest of the class. And there's the double advantage of the students being exposed to good writing and memorizing such lines. I guess it will help their own style and it always impresses the examiner if your essay contains sparkling wit or great words of wisdom.

So I have tried my hand at vocab, a li'l bit o' grammar, but I am still clueless about the MOST important bit-SPEAKING!!! This is supposed to be a SPOKEN ENGLISH COURSE! So while they are learning how to comprehend small passages, updating their vocabulary, learning a little about common grammatical mistakes (make that quite little), they still can't speak confidently or fluently!!! They still make numerous grammatical mistakes, their speech is disconnected and their vocabulary is not enough to hold a conversation...Now WHAT should I do about that? There might be improvement in their Receptive language skills (reading/listening), but I am struggling to etablish some Productive skills (especially speaking). I am still so clueless. What activities or methodology should I adopt that will help? Any answers anyone?

Newspapers in Class

I often wondered how I could effectively make use of newspapers in my ELT class. I don't think I quite have the success formula yet, but let me 'ruminate' over this for a bit.

What I did was asked my students to read something from the newspapers (I stick to the Times of India for the sake of uniformity and because I know they have great feature articles and good writing style) and to tell the class about what they have read. This activity didn't quite take off as expected. I began this very late..just last week and the response has not been overwhelming. Of course, the good, motivated students are coming up with descriptions of snippets that they have read. Maybe if given more thought and time, this activity could work. After all, they SHOULD know how to read newspapers and also form opinions on the things they read. Newspapers are the most authentic materials I think. Maybe I could try again. Am open to brighter ideas too....

Perhaps I could do one thing more with papers- I could put up a colored chartpaper on the wall and ask the students to stick any newspaper article they find interesting on the 'wallpaper' and preferably highlight the most interesting parts to make it easier for others to read.
Hmmm...........so many ideas and so li'l implementation. Reminds me of Robert Frost: "And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep."

Some More Elt Ideas?

It's funny how all ideas come to you only when the ELT course is near its end. Grrrr. Maybe they are so hard to implement that the unconscious mind simply represses them when the course is underway! Hehehe. And to keep the ego happy, maybe it then allows the mind to spring up these ideas afterwards, when they can no lomger be implemented-so that atleast you can call yourself 'creative' towards the end!

Anyway, these are some more that struck me as being potentially useful:

One of the supervisors where I teach asked me if there was any considerable difference in the language competence of the students that I teach. They mostly comprise of students from non-English schools. Had to admit. I didn't know if there had been that much of a difference. He gave me a suggestion. He asked me to leave behind some 'samples' of 'good English wiriting' - essays and poems which he would make them learn and recite in class. Initially I had been sceptical about the idea. Learning and reciting borrowed material? But in retrospect it may be quite useful. As he said, poetry would expose them to some beautiful lines which they could quote in their essays later in their exams. Prose would acquaint them with style, new words, etc.; and because they would have learnt the material by heart, they would be under lesser pressure to speak 'it' before an audience. Our course concentrates on speaking skills over any other skill, so this may be useful. I am now just wondering where I could get such stuff....

Grammar 'n Vocabulary Lessons For Me

I am trying to learn and I don't want to make the same mistakes again. Here are a few things I would like to keep in my mind next time I teach a remedial course:

1. Never give them conversational practice excercises or role plays early in the course:
I think you need to first outline the building blocks of the language first and THEN give them oppurtunities to use the language. Of course, language is indeed learnt through USE more than through lecturing but with beginners I think it would be a good idea to let them feel they 'have' some 'tools' before they can actually start using them. I guess a good way would be to teach an item and then formulate authentic situations when they get to use those items. I wasted precious time trying to get them talking right in the begining of the course. 'Private' group discussions were absolute failures.

2. Debates on current issues:
Once the students feel personally involved in the activity given to them, they might just forget they are supposed to be 'learning' a language and use it anyway because of their inner desire to communicate or contribute to the debate. Of course the debate should be duly relevant to their experience. Though I have realized this pretty late, but I think the SUNDAY DEBATE section in the TIMES OF INDIA could be a good starting point. The debates present two opposing views on a current topic by writers from different professional fields. Like for example, the current debate in India on OBC reservations in higher education brought out spirited opinions from the students. Of course, not all will participate and those who did, did so because there has been a comfort level established after 30 hours of English class. I don't know how successful this would be in the begining of the course.

3. Vobulary webs/ Associated meanings:
I learnt this from a representative from Cambridge University Press (CUP). He said that while he was taught 'thin' and 'fat' in 4th grade, he came across 'frail' only in the 7th grade. The student's vocabulary need, however, does not wait that long. If the student has to describe his uncle who was in the hospital, he would need 'frail' instead of just 'thin'. So it makes sense to teach vocabulary through associations. A whole list from 'thin' to 'fat' and 'overweight' (along with the negative connotations of calling someone 'fat') should be given. Associated vocabulary like thin-weak-frail should also be provided.

I try always to let the students guess the meanings of new words from the context. Now I think they are more confident about making their guesses. Many a times they get it right too. Moreover, I now try to give them associated words too, based not only on meanings but also sounds and spellings. For instance, when teaching them 'CINDER' I also told them about 'CIDER' which looks like cinder but is different. From 'CELLAR' we reached 'DUNGEON'. From 'CURIOSITY' we arrived at the proverb, 'Curoisity kills the cat'; and from 'MILLINER' we obviously landed on to 'MILLIONAIRE'; dagger-scabbard, sword-sheath and so on.
I think it's important to give them a sense of achievement-they get that when they remember the meanings.

Another thing this CUP rep told us was that we must teach need based vocab. Like, 'ecstasy' is a very fine word, but just how many times have we felt 'ecstatic' in our lives to use it? Good point, no?

ELT anyone?

Ok so it's been a long time since I last posted. Sometimes the technical bits can be very intimidating, specially for a technologically challenged person like me. However, I am going to key in some things soon. Just almost finished a remedial English course with some 16 year olds. This was my first attemt at remedial English as a teacher..just began teaching professionally last year...needless to say, it was a learning experience. I don't think I did a very great job. I was new, the syllabus design and execution was given entirely to me, I had little expertise and no experience. And to top it, they gave me the boy's class! And you know it can be with teenage boys, specially when they know that the teacher is 'new'. Well, the course is almost near its end and though I have greatly overcome the hostility of the kids (I think they kinda love me now!), I think there was much more I could have done with them. I want to review somethings. Like what worked, what did not and what could have worked. Most importantly I think there needs to be more organization before begining any course. And during the course too. I think I lagged behind there. As I always do when it comes to organizing. Anyways, all ELT teachers..I think I will have something to share very soon!

Life explained in a Mayonnaise Jar

Hello there poeple...Have been dyyyying to share this intriguing piece that someone mailed me...really worth reading...and reflecting (over). However, the technology illiterate person that I am, this has been hard work 'coz I just didn't (still don't) know how to upload this..so I put it on my Yahoo Briefcase..all i can do is give you the link...it's really worth the trouble of opening it! It's called, "Life explained in a Mayonaisse Jar". Puhleeeeez read it and tell me if there's a better way to upload stuff like this! Ciao!

http://in.briefcase.yahoo.com/reallyposh

P.S: Can anyone please also tell me how do I paste links to my blog! I am a novice in every sense of the word..help educate me!

Alexander Pope

Here's something that you might find interesting..you needn't really be a literature enthusiast to appreciate Alexander Pope...to like him, all you need is a taste for true wit and yeah, a sense of humor! His sparkiling wit not only delights but also instructs..so much that he said way back in the 18th century holds so true even today!
P.S: The title of my blog is a sorta tribute to this verbal wit


http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope

The Begining...

Assalam Alaikum denizens of planet Earth! Well, this is my first attempt at blogging and I am really a lazy kind of person but what the heck! Thought I'd give this thing a shot! Just happened to read a blog on this site and was mighty impressed! I doubt I'll be doing much impressin' here though. Hehe. Anyways, this should suffice for the present atleast. Seeya.