DP Daily Prompt: Green- Eyed Monster post by Ranu

English: Muslims looking for the new moon to mark the Eid al fitr, the end of the month of Ramadhan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I cannot recall any kind of jealousy I had with anyone outside my family. Inside my family there has been instances,when I rebelled.I thought it was unfair. I cannot be sure if it is jealousy or partiality.Maybe an outsider will view it as border-line jealousy.

One year my father told my mother to buy new clothes only for my big sister for the second eid.All the others will have to wear clothes that we got for our first eid. I told my mother it is not fair. Why will she be treated differently,she should also wear the same clothes. Otherwise she has to buy new clothes for me too. My Mom knew she has to give in to my demand,or the situation might go out of hand.

I felt terrible for my other siblings,but the rule was made by my parents and I have to fight against it. I got my new clothes,the rest of my siblings didn’t dare fuss. At the time I didn’t know the phrase:”Squeaky wheel Gets The Grease”.

What do you think,will you call this act of mine ,”JEALOUSY”?  It is your call.

Please Note: Eid is a celebration we have,twice a year. One is after the month of Ramadan,we call it Eid-al -Fitr, the second one comes after two months and ten days after the first one,it is Eid-uz- Zuha. In the second one an animal is slaughtered  e.g cow,camel,goat,these are the common ones.

“A Thousand Splendid Suns” Book Review by Ranu

A small section of Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“A Thousand Splendid Suns” is a novel by Khaled Hosseini.

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan.This is his second novel. His first one was,”The Kite Runner”.

The story revolves around ,Mariam,the main character in the story. Besides her the other characters are:

1. Jalil: her father

2.Nana : her mother

3. Mullah Faizullah: teacher

4. Rasheed: Maryam’s husband

5. Laila: Rashid’s second wife

6. Mammi and Babi:   Laila’s parents

7. Tariq: Laila’s childhood friend

This is the story of two women, Mariam and Laila. They did not see eye to eye in the beginning, this changed gradually.They  started  depending on each other. This friendship made life much more bearable for both of them.

The story took place in Herat and Kabul,Afghanistan. The author is from Afghanistan. He was able to portray the life and customs of the common people in a way which will not be possible for someone living outside the country. The book is mostly fiction. Some parts are true . The mixture of both makes the story very interesting.

I found the story educational, it is a male dominating society,women have no voice whatsoever. They cannot complain even if they are battered and bruised.The political situation is deplorable. The presence of external forces are not helping the situation at all.

It is a powerful story which shows if one is determined,he/she/they can turn it around in their favor regardless of all the deterrents facing them.

DP Daily Prompt: Goals Post by Ranu

I  became interested to be a blogger after I read a friend’s blog. I did not plan anything,I wrote whatever came to my mind. I got some good ideas from another friend.This got me going for a while. I was running out of topics for my blog.Then came the advice to translate Tagore’s poems. At first I had some rocky roads to climb. I have always listened and loved Tagore’s songs.His poems,there were a few I memorized and found a lot of pleasure reciting them, off and on. To translate his poems to me was not an easy job to take on.I felt what’s the harm,if I get stuck,I’ll give up this idea altogether. Amazingly enough my friends loved my translation.The comments I received were very encouraging. I am still translating them.

I did not have a goal in mind. I noticed I was actually having fun blogging. I have a few followers and they religiously follow my blogs. Now with Daily Prompt I’m in a position to write about various subjects.There are a few I get out from my memory bank.it gives me a lot of incentive to keep on writing.

I am not sure of my achievements,this much is true. I am getting better at translating Tagore’s poems.I am using my brain to think of challenging topics to keep it interesting for me and my followers. I have started reading a lot.The books I bought before with the intention of reading are not collecting dust any more,I’m actually reading them.This is one achievement of mine  I am proud of.

I don’t waste my time watching TV to get rid of boredom.  I conclude by saying,blogging has opened up my horizon. I am thankful I am busy. My time is occupied by reading blogging and more reading.There is no room for the devil to make it his workshop,simply because my brain is not idle!

DP Daily Prompt: Bittersweet Memories Post by Ranu

It was a few years ago,I received some of my brothers things. His lawyer sent them to me as gifts.My brother died of cancer. Before his death ,he made out a will.   His instruction was to send me his books and his computer. When I opened the box,the computer and his books were neatly packed. In the corner of the large box,there was a small box. I had no idea what was in it. I opened it and to my surprise found two gold medals. These were the medals he received when he stood first in the final high school exam.

He knew I was very happy when he got those medals. To this day I don’t know why he decided to give them to me. These medals brought back sweet memories of my brother. He was a very hardworking student.His teachers were very fond of him. He was always courteous and helpful.

I sat in front of the box with the medals in my hand.I was remembering the day when he brought them home. My mother and all of us were so proud of him. I still have them . I look at them and remember him and wish he was still with us!

DP Daily Prompt: Dulled Post by Ranu

Magic Potion (album) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Using a potion to sharpen,one of my senses and dull the others,is something I will not do. And the worst part of it is accepting from a mysterious man.No I think I’ll prefer my senses to be normal. So many things can go wrong if I try a potion, which I know nothing about. When we are prescribed medicine by a bona fide physician,we are cautioned about the reaction. Whether our system will work the same as countless others.There is always a percentage of people who have adverse reaction,even though it’s a small percentage.Likewise the potion good or bad mysterious or not will have to be placed in the same category as the regular medicine,prescribed by genuine doctors,who have academic qualification and also have proved themselves worthy of practicing their craft.

When it’s a mysterious man, no one knows about him, it is highly dangerous to try anything he tells me to take. I will not try it,no matter what he says.It is risky to try something that will sharpen one sense and dull the others,is not something I will do.

DP Daily Prompt: Helping Hand Post by Ranu

This experience takes place in Makkah. My husband,his cousin,  his family and I were travelling on the bus. The bus driver was supposed to take us to  Muzdalifa where we were supposed to spend the night and come back to Makkah,the following morning. Suddenly the driver stopped and told us to get off. We had no idea where we were. My husband’s cousin,knew a few words of Arabic,he tried to explain,we won’t find our way.It was dark and deserted. The driver kept yelling and told us to get off. Miraculously someone showed up,he was an Egyptian. He had a heated dialogue with the driver and was able to convince him to drop us off at the taxi stand. To be sure he boarded the bus with us. We all got off to hire a cab.The nice man called a cab driver, told him in Arabic to drop us off  in Muzdalifa. We thanked him and got in the cab. We reached our destination safely. I will always remember this.

Tunnel from Makkah (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Probhat Ootshab Celebration Of Dawn By Tagore translation by ranu

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How did my heart unfold today,

The world is here  to celebrate.

With the coming of dawn what’s this,

Who will I see when I look at the sky.

A ray of sun has fallen on the eastern cloud,

half of the red chariot is visible on the peak.

Birds twitter at the start of a new  day,

Their sweet sound  is a joy to hear .

‘Come  come’ sky are you calling__

I am not here, I am in your heart.

the light of dawn scatters my heart,

I will fill your heart with mine.

Arise O sun arise, take me,

leave me on the boat east of you.

I know it will cross the sea__

take me then, take me.

DP Daily Prompt: Feed Your Senses Post by Ranu

The Sense of Sight (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The first thing that attracted my sense of sight was the clock,it was reminding me to leave the bed. Seven O Clock already,I have so much to do. My sense of sound was probably in a deep coma,I honestly did not hear anything. My nose surely was blocked this sense of mine was happy to let my sight do everything while it lies dormant.

Given the fact,today is the day,my sight will shoulder the responsibility of moving me around, I made up my mind to follow it closely. I got up, “Get Your Tooth Brush”, it said. I did that,I suppose it wants me to brush my teeth. After completing my work in the bathroom. I followed it to the kitchen. It was morning and time for breakfast.

Now my sense of sound was ready to do its chore, turned on the faucet and poured water. put the kettle on the stove to heat water. Took out milk and a teabag and put both in the mug.Microwave oven was on to heat the the teabag and milk. The water was boiling,alerting to make tea. Next step was to toast bread in the toaster oven. When it was all done, smell was only too happy to do its chore,the smell of tea woke my drowsy sense,the toast aroused my hunger.I sat down and had a mug of warm tea,ate my toast.

I thanked all my senses for helping me welcome morning. I feel though,sight should get most of the credit,without it moving around would be troublesome!

Poonarabartaun Born Again by Tagore Translation by ranu

Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel prize for literature. It is the first Nobel prize won by Asia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you desire my return once more

to this world of happy and sad waves on the bank of this ocean.

Float my raft again, play in the

dust,

smile and float behind the deer with tears.

walk on the thorny road once more,

Whether I live or die from the wound.

You come in disguise  and make me play again___

to resume my love for this earth once more.

DP Daily Prompt: Too Big To Fail post by ranu

English: Wordmark of Northwestern University. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I always wanted to do a masters degree in education. I thought the prerequisite must be to finish B.Ed.,I took admission and saw myself in the right path to get into the MEd. program. I applied for admission,but found out from Professor Elliott,I was too young and also did not qualify,because I had no teaching experience.

At that age,I had no fear,I said whatever came to my mind. The Prof. looked at me and smiled ,he said I’ll be given a battery of tests,which will determine my eligibility. I was ready to face anything, I did the tests.I started to feel scared,I had no idea what the outcome will be. A week later I received a letter of acceptance. I informed the school,where I taught,I wanted to resign. The authorities rejected, their explanation was,I cannot resign a government job. Disappointed I wrote to the Research centre about my predicament. They agreed to take me the following year. I was unable again,I got married,my husband worked outside Bangladesh.

They say,third time is the charm,but is it,I questioned? I applied for admission in North Western University in the suburb of Chicago. I received application forms for a Phd.  I thought I’ll take a chance, I failed again, my husband pointed out I will lose money because I’ll have to take leave of absence without pay and also pay tuition etc., and my children were too young,my husband could not look after them all by himself. So I lost another chance. I gave up thinking maybe it’s not for me. Thinking it to be my “Destiny”,I consoled myself.

I took an online course where I learned not to blame

“Destiny”,that I can change it if I have the will to do so!