Zainab's Writings

At school I was always the high-achiever ; although I seldom worked hard at my studies. There were occasions when I wouldn't feel like doing the work I was supposed to do, did it half-heartedly, and still received a 'Well done!’ comment from the teacher. One such incident from kindergarten is still fresh in my mind. The class was doing a Picture Composition - a  writing activity which required us to write and draw about a picture of a seal performing in a circus; taped to the blackboard. I happened to be in a bad mood, and purposely gave my worst to the task; making sure I coloured outside the lines in the picture I drew. However, to the teacher it was quite satisfactory, and I got a smiley-face for it. This was one of the first impressions the school gave me: you had to satisfy the teacher, your own standards of satisfaction were irrelevant and unimportant. Although I was mostly a very obedient student, bitter experiences happened to me as well, some of which still stick...

When I was three years old, I told people, “ When I grow up, I’m gonna be a bear .” At age five, I realised that wasn’t quite possible. By the time I turned seven, I had decided I wanted to be a scuba diver/ whale trainer when I grew up, influenced by a video of one I had seen at school. I read books on whales, dreamt of dolphins, and could almost see sharks swimming about in the swimming pool. However, at age ten, I became aware of the fact that I wasn’t brave enough to train whales or swim with sharks, and that it was safer to become a writer. I was already capable of writing poems and devouring large numbers of stories; it wouldn’t be too difficult. At twelve, I felt that my essays didn’t sound nearly as good as my paintings looked, and I was determined I could become an artist when I became an adult. But at thirteen, looking at some of Sadequain’s spectacular murals properly for the first time, I realized my works could never be good enough to be called an artist. Toda...

Welcome back readers and Eid Mubarak! I can't believe this is my second post in 2018 and more than half the year has flown by...I am extremely sorry for not being able to post anything (I was busy with stuff) but I'll try to post more regularly from now on. :) This post is just some reflections upon returning to my home-city Karachi after a trip to Sharda (Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir). Kashmir is  such  a wonderful place..I was awed by the beauty and serenity of the atmosphere. We got ample opportunities to explore the place as well as to interact with the locals and, in short, had lots of fun. :) ----- I glance out of the cab’s windscreen. I squint. How come are we not surrounded by mountains? I wonder. Then it strikes me: of course. We are in Karachi, and there are no mountains in Karachi. As our cab hits the roads, we are surrounded by cars, people, traffic, lights (Karachi isn’t called the city of lights for no reason), billboards and visual pollution. Shop...

I road this short insight on the beautiful roads to Kashmir after a trip there. Here it is. Enjoy! The roads to Kashmir were really dangerous but touchingly beautiful, too.We saw loads of pine trees laden with pine cones. There were huge lakes of clear blue water and gushing steams that had started naturally between old rocks. We saw flocks of big, shaggy mountain goats and spotted cows grazing on the mountains. There were many types of trees and plants,too. We drove between huge green mountains, sometimes between clouds, fog, and rain. I washed my hands and face from a stream and looked for pine cones. On almost every dangerous turn we saw huge rocks that had slided off the mountains. They were dangerous roads that grew even more dangerous because of landsliding and traffic.   I felt like a tiny creature in a huge room. There was everything much greater than myself. I was awestruck by the beauty of the vast and beautiful landscape, and ultimately felt the greatness of th...

It was a nice, sunny, day. We had a tasty breakfast of sandwiches, got dressed, and set out for a walk. By 'we' I mean me, my siblings, parents, and a younger cousin. We were on a trip to Muscat. We were staying in my uncle's house. It was a really very enjoyable trip. We walked on, talking about road safety, and to hold hands while crossing the road. After walking for about 10 minutes, we reached Al Qurum Park.(orHadeeqa tul Qurum Attabibyah in Arabic) We went inside, and continued walking in the scorching heat, while taking LOTS of pictures. The park was very beautiful, with vast, green lawns here and there, and a winding path in the middle. There were various types of flowers, almost everywhere. We walked and walked. Finally,we reached the back door of the park. We walked some more, and finally, we reached our destination, The Children's Museum. It was a science Museum for kids of all ages. We went inside and did lots of experiments and learned new things. The Museum...