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Showing posts from June, 2014

(22): We are Individuals; they are also Individuals (II)

We are, yes, individuals. But we are, sometimes, stupid individuals. Perhaps I and you are among the latter group; who knows? Forgive the affront and don’t take any offence. None is really intended. It’s baffling, to say the least, what we humans sometimes do with our lives. I strongly believe that we all are endowed with one or another intellect with which we use to lead our soul and body towards some mental gratifications such as to eat food and drink to quench our hunger and thirst; wear clothes to cover our nudity; communication ability to express feelings and wants; etc. But yet, we tend to do other things so glaringly self-destructive for no constructive reason whatsoever in the name of fashion, passion and thingamajig . I am not moralizing or sensationalizing anything, for that is, or can be, relative and subjective; I am rather rationalizing them. Often it happens, we utter: to each his own. I shake head at this pomposity and respond: to each his ruin. It was only a few

(21): We are Individuals; they are also Individuals (I)

My stay in India aged one today. My wife and  l live contentedly and our studies go on well—praises are due to Allah. I have shared lots of my experiences within the span of the year in some of my write ups. Another fresh experience, nonetheless, prompted this short piece, and this is an ongoing 3-week workshop I am attending on film, T.V and theatre acting, choreography and cinematography at the beautiful, hilly, artists’ hub of Andretta in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh (HP). There are about 50 attendees from mainly three states—the host i.e. HP, Punjab and Haryana. I am the only non-Indian; so, imagine the feeling. I have met some people that have reshaped the-year-old views I held on India and Indians; hence the novelty of the experience. Our trip to HP was exhilarating , for the state is well known for its remarkable atmosphere and tourist attractions. So we all were enthusiastic the first day we heard about the workshop. The anxiety was multiplied when I ‘googled’ the name o

(20): My Apathetic Wedding Anniversary

Muhammad Muhsin Ibrahim @muhsin234 (Twitter) Sunday, 01 st June 2014, marks my maiden wedding anniversary. Unlike today, I was filled with happiness beyond expressing this day, last year. I was all the more excited that we were, pragmatically speaking, honeymooning outside Nigeria, starting in Cairo, where we would have an eighteen-hour transit, and India, where we still are, essentially though for studies. My euphoria was, nonetheless, shattered by two fears since we were airborne:  first, India was often described in the news as religiously a volatile country; and second, as being ‘infested’ with lusty rapists. I am Muslim and coming with a newly wed wife! Though after spending almost a year now, I discovered that although the religious schism of course exists and the rapists rather ravage, some stories are untrue, or just being exaggerated.  Yet, I was spirited in another way, for I was ‘escaping’ from the wrath of the infamous, dreaded Boko Haram (BH) unthinking insu