Shuja Tasleem

Life is just like an array of cuisines; full of flavors – sometimes spicy, sour and sometimes sweet as well.  And to relish every flavor, we let a dish simmer for hours on a low flame and sometimes put it for overnight refrigeration as well. And  just like any cuisine, our life is also filled with different experiences (read flavors).  Thus,  embracing every experience - both good and bad - that life puts us through is equally important to bring out the best of us; be it lessons learned from our mistakes or aiming to strive for more after tasting success.  There are days in our life when we feel cold and blue, while on others, we just shine like the Sun. If simply put, life gives us both good as well as bad experiences. But, many of us struggle with negative life experiences, mostly. We are engrossed in disempowering feeling, that life throws at us, so much that we fail to appreciate all the good things we are bestowed with. To list a few struggles of life...

Gone are the days when we used to shake hands. Something enough to believe how a tiny virus has successfully enforced a new world order into action! These are – without a doubt – the hardest times that we as a global community are facing together since the second world war. But, remember, this too shall pass. The only important point worth holding on - would be the lessons that we will take with us; if we survive. By now, we all are well acquainted with the terms like “Quarantine”, “Self-isolation”, and “Social distancing”. And being a hopeless romantic, I had to take a gig at one of my favorites, currently floating lingos – “Quarantine”, which still is making rounds virtually as this deadly Coronavirus continues to pave its way across the globe. Quarantine Love: "Love is an evil enchantress!”, she said. He disagreed, "Isolation is the worse, my love!", he retorted. "Isolation kills. It haunts you. It aches you in the places you don't even know exis...

Chase me through the backwaters of Dal, while I will run fast over those tiny bridges leading us away from the tinsel town of hopes and dreams... "Will you hold my hand if I would want to take you in a Shikara and row us into the unknown world of wonder?" I will ask you with a heart full of doubt. "Why wouldn't I?", you will say these words releasing me of my miseries. We will watch the stars falling across the horizon of the night sky and you will laugh watching me in awe as I will try catching them on a larger than life-sized lotus leaf... I will fail in my vain attempt to do so, but just when frown will start overtaking my face; you will hand me a freshly plucked lotus leaf embedded with tiny droplets of Dal; twinkling like diamonds... "It shines just for you; just like my heart glistens watching you smile!", you will say. "And I smile just for you!", I will laugh.  We will row till the end of the world; who knows if time wi...

I recently got a chance to watch Shikara: The untold story of Kashmiri Pandits  and I must say, being a Kashmiri Muslim who was born post exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, I had to write about it - to somehow put to rest the volcano of thoughts that this story stirred in my head. First time since its occurrence - 30 years ago, the unheard and rather silenced narrative of Kashmir, the story of Kashmiri Pandits, has been presented as a motion picture. I was skeptical to watch this movie; to be honest, I was afraid. To list a few of my fears: Will this movie portray the communal harmony that prevailed in Kashmir or will it be bigotry of hate and lies? Will this movie touch upon the kryptonite of brutal atrocities that has engulfed Kashmir over the last 70 years or will it brush away those facts? I must say, the story has subtly answered my every doubt – by showing nothing but the truth – in a subtle language of love.   The misery of Kashmiri Pandits is a clot that haunts Ka...