Zahra speaks

 As we bid adieu to the year 2020, I would like to take this opportunity and thank The Almighty for all His blessings despite the odd circumstances that prevailed all over the world this year. This year was a jolting reminder of who is in charge. The world had to amend their plans according to His will. A virus that cannot be discerned by the naked eye locked everyone in their homes and established the vulnerability of human beings before the divine decree. This year has changed many things including the mindset of some people that they can control everything, plan perfectly, and mold everything according to their wishes. The truth has always been contrary and the coronavirus pandemic has proved it. Despite everything, this year has taught me a lot. This year has been nothing short of a bumpy ride, from the passing of my grandmother to giving away 100 copies of my book within 2 months, I have a lot of memories is associated with the year 2020. In February, my grandmother passed away. T

Stop living in the future because it is snatching you away from your present. Some people make the biggest mistake of their life by always trying to gape at the future, trying to make it perfect, and in that effort, they miss to look around at the perfection that a moment poses as you live it. It doesn't imply that you should not think about the future at all, I am just trying to emphasis the fact that the future is not promised, and while chasing something that is not certain, why should we lose what we have in hand? Life is very small, it is just this moment that we are living in. What if the world ends tomorrow and all you did today was plan what you would do tomorrow? It would be disappointing, isn't it?  Sometimes all you have to do is give your hundred percent and let the Maker of the world do the rest. I have seen many people who plan ahead of time and I think it's good too because it makes sense. You never know what may go wrong so it's always good to have a pla

PC: MALTA TODAY Rape, this word triggers everybody, but nobody is ready to address this issue in this country. 3881 rape cases were reported in 2019, this figure includes the child sexual abuse as well. The recent case of a woman being gang-raped in front of her children is horrifying but this inhumane act is not something new. The nation has much lately witnessed another act of brutality when a 5-year-old girl’s torched dead body was recovered. The cases would go on and on but the government and officials would still not act. Pakistan has become a banana republic. Women, children, animals, and even transgenders are not safe anymore. This year, two mind-blowing cases were reported, a cat was sexually assaulted by a few teenagers and some policemen molested five-six transgender, they were forced to strip. I watched the video of the latter incident and it cringed me to death. This week, a trans-activist Gul Panra was shot dead by anonymous people. This issue is much neglected and not tak

Note: I don't really watch Bollywood movies but when I do, I like sharing views and perceptions with my readers. If you don't like watching movies, please pass this one! 😀 This movie has been in my pipeline for a very long time. It was released in 2019 and it has a rating of 6 out of 10 on IMDB. It is a dark comedy and psychological thriller. I liked the movie. Mainly because of the gripping storyline. It's not a conventional Bollywood movie with tons of songs and it focuses on story progression rather than glamour. Therefore, I was happy to watch the entire film which is almost 2 hours long. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat. You keep juggling between the thought of the protagonist being 'mental' or not. There are some bits in the movie that confuses the audience and like every good thriller, the climax shocks the viewers. The vibe of the movie is very light. Even the murder sequences do not creep you out. Overall, the storytelling is good. The acting p

I have been gutted from the past few days. It is important to vent, I have a lot of things in my mind and I have to put it out there. Image Courtesy: Wikibio Firstly, it's not about a particular person, it's about the mentality that is widespread on social media and nobody is addressing it. We are the dead-worshipping generation. Nobody talks about mental health when everything is fine but suddenly, every person begins advocating its importance once somebody commits suicide. Why? Why do we have to praise people when they are gone? Why can't we support and coexist when they were alive? Half of the people who are discussing mental health on social media today are the ones who are active online trolls. They go on the social media handles of every celebrity and spill filth. Just lately, Mahira Khan posted a picture of a cup of tea and she was called shameless for doing so. Who is answerable for such people's behavior? If today we are blaming several people who may have pus

  Comedy is the most difficult thing to do. It is very challenging to make people laugh especially in these times when everything is so grave and tensed. I have immense admiration for the people who can make other people laugh. It is an inbuilt talent and not everyone can master this craft. It takes years of practice and dedication to be able to bring a smile on anyone's face. However, the people who possess this skill are very sensitive and recondite in their approach towards life. They understand the realities of life and the precise details of the simple aspects of daily life. They are intelligent, skillful, and blessed.  Some people are born comedians. They don't need to invest any efforts to make people laugh, it comes naturally to them. They don't have to showcase their skills on a platform such as television or movies. They practice their skill in real life. They make us laugh when it is very difficult to smile. We all have someone in our surroundings who is witty an

2018 is finally coming to an end. It has been a momentous year in many aspects. The last month of the year, December is here. Every year is packed with events, stories and memories but this year has been exceptional in many aspects. For me, this year has been very special because I started blogging and sharing my work with all the incredible readers who actually read and appreciate me. Finally, I was able to muster the courage to share my stories, thoughts and views with others so I'd call it a year of change for myself. December is everyone's favourite month because of its festive associations and drastic weather change throughout the world. 21 December the longest night of the year.  As the final month of 2018 kicks off, many people have commenced working on the new year's resolutions. The new year resolutions are essentially not obeyed throughout the year but it renders a sense of spirit for the upcoming year. Some of the most common new year resolutions are losi

Ahmed Shah who is a kid from apparently is setting the internet on fire. Numerous memes and his videos are being shared all over the internet. In the video that went viral initially, he was misbehaving with the teacher. Clearly, his tone and voice were very displeasing and socially unacceptable to be used with a teacher. His bad behaviour was propagated by social media. It is true that the kid is very cute with the spectacles and funny voice but the point is that nobody noticed his misbehaviour and that too in such a small age. I cannot imagine what made this kid so much harsh at such a young age. Image Courtesy: SocialPakistan.pk It was pretty obvious that this social media stint was going to gain attention from the morning shows and news channels. The kid was invited by all the major channels who are always hunting for the cheap tactics to gain trps. It is humongous that the host was getting readily insulted by the kid in the show. The aspect that gains my attention was that ev

Expectations are perpetually painful! As human beings, we expect something from everybody and everything. For example, A wife has some expectations from her husband and when she doesn't get precisely what she expected then comes the feud in paradise. This is the chief reason for countless divorces, isn't it? I am not asserting that we simply stop expect anything but my point is that in order to bypass the burning feeling of disappointment which further leads to frightful closings of so many relationships we should not expect that our expectations will be answered. The expectation is unquestionably a very solid pillar in every relationship but this pillar relies on a weak foundation and if we apply a plenty of tension on it by solely expecting from the other person it eventually breaks down the entire dwelling of a delicate relationship. No human has the ability to satisfy your expectations. It is as simple as that. We waste our emotions and energies in the wrong dir

We all have our own respected paths, destinations and we all follow them through our own perceptions. The need to identify with your own self is not a new concept and it has sustained for many years. A lot of poets and writers have written about self and how it is so impactful. Recently due to some academic priorities, I had to study Iqbal. I had never been so interested in Urdu language and poetry, however, I had heard about Iqbal's ideologies and how they were so great. I had the chance to explore Iqbal just a little bit and I was blown away. Iqbal has the mindset that was way above the normal thought process, he was actually a thinker. His emphasis on the struggle of Muslims in achieving independence is exceptionally outstanding but his perception about the human abilities is extraordinary. His work actually reflected the value of immensely powerful creation by The Almighty, humans. The humans are called Ashraful makhluqat, which means superior to any other creature but som

14 August 2018, we commemorate the 71st Independence day today. With the grace of God and efforts of the valiant martyrs of this nation, we achieved Pakistan. It’s not just a country, its a momentum of the transcendent sacrifices that were made during the war of independence. This was a very elongated war and made the world witness the greatest migration ever. This country is a gift from God and it took more than just the lives of people for us to actually breathe freely in our own country but I don’t think most of us comprehend this reality. During the war, many families were destroyed, aspirations were fragmented, lives were taken, separations and heartbreaks. War is appalling and always ends up in sufferings. The sacrifices are not only physical but emotional as well so when you tribute the martyrs of this glorious cause don’t forget to say a prayer for those who left behind their everything for a huger ground, Pakistan. We all have heard the stories and watched movies about

Outrageous yet outstanding blossom of a budding nation. This one line sums up the general elections of 2018. This year the elections were a game changer for PTI. PTI swaying most of the national assembly seats came as a surprise to many of the critics out there but keeping all those impressions aside, Pakistan now has a fresh government with the very weighty responsibility of progression, development and the expulsion of corruption. Imran Khan struggled for 22 years to achieve this milestone and now he has a very intricate bunch of responsibilities on his hand to prove his competence. His exceptional stand against the status-quo gained a lot of appreciation from the youth and educated sector of the society. In 2011, like many of my peers, I began following Khan and a major reason behind this was his determination and passion for the country's prosperity. I remember before 2011 youngsters were never really involved in any of the political activities but Imran Khan was the man wh

"By voting, we add our voice to the chorus that forms opinions and the basis for actions." -Jens Stoltenberg The general elections of 2018 are just around the corner and it is a very important time for any country. It is a high time for the citizens of any country to decide their future with the power of a vote. Voting is not just a responsibility, it is the right of every citizen to express their opinion and actually make a change, for good or bad that depends on the choice.  People sitting in the Assemblies and Senate are directly or indirectly chosen by the public. The public has the power to change their fate and this is the time to do so. There is a new trend of not voting at all because nobody is "worthy" but this type of mindset should be discouraged because voting holds an immense significance.  "Not voting is not a protest. It is a surrender." - Keith Ellison A vote can bring change but its significance is somewhat underestim

Nature is the best teacher. Sometimes we look for answers everywhere but the answer lies in front of our eyes. Look around you will see a lot of miracles occurring every day in front of your eyes but you tend to disregard them because we are engineered to make sense of "everything." The mind always has a dominance over the heart in a never-ending battle between the two but when we decide our team, things get much easier. When we try to contemplate each and everything in our life, our mind presents the facts and figures whereas the heart shows you the faith and courage. Faith is way above the "reality" because it operates on the basis of belief despite the circumstances. God is great and nature is the best manifestation of His love. The Ants are a tiny creature but they provide us with the very big message of believing in God. Once I was sitting in my home near the staircase and a few ants crawling on the floor garnered my attention. One of the ants tried to move