nameera sheikh

It is aptly said that if a person has optimistic thinking ,It will definitely bore him fruits. Right mindset and attitude towards everything can make him a great learner who will never fall.

We don’t need any person for teaching us. In fact, we can learn from our day to day life , surrounding and environment. It is only the game of our attitude and out thinking.

Like, from fan we can learn the value of consistency or persistence, From light we can learn to illuminate and impart light to others life thereby connoting a helping hand .From clock hung over wall, we can learn that time never waits for anyone and we have to efficiently utilise our time and present . Likewise, from blanket we can learn to give warmth to everyone who comes under our ambit irrespective of our relation with them.

Similarly , from eraser we can learn to rectify our mistakes, from pencil or pen we can learn that our destiny is in our hands and we can write our life the way we want through our efforts and determination. From walls we can learn to stand high , from roof we can learn how to tolerate ups and downs of life as it does so by tolerating the varying and extreme weather outside from scorching heat to freezing cold, from pillow we can learn to give support and so on.

It only depends on how we look at things and what is our perception about them. And that depends greatly on our thinking ,values ,mindset as well as attitude which shapes our action. If we are pessimistic, we will only see bad ,negative as well as disheartening things in the world and surrounding and the world would turn to be a hell for us .On the other hand, if we are optimistic, we will only see the beauty of the world and the world will become heaven to us making us blissful.

Briefly, we just need to have a positive outlook and mindset and have to maintain it even in the worst situation.That will only make us swim across the vast expanse of ocean to reach our destination happily.

We all have neither imagined nor desired that one day our fast pace or running life will come to a standstill. And that too because of a virus who couldn’t be tamed at all by our so called advanced medical science. Sour but true that this virus has highlighted our piddling status in front of the giant status of nature. And the human helplessness at this critical juncture had very well taught that this superior being can not rule over everything including nature.

Nevertheless, apart from its role as an angel of death, this virus has changed and taught us many things. It has compelled us to revise, rethink , redefine and re-examine various issues and things. The following are those things which we need to have a deep investigation or to say, retrospection or re-examination :-

1.Examining the righteousness of zoo culture :-

The most crucial lesson taught to humans is the importance and craving for freedom of movement and that the life of a prisoner without being a culprit is worst. It has compelled humans to live as captives in their own houses which had made them realise the pain felt by other animals who are being caged in zoo , for the sake of their amusement and entertainment.

It has raised the question over the legitimacy or righteousness of zoo culture and over animal’s freedom and justice . “Is it just to cage the innocent creatures for their whole life for our sakes and selfishness ?” We really need to think deeply over this whether we are becoming monsters and inflicting cruelty over innocent creatures …

2.Earth belongs to all creatures :-

From the period when men started exploiting nature for his selfish greeds and needs , he has become the most powerful creature on this earth. He has become so much proud of his power and capabilities that he has monopolised the whole earth. Even he has encroached upon the rights of other beings over the Mother Earth .

“ Earth belongs to all creatures”.. the age long forgotten statement which was till now only confined to books , has now come into reality. Because of this pandemic only, that humans are compelled to confine themselves. And that other creatures got a chance to roam freely, to enjoy the beautiful gifts of nature without being afraid of the most powerful being.

Now, they have also been able to feel that the earth also belongs to them and that they are co-sharers of earth and not the tenants.

We really need to recognise and accept that we are also only co- sharers like other beings and not the only owners.

3.Earth can heal itself , is self sustaining and independent :-

This pandemic has clearly proved that nature and earth in its pure or unaltered form is self sustaining, beautiful, abundant and capable of healing or purifying itself without any aid or mercy. It has also made it crystal clear that all the environmental problems from global warming to ozone depletion and so on are caused only by humans and it’s exploitative greedy activities.

Nature has proved her innocence that in case men and his activities are stopped, she can heal or purify itself. It is only due to men that she is being put to a gradual or slow death , whom she had provided with all her motherly warmth . The decrease of pollution of all types over the world implies that now earth is healing its own wounds, when all her culprits are being caged or confined. So now we really need to think deeply and to act as soon as possible to save our Mother Earth.

4.Introspecting and retrospecting ourselves :-

The disease Covid-19 has given us a golden time to pause and to retrospect ourselves. That whether we are living a humanly life which we have ever desired or we are running like a robotic machine for pursuing more and more wealth as the only end and aim of our life. Yes, we do need money for fulfilling our needs and above all for satiating our hunger but that is too minimal against our quest for wealth.

This virus has very well taught us that “ we can’t eat money” because at the end of the day it is the food which will satiate our stomach to have a peaceful sleep in our beds. Same is also true with our lives also, when death will be awaited, all our hard earned wealth will be useless. It will only be the memories and the satisfaction of how beautiful life we have actually lived will lead us to rest in peace in our coffins. And not our filled coffers which will remain there even after we perished.

Moreover, the real wealth lies being in one’s health has now become more relevant and true and would always remain above money or coins. Ultimately this pandemic has brought a revolution in our whole life, in our thinking, attitude, and most importantly our perception on life.

Though this virus came as an Angel of Death playing with our lives but unintentionally it has revealed so many truths and things which will definitely transform and revolutionise our whole world either directly or indirectly. It taught us so many crucial lessons which will help us to discover a new path or direction in our lives.

It is an irony and astonishing at the same time that this virus came as a demon for us but it became angel for our Mother Earth and other creatures. …

Honesty – a very essential value or ethic has today become a thing of past and wonder. It is only confined to books as mere philosophies or in stories giving it as a moral value , but it is rarely possessed by anyone in its true sense or say, 100% .

We all live in such a hypocrite , pompous and double standard society that honesty or speaking truth have remained only an utopian thing . It is neither possible nor desirable for every person to speak truth all time , no matter what the situation is .

We all are either intentionally or unintentionally , consciously or unconsciously trapped in the vicious circle of lies. In fact one lie gives birth to a series or chain of lies which is infinite , we all are very well aware of this fact. Even though we are caught in this cyclic chain of lies , whose ultimate result is undesirable and painful.

In fact ,for instance, a very common lie we either consciously or unconsciously,speak in our day to day life is when someone asks about how we are ? We usually gives a general answer and not the real condition of ourselves. Whatever may be the reason , We can’t deny the fact that this is also a kind of lie .

Truly speaking, we are so much accustomed and used to it that it has become an integral part of our life and to some extent to our habit and personality. It has become so much intact to us that we are not even aware that we are speaking lie casually majority of times , even always also.

To be very clear , no one is 100% honest , but that doesn’t mean that everybody are 100% liar . A person may be 95% honest but even though 5% liar and vice versa . What is crucial is that we should be honest at majority of times , that’s my main concern for writing this article .

So next time , if a person claims to be 100% honest , then beware of such persons , they are biggest liars. Those who claim such things , sit and ask yourself how many times you have spoken lies ,not necessarily you are 100% liar but even though a little percentage of your lies will be revealed , that’s what I want to tell.

This may be unacceptable to some people , but believe me , this is the only harsh and bitter truth of present age .

क्यों समझती है यह दुनिया औरतों को कठपुतली ?

दर्जा तो हमें भी ईश्वर ने इंसानो का दिया था ।

कहते है सब कि अदब से , तमीज़ से रहो ,

यह सीख आख़िर कोई मर्दों को क्यों नहीं देता ?

छुट्टी के दिन भी जो पूरे घर का काम करे ,

वही है औरत जिसका सब तिरस्कार करे ।

त्याग दिए जिसने अपनी पहचान , माता पिता तथा घर बार ,

ऋण ना तुम कभी उस बलिदान का पाओगे उतार ।

बार – बार पवित्रता पर जिसके लगता है लांछन ,

वही औरत है जिसने तुम्हें जन्मा है ।

औरतों की सीरत अगर कपड़ों से होती ,

तो हर औरत सती सावित्री होती ।

छोटे कपड़े पहने देख , होता है जब शोषण ,

विकृत व छोटी सोच होती है रोशन ।

जिसने नौ महीने खून से सींचा हो तुम्हें ,

उसको क्या अपनी ताक़त का रोब दिखाते हो ।

आसिफ़ा , ज़ैनब , प्रियंका व दामिनी थे जिनके शिकार ।

है उनके ज़मीर व इंसानियत पर धिक्कार ।

जिसके बिना पूरी नहीं है यह कायनात ,

वही औरत है जिसने बढ़ाया है यह संसार ।

बदलेगी नहीं यह दुनिया व सोच जब तक ,

अगर बदलने की पहल खुद से की हो ।

A self composed poem to through light on the scenario of women and their relative situation and condition in our society and world .

Before sharing my views on this topic , I would like to present two existing group of thoughts on this matter.

First group of thought advocates that what we wear is the clear indication or reflection of our character, personality and thought.

Second group of thought beleives that our dressing has nothing to do with our character and is only a matter of fashion, choice or traditions and customs.

But I find partial truth if not full in both the thoughts.

Supporting the first thought I woukd like to cite an example – whenever our doorbell rings and after opening the door if we find a stranger , we usually treat or talk with him by judging him according to clothes he is wearing. If a person is wearing rags or torn clothes, we will consider him a beggar and shoo him away without even asking anything from him. If a person is well dressed, we will nicely or mannerly talk with him, will ask why he came here and so on.

At first glimpse or sight we usually by, human nature judge a person according to his clothes. We cannot totally neglect the impact of clothes on others. So there is a little authenticity in the first group of thought also.

Second group advocates that clothes have nothing to do with our character. I would also once again cite an example – if a girl is wearing clothes according to established norms and traditions of society , she is being seen as a decent , sincere or so called good girl . And if she is doing the opposite, she is being perceived as a spoiled, or a bad girl.

We cannot totally separate clothes and character. Our societal setup is such that these both goes hand in hand.

The impact of clothes on our personality is just a matter of difference in thought of different people. It just varies and there are people who don’t consider this cloth factor in their judgement of people.

Yes we do something unknowingly judge people according to clothes but it can never be the sole or the authentic basis for knowing a person.

The personality or character of a person blooms like a blossom even through his torn clothes….

(by nameera sheikh)

We should be wise enough to judge a person and these material things should not let us guide our judgement. It should be purely based on the spiritual or inner nature of a person.

Yes clothes do give a impact but our personality should be strong enough to break that impact. Clothes may be partial but never be the sole basis of judging a person’s character or personality. Clothes will always show virtual image of a person’s personality and not the real image.

Thought process

What we think is what we are and is always reflected in our actions . Successful people always think high and different and are always optimistic but failures always think low and are pessimistic. If we will think of high goals then only we are gonna achieve it and our actions will also be guided and moulded according to it. Setting higher goals and thoughts infuses a spirit of positivity and the necessary energy to achieve it. Whereas low thinking retardes the energy and actions .

Spend time with positive people

We are average of 5 people whom we spend most of our time. Being surrounded with negative people makes us negative even if we were positive. Whereas being with positive  people boost our morale and set an example of inspiration. So it’s really important to know and to choose right people around us.

Positive people always have solutions for problems but negative people will always have problems for every solutions.

Faith in hardwork and not in destiny

Failures always tend to make excuse about their condition as a matter of fate or destiny. So they never pursue hardwork. But successful people always believe in self and hardwork and make their own fate.

Discipline

Having discipline, schedule and a set of rules and principles in life is what make successful people different from failures. Having uncertain schedule will always lead to chaos and confusion and in the end leading to running out of time. By following rules and regulations you will always have plenty of time and all the things managed.

Importance of time

Those who understands this petty concept are the bearers of success. Time gone will never come again. Making productive use of time is what paves the path for success.

Being successful is all about hardwork , determination and self faith and being positive in all the conditions . By following all these things you can turn your failure into success.

In this fast pace of life where everyone is not walking , in fact running. Have we ever stopped for a while and thought that are we living our life..? The answer would be definitely a ‘NO‘.

We are not living our life like a human being, in fact we are just running our life like a machine. We are working and working just to make our future bright or to outdo others in the competition called life. In this race to come first, we are not living in our present, either we are just in dilemma about our past mistakes or about our future.

We are just sacrificing our present for tomorrow. We are just sacrificing our youthful and energetic age for a wealthy old age. And when we are at the last stage of life, we realise that our real wealth lies in our health and bountiful energy which we just wasted working like a machine and does not lived and enjoyed at that phase of life .Then we will be left only with grudges and regret.

Just respiring or having life in our body doesn’t mean we are living , it’s far above than that. Living is just an art which can be mastered only by an artist. I will tell you some magic ways of living .

” Live in the moment and to the fullest “

Our biggest mistake is that we do not live in present state. Either we just stick to our past or our future and unknowingly gets stuck in the never ending cycle of dilemmas of past and future. So it’s very important that we break that cycle to free ourselves from their clutches. Start taking these things casually and feel least bothered about them.

Live the present hour as time gone cannot be brought back. Live the day as it is the last day of your life, then only you would be able to make the most productive and happiest use of your present time.

” Enjoy little things “

Living the moment also implies that we should enjoy even little things that life offers to us. We should not wait only for a great or a big thing to make our life happy and enjoyful. Even always try to find fun in petty things to make your day worth and awesome.

” Be optimist and happy “

No matter what situation life offers us, either favourable or unfavorable, we should always be ready to take up the challenge and welcome it with heart. Ups and downs are part of life , so we should always think positive and stay happy even in adverse circumstances.

If we develop the courage and the art to transform even the unfavorable condition to the favorable one, then no power on this earth can make you feel down.

” Discover where your happiness lies “

We need to really understand or know where our real happiness lies. Happiness may differ from person to person. For a 5 year old kid , happiness lies in an ice cream whereas for a 20 year old youth, happiness lies in a car. So discover things in which you find happiness and try to achieve it . Happiness does not neccesarily comes from wealth for everyone . So stop rushing towards it blindly.

We only get one life , so stop wasting it by living it like a robot. Live every moment and learn to stay happy and optimistic because life is all about ups and downs.

In the beginning of everything , we all start from 0 or we all are at the same platform of 0. Gradually , with continued efforts we are promoted to platform 1 , then to 2,3,4 and so on. No one skip or jump from 0 to 10. If one thinks after coming to platform 2 to rest or stop , then to continue efforts for further progress ,then we will have to again start from 0 and not from 2. All our progress goes in vain if we decide to give a comma or full stop for some time. Here I m gonna make you understand the importance of continuity.

‘ If we are not upgrading then we are downgrading. ‘

If we are on the same platform with the others and we are not making continuous efforts for next platform while others are doing so, doesn’t mean that we will remain on the same platform. If others are promoted to the next platform ,it means that we are behind one platform or in other words we are downgrading. So continuity and persistency have to be maintained for progress otherwise , all our past efforts and progess will go in vain.

‘ Persistency adds to little progress everyday ‘

If we are continuously making efforts everyday, it means that we are progressing a little bit everyday. And this little progress will turn into a bigger success one day and this little progress is the backbone and a key to success.

‘ Little progress is easy to achieve.’

If we think from 0 to 10 then we will be disappointed or think it difficult. But if we think from 0 to 1, then it will be quite easy for us. Then, after accomplishing this little task to 1, if we think to 2 and so on, it will become our piece of cake. If we set little tasks and accomplishes it continuously then we will never know when we reached to 10 from 0. Success then will be easy, facile or in our words effortless, only because of persistent little progress.

‘ No one is a born player or an artist ‘

We are not born players or an artist. Every player or an artist have a history of continual practice and handwork through which they improve their skills everyday. And finally their persistent hardwork pay tribute to them in the form of their success when they either won a tournament or by painting a beautiful masterpiece. We often failed to recognise their continual efforts and are only lured by their success which we think is difficult. We need to understand that nothing is difficult ,it’s all about persistent efforts.

‘A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but of its persistence. ‘

So, the keys to success is in our hands only , what we need to do is to put the correct key in the lock and to open the barrier of gate between failure and success.

‘knowledge is power’, in this age of modernisation , education and knowledge are integral part of one’s life. Not only education is important for securing jobs or earning livelihood but also for growth and development of one’s personality. Knowledge comes from education. These two are the pillars of a nation’s progress and development. The more the millenials of a country are educated ,the more progress is witnessed by a country. As educated and well informed youth can only fore run a nation well.

But nowadays, due to technological advancement eduaction is being imparted online and it is decreasing the role of real mentors ,that is , teachers and professors. In fact it is replacing human resource. But the learners are unable to see the dark side under a lit torch. Though online teaching is more lucrative , comfy , convenient and efficient but there are various thorns attached to it which will hamper the learning process of the learners.

Firstly, these online sessions and lectures do not inculcate or develop social etiquettes, communication skills,behavioural skills and many others. Since a person going to college or school meets different people and develop social etiquettes and communication skills while interacting with the fellows or even in group discussions or conversation with teachers which is absent in online teaching.They learn to respect each other’s views and ideas and develop the manner to deal with the same in a freindly way.

Secondly, being continuously indulged in conversations in school and colleges also build-up their confidence. He became confident about everything, about what to speak with whom. It helps in the overall development of their personality which can not be done through online lessons and teaching.

Moreover, the most important aspect of school teaching is that it is not only confined to mere books or syllabus. The moral ethics and values which a real mentor teaches is always absent in online teaching. We cannot undermine the importance of moral ethics in a human’s life since these are the foundation stones of a human which makes him what he is.

Since these online lectures offers tests and quizzes which can be easily cheated by students so they are not compelled to learn or memorize the topic which impacts their learning power. But the fear of exams in school and unable to cheat during exams compelled the students to study. The continuous interaction in class and fear or being asked questions by mentor makes them attentive in class which is again absent in virtual world. so the students in classrooms develops more retentive power than those depended on virtual learning.

By face to face interactions, a person can immediately get his doubts cleared in an effective way but in online teaching, one has to wait for the replies and even there is no surety that it will clear the doubts. Moreover by face to face interaction, we also learn the skill of expression and how to present our views in front of others and other related things.

In the last I would say that human presence can not be substituted by these online teaching besides their widespread popularity. Humans have made all these technologies and they cannot replace humans’ presence at any cost . What a real mentor teaches face to face can not be compared with online lectures because these would affect the growth , development and learning process of ours only. In fact , real mentors and their teaching is far better and superior.

‘ Respect your mentors , they are the potters who shaped you and your life..’

Have we ever tried to understand or follow this word in its actual meaning or we are just following it’s superficial and traditional meaning . Equality according to our society is only based on women perspective or women based equality. Only because women were treated inferior or subordinate to men ,this women based equality took its root.

But now gradually and unknowingly we are turning towards inequality towards men by supporting women based equality beyond a limit. Often when a couple goes for outing either in a cafe or restaurant ot any where ,everyone , even the female partner expects and thinks that it is the duty of the male partner to pay the bill or incur the expenditures. Then where’s the equality as this point of time ? Is this not unfair and unequal with the guys..? This topic really needs to be think upon.

The famous Maxim ‘ ladies first’ is also unequal.why women first and not men if we are so much concerned towards equality, then why we are unequal towards men..?

While travelling in a bus or any public transport , boys or men tend to give their seats to women rather than the needy ones. Even they will give their seat to a young girl instead of an old man. If this is not unequality and discrimination ,then what..?

We really need to think deeply when we say women should be treated equally that we are not gradually turning towards injustice and inequality towards men. We need to understand the true meaning of equality so that no gender is discriminated or treated unequally on behalf of giving equality to other .

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton