breakfast While revising

Dear Reader,

This one's just a quicky.

Unfortunately my brother+father have given my birthday present early. It's "bloody bad timing" if you ask me, because now I've become obsessed with discovering its every cool-new-feature which is gobbling-up my revision time. I'm told that it has the latest 'Android' technology. Now - being tech-illiterate as I am - I have no idea what that means, but it does make for an absolutlely-awesomely-funky-looking mobile phone. 

My new mobile also has this astounding camera (Aside: I really like names and adjective that begin with 'a' e.g. 'ambrosial avocados' sounds amazing) which has this really cool feature called Touch Capture. It makes taking photos so much easier. So Inshallah, you'll be seeing a lot more pictures of 'Life: as I see it!' in the future. 

Here's my first. I hope you like it. 

I couldn't decide whether to call it 'my Mess' or 'A view from Behind-my-Desk'. I decided to scrap both titles and go with 'breakfast While revising' - which sums-up the entirety of the past month quite well I believe. 

Anyways, I've got to go back to hitting the books - not literally! 

Nida

the Caffeine doesn't Work!

Dear Reader,

I know that what I'm about to say will upset you terribly: this is not real-full-on-blog-post. My first exam is this week and all I can think of right now is about our incredible Immune System. But don't despair I will be back after the 29th of June, to continue giving you your weekily dose of books and other-things-that-don't-matter-much. 

As to the title of this post: well, all I can say is that no-matter how much tea or coffee I drink (I hate coffee and only drink it at times of dire need), there are just some lectures that put me to sleep when I'm revising them. Unfortunately, It can't be helped.

(It's amazing what some people have been able to do with this disgustingly-bitter drink)

Wish me Good-Luck and, those of you who are the religious-sort like me, pray for me!

Nida

In Pursuit of Language

Dear Reader,

I'm going to try to keep this one short, as difficult as that is for me!

So, last week something Dr. Finlayson (my pathology professor - who reminds me so much of the lovable Sybil Trelawney, played wonderfully by Emma Thomson) quite rightly said that "studying medicine is like learning a new language." We learn about 2000 new words just in our first two years, which is about the same number of words you would learn if taking a foreign language course. (Aside: shouldn't we getting two degrees then?)

And to begin with, that's exactly what it had felt like; sitting in Monkton lecture theatre (too early in the morning, I might add) with the lecturer speaking in some-other-unknown-language, interspersed here and there with a few English words like "and, the, a". Especially in Dr. Aland's (our anatomy professor) lectures. Anatomy! now there is a subject that requires it's own 'extensively detailed dictionary and correct pronunciation kit'. Instead of saying "to the side and up a bit" you have say something like "Laterally Superior to ... at the Cranial end of the Dorsal root ganglia..." etc.... If you can understand that upon first hearing it then you deserve an award. For a detailed description of our Anatomy session's and the (duh duh duuuuhhhh) Dissection Room, I refer you to a blog by my poetical friend.          

A Confession: (haven't had one of those is some time) I've always found the history of language fascinating. Being multilingual as I am, I'm always surprised to find connections between different words. For example, pineapple is the same in French and Urdu! Often the etymology of words, like ananas (pineapple), can be quite interesting. (It's one of the things I really like about a little wiki here! To think someone actually goes to all the trouble of finding where words originate from. So next time you  look  up something on that site, make sure you read the etymology of the word.)
 

Anyway, I've noticed that language tends to travel with people. I believe Alexander the Great was one of the biggest culprit for this phenomenon. Honestly, he went all over the place with a war hammer in one hand, (I'm not quite sure what was in his other hand - probably the reins of his horse), spreading destruction, disease and language in his wake. Built himself quite an empire, he did. It's a shame he never got to see the aftermath of his work. (Make sure you click on the map and see the bigger, more coherent, version.)

 
The next big one after dear Alexi, has to be The Crusades. They lasted lasted over a thousand years, killed millions upon millions of people, and some people (quite wrongly in my opinion) believe they are still going on today. The crusades were not only a collision of swords on the battle field but also a collision of cultures. It's not a very new concept for most of us now in our modern-media-driven-lives, but it was definitely new for those poor farmers-turned-crusaders back in the 1st millennium. Looking back, I can't help notice the stark contrast between these two opposing sides (that happen to have the same origin, I might add). While Europe was going through it's 'Dark Ages', the Middle Eastern Nation happened to be experiencing, what we now term, the 'Islamic Golden Age'. Talk about a juxtaposition (look up it's etymology!).

I think I've gone on for long enough now, I'm pretty sure you don't want a history lesson right now. And anyway, I must go and have lunch. I'll leave you to contemplate your own use of language.

(Note: I need to blog about the nerd-fighters and John Green at some point, preferably after the dreaded exams)   

Nida

P.S. - What do you think of the change in the appearance? Let me know, leave a comment.

Love and Loving Islam

Dear Reader,

I could claim that I did not blog last week because I was oh so busy with my revision, but that won't be entirely true. As part of my upbringing and my in-built what-ever-you-may-call-it, I have always deemed it better to tell the truth - as you might have already guessed. So, in truth, I just forgot. It's an inherited disorder, this forgetting, passed directly from mother to daughter.

But never mind, all excuses and apologies aside. What I really want to blog about today is this extraordinarily ordinary autobiography that I've just finished reading, Love in a Headscarf by Shelina Z. Janmohamed. I can't seem to stop going on and on and on about it to whoever comes within 2 meters of me. So I've decide to write down all my thoughts, just to get it out of my system once and for all.

Reading this book has completely changed my life. Okay, okay, I know that's a bit too overly dramatic. Nothing overtly radical happened, like all of a sudden deciding to wear a headscarf. Hold on a moment - I already wear the hijaab! Let me re-phrase. Reading this book has subtly changed my perspective of life. And I didn't even realise it until after I had turned the last page and began looking... no, seeing the world that I live in. It also...:

1. made me ask question about my own cultural values and traditions, and how much they seem to differ from the teachings of Islam.
2. gave answers to some of the questions above. But also answered questions I hadn't thought to ask.
3. reminded me of the stories I vaguely remember being told to me in childhood. Reading about them with adult's eyes, I felt a surge of rediscovery within in, seeing deeper in to those simple stories, recognising ways of applying them to my own life. 
4. most importantly, increased my understanding of Islam and what it truly meant to be a Muslim, a servant of Allah (swa). 

I was about two-thirds of the way through the book when it clicked that this story isn't just about the conventional romantic love that the title brought to mind. It's about all of the kinds of love one encounters in one's life, only through the eyes - or rather the heart - of a muslim woman. It's about the Love of the Divine, the love for the Divine, the love for one's parents and friends, the love for humanity, all human kind and justice ... the love for yourself. And Shelina's journey to find love takes her from the London suburbs to the highest peak in Africa and to the Ancient city of Petra; all of which is, surprisingly enough, approved and encourage by the Holy Qur'an.   

Another reason why I absolutely adore this book is because, simply put, I can relate to it. I know exactly what it's like to grow up a British Asian Muslim woman. I have also experienced being torn between my "multiversal" identities. And to top it all off, I'm at exactly same point in life as Shelina was when she begins her story. 

And since I'm writing about the beginning, I would also like to mention how hilarious the book is to begin with. Although the humour is maintained throughout the prose, as the story progressed, it also became more mature, with sections of deep insightful thought. I felt as if I was also growing older with Shelina, watching as she increased in experience, confidence and wisdom. It feels like Shelina and I have been good friends for a long time. And as with all my other good and great friends, I remember her in my prayers, wishing her the best of luck with whatever she's doing right now.     

And because of this connection and relatability, Shelina success story has instilled in me a secret hope that maybe, one day, I'll find my 'one' as well. There is something quite Austen-esq about it all. 

For some unfathomable reason, I was reminded of the song "You've got the love" by Florence and The Machine, when I read this book. Only the love in the song has taken the form of the Divine Love, "with a capital l", that Shelina talks a lot about. As yet I haven't worked out how to upload a .mp3 clip onto a blog, or even a video. So, for now, here is the link to youtube for the song - if you which to hear it.   

Maybe I'm being a bit obsessive, maybe I'm completely biased, but I believe that everyone, not just Muslim men and women, should read about Shelina's incredible and inspiring journey. It's a stand for feminism if nothing else. Well, no matter, the second sentence of the book made me promise not to keep this story a secret and that's exactly what I'm doing. I've even brought three or four copies of the book to distribute amongst my friends after exams.    

Anyway, I must get some shut-eye now (seeing as it is 1:20am) if I want to be even remotely conscious during the last official day of my academic year.  

Nida