Recovered Pages #001

Written: 8 March 2017 Source: Office Notebook Context: Found in an old office notebook while looking for someone’s passport. Flipped through the pages. There, sitting hidden amidst a sea of technical notes, were these Urdu lines. ہم نے جس جس کو بھی چاہا تیرے ہجراں میں وہ لوگ آتے جاتے ہوئے موسم تھے زمانہ تو…

Recovered Pages #000

These pages were never meant to be published. Most were written years before this blog existed. Some come from old diaries, notebooks, loose sheets of paper, forgotten files, and half-filled journals that somehow survived moves, cleanups, and the passage of time. I’m sharing them exactly because they belong to a different version of me. Some…

Wordle 1805

Today’s wordle word is: CLANG, 3 attempts.   You can play wordle here:

Thought of the Day #4

Some versions of us only exist in certain cities. When I’m in Pune, I’m bold, independent, ruthless and rude because I have to survive there, on my own. When I’m here in my hometown, I’m still bold, I’m still independent and still ruthlessly rude, but I need to look at my parents’ face first before…

Zanjeerain | Episode 10

Set in the beautiful, green mountains, Zanjeerain is a powerful story about love, greed, and the secrets we keep. In this world, everyone has something to hide—some are stuck following old rules, others are hungry for power, and some are just trying to protect the people they love. It is a big, exciting drama where…

Drama Rewind | Maat

  After watching Kafeel, one night, I sat and thought about Umera Ahmed. It was quite a trip down  the memory lane and I realized I haven’t posted about some golden-age dramas. Daam was first, and now this. Maat (2011) Daam… that quiet storm of a drama that didn’t shout, yet echoed for years. Let’s…

Eid ul Azha 1447 Mubarak

Eid Mubarak to all! Qurbani is done, the real work of making packets and sending off to relatives and needy is pending. This year, the plan is to not keep meat for family except for Eid days. It’s summer, load shedding happens for 6-8 hours straight, we don’t have deep freezer culture here. So, distribution…

Zanjeerain | Episode 9

Set in the beautiful, green mountains, Zanjeerain is a powerful story about love, greed, and the secrets we keep. In this world, everyone has something to hide—some are stuck following old rules, others are hungry for power, and some are just trying to protect the people they love. It is a big, exciting drama where…

Moment of the Day #5

My 19 months’ old nephew Abdul Haadi and I were playing. I just wanted him to remember my name… Me: Main Shabana hoon. Him: Haada (which is his way of saying I’m Haadi) And then we did this for fifteen minutes. ~~~ Want more of my trademark philosophy daily? Do three things, not necessarily in…

یومِ عرفہ

آج ذی الحجہ کی نویں تاریخ ہے، اسے یوم عرفات بھی کہتے ہیں۔ اس دن حاجی کو وقوف عرفات کرنا ہوتا ہے، جو حج کے دوُفرائض میں سے ایک ہے۔ ۱۴۴۳ کا یوم عرفہ میں نے میدانِ عرفات کے ایک خیمہ میں گزارا تھا۔ مجھے اب بھی یاد ہے کہ بہت ساری دعائیں مانگنے کے…