The day… well, it has always been memorable.

The clouds dictated the mood – somber, in mourning, resisting any reason to bright up. The thick dark clouds passed through all day, deafening thunder accompanying it; I stood on the bridge admiring this natural beauty which we so rarely get to experience.

There was a sense of uneasiness in me all day; my uncle had passed away a day earlier, it was a day of celebration and contemplation – it is also an annual day of remembrance. It didn’t help my mood when the heavens opened up as I walked  to the station; as much as I love the rain, today was just not the day to  be drenched. By the time I reached the train, I was soaked through my suit, my shirt sticking to my skin.

It was at that moment when I heard her voice for the first time. Relatively unknown to me, I get a call wishing me all the best for the year ahead. As I spoke to her for the next half hour or so, I had this bizarre sense of comfort in the conversation – it was as if we had spoken before, as if this was not the first time that we were speaking – like our friendship had been strong for an age.

That evening, as I went through my customary routine of contemplation, I couldn’t help but think about my conversation with her earlier in the day; it was unspectacular, yet her thoughts had the mesmerizing buzz which moved me from the supposed status quo. I sit here today, a couple of months later, and look back wondering if that was a turning point of sorts; the peace that I needed with the past to move ahead with life. Unlike the storm that day, her entrance into my world was far more peaceful; her impact on me – well, it has left this memory imprinted on my heart forever.

I hope you are enjoying this series of guest posts which will continue to appear in the coming days. 19 bloggers will have their posts appearing on this blog over the next 3 weeks, I hope you can enjoy our memories.

Don’t forget – for every comment made on this post, $1 will be donated to the charity: water campaign for this blog [campaign page]. Check out our progress and look forward to your contributions too!

Memories are a residue of life.

And just as God has set a positive and negative for everything He has created, similarly, memories have such equal emotions too. Some are burdening and some are a beautiful remembrance for what life had once offered.

Death is often taken to be negative, when it might not always be the case. Here’s my memory:

My uncle passed away in 2005 due to a stroke. Throughout his eight days of being in coma (he never woke up), I felt he wouldn’t make it but the last two days before he was to leave, the doctors convinced me that my uncle was making great progress for a stroke patient. I was filled with hope which was cruelly snatched when one morning, I woke up to the news of his death. The memory of that day is a blur; mixture of loud cries, people and more people, words and then a face. His face when he was being taken to the graveyard: so peaceful, as if he was home.

Months after his death, I would go for long drives or sit by the beach to cry so I can release my inner confusion and sadness. As I drove, I found it difficult to imagine that just ten days back, he was present in these surroundings and now, he was not. When we were waiting for his body in the hospital, I stared outside the window and wondered how the cars could move, trees could sway, ants would walk and people would chatter despite my life come to an abrupt halt. How could life possibly move on?

Hidden in that brief moment was my lesson:

People never die because the second the soul drifts to the sky, memories fill our void. It’s up to us how we choose to keep them alive. I could either live with the memory of his last moments, be sad over it or I could remember his life and celebrate the legacy he left us. I chose the latter. And I am at peace with myself.

I gave the same advice to a friend whose father passed away early this year and suddenly, the coping mechanism isn’t the greatest challenge. I wake up every morning and wonder how I can make him proud and how can I emulate his eternal greatness.

His memory will always be a beautiful one.

~ Masarat Daud [@masarat]

Don’t forget – for every comment made on this post, $1 will be donated to the charity: water campaign for this blog [campaign page]. Check out our progress and look forward to your contributions too!

…..before I vanish away for about 3 weeks -

This post will reach you (well, most of you) in time for Eid-ul-fitr. Eid-ul-fitr marks the end of Ramadan; the month long period where most Muslims, like myself, fast. Those celebrating Eid – hope you have a blessed celebration, and may Ramadan have brought about the changes which you have hoped and prayed for!

Next up, Guest BLOGGING!!! Have I mentioned that I love hosting, and participating as a guest blogger? Well, I do! From Monday, this blog will host a different blogger everyday for 2-3 weeks. Those who haven’t sent their posts, please do hurry up!If you want to take part – can you please send me your post before the end of Sunday, and I shall schedule it in. The theme – “Memories”. Check out the guest bloggers page for more info! Also, please do remember – I will be donating $1 for every comment left on these guest posts, so do read, and comment; and if possible, do please contribute to my charity: water campaign [campaign page] – we’re trying to help provide access to clean drinking water to communities around the world. Every cent and penny helps towards this cause, so it doesn’t matter how much you give – it DOES matter that you DO give.

Finally, I will be in India for two and a half weeks, which means I will not be commenting on any of the posts for now. However, there will be a moderator monitoring the comments (should WordPress decide to strictly police genuine comments), and the posts go live seamlessly. Do drop me an email if you do face any issues or have any questions, I will try and check my emails on a day to day basis.

One last thing – don’t forget – there is a prize for the 2,000th commenter and the author of he post on which the comment appears. I will declare the “winners” when I get back; the prize is a £25 ($35-40) Amazon voucher or donation to charity to both.

Enough of rambling – let the fun begin, and the memories roll in!

….ten minutes to help a worthy cause?

See
Spend 4 minutes 20 seconds of those, watching this video….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rphhfy4qCfc

Think
Spend the next minute or so, thinking about how your last glass of water tasted… and what it could have tasted like. For those who are fasting, think about how the first drop of water, which passes your lips, feels and tastes like… and then think of those who are not fortunate enough.

Act
… but don’t think too long, because one needs to do something about these thoughts too. Charity:Water is a NPO which brings clean and safe drinking water to people around the world. You can read more about their structure and them as an organisation here – [About Charity:Water].

More importantly, why don’t you dig into your pockets a little, and contribute something (it can be as little as 5 bucks!) towards providing a basic necessity to the poorest and deprived parts and people on this planet. Go ahead, and create your own fund raising project, or contribute to an existing one – mine for example!

My fundraising page can be found [here]; do spread the word around!

Follow us on Twitter - @charitywater, @cookiemonster82

On Facebook - We have a fan page [found here] courtesy of the wonderful @Zooberry

AND – for every comment left on the guest posts in late September and early October [find out more here], I will donate $1 to the project. Will you join me in taking part too? Our target is $1,000 by 27th of November 2009, I think we can easily make it!

To make this a success, I need the help of you – my readers. If you do have any questions, do feel free to contact me and I will be happy to help you out! I can also be reached via Twitter. If you want to be part of this project, drop me a line, and we can talk about expanding the scope of the fundraising; I am always open to ideas. Remember – if you think your idea is “stupid”, then I will be even more interested!

Charity:Water is the main charity supported by myself and this blog. Join my readers, and myself in doing something good!

…. to participate in the second round of guest blogging of the year!!! *confetti* *party poopers* *red arrows display*

While January’s happenings were great fun, they did get a little confusing. because I am not the worlds best organiser

January hosted 15 blogger friends to commemorate the NaBloPoMo theme of ‘Change’. The idea was to write to the theme of ‘change’, but the theme was ofcourse optional. At the end of September, I shall be traveling to India for the first time in over 13 years. I have a lot of family there, and it’s a shame that I don’t have any memories of them to associate with my adulthood; so I decided that now was a good time as ever to create those memories!

I want to celebrate my trip on this blog by asking you gals and guys to tell me about YOUR memories; good, bad, ugly – If you have them, you can blog it and share them! Your memory can be of anything, a person, place, event, dream, reality – anything; use your own style and draw out your memory to us in your own words!

So, some “rules” for you you to consider:

1. Try and play to the theme, but it is OK if you stray.
2. I am looking for 14 bloggers; don’t worry or think about being “good”. Everyone has their own way of creating magic with words – you have yours too!
3. Your post can be as little or large as you want.
4. You DON’T have to be a blogger to participate! It’s open to ALL!
5. If I get more than 14 bloggers, I will still post your entry! Do participate!

How do you participate? Well, it goes something like this:

1. Leave me a comment on this post, if you want to participate. I will drop you an email to open the communication channel.
2. You can submit your post either as a word document, or in an email (after step 1 is in place). I guess a google doc will do too! Do format the post before you send it, I will post it as received!
3. You can use images if you want in the post, links etc – it’s all good.
4. Make sure you sign yourself and blog (if you are a blogger) at the bottom of your entry. If you are associated with a website, then use that instead. If you just read me, well, introduce yourself to us!
5. I can’t think of anything else – so if you have any questions; just ask

What’s in it for you?

1. A new brand of readership, new possibilities of blogger friends;
2. An opportunity to mesmerize us with your words;
3. Oh, and a small prize….

Yes, just like last time, we shall aim for a landmark! There will be a £25 (around US$35-40) Amazon voucher, or donation to a charity of your choice for the 2000th commenter and the blogger on whose post the comment appears.

The posts will begin going out from 21st September 2009, one per day, but please do submit your entry as soon as possible, before the 21st of September.

So far, I have 4 prospective bloggers, including 1 non-blogger on the cards! I shall start revealing names after I have got the first 10 entries. Do remember, the posts will appear on a first come first serve basis; so do try and get your entry in as soon as possible! I have got a dedicated page to ALL the guest bloggers who have participated on this blog so far, they can be found here or on the tab at the top of the page.

Finally, memories exist so that they can be enjoyed; how about you enjoy these with us?!

I am seriously going to struggle for time over the next 7 weeks, and although I have tons of drafts which need a little smoothening before they go out, I will struggle to get posts out frequently enough. So, what I plan to do is try and write atleast once a week, and share things with you in the interim period.

I also am working on another round of guest blogging for the end of September, perhaps even with a twist; details coming up over the weekend! We have had one round of guest blogging earlier this year, and if you havent done so already, check out 15 of the finest posts to have appeared on this blog!

In the meantime – I came across this brilliant post on how to become a better writer; it focuses on simple points, and is definitely worth a read.

The other post which I want to share with you today is 32 thought provoking life stories; these are truly touching and definitely get you thinking.

Enjoy these for now, i’ll be back at the weekend!

One benefit of having curiosity of OCD proportions is that you get to meet and communicate with loads of people (those questions have to be asked, no?). Some people – you meet ‘em talk to them, move on. Others, well, you keep coming back for more.

When Falakk-ji (-ji is a suffix added for additional respect) out a call out for guest bloggers, one couldn’t refuse making an appearance on her awesome blog – Starry Eyed Book Lovers. Why is this blog awesome? Simple – Falakk-ji is one amazingly hilarious little lady; it’s laughs galore without her even trying to be funny!

This August, she has lined up an array of guest bloggers to be part of her space. Do flick over to her blog, and contribute to the party that we will be having in the August Blog meet-up!

To kick it all off – she pulled my name out of the hat… check out what I had to say!

ooh ooh – I got all excited and what not about this! *turns into a kid*

In January ’09, I had great fun hosting 15 guest bloggers in one week, all blogging on the theme of “Change”. If you haven’t already done so, check out this link and have a read (and do comment) on what was known as 7Pi7D.

It was during that time, that HanniePants volunteered to guest post, and when she asked if I would want to do the same over at her place, I jumped to the opportunity (albeit belatedly – sozzles )!

So today, I shall be appearing in The Journals of a Rock Angel; do have a peak, and ofcourse – be nice – leave a comment!