Pages From My Diary

 Shama was walking to and fro on her verandah anxiously, every now and then, she would poke her head outside the door, and look intently to the west, as if eagerly waiting for someone. "Leave it Shama, it won't be coming", said her husband. "No, I'm sure it will", she replied biting her lower lip, "Oh! look, he's here", she squealed in excitement as the postman appeared at the west corner of the village. "He comes here nearly every day, but never delivers at our door" groaned her husband taking a sip from his teacup. The postman came up in their lane. Shama stood eagerly in her doorway, waiting for the postman to reach their house, finally, a minute later, the postman reached their door, shuffled between the letters in his hands, and then passed forward, soaking down all of Shama's hopes. She stared at the postman as he went on delivering letters. She withdrew herself from the door reluctantly. "I told you, he would be dilute...

 He had his nose pressed against the glass door of the bakery, peering at the colorful and tasty-looking pastries, the glazy brownies, the sugar-coated biscuits, and all of the items at the bakery, just the sight of them made his mouth water, "How lucky are the ones who can afford all these things, I wish I too could pamper my taste buds with all these varieties" he thought. "Oy you, get lost", the guard yelled at him, and he instantly ran away. He was passing by a school building, looking at the students enviously, as they passed him in a hurry, bumping into him every other minute and uttering a low sorry, the one he could barely hear. "I wish I too could go to school, were those uniforms with the schoolbag, how proud then I would feel, and how honorable it would be for me to have the label of "Student", and be eyed as someone respectful", he thought, "Can't you please stand a little by the side, you've left no space to walk by...

 Silence is something one craves in this noisy, crowded world. Sounds start filing in even before the crack of dawn. The sound of Azaan, the chirping of birds, followed by the cocks of roosters. As the sun rises, these voices also rise, but unfortunately in today's modern world, they don't terminate as the sun goes down, instead, they build up even more after the dark as people step out for night-outs, long drives, window shopping, and much other time wasting activities. Ever enter a food street in Karachi at two in the morning, the crowd is at its peak, and so is the racket. There's a cacophony of noise and hustle and bustle, people shouting, laughing, waiters shouting at their associates for some reason or other, vehicles rumbling by, honking. But is this sound necessary? definitely not. We also need some silence in life to calm down, think clearly, reflect, and many other spiritual activities to pursue. But how can silence be achieved, when we have a share in producing a...