Read 50 Books

62 done :D

here is the list - last finished is the first listed

1. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
2. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
3. Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella
4. Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella
5. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella
6. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
7. Knit Two by Kate Jacobs
8. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
9. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
10. Divergent by Veronica Roth
11. Animal Farm by George Orwell
12. The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling
13. Adultery by Paulo Coelho
14. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
15. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
16. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
17. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
18. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
19. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
20. Winnie Mandela by Nancy Harrison
21. Tuesday With Morrie by Mitch Albom
22. Rough Music: Blair Bombs Baghdad London Terror by Tariq Ali
23. The 2 1/2 Pillars of Wisdom by Alexander McCall Smith
24. 1894 by George Orwell
25. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
26. 2 States by Chetan Bhagat
27. The Firm by John Grisham
28. The Testament by John Grisham
29. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
30. The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs.Amusing Deceptions. and Dangerous Delusions by Robert Todd Carroll
31. The Second Husband by Louise Candlish
32. Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott
33. The Procession by Khalil Jibran
34. Dictionary of Common Philosophical Terms by Gregory E. Pence
35. MAde in Heaven by Adele Geras
36. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
37. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin S. Sharma
38. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
39. Village by the Sea by Anita Desai
40. The Sun in the Morning by M.M. Kaye
41. Bicycle Shop Murder by Robert Burton Robinson
42. The 3 Mistakes of My Life by Chetan Bhagat
43. Be Careful What You Wish For by Jeffrey Archer
44. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
45. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
46. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
47. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
48. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
49. And the Mountains Echoed by Khalid Hoseini
50. Retail Therapy by Roz Bailey
51. Windows in the World by Frederic Beigbeder
52. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
53. The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes
54. Home by Julie Myerson
55. When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
56. BestKept Secret by Jeffrey Archer
57. The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer
58. Tales and Legends from India by Ruskin Bond
59. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
60. Coming Up Next by Penny Smith
61. Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
62. Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

Sugandh

Buy a Saucepan :P

why do i need to buy a saucepan? i have no idea, i just did - i don't cook or anything - i just wanted to own a nice cute little saucepan and here it is, i need to buy a frying pan though and learn to make pancakes!

my cute little blue saucepan :D

Sugandh

Make a Capelet

the picture is not very clear, but i think that you will get the general idea and the sad news is that my LYS is out of yarn, i fear that they might shut down and i have no idea, what i am going to do then???

Sugandh

The Last Post - What Would I Lose?

[this is not really a last post - it was a last post that i wrote before leaving my previous job]

Being a teacher is supposed to be a fulfilling job, but it is not always the case.

certain times, when my decisions as a teacher are overridden, i feel down and discouraged. Thinking what is the point of all the things. I go through to make sure that everything is proper.

For example, when checking the exam papers, I found that a child has left almost all the paper blank and as a result, he failed. I later discovered that he has flunked almost all other subjects as well. [we raised a great objection when he got the admission in this particular grade, because his entry test stated it clearly that he is unable to take the burden ... anyway] The reason he doesn't understand English.

Anyway, we decided to detain him [that is, we thought that it is best for him to repeat the class] and the parent of the child was called to discuss the matter.

Now, the father happens to be of some kind of the powerful officer. he came storming and threaten us to take to court and accused of  being biased and whatnot.

now after the sunday holiday, he came to office all tames and calm because he got what he wanted: he got his son promoted by asking the principal to do so. lots of reasons for principal to give in.

the point of this discussion is that I'll ultimately stop seething and thinking about the issue. but the problem will not go away, it will only grow compound for the father and the child. the child will not overcome his problems but keep ignoring them. he needs help with his basic language and reading skills, he needs motivation with his studies. he needs help with his social skills, he needs to calm down and feel normal not like the son of some high profile officer ... who could get things done his own way forcefully!

so, i'll forget the child; and the entire matter but the problems will keep growing and the father would use his power to get the child out of the problem . . . and then one day, the father would be tired and the son would be incurable. i'll be out of the picture, and the child and the parent will regret and nothing could be done!!!!

i still wish him all the best and i pray that his father sees the light that sometimes unnecessary support also becomes a burden and a curse for the children.

Sugandh

Learn to Crochet

so i finally got around to post the pictures. i learnt crochet in February of this year, but that was the practice piece, and no skill is complete until you have a completed project. so i complete the crochet scarf in september or may be in october and it is currently owned by this nice boy that deserve the best in the world!

The first attempt!

Close up!

Scarf!

the new owner :)

Sugandh

Eat a New Dish

Finally, I had a chullupa [? or it was spelled the other way?] it was this crisp pita bread, filled with chicken and topped with tomato salsa and the amazing pickled chilies and cheese and served with the sauce [which i honestly did not taste, fearing that it would be spicy] and a drink :D. an experience worth repeating!

The Receipt 

the amazing chullupa!

Sugandh

The Hunger Games Trilogy - Review

well, i have been nursing my book hangover for past 3 days now and i can't seem to come out of the trance that this trilogy sent me into and reading other books is quite impossible because every time I do something i remember Peeta and Katniss and the way the book is written.

it is much more than a love story, and the televised murder of the innocent children, may be i am reading too much between the lines, but it has so many complex ideas in the book that i can't stop thinking about it.

it has themes like a totalitarian government that punishes its citizens for crimes that were not committed by them. it is about how the human race could sacrifice its own children for the covert agenda, it is a story about love, sacrifice, compassion, friendship, courage, hatred and survival. it constantly reminded me of the dialogue from V for Vendetta

"People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people"

it touches upon the ideas that was presented in 1984 by George Orwell,  that "People need power for the sake of power and for no other reason."

it is the way i see Coin, wanting power for the sake of power and ready to sacrifice more children for her own agenda.

it is easy to say that my favorite character from the trilogy is Peeta, because he loses so much during the course of the series and still is able to ask the question that bothers him so much, life can be simplified if we can ask questions and clarify our confusions.

i am so engrossed in this book even after finishing it, that the other book i started reading [Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling] seems bland in front of it.

this series might be intended as YA, but like Catcher in the Rye, it is going to be popular among every sort of reader, may be it has already happened.

i had fun reading it and it is highly recommended to anyone who wants to see the complex sides of human nature.

5 stars - or whatever the rating it higher.

P.S. listen to "We Remain" by Christina Auguilera  -  amazing song!

Sugandh

Kheryaan De Naal

So, I am sitting here and listening to this song from Coke Studio 7, sung by Niazi Brothers, "Kheryan De Naal" and i am doing nothing else, because listening to this song is a work in itself. the review in "Dawn" said that the song creeps on you, but it doesn't, it grows inside you, until you feel nothing but the love of Heer for Ranjha; that you agree when she proclaims that "My beloved Ranjha is the most beautiful and it is I who is not so."

When you feel that there is nothing more important than her love and the pain she is suffering because she is being asked to go with someone else; and how she is pleading with everyone else that she doesn't want to go.

this song in seven short minutes grow so much into you that you become Heer yourself and feel the pain of separation, the joy of knowing Ranjha and the love she felt for him. Until you become the flute lamenting with Heer and until you are haunted by the unrequited love, until you are in a trance and you are seeking Ranjha too and when it ends, it becomes very hard to come out of the trance; it leaves you wanting more! It leaves you in a world beyond the world of your own!




Niazi Brothers, Kheryaan De Naal, Coke Studio Pakistan, Season 7, Episode 5 from Coke Studio on Vimeo.

Sugandh

Eid ul Azha 2014

Well, Eid Mubarak, one of my friends says that i wish eid as if i am doing "Ahsan" but no, i feel awkward wishing eids, birthdays and generally awkward wishing anything at all.

well this post is going to be dedicated to one of the most essential part of the eid "Sheer Khurma"

More than new clothes, eidi [monetary gift], lights, fun, music and food, i love sheer khurma. we get to eat sheer khurma on other days too, but eid's sheer khurma has to be the best.

so sheer is milk in persian and khurma are died dates (choharay) and they are cooked with vermicelli, we boil the milk until it is reduced in half with sugar and cardamom, and the choharay are boiled until soft, and then they are boiled together and the vermicelli are put in, and it is garnished with 'badaam pista' [that would be almonds and pistachio], the whole thing is boiled until the milk get that slight pinkish yellow hue and lose its whiteness. Heaven.

it is one thing i look forward to now during eid. just imagine that you could not taste this delicacy on eid, would it be an eid for you? due to some evil turn of the evils, you can't return home and know nothing about cooking, and you are stranded alone on your own with every possible comfort but sheer khurma on eid, will it be eid?

i guess not, so i am going to enjoy my last bowl of leftover sheer khurma from first day of eid, while you can think about the world without sheer khurma.


Adios
and eid mubarak :)

Sugandh

Yes, I am a Mouse!

Yes, I am a,mouse! Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

It is not what the mouse said, rather the way mouse said it that I find highly amusing. I smirk at people's ability to state the obvious or reiterate the established fact more than it is necessary to. Or assume things about you, or just simply tell you what you already know about yourself.

In my case it is my name ~ sugandh ~ beautiful or not, it was highly unusual in my part of the world, when I was young people would gape at me, trust me I did nothing to have this name. When I grew up, they would tell me that how unusual my name was. How utterly impossible to pronounce and spell [inwardly rolling eyes] after listening to it for a I-forgot-count-times I told one of my colleagues that (somewhat haughtly) that there is nothing difficult about my name, I have been using it since I was a child. [This still amuses me]

So yeah. I have an uncommon, different name and no I am not a non Muslim either.

When we move ahead, it is my habits - cross stitching, knitting, reading - there is nothing wrong with these [they are not my hobbies, they make an essential part of my day, like brushing teeth, so habits]

So yeah, I knit and I am not old. BTW people just imagine that older women get the skill by revelation or osmosis, it need to be learnt.

And then I hear the golden statement : you only read books, what do you know about reality? Trust me, I know more than u can imagine I know!

Well, always remember that a well read woman is a dangerous creature. And the quietest of the readers can have the loudest imagination.

And even after reading all this, you tell me anything similar, all I can say - all that the mouse said:

You people have no imagination!

Have a good day!

Sugandh

Taste of Silence

My generation in general and I in particular, take pride in saying most of the times whatever we feel like saying to anyone and holding nothing back! but the other day while discovering tracks on my hard drive i came across a ghazal sand by Mehdi Hassan. it started with "Jo chahatay ho, so kehtay ho, chup rehnay ki lazat tum kia jano?" roughly translated to English it will mean that you say whatever you want, You don't know the taste of being silent.

the problem that i face here is translating the word 'lazat', it is not merely taste, it includes ecstasy of knowing something, it includes the taste obviously, the things you feel when you taste, touch, see, listen or smell something and that sends you to the world where nothing parallels it. the way they say that it opens new avenues for you. new feelings, new sensations. the word 'lazat' has various meaning and connotations in Urdu. it is a very rich word that can not be explained away with a single word or phrase.

so when i heard this ghazal - may be after a thousand years - i felt ashamed, tongue tied, dumbfounded by the fact that i actually don't know what it feels like to keep silent. because i have never taken silence as peace so i need noise in background, but why do that noise has to be mine? it should be possible that one listens to something and not respond to it, feel something and not say it. being vocal is not the solution of every problem. i have still not figured out the effect of this single line on me or my way of understanding world and the ability to say whatever i feel like saying. i am trying but for time being i am going to try and keep quiet and for once not say what i feel like saying and see where it takes me.

 Sugandh

Defense Day!

So a turn of event took me to lahore and i spent this wonderful day visiting lahore in Daewoo City Bus Service. except for a very loud, and unpleasant man sitting in front of me, everything was perfect. The last stop of the bus was Wahgah Border and in my life i have never felt as patriotic as i felt there!

These people were really beautiful, they really leave their lives for us. i know it was just a parade and it might be done for funds or show or any other reason, but the other side of this is the soldiers that actually fight for us to keep us protected and safe

but they actually do more than that!

During my visit to Naran, we went to Lake Lulusar, the entire highway was built by army, one might say they have vested interest in that highway but still it was such a hard work.

So Yeah, our armed forces do a lot for us and we should at least appreciate them. [will discuss their short comings some other time]

Sugandh

Learn to Knit Fair Isle

But i already knew how to do it, but i have never tried a complete project so i made myself a mobile phone cover! it is rudimentary and can be better!

Sugandh

Stitch 12 Cross Stitch Pictures

it is just one goal, but it takes time to achieve it. it should have been 12 goals!!!

Color Chaos

this one has no title

Still Raining? Padidngton Bear

For you! Paddington Bear

Winter Dreams

Indifference

Turbulence 

Chaos

this one is made with many smaller motifs i found online - i named it Lovely Chaos!

I don't know what to call it!

Spring Flowers

Sugandh

Stitch Pictures for Coffee Wall

coffee wall is nothing, it is just an idea, like the heart wall and because i don't have a place of my own - they remain just the ideas. so here the pictures that i made for coffee wall and there r bunch of others that i did earlier. i can much better. they are simple cup cakes done in stem stitch and i tried a bit of satin stitch and lazy daisy!

Sugandh

The Impressions

Is the first impression always the last impression? I don't think so ... I usually start by liking people a lot, for me they can do no wrong, they all are inherently good and want or cause no harm to me or to anyone else in the society! but with every passing encounter and observations I discover things that i dislike and end up mostly disliking them altogether in most of the cases.

In the same was a friends of mine always starts with being wary of the people, she won't get too close or put too much trust in people or anything, she finds it very difficult to trust people and with every new interaction discovers the new and positive things about those once unknown.

we are not discussing here whose method of assessing people is better, but that we both don't retain the first impressions of the people we meet, we change them over time. we might remember what we first thought of them but that doesn't make us keep liking or disliking them. second thing that i have noticed and most people i discussed with disagree with it, that your appearances make a very big impact on how people perceive you, vanity may be but this is how i feel about people and the first impressions!

Sugandh

Ten Characteristics of Pakistanis

Just a note before i begin. i am not criticizing myself or my fellow country people, i am just trying to be objective and see where do we go wrong!

1. we know how to live without electricity, water and natural gas.
2. when we are demonstrating against the government, we hurt ourselves.
3.we are a special brand of muslims, removed away from real Islam, but believe in anything that a mullah will tell us, not bothering to find out the truth ourselves or to confirm the spoken word!
4. we think that speaking English is height of literacy.
5. we think breaking a traffic rule is not a punishable crime.
6. we love criticizing ourselves even for the things that we have not done wrong
7.  we always select the people to rule us that we know will not prove themselves, no matter how many chances.
8. we talk about the change and so much want it, but will wait for someone else to start the movement.
9. we think that everything that goes wrong in our country is American/Indian/Jewish conspiracy and that 'Muslims' are incapable of doing anything wrong.
10. We love to rant and do nothing practical!

so here goes my ten characteristics of Pakistanis [these include some of my own traits too :/!!!!]


Sugandh

What I Actually Want to Say

we are humans and are very proud of the fact. but sometimes and these days quiet often i keep wondering what happen to our humanity when we most need it?

i watch all these strange movies that say that they are based on real lives of people and real incidents. World War II, the Bosnian War, human trafficking, slavery, etc etc and i question my own humanity?

no matter what i have been told about people, ethnicity, culture, religion, beliefs, sexual orientation, languages, choices, i am faced with humans everyday - in the end - they are like me. little excited, little scared, little angry and hateful, but humans nonetheless. how can i kill them?

forget killing that is easy, how can i let go of my humanity and make them feel below the level of humanity. how can one human torture another human so much that it wishes for death. his own death! weren't we supposed to love life and save and cherish it?

i don't understand what makes one person drill another person's body? or pluck their fingernails out? or piss all over them? how can man beat up a woman and then lie with her and expect it to be enjoyable?

what i actually want to ask is, what makes people commit all these horrible crimes? what make them forget their own humanity and that of the person in front of them?

how can we, become worst than the animals? we were created as the intelligent being!

what went wrong?

Sugandh

Watch 100 Movies

1. Dakota's Summer
2. Bridges of Madison County
3. Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
4. The Book Thief
5. The Nut Job
6. The Tale of Despereaux
7. The Railway Man
8. The Terminal
9. R. Rajkumar
10. Pure Country 2. The Gift
11. Alice through the Looking Glass
12. Austenland
13. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
14. Her
15. Khamosh Pani
16. Planes
17. Pup
18. That Awkward Moment
19. Vampire Academy
20. Gravity
21. A Walk to Remember
22. About a Boy
23. The Invisible Woman
24. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
25. Philomena
26. Kramer Vs. Kramer
27. The Switch
28. You May Not Kiss the Bride
29. Frozen
30. The Wolf of Wall Street
31. The Empire of Sun
32. The Golden Compass
33. Flipped
34. Romeo and Juliet
35. The Book of Esther
36. Breaking the Waves
37. Saving Mr. Banks
38. Soul Surfer
39. 12 Years a Slave
40. Slumdog Millionaire
41. The GReat Buck Howard
42. Field of Dreams
43. Afternoon Delight
44. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
45. A Case of You
46. Milk
47. Bedtime Stories
48. Dallas Buyers Club
49. Best Man Down
50. Free Birds
51. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
52. As I Lay Dying
53. In A World
54. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
55. Short Term 12
56. Blue Jasmine
57. A.C.O.D.
58. Social Nightmare
59. The Fifth State
60. Enough Said
61. About Time
62. Suspension of Disbelief
63. Touchy Feely
64. The Mortal Instrument: City of Bones
65. Matilda
66. Nim's Island
67. After Earth
68. Lady and The Tramp
69. The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug
70. The Muppets
71. The Best Offer
72. The Heat
73. Braveheart
74. District 9
75. Scenic Route
76. Wadjda
77. The Greatest Game Ever Played
78. The Kids are All Right
79. The Croods
80. The Artist
81. My Best Friend's Wedding
82. Enough Said
83. Gladiator
84. Little Children
85. About Time
86. Bambi
87. Fruitvale Station
88. The Right Kind of Wrong
89. Kill Your Darlings
90. The Legend of Hercules
91. Endless Love
92. Queen ... [awesome. all girls should watch it.]
93. Highway [let's go climb a mountain]
94. The Physician [WOW!!!!]
95. Labour Day
96. Little Manhattan
97. The Whistleblower
98. The Lego Movie
99. Shadi ke Side Effects [boring/useless]
100. Elizabethtown
Sugandh

ASK ME...

few days back a TV channel was having this as breaking news that head mistress of this certain school cut the hair of girls because of uncleanliness...

ask me, if i could do this i would do it too ... why???

the school where i teach students of grade 7 who literally put on make up to come to school [a mother complaining about her daughter] have lice and nits in their hair and to top it all of they make such elaborate hair style that u can observe the lice taking a leisurely stroll across the various partings...

and they don't feel guilty or unclean or anything at all.

given the circumstances, if i could then i would shave their hair too!!!


Sugandh

Buy new plants

done :)

i dunno the name of this plant, but i fell in love it!

here is my fern :)

Sugandh

Eat at two new places

for a person who is wary of going out and eating new things it was supposed to be a tough thing to do, but i have already done that... first were the fish and chips from london fries. they are available at ocean mall.

and the second place was where i always wanted to go - Sattar Buksh - the word play on Starbucks. the ambiance, the food, the presentation everything gets an A+ in my grade book.  here i decided to taste stuffed chicken with penne pasta. oh! the taste, the one i crave for in the middle of night. awesome :D

Sugandh

Buy 10 books

haha ... four out of ten books bought! this is going to be fairly easy :)

1. The sins of the father
2. Best kept secret.
3. tales and legends from India.
4. rough music.
5. Retail Therapy.
6. 2 1/2 Pillars of Wisdom.
7. The Sun in the Morning.
8. Can You Keep a Secret
9. Be Careful What You Wish For
10. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia

:) done!

Sugandh

What is going on???

100 children dead in Thar Parker dist of Pakistan because of hunger/malnutrition.

a mother kills her two children aged 2 years and 8 months. her husband is an addict!

kashmiri students expelled from university in India because they were cheering Pakistan, [honestly sometimes i cheer south africa]

Sugandh

The Shrug

so here it is -  a shrug (the sleeves are a little short but would cover that with crochet :D)

and ignore my clothes

Sugandh

Make 3 different types of Milkshakes

Milkshake # 1: Homemade Mocha Frappucino

Milkshake # 2: Banana Breezer

Milkshake # 3: Simple Chocolate Milk

Sugandh

100 things to do in new year

The original title of this post was 365 things to do in 365 days!!!! but i was unable to come up with 100, so i changed the title... so here we go. BTW if you guys have any suggestions for what i should and can do in 365 days, let me know...

1. Learn to make pan-cakes
2. Learn crochet
3. drink 3 different types of coffee (i had vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, mocha...)
4. eat at 2 new places
5. visit a new city
6. make a website
7. make Chinese omelette
8. learn to sew mirrors
9. learn Persian
10. Make cheese omelette
11. learn to make spaghetti
12. update the blog at least once a week
13. take a picture every day
14. read 50 books
15. complete MS
16. make 12 pictures (cross stitch)
17. learn to knit fair isle
18. learn to knit enterlac
19. learn to knit in round
20. buy something gold
21. lose weight
22. make a shrug (done)
23. make a caplet
24. knit leg warmers
25. knit wrist warmers
26. knit a head band
27. watch 100 movies (i started on this)
28. buy plants (ferns preferably)
29. save fifty thousand rupees (this requires me to keep my current job or find a new one)
30. buy new glasses (i have same for last 7 years)
31. make a cake
32. make 3 different types of milkshakes
33. complete the scrapbooks
34. learn a new embroidery stitch
35. catalog the books (phew)
36. learn to make round roti (i started on this one too)
37. try not to buy any stationary
38. de clutter the wardrobe
39. Walk from one destination to another and back
40. write an independent research paper
41. embroidery a dupatta
42. make birthday dress
43. get a manicure (given the fact that i have never had one)
44. get a pedicure..
45. buy the magazine table (i have always wanted this)
46. create the 'heart wall' (this is my childhood dream, i am finally gonna get the wall painted and pictures hung)
47. stitch pictures for coffee wall...
48. get gifts for Sarah and Salma framed (they r two years old gifts, still in my to be framed stash :(... it's about time i gave them away)
49. make the mirror work scarf (therefore learn to sew mirrors :P)
50. make a stop motion picture (i have no idea why i have written this, as i have already tried one)
51. discover a new software
52. buy a frying pan (what's with making pancakes :P)
53. buy a sauce pan (for no reason at all)
54. embroidery the ghazal bag (in other words, put ur idea into a product)
55. eat a new dish (Mexican probably)
56. knit a snoodie (i just found out what it actually is, can't wait to make myself one)
57. buy 10 books
58. make that ice tea... (have been procrastinating ever since)
59. Make the sequined infinity scarf (stash buster)
60. Start the afghan/throw
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
8.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.



Sugandh