I hope the weekend is going well, and you wake up well rested, this morning and don’t have the buzz from the last night…
The oldest thing that I own and use… It will be one of my oldest devices that i still use to this day, the trusty Samsung S7 edge, its been used ruggedly ever since it came into my hand, in the late 2016…
It’s been something that I’ve cherished, loved and bought with real passion and discussion with those in my surroundings, and when I got it in my hand, it felt like I held a cherished treasure, for which I worked really hard, (Well not really…), but, it was one such passion that I had, and it was the one thing that was with me, Everywhere I went, and whenever I needed it was there for me…
That was the one device where all of this started, like, my writing, all of my beginnings are a part of that device, where I started all of this from scratch, and all of it is a journey from nothing to something to whatever I am today…
With that being said, it’s still with me, and on it I am playing the tracks that I love through a speaker, which brings out fresh feelings as this harsh sunny morning curses us…
Cheers 🥂
Love Waakiye 🤍
After spending night, with adequate and sleepless, I found, my cherished phone to be my partner…
Through thick and thin, the ups and downs, welcoming a new member, And a few of them passing away, it was always there with me…
The first crush and its addressing of my feelings the cues that I saved on my phone, became the helping hand for me, as I flipped it, to see what I had to say as my words fumbled…
But, that same became a helping hand when I was, When I was all alone, within this world, within this mind I was trapped, without a single clue, as I prepared a document, citing my untimely end, and how it was no-one’s blame, or everyone’s but mine, and now when I look at it, a sensible chuckle stays on this face…
A luxury I can’t live without, Hmm, it really got me thinking, what are the luxuries that I own and use on a daily basis…
Then the question comes, what are the things that you consider luxuries, do you consider a car or a bike to be luxury, or do you consider a laptop or a phone to be a luxury, do you consider the roof over your head to be a luxury or you consider all of the above things that are basic of the basic things…?
Where I’m from, having a roof over your head is a luxury, but, having a car or a bike isn’t;
having a laptop or a phone isn’t a luxury, but, having enough money to eat daily is a luxury…
What do you think the division of power is? when one side is dying to barely afford 3 meals, and the other generate many times as waste,
One side doesn’t get even the basic of necessities, like water and a place to bath and relieve themselves, but, The other has all of these things readily available at their disposal, whenever they want to;
This type of thinking that sees a stark difference and is willing to make an observation, and an effort to expose those who oppress and keep them in conditions similar, even after working many times compared to others,
This becomes a luxury in my case, As I see and try to make an effort to those who suffer unnecessarily, by helping them, those who want to be helped, and show a genuine need and want to be helped, to be pulled out of this cycle that their generations were trapped in…
A luxury that comes when a silent observant being, sees and processes things differently, when others, they just go and lower their head or avert their eyes to not see, all the wrong that goes on…
MAYBE YOUR LUXURY AND MY LUXURY DIFFERS VASTLY, AND THAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US…!?
Cheers 🥂
Love Waakiye 🤍
A wish, in hope a child, from a family that isn’t well off, imagines…;
A room, an entire room full of toys, as he stares into a passerby’s home, a family that is loving and caring, he imagines, Is all of this his fault…?
Is this his fault, being born, born in a family that works so hard, yet, earns so little, is this his fault…?
Is this dream of a room, a room as big as his house, in which four others live, is this his fault…?
As he sees the crib, in which the child probably sleeps, as big as the broken and unkempt TV stand that we have, which doesn’t even cover a third of the room, Is all of this my fault…?
Being born in a family that’s ridden with debt, a child, another one, that they brought into this world, to curse, to push into something, that isn’t even remotely as close as living good, where diseases are widespread and making past 10 is a blessing, is, is being born, being born in these conditions, in this situation, my fault…?
Another day, another great prompt if you ask me, if us humans, each and every one of us had their own tagline, a catchy phrase, or something indicating the type of person they are, or the type of work they do, which would easily cut down a lot of unnecessary conversations, or a part thereof..
Imagine, if you were in need of a lawyer, and on introduction in an informal setting, they said their tagline, like,
“A proficient lawyer, and an attorney with 25 years of experience, tracing the footsteps of (their parent’s business), and taking real pride in their work…”
Doesn’t this make things much simple, like you know what you want and what are you looking for, with a simple introduction that starts with a tagline, and you already know if you want to continue the conversation or not….
But, there has to be some strict laws that are guiding them, imagine someone forging their data or information, (A much real possibility.) just for securing a deal or a job and after that fleeing the scene without a trace, which in fact nullifies all of the effort and dependence on this tagline system….
If you were to ask a normal person about this, they would for sure be expressive of their feelings, and within it, in plain sight where their professional skills would be told in an easy-to-understand way; But, if they were seeking companionship, they would add things that might be common like their interests like birdwatching or going on hikes, or dog walking or something like keeping a garden, which would signify that he takes care of his surroundings and loves animals and such, making them a viable candidate…
Again, we’d have to be careful, that someone doesn’t come up with things that they can’t do, and they added it just to make themselves sound better and get what ulterior motives they had…
NOW, What would be my tagline you ask…?
“A hardworking person, who tries to fit themselves into places that are new and difficult, just to expose and gain enough skills to be a better person, A writer too, who writes without boundaries and seeks new experiences, to be a better storyteller to his kids and grandkids as he ages like fine Wine, coming from a business family, and importance of learning things from scratch makes them always open for new innovation, and skills that can be honed and refined further…”
Cheers 🥂
Love Waakiye 🤍
A table full of people, waiting for someone’s arrival, a person of character for whom they gathered there, much more valuable his time was than theirs…
As they ordered some entrees, a few drinks on the table, slowly everyone’s taglines escaped their mouths, a business owner, a housewife, a diligent employee, a secretary, and a newly appointed receptionist, and in the background, a newly married couple, sharing the same last name, sobbing she was as he consoled her…
As he watched from the corner, waiting for things to settle down, as his phone rang, on hearing the news, he went silent, a single beep continued as he heard the news…
We couldn’t save the people in the vehicle, a drunk driver whose tagline said, “An addict who was clean from the past 5 years…” was in fact drunk and ran a red light crashing into the car in which his wife and kid were, killing them on the spot…
The girl on being a friend of the nurse in the hospital, which their lifeless body came in, and confirming her, of the worst fears…
As he got up to approach them, they climbed into their vehicles, and drove to the hospital, unknown to the happening, he sat there, as he recognized, a similar car, a similar number plate and a similar bumper sticker, before they flashed a photo, with him and his wife and a child merely 7, his whole world uprooted, as the tires screeched and in the parking lot of hospital he was, where they saw the remainder of his family surrounded by news reporters, as he slid past them, he saw, on the gurney, bruised up, scratched and heavily injured body of his wife, and on the other, a crushed one, from the direct impact, on the passenger’s side, A small, little one, his little one, laughing and playing with his toys hours before…
As he screamed silently, curling up in a ball, unknown to how he would face, face this world ever again…
Every breath taken, in a sense, to last longer, than the last…
The pain, like a slow working poison, hurting as its traveling to parts different, and eats from within the being…
A sense of doom, looms over the person, a fear that haunts, reminding, of the change in dynamics, of the responsibilities that were shed, once she was given from a home, to a house, unknown…
Numerous calls, a wish to return, A wish to see the faces of those remaining, BUT, A strict no, stood in the way, As she breathed, drank, dabbed herself in poison, each day, until the blue, overcame her, and there she lay, in a cloth pure white, a call was made…
A call was made, that carefree father’s laughter, turned into nightmare, as tears started to fall, the drive was painful, The words barely leaving, As they saw, their daughter, or what remained of her, in a cloth, PURE WHITE…
Wishing a conversation, a last one, but, unaware of the fact, they themselves closed that gate shut….!
Exceptional work on getting this day’s prompt too, the type of jobs I’ve had…
It might seem like i am a person who has done a lot in my life, in a sense that these words or the type of person they portray me to be, but, in the contrary, the type of job that i’m currently involved in had no relation to the type of career path i chose in my high school or my bachelors…
I’ve worked the same job and picked up various tasks, starting as a helper, picking up scraps and filling up coolant water, and cutting huge quantities of material, often returning home covered in soot and a layer of metal dust and sweat due to long shifts without breaks, to operating machines big and small, by learning the basics and now doing tricky processes on my own, currently, grinding things to their sizes within the specified tolerances, and giving them to the customers, Also, face to face customer dealing from day 1…
The type of field that I’m currently in, has unlimited potential for growth, But, it doesn’t have the matching pay to it, you can have all the skills, quote what you are deserving of, but, a helper or someone who will be taught will be a replacement of you within a few days, i.e. no sense of job security…
Being from a commerce background, I started with a blank slate, with limited knowledge, of the field, but, the sheer dedication, and focus that i put in, (not being able to find any other at the time), i picked up the family business and have taken it upwards only…
Didn’t work many jobs, but a range of jobs within one to develop skills that can be used in many places, and, I’m grateful for that…
Cheers 🥂
Love Waakiye🤍
Often, I find myself, sitting, pondering, wondering, if the work i did today mattered…?
Did it matter that i woke up, set that early alarm, woke up before that, and got ready to avoid the morning rush…
Did it matter…?
Did it matter, that i arrived before anyone could, and started work earlier than anyone, preparing the type of work each and every employee had to work on, make a detailed process and work sheet, set timings to check the type of work that went on, Routinely checking the prepared product, the tolerance and the proper build, and like that, staying on these tippy toes, i get the work done, Advising, checking, guiding, before i could look up it was lunch, a late one…
It was 3 in the afternoon, before i could sit and eat my lunch in peace, by then i got a call for delivery of raw material, inhaling my food i went out, and brought some helpers, and after a thorough investigation, the product was kept in the designated place, As the clock stuck 4…
Before i could go on another checking shift, i was given a task to prepare and look at the repairs of a machine, After meticulously studying and locating the err, not within our scope the maintenance staff was called in, taking up 45 minutes, as i went on to checking the final product…
Before i could come back the machine was up and running, downtime of 42 minutes, which was easy to manage and work around…
As the clock stuck 5 staff stared to leave, workday being over, some overtime staff that stayed on half an hour, by the clock stuck 5:45 the place was empty, deserted like there existed none, By 6 and checking all of the machines before leaving not leaving anyone of them on, and putting in my timestamp, i left for my home…
where I sat, just like that, thinking, did it matter, as i prepared for another day, and 4 more to come…
You’re not gonna believe that I was curled up in my bed, thinking as the clock stuck 00:00 hours, I should read something before going to sleep, (Trying to induce a habit of reading..) As I picked a book from my collection, it was either Khalil Gibran’s collection, or, it was metamorphosis by Kafka which I bought, the night before i.e. Sunday night from a roadside book seller…
Before I could even focus my eyes on the words written on the first page of metamorphosis, It felt blurry, remembering little, the character turned into bug, there was a description, how he looked at himself, who he was, looking at the picture he hung that he cut out of the magazine…
that’s all I could remember, the first page that to barely, I thought to myself, is this the same mind that read pages upon pages during its prime…?
As I put the book in its place, a wall mounted drawer, and tried to fall asleep, but, I couldn’t, I was using 3 devices simultaneously before, my phone checking the messages, getting updates from a brother who’s fighting an addiction, and doing a splendid job keeping at it, Another one, who just came back from giving a competitive exam, and has had a long day, requiring a full day’s sleep to be in working condition again, another one who opened a new office and is dying from traveling as the commute has added 3 hours which he has to steal from these 24 hours…
My laptop for penning down my thoughts and ideas, in the WordPress app, as a few ideas flew by me, one of which I explored last night, and wrote a prose in a language commonly spoken here, about a girl who is held in boundations, and isn’t welcomed by her maternal home, in a setting that is absolutely heartbreaking….
My wireless sound bar, which played one of the favorite playlists that has songs from Panjabi culture, some Hindi songs and Gazals or a collection of old poetry, which brought me immense joy, and every once in a while, a new song would pop in and I’d have to change it, and remove it from my playlist…
Surrounded by these things, I thought of a life before all of this, these devices, these apps, these screens and, it took me back to a time when we had those buttoned phones and nothing more…
I remember, getting bored of playing snake game and then going out to play with my friends in the colony we grew up in, we used to run after each other, play hide and seek, hopscotch because we had these sandstone blocks outside our home, which would make it way easier to prepare and play around, but, those memories were blemishing, maybe I forgot some of it…
We used to wake up early, watch our grandparents light an incense stick in prayer room, after then watching them read the newspaper on the rocking chair, sipping on their piping hot tea, occasionally taking a bite of biscuit or rusk that was kept right next to their cup and saucer…
I remember rushing to take a bath, after that hurriedly chomping down breakfast, it was something light like poha, or a paratha (Indian flatbread with filling), something that we all loved, after that going to school where we used to enjoy our friendship, meeting those who we liked from the bottom of our hearts, some crushes, some whom we adored, and found cute…
Our parents went to their work, father returning home late around 8 or 9, mother returning home early and preparing evening snacks for us kids, and preparing dinner for the people in the house, and finally getting back to bed, late around 11 pm or 23:00 hours…
Occasionally going out to buy sweets like jalebis, or something, never missing the night walk, staring at the starry sky and the moon, as we used to walk back home, tiredness kicking in as soon as we reached home, and falling asleep under, the rotating fan and occasional cooler blowing cold air which turned into hot after it ran out of water, and then replacing it with new water after cleaning it to remove the foul smell…
The respect that we held for our elders and the stories that we heard from their own mouth, that too very keenly, shaping our beliefs and moral compasses, without many distractions, we were able to focus better; and having a genuine relationship because of face-to-face conversations, and learning about our culture and heritage from the word of mouth, rather than having to search google or YouTube just like these…
A time to remember and cherish it was…
Cheers 🥂
Love Waakiye 🤍
Those were the good days, we keep on telling ourselves, as the generation that grew up playing outside, before the technological advancement that made our lives, Easier yet more chaos filled…
Remembering, crying to our parents to play outside, our eyes feel watery this day too, But, seeing the roads empty, break our heart shattering them into little pieces, a history of fun gone, replaced by technology…
That crying before going to school, and the tiredness that surrounded afterwords, that sleeping after coming home, or those time spent, during exam period, cramming everything into this little brain of ours…
Then pouring it all into these exam papers, but, remembering those times brings nostalgia, that keeps us from forgetting those good times…
Going out with our parents after they returned home from work, grabbing ice cream as they talked to each other, worries about our well-being, our school life, and their personal life too, remembering them talking to each other we used to feel happy, that we were blessed with such caring and worried parents,
I’ve become a fan of the prompts these days, they ask such intricate questions with such precise clear-cut words, That it feels out of this world…
The reason it is so intricate for me is because, we are often told not to brings things so close to our hearts, that if one day you were to part (G0d forbid) from them, the pain won’t ever be enough, to take your life with itself…
The adamant rule of, (Dil par nahi lagaa’na or Dil par mat lena), Don’t take it on your heart (translations), has saved me G0d knows how many times, and it will till the end of me…
But, we are only human Afterall, aren’t we? we take things to our heart, and when time comes, it takes a piece of it (our heart), with it…
Coming back to the prompt, personal belongings that I hold dear, to myself, there are many that I hold with care and utmost importance, and they have a special place for me in my heart, that make me want to continue, whenever I feel like I’m falling off, or, about to…
One of them is a very old notebook, from my school days, where all of this took birth, the essence of Waakiye, or the birth of it, I often find myself scrolling through, some of the raw emotions that I wrote, when all of this wasn’t even in my wildest dreams, but, The urge and a want to express what roamed this vast land of my mind, it was there forever, and thanks to consistency of that child, and never stopping the scribbling, he turned into a person that loves to write, even if everything is going against, out of control…
Another one, is a collection of photos, that keeps me grounded.
Reminds me of something that I did, of irreversible nature, and the type of thing that haunts me some nights, but, it gives me a proof of something that we all fear,
“THE FEAR OF DEATH ITSELF…”
that thing ended a great suffering, and a time that we don’t wish on an enemy or their family, But, we went through, endured all the sufferings, and welcomed the future with open arms, even if we were broken, shattered from within, we still lived, lived to see the next day, day after that, and we will see this day too…
To better days and, things that remind you of who you were, and what shape you shall take tomorrow, an unknown reality welcomes you…
Cheers 🥂
Love Waakiye 🤍
In the distance I saw, I saw a being, a version of self, in a place that I could have been…
Being on the support of others, not able, notable of something like a madman, who lost it, lost it all…
There wasn’t any other option, but, to stand tall, be a shadow to those who were now dependent, and be a support system for those, who still don’t believe of the happening, and yet, here we are, enduring it yet again, this day, just like yesterday, like it happened yesterday, like a film all of it plays,
Waakiye 