Friday Fictioneers: A New Life

April 16, 2014

By znjavid

The three brothers played hide and seek while their mother cooked for the guests. The littlest one hid in the car which had been mistakenly left unlocked after a grocery run. The elder two tired of looking for their brother and were soon engrossed elsewhere.

Nobody noticed the little boy locked in the car out in the sun for nearly an hour. He died clutching his Spiderman tightly in his hands.

A year after the tragedy, the family was blessed with a baby girl. “Is she an angel?” asked her older brothers when they saw her. “Yes”, replied their mother, “For me she is.”

This is a true story so I would request that comments be directed to the writing style, rather than on whom the blame should lie for the tragedy. Thank you.

For more details about the Friday Fictioneers see the link below:

http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/18-april-2014/

In-flight Entertainment

April 16, 2014

By znjavid

My 4 year old son and I were in our home city of Islamabad last week. On the way back, Nadir walked into the airplane with me and as the air hostess greeted us, he asked for popcorn. He figured since there were going to show movies, there ought to be popcorn as well. The next time the air hostess asked us if we wanted something he stressed, “I’m hungry, can I have popcorn?” So she brought him some crisps to eat instead because, well, it’s an airplane and not a cinema.

I remember when I was a child I used to travel a 4 hour journey with my mother and elder siblings in a train from Islamabad to Lahore. My mother used to bring snacks for us and my sister and I would play some games that we had packed in our hand carry to keep ourselves entertained. We knew all the train stops in the right order and could anticipate how much of our journey was left.

Times have really changed since then and Nadir got a train ride when we changed terminals at the airport. Thankfully he didn’t make any demands on the train!

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Shiny

April 15, 2014

By znjavid

I’ve always been fascinated by the sun’s reflection on water. It’s as if a million tiny light bulbs were turned on at the same time, twinkling, dancing and beckoning.

Dubai, UAE

Ras al Khaimah, UAE

Islamabad, Pakistan

http://ceenphotography.com/2014/04/15/cees-fun-foto-challenge-patterns-2/

My Beautiful Islamabad

April 14, 2014

By znjavid

I was in Islamabad last week and got an opportunity to photograph my beautiful home city in full glory. With the rains keeping the weather cool and the flowers blooming it was an ideal time to visit even despite the hay fever I always end up with in this season. So I popped an antihistamine and with my ever faithful Lumix I took the photos that I never took while I lived there.

This is Faisal Mosque, the largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia. With its backdrop against the Margalla Hills and its white structure designed to resemble a Bedouin tent, it makes an impressive sight even from very far.

My favorite place to visit is the Monal restaurant up in the hills where you can get a view of the flat and spread out city while enjoying delicious tikka boti and puri paratha.

Another beautiful spot is the Lake View Park next to Rawal Lake with its rolling green grass and ample entertainment opportunities for children of all ages.

For my visit to the Pakistan Monument see my post here: https://zainabjavid.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/weekly-photo-challenge-monument/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument

April 13, 2014

By znjavid

The Pakistan Monument was completed at the end of 2006 and inaugurated on the National Day of Pakistan on March 23rd, 2007. It’s about 20 minutes drive from my home in Islamabad where I used to pass it by without bothering to visit for nearly 4 years until I left my home city to live in Dubai. Last week I was there for the spring holidays with my son and finally went to see it.

The Petal Monument

The mural inside each Petal

The Museum and Pakistan Flag

View of the city from the monument

The four main petals of the monument represent the four provinces, while the three smaller petals represent the three territories. The inner walls of the petals are decorated with murals depicting the history and culture of Pakistan. The monument is located at the west viewpoint of the Shakarparian Hills, and is spread over a total area of 2.8 hectares. The high location makes the monument visible from all over the capital city of Islamabad.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument

Friday Fictioneers: Great Expectations

April 12, 2014

By znjavid

The village was celebrating the return of their prodigy from abroad where he had spent the last 10 years finishing his medical training.

As Haris, now known as Harry, stepped off the bus, he was not alone. He had brought with him Andrea, his English wife to meet the family. His fiancé felt her heart sink as she watched the two make their way to the decorated village square.

Harry quickly put an end to any expectations the village or his family had of him. He had not come to open a hospital or to get married. This could never be his home now.

This 100 word story was written for the Friday Ficioneers. For details see the link below:

http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/11-april-2014/

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Patterns

April 8, 2014

By znjavid

The Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai is based on the travels of the great explorer Ibn Battuta and each section is designed to depict one of the areas he travelled. Here are some photographs I took in the Persia Court. The patterns on the ceiling and walls are beautiful and eye catching.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Patterns