Check out my post on Valentines last year.
Teen
Finding Mehwish
I always used to criticize my folks, why they named me “Mehwish“? The meaning of this name made me question my parents often. They said when I was born, I was quite fair and pretty. But soon, my health declined. It was all due to my prior beauty, that they decided to name me, “Mehwish“, meaning as pretty as the moon.
Seriously?
This meaning doesn’t seem to suit with my image of myself. To me, I am a totally confused girl. A person who is emotionally distressed and who constantly doubt her appearance and credibility.
It’s funny, I’ve always dreamed myself as either an intelligent and confident girl, a successful and rich business woman or a dedicated writer, way far from the pretty version of me and my actual personality!
So, I set out to find Mehwish. Who Mehwish really is?
Along my journey, I managed to discover two girls with the same name. It’s always nice to find someone who has the same name as yours. Twenty three years, and only two people I came across, who have this name. I think girls are named Mehwish rarely now. To me, this name is going obsolete because of the meaning associated with it.
As I became acquainted with Mehwish 1, I came to know that she is intelligent, skillful and friendly. This Mehwish happens to be one of my teachers.
Recently, I found Mehwish 2, who is a WordPress Blogger. She is a fine writer, with dedication and passion towards her work.
My search has revealed to me, that no matter how many Mehwish I meet, they all will be an alter ego of myself.
Memories from my Camera
Stood up online
Last night me and Bushra planned to go online on Skype. It was a golden chance to catch up on gossip.
After waiting for almost an hour, texting her again and again, I realized that I have been stood up by my friend. Either she is busy sleeping, or she, is preparing breakfast for her family. No matter what she is doing I am sitting home bore and have nothing to do.
What about you guys? Have you ever been stood up by someone?
Books with movie adaptations for kids and teenage girls
Although the teenagers and kids of today’s generation are more inclined towards science fiction, with books like Harry Potter, Twilight, Star wars among st their favorites, I am a fan of family and teenage drama.
These classic stories have great lessons in them, and teaches one morals. Standing up against bullying, being with your family in times of need, careful in selecting friends, are some of the lessons of these books. All these childhood classic stories and teenage novels are adapted in movies, so if you’re not much into reading, just like me, do watch the movies.
1. Ramona:
A series of eight novels by Beverly Cleary, with Ramona Quimby the main character. A great family story. The character of Ramona is worth appreciating, her efforts to save her home from being sold and arrange money when her father loses his job. The bond of friendship and rivalry between sisters is also represented well in this story.
Novel collection
Film adaptation
2. Matilda:
Matilda is a children’s novel by Roald Dahl. Matilda is a girl with great intellectual abilities, ill-treated and often misunderstood by her parents, she pulls several pranks on her parents in response. She also discovers that she has the power of telekinesis.
Matilda book by Roald Dahl
Matilda movie adaptation
3. Madeline:
Madeline is a series of books illustrated and written by Ludwig Bemelmans. The books focus on a group of girls in a Catholic boarding school in Paris. Madeline is the smallest of the girls. She is seven years old, and the only redhead. She is the bravest and most outgoing of the girls. _Wiki
Madeline book series
Madeline movie adaptation
4. Diary of A Wimpy Kid:
Greg Hefley, is the main character of the novel series written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. Constantly teased by his elder brother and annoyed by younger, Greg struggles to survive in school.
Dairy of a wimpy kid book
Dairy of a wimpy kid movie adaptation
5. How to Eat Fried Worms:
This book by Thomas Rockwell, didn’t receive much appreciation, since the idea of eating worms is considered disgusting by some. The story revolves around Billy, a kid who has a sensitive stomach. Always bullied at school, as a part of bullying one of the kids challenges him to eat fried worms.
How to eat fried worms book
How to eat fried worms movie adaptation
6. Jessica Darling:
The Jessica Darling books are a The New York Times bestselling series of five young adult novels by Megan McCafferty, published between 2001 and 2009. Told from the diary-style perspective of character Jessica Darling, the series chronicles her misadventures through high school, college, and beyond. _Wiki
Jessica DarlingNovels
Jessica Darling’s IT list, movie adaptation of sloppy firsts
7. Boys Are Dogs:
Boys Are Dogs is a book by Leslie Margolis, the book that inspired the Disney Channel movie Zapped. When Annabelle returns from summer camp, her life is totally different. New school is different from her old one, the boys practically run wild in the hallways. And at home, Annabelle’s new puppy is taking over the house and chewing on her clothes. But the puppy came with a training manual, so Annabelle might be able to get one thing under control. Unless . . . can you train a boy the way you train a dog?_ Good reads
Boys are dogs book
Boys are dogs inspired movie Zapped
8. How my private, personal journal became a best seller:
Another book that inspired Disney channel original movie, Read it and Weep. How my private, personal journal became a best seller by Julia DeVillers focuses on the story of a fourteen-year-old girl, Jamie who is tired of feeling insecure; at home she’s barraged with media images of physically flawless young women; at school, she’s hassled by a gang of catty, manicured classmates. Venting her frustrations in her diary, she chronicles the adventures of invented superhero Isabella (IS). _Good reads
How my private, personal journal became a best seller book
How my private, personal journal became a best seller inspired movie, Read it and weep
9. The book thief: (Requested in the list by Writer in progress)
The Book Thief is a novel by author Markus Zusak. The book is about a young girl living with her adoptive German family during the Nazi era. Taught to read by her kind-hearted foster father, the girl begins “borrowing” books and sharing them with the Jewish refugee being sheltered by her foster parents in their home. _Wiki
The book thief book by Markus Zusak
The book thief movie adaptation
Have any favorites that you want to share? Do comment and I’ll update it in my list.
Mabel aur mein: Boys vs. Girls, the fight continues
No one does humor better than Ahmed Shah Patras Bukhari. Although I find Urdu literature very tough to absorb, Patras Bukhari’s humorous short stories and Ghalib’s witty and sarcastic letters are worth reading for all generations.
For those of you who have forgotten, Patras, “Mabel aur main (Mabel and me)“, was taught as a part of Urdu curriculum in FSc part 1. It’s obvious who would even remember since our educational system relies on rote learning only the answers to important questions
every year.
A great initiative by LUMS media arts society of bringing new generation towards Urdu literature, which came into highlights today at ARY News.
Boys vs. Girls, who is better? This fight never ends. Being a Muslim I do agree that Islam has given superiority to men over women, but it has also given women many rights and the men is obliged to fulfill his duties towards women.
Patras Shah represents this men vs. women competition in a humorous way in “Mabel aur main”. Patras studies literature with Mabel in University. Mabel trying to prove women are equal to men, carries tons of books and keeps challenging Patras to debate on the books which they’ve read. Patras being an Asian man, feels that it is his duty to prove that men are superior to women and restore men their honor back.
The story takes a new dimension when Patras couldn’t read the books given by Mabel and keeps arguing without any knowledge. Once he fells seriously ill and feels guilty of his actions. He decides to read all the books in repentance. When he opens the books to read, he was astonished to find that all the books have printing errors. He realized men and women, whether or not equal in any matter, they are equal in the matter of deceiving one another. Mabel never read any of the books, if she had she would’ve known. She too was debating without any knowledge of what was written in them.
In modern times we find men fighting with women, women fighting with women and men fighting with men, for keeping their ego’s intact. Even if one party is wrong and the other right, they won’t apologize and accept the truth just cause of ego. It’s time to put an end to this.
Great news for NEDians, screening of Mabel aur mein at NED.
Read “Mabel aur mein” by Patras Shah Bukhari online at: urdurisala.com
For videos and more news visit: LUMS Media Arts Society
Related posts: Back to Uni: Boys Vs. Girls Engineers
Memories from my camera
An engineer’s confession
It was 2nd semester and project submission for Basic Electronics course was due. She and her friends tried a lot to put together a good working piece of electronic shit, but alas! All their efforts were gone to waste. Luckily they found an old circuit, which was to be submitted in the semester before. It was a dark sensor circuit, a circuit which illuminates an LED when light falling on the LDR is blocked.
*LED (Light emitting diode)
*LDR (Light dependent resistor)
It was project submission day, they tested the circuit but it wasn’t working. Worried of losing their credits in the course, two of the friends were preparing for the project presentation, while the third one was trying to get it in working state.
The LED lighted up, the two friends couldn’t believe their eyes. Haha! Let me tell you a secret, the third friend exclaimed with joy. The circuit has a loose connection, and when I touch the LED from below, it lights up, it is not lighting up because I blocked the LDR, it is lighting up because it is getting direct supply from the battery.
Listen up, here is what we gonna do, we’ll reach the electronics lab before anyone else from the class does, and give its demo to the teacher. I’ll fool her into thinking that it is a working circuit.
She and her friends reached the lab as fast as they can. She never made a fool out of anyone. Her heart was beating fast, she cannot do it. But her friends depended on her. All sort of thoughts were going on in her brain. What if the teacher found out? It is wrong. I cannot let my friends down.
It’s now or never.
First her friend gave a brief intro of the group mates and the project. Now it was her turn to give demo of how the circuit works. Trying not to laugh when her friend lighted up the LED, she explained how the sensor detects dark.
They got full marks, and the teacher was totally impressed of their efforts.
It was totally fun. She apologized to her teacher in heart, “Sorry, miss S”.
More to read: Dark sensor circuit on breadboard for beginners
Types of student in every classroom
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The Over smart:
These are the ones who think they know it all. Unwilling to help others, always admiring their selves.
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The bullies/ The Extortionist:
They are the ones who lack confidence in their abilities and always using others to get their work done, either by force or by threat. At the end of an assignment or project you’ll find them right beside you for its submission, when they didn’t help you at all in work.
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The Geeks/ The Nerds:
Always ready to show off their technical skills, yes I am talking about the socially inept nerds.
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The Rich and the famous:
Dressed up in branded clothes, arriving in a stylish car, we have the rich and famous kids. Found engaged in almost all social activities, found less in the class. Their work is only to comment on others, comment on their looks, their clothes etc.
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The Late comers:
Arriving late in almost every class and coming up with a very lame excuse, the late comers.
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The Social media morons a.k.a Cyber Bullies:
Taking pictures during a lecture, posting it on social media, these creeps never quiet. Investigating other classmates lives via social media makes them feel better about their on life.
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The Back benchers:
They have no idea of what is being taught in the class, they just come to keep up their attendance and have a good time with friends.
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The Religious ones:
Their job is to guide others to follow religion.
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The Diplomats:
What to say about them, they always have a neutral opinion. Diplomats, don’t want to get involved in any trouble.
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The Spoons (sycophants):
Running after teachers for extra credit, we have the spoons (Chamche). They appreciate their teachers, even if they don’t like them.
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The Couples:
Love is in the air. The couples, who never look into their books, they just look at one another. Their breakup and makeup rumors are more viral than a test announcement.
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The Cry babies:
These are the ones who cry the most after an examination, but always get A’s.
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The Politically associated:
Don’t mess with them, they are dangerous than a bully.
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The Bookworm:
Only loves to read books.
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The Perverts:
Their eyes are everywhere; hide your cleavage girls, they have a scanner in their eyes.
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The Borrowers:
Oh! I forgot my pen today. The borrower classmate, borrowing almost everything from pen and notes to money.
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The Survivors:
Well, my role and hopefully your role is also of a survivor. You are neither worried about looks, nor about grades. You go to study, have good time. You survive every up and down, always moving forward, never looking back.
Click to death
Smile, click and death. Never heard of it before, right? But in this century, anything can happen.
All of us love collecting memories. Some collect them in their hearts, while some collect them in the form of pictures. Almost everyday we hear news about deaths related to taking a selfie.
What is a Selfie?
A recent addition to the dictionary includes the deadliest word of all, deadlier than any weapon of this world, “SELFIE“.
A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smart phone or webcam and shared via social media.
(This is what Google says).
To me a selfie is a picture taken to show off one’s riches, their accomplishments, their friendship circle, a form of picture that showcases a person’s self-admiration. The American Mental Association associates taking more than 3 selfies a day to mental disorder, a disorder called, “Social media narcissism”.
Once people carried cameras only at special occasions, now everyone is taking a picture of oneself at every 5 secs.
What memory will you share with others, if you, yourself become a memory. Think!
BE SAFE! Take as many pictures as you like but take precautions.
Media credit: Google images and metronews.ca
Related posts: The list of a Narcissist
Prose, Poetry and a lil' bit of Engineering 