Super Saturday :)

In between the innumerable tests, sessionals, viva exams and what not, I planned a surprise for two of my classmates - Shadma & Sumaiya. My partner in crime - Kulsum Sheikh, another classmate.

So the birthdays had long passed with no mention of a surprise or treat. Shadma's came during vacations and Sumaiya's was in the middle of sessionals. Months later no one expected a surprise. It was over as all thought.

Tada! Not yet.

In true Bollywood Style - Kahani abhi baaqi hai, mere dost.

After class we went to get a birthday cake and gifts for the lovely ladies. Reached their hostel to find them asleep. Woke them up saying, " Come, let's celebrate your birthday." :P

The guests too had to be woken up from deep slumber. :P

After some amazing moments of cake cutting, we all wanted the real treat from them now.

After a number of permissions that the hostlers require to walk out of the imposing hostel boundaries we were off to our regular birthday treat hangout - Kwality at Centre Point.

Food, fun, friends and fantastic moments.

Yes, we still have exams, sessionals, terminals looming ahead and so much more to do. But life can't wait. We know how to make time for fun.

Love you friends. Thanks to all those who came and made the party such a success. To all those who couldn't come - We missed you and you missed some super fun.

Still-remembering-yesterday
Fatima

A Century and Beyond

I started this blog many days back at the stroke of midnight. Yes, A dramatic beginning. Yo can count on me for being dramatic. Love to be so. Then it became silent for a very very very long time. I got busy and din't think what was going on in life would be interesting enough to put up on my blog. As one of my old friends put it, "What is your blog going to have? A list of upcoming exams and assignment submission dates?"

So I got busy with assignments and exams and a lot more happened on the side.

Then life took a turn. No, not just one turn. My life which had always been a roller coaster that is the kids version suddenly transformed into a super absobloodylutely amazing roller coaster ride. It didn't just have the highs. There were some serious lows too but Alhamdulillah it was fantastic.

The medley of those highs and lows and all the places in between gave me a lot to write on the blog. New followers joined. And many just follow on the sly. There's something interesting about being a nameless statistic perhaps.

All the same I was happy to cross 500 clicks at first, then a 1000, a 1500, a 2500 and it may soon be 3000 now.

A century of posts. Yes, whether the posts were good, bad or whatever one might brand them, here I am happy to be crossing a century.

One more reason to celebrate is I just won the second place in a Super Hero Story Writing Competition.

Yipppeee! :)

In times of celebration one must never forget to thank those who made it happen. So Thank You ALLAH, without Your help, it would have been impossible.

Thanks family, friends, fiends, readers, followers - named and nameless ones, and all those who have ever ventured this way.

As I end this I am reminded of something I read long back. Would love to share it with you all,

You may not Love me,

You may not even Like me,

But You will Never Forget Me.

Yours

Fatima

Fragile - Handle with Care

"Fragile - Handle With Care"

Seeing this one sticker on any package, even the hastiest of people take care. What if whatever is inside breaks. It must be valuable. It must be really delicate. It may be something very beautiful. Whatever it is sure needs utmost care.

However, we often don’t care for the most beautiful and fragile thing given to us by Allah – our life.

Life is beautiful. Every moment filled with opportunities, immense potential to succeed and yes infinite potential to fail but that is life. It is a complete package – the good with the bad, the sweet with the bitter and at the end of it all we realise whatever happened was for the better.

Being in the medical field one thing you realise is the fragility of life. Looking around one realises that life takes the most unexpected turns and can spring on you the worst shocks. Here today, gone tomorrow. The only thing left behind may be regret.

Regret for not showing the departed all the love and respect they deserved while they were there. It could be a friend, a relative, a child, a parent or a grandparent. The beautiful moments that could have been are lost in a heap of “I wish…”

I am no stranger to death. People around me have passed away leaving behind gaping voids. My grandparents were the ones whose death I am still not over. Their deaths were imminent. The doctors had warned us. Told us to accept it as a reality and say our final goodbyes well in time. But I doubt if anyone can ever bid their loved ones goodbye or accept their permanent departure.

Then there have been the shocking sudden deaths of classmates and some other people even younger to me among our friend circles. They hadn’t seen anything in life. They were still beginners in this game called life. I wonder time and again whether they would have lived differently if they knew they had a limited time.

Reading ‘The Casual Vacancy’ last night, I was reminded once again of the vulnerability of life. It is a beautiful book, a tragicomedy described by some. What it really has is a thread running throughout reminding that life is to be handled with care lest we do it some permanent damage.

People throw away their life so easily. They let people, who barely matter, destroy their lives. Some tie their life to people, some to love, some to hate, some to goals, some to ambitions, some to things inanimate but in the end everything is illusory. We forget that life is not. Let’s tie our life to something immortal today.

Tie our life to the unending love of Allah. His love is complete, pure and boundless. This one bond has the power to take care of all other bonds. If this one bond in our life is nurtured right from the cradle we will know the true value of the gifts showered upon us. Forget the cradle since one can’t be born again. Take a vow today. Promise yourself that if there is only one wish you can fulfil, it will be the wishes of Allah, the Almighty. Do as you are bidden to do by Him. All your troubles, your desperations will disappear into smoke and a beautiful calm will set in. Close to Him, you realise that life is transient and so are all its trials and tribulations. If He has given us a challenge He has also given us the strength to overcome it.

We are given one life and if lived right, once is more than enough.

Happy Diamond Jubilee!

The blog celebrated it's Golden Jubilee Post on Sunday, September 30, 2012.(http://dynamicexistence.blogspot.in/2012/09/happy-golden-jubilee.html)

And on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 I am celebrating my Diamond Jubilee Post. Yes, 60 posts written till date. What makes me happy is it is a mixed genre of 10 posts that contributed in turning my Golden Jubilee to a Diamond Jubilee.

Family, friends, well-wishers, critics, readers, inspirations and above all Allah... Thanks for giving me another reason to celebrate.

For the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, I thought of something different. 3 lucky people who comment on this post will get a chance to have a post written all about them. So go ahead, try your luck.

Remember me in your prayers.

Gratefully Yours
Fatima Khan

Postscript: If someone wants to gift me a Diamond for the Jubilee, you are always welcome. ;)

Another year has passed...

I know. This is not last week of December or first week January to write about endings or new beginnings.
BUT I just completed my first year as an MBBS undergrad. And it sure feels good.
I have survived one year of total fun, somehow managed to study and surprisingly remember some facts which to others seem like interesting trivia.
The year had its highlights.

I started with a month long bunk. Hurrah!

Made friends soon after I joined and my table mates (yes, the last table in the DH) are one-of-a-kind.

Tariq, your Birthday was fun. My first in Aligarh. Thanks to Fatima & Hira for the invite. Girls, you gave me some cool memories.

Being the Class Representative (CR)...Had a nice time doing whatever I did during the unofficial CR tenure. All thanks to Professor P.N. Singh (Physiology Department-JNMC,Aligarh).

The Agra Tour was beautiful. Thanks to everybody responsible for it - Sahleen, Mohsina, Juhi, Sohaib, Tariq, Baqar, Gavendra and if I missed anyone, thanks to them too.

Then came the Oh-So-Coveted Miss Freshers Title. Yes!!! I won it. It has its own story but who really cares and the ones who really do know about it already. ;)

And my batch mates - Unbelievable Selection!

Had fun with all the 150. Though haven't really got a chance to speak to every one of them but somewhere or the other they have played their roles, beautifully.

Topper's Gang - What would I have done without you. Thanks for being there guys. You made life rocking for me. Continue to rock the second professional year ahead and until we stay in JNMCH, ROCK ON!
(The Topper's Gang - Tariq, AbdulRehman, Zaid, Sohaib & Aqib. And Gavendra. Well, Rana is in a league of his own. :P)
Kulsum & Sumayya - Thanks sweethearts :) There is a lot to write about you & I may still miss out. So just THANKS :)
Urooj, Bushra, Sana Nawab, Sana Ansari, Naseha, Nazia, Nuha, Navnika, Zikki, Kifah, Sania, Shadma and all others - what memorable times in one year.
Thanks Sumbul, Sana Nawab, Anuradha & Hania for the scooty rides.
Anuradha & Hania - Early morning, getting late to class & tired of walking from my place to college. Enter two sweet people who would readily give me a ride to college.
Sana Nawab - Thanks. Have some shweet memories with you. And girl when you say something all sweet and nice to me... It does take some time to get back to Planet Earth. :)
Sumbul - Thanks for dropping me home everyday during the Profs. Can not thank you enough.

The train journeys between Delhi, Rampur and Aligarh have been interesting. Travelling without a reservation, buying general tickets, getting on the spot upgradation to AC coaches. Standing all the way from Aligarh to Ghaziabad. Borrowing money from Navnika to pay the coolie and then reminding myself everyday to return the money to her on the first day I meet her. :P
Oh yes, the train and aeroplane journeys or gave me some new friends - Chanchal, one click and friends :)

The year taught me that some decisions cannot wait and must be taken immediately. There may be infinite excuses to put them off. But if one is alert and can just see Allah's signs in time, one has nothing to worry about.

We were to give our Anatomy Table Viva. The night before the exam something untoward took place at the Boys Hostel and the classes were suspended for some days. Within hours I was on my way to Rampur to meet my ailing grandma (nani). Spent just about 48 hours with her but who knew they were meant to be our last moments together. May Allah bless her soul.

I had a short bunk again when I had to go to Dubai for my visa renewal. A good escape from routine and ma visited me just before Terminal Exams. Both events were sudden but served as a recharge.

The Profs (First Year Professional Exams or as Anoop Sir used to say Pehli Vaiwasahik Pareeksha) passed fast and took away my wallet with them. Yeah. lost... No no, didn't lose it. Had my wallet stolen during exams. A minor problem but a major complication with me preparing for the exams and rushing to the bank and getting a nice lecture for many days from ma... Sorry Ma but how could I KNOW?!

The year's mention would be incomplete if I do not mention the Student Union Elections. The Elections were just as political as the Lok Sabha Elections. And I thought being in MBBS just meant studying. Being in AMU means even Doctors have their role in politics ;)
Not sure about others but I sure enjoyed the whole election season from the sidelines. And the Court Member Elections were even more interesting than the General Union Elections.

What else...What else... So much more and yet nothing more to add to this post...

A big thank you to all the teachers who shared with us their immense knowledge in hope that we become good doctors of the future. Hope your hard work bears fruit.

Thanks to those who made the class super interesting and made us realise our shortcomings, our ignorance, etc etc etc... The Questioners (Pls. No offence meant at all here) Shah Huzaifa & Sahleen. What would Batch 2K11 be without you? And of course our in-class Wikipedia pro - Obaid.

And then there are some people who have been with me throughout the year, not in college, but listening to all that happened at College & have been my support system. Thanks Rashid mamma, Ayesha, Imran, Ma, Saman, Reshma Mami, Rashid Mama, Jhilmil, Faguni, Poorva, Renu, Akku, Shahana, Shifa, Iqra, Saeeda, Sheeza, Haleema Appi, Arham, Arqam, Junaid, both my lovely aunts -Asma Khala & Reshma Khala, Vishal, Vinay & Saad.
Ankur, you read my posts, thanks. Been nice talking to you everytime. And finally I kept my promise of mentioning you in my blog. I have to write about us as kids but would you really like to read what I got to write... I wonderrr ;)
Archana & Madhyama - Would love to meet you both but I still could not manage to... Sorry and surely we do have lots to catch up on.
Vidisha - our phone calls, though just twice a year - on your birthday and mine - mean the world.
Since I just thanked everyone I ought to, Maria & Vansh crossed my mind.
Maria Zafar, cousin of cousin ( he he), fellow writer and someone who has given me some enjoyable reads. Thanks :)
Vansh, if I took all that you say to head, I would be the most snobbish person on earth. :P
Your words of praise have always been encouraging. Thanks :)

A big Thanks to Gulf News! Yes, it is the newspaper whose website gives me the chance to forget where I am. Sitting in India, the pages make me feel like I am back home. And participating in the live debates makes me feel sooo alive while I am on the go (India, UAE or even from the airports).
 Thanks Gulf News!

The beautiful interesting blessed year would have come to an end with my first Ramadan in Aligarh but Allah had His own plans. And here I am writing poems and updating my blog while observing the Holy Month in one of my favourite places on earth - UAE.

All in all, Thanks Allah for being there and giving me such a beautiful first year in college.

Yours forever grateful
  Fatima