Welcome back...

Greetings Earthlings...

I know its been more than a month since I was last here....

I am back.....to pick up left off ties...

So, here we start our restless ramblings again.... Before we begin let me just quickly recount some recent activities. A few more ramblings, per say.

I think was here last around the time that Akbar masaji had passed away. Since then, I have quit my job as a Jr.Copywriter at Webchutney. And a couple of days after that I flew off to Karbala and Najaf to do ziyarat of Imam Hussain (A.S.) and Moulana Ali (A.S.). After the 14-day trip to Iran-Iraq, I returned on 5th August. Between then and now there is nothing very note-worthy has happened.

For today, I believe i will stick to decribing the events and the cultures that I crossed in these times. There is a lot to say. So many words that hit your mind. So many vistas that open up in all directions, exploring new horizons. I believe i could keep going on and on. Time travel never stops.

In the duration that I have been away, I had the opportunity to visit Iran and Iraq. Iraq, for all obvious & spiritual reasons, unofficially. Your true journey actually begins when you step out at the airport, your bags packed. The moment you have bid a good bye to your loved ones and step take the first step towards your destination, your journey truely begins only then. The times that we live in today, traveling by sea is no longer a necessity, its luxury. And flying is cheaper and faster. So, we flew.

Any journey is mostly also considered successful if your co-travellers help you do so. No journey is ever singular. I had a lot of companions who were masters in the art of life. Per say, I had a lot of aged people as companions, and a few youngers. I was the only single female.

Iran is neat and clean. Nevertheless, what is truely missing is the life of any country. The people. Iran is an Islamic Republic. One of the biggest implication is in way the women are treated here. All women in Iran will usually wear a jacket and a scarf. Very trendy dressing. Girls usually sport sexy heels and fancy hair dos. The monetary power shows well. The economy is good. However, all of this is only for the bigger cities and towns. For the rest of Iran is purely mountains. You will long to see a tree in sight. All you really see on the mountains is spiked shrubs.

So much for Tehran and rest of Iran.

When you cross over into Iraq things change. Drastically. There are few pakka roads. Most are so dusty and the heat is good enough to kill. However, you will see one major differentiation between Iran and Iraq. Iran is very dry in terms of vegetations; whereas, Iraq has plenty of trees. Most are date palms. But you do encounter a lot of oasises. It's definitely more greener. However, the women in Iraq wear a hijab that only shows their face and hands - your hair should not show in any circumstance. Apart from these fundamentals, Iraq is poor.

Moving beyond the enviromental and cultural aspects of these countries, we come to Karbala. The peace one experiences here cannot be exchanged for any valuables in life. I sure am glad I was able to go.

I think i am a little tired for now. There are too many memories. Memories of sitting for hours together in Haram Shareef. Memories of Taha, Murtaza and Hozefa. Time spent with Nafisa Aunty and Aliakbar Uncle. Time spent with Durraiya Aunty. The trip of 14-days. The memories have been hard-coded in brain for as long as I shall live.

More later....