Medicine is my lawful wife and literature, my mistress.
– Anton Chekov
Greetings, dear readers!
What began as a teenager’s digital writing pad turned into a more cognitive notepad inking the bittersweet ramblings of a medical student stuck in the labyrinth of the infinity of life, before finally evolving into something that I could proudly call rubatosis – the unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat. Whether you are lying in your bed alone at night with only your thoughts by your side, or you are in a crowd of strangers and the not-so-strangers; you feel the unsettling lub-dub thumping away within you, telling you everything and something and also, nothing.
In the words of Meg Rosoff, “Your writing voice is the deepest possible reflection of who you are. The job of your voice is not to seduce or flatter or make well-shaped sentences. In your voice, your readers should be able to hear the contents of your mind, your heart, your soul.”
I remember having to bear with the scorch of having a ‘bad handwriting’. Looking back, it gives me a good laugh. The journey from having illegible school journals to an obsession with black coupe de plumes set obstinately between the two margins of a sheet of paper has been worth it.
It was, perhaps, the exercise of filling in a ‘Dear Diary’ that makes me relish the act of inscribing – be it colourful flow charts summarising Rheumatoid Arthritis and the biological synthesis of melanin, or the words of Khalil Gibran adorning the refrigerator, or even my own ramblings.
Carving your thoughts on the innocence of the papyrus as you leave behind a scent of your identity while spilling the lyrics of your mind and the logic of your heart using the digitalis muscles of your handwriting. This simple act is both a luxury and a basic necessity; a luxury because this act that I infuse great pride and joy is nothing but a dream for many. And a necessity because it is the oxygen that makes me breathe life and love, and defines my identity.
Penmanship. Chirography. Literae scriptae.
Sadly, the tradition of handwritten letters has been overtaken by the speed of e-mails, and the joy of receiving greeting cards has been overshadowed by Facebook posts.
And amidst this dying romanticism, the mysticism enveloping the simple act of writing has granted it an astral status that will quench the thirst of many a thirsty like myself.
But in keeping up with the advancements of this century, I turned to this – this blog that you, dear reader, have chosen to visit.
Back in grade tenth – along with my very dear friend, Khushboo – a younger me had dreamt of founding a literary magazine that would catalyse a literary revolution here. Little did I know that a few years down the lane, a part of that dream would come true in the form of The Ziauddin University Atlas. A student-run publication with a blog and a very well-maintained Facebook page, the ZU Atlas was the beginning of a lovely, exciting journey of friendship, arts, poetry, prose, my very dear Docs’ Diaries, music, and even anime – life. It was enchanting to see how, through the Atlas, we spread smiles. Every artist breathes into their work a small part of themselves, and first as the editor, then as the Editor-in-Chief, and then as the Chairperson of the ZU Atlas, to see that being appreciated, and nourished, is what we are all about. Taking it a step forward, wanting to spread these smiles, was Walking Thoughts – my humble little venture; a Karachi-based literary house offering online English Conversation and Creative Writing courses, aiming to make English language learning easier, and accessible to everyone, especially the stay-at-home moms and women entrepreneurs.
You can find out more about Walking Thoughts here.
To quote Amy Tan, “Writing is an extreme privilege but it’s also a gift. It’s a gift to yourself and it’s a gift of giving a story to someone.”
As a future health physician, I will have the fortunate opportunity to come across living miracles, to feel their stories, to share their stories, and to give a story to someone. Maybe, that will make this life a little more meaningful for that life, and maybe then, I will have all the answers.
So I’ll be myself, and write everything, and smile with everyone.
Here’s to hoping that you have an enjoyable read, and you keep coming back for more.
Happy Reading!
Regards,
Arfa Masihuddin.
Facebook: Sonder
Instagram: arfamasihuddin
Walking Thoughts
Thanks for following my blog. I would like to read more about Pakistan so I am following you as well
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Thank you for dropping by! And I hope you enjoy reading about my country 🙂
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Arfa, you have a very nice name. What does it mean?
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It means “elevated”. “Buland-o-baala” in Urdu.
And thank you, that’s really sweet:D
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Wow, nice meaning : ) May you live up to your name : )
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Ameen 🙂
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Thank you kindly for visiting and following my blog 🙂
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🙂
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Thanks for following my blog. I am honoured. I look forward to reading more on your blog. Writers, artists in general are the people to educate the world about “their part of the world” as Khaled Hosseini allowed me in 2 of his novels to appreciate the beauty of Afghanistan before “others” took so much away from these people. I love to read about history through life stories like Barbara Kingsolver does in The Poisonwood Bible…I am always hunting for good novels. Whispering Insightgs
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Thank you too for following my blog 🙂
Hope I present a positive view of my country, Pakistan 🙂
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Absolutely! WI
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🙂
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And the nominees for the triple award are:-
YOU!
http://scottishmomus.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/go-meee-go-meee/
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thank you 🙂
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I haven’t thanked you yet for visiting and following my blog. I sure don’t want to miss out on yours. Especially when its so smiley. 😉
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Hahaha! Thankss 🙂 Hope you have a nice time!
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Hey there,
I nominated you for the *Shine-On Blog Award* 😀 Feel free to collect it from here! 😉
http://velanedebeaute.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/shine-on-award/
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Gosh! A thousand thankyous!! I sure am over-whelmed! 😀
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Arfa…
reminding me the young Arfa Kareem….
Well….you have a very nyc blog and em iz inspired to have you via blogging..
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thank you so much! 🙂
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welcome million times 🙂
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That is a beautiful compliment, though I wonder what caused it 😛
Thank you! 🙂
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welcome
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Hi! I’ve been told that maybe my pinger isn’t working…so, wanted you to know I nominated you for the Liebster award 🙂
http://klsullie78.wordpress.com/2013/09/08/and-the-nominees-are/
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Im honoured! 🙂
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So sweet to have youth with this ambition. . . .proud to be pakistani. . .May Allah bless u dear kid.
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Thank you!
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Hey there Newbie Spikey!
(for your info, a Spikey is the term for folk who are part of the clan known to be followers of Uncle Spike 🙂
Thank you… I really appreciate that as I for one, know how many interesting and entertaining blogs are out there.
Blogging since June 2013, my aim is to deliver an eclectic offering of posts, from my ‘point n shoot’ attempts at basic photography, to the sharing of my travel adventures over the decades, as well as day to day happenings here on the farm. Oh, plus a few observations, opinions and lighter-hearted stuff thrown in for good measure.
I normally keep to a couple of posts a day, maybe 3-4 at weekends if I have something special to share. But if you are at a loose end one day, maybe you’ll enjoy trawling through some of my older stuff too. I have added plenty of categories to help in said digging process.
Thanks again and hope you have a great day…
UNCLE SPIKE
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Oh that sounds great!I’m looking forward to being a regular Newbie Spiky 🙂
Great day to you too!
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Thanks for such a quick like! 😀
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Haha! It deserved it 🙂
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I see nice stuff on your blog. I MUST read it soon! 🙂
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I hope you enjoy reading it! Your opinion will be looked forward to 🙂
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Such a beautiful post….your writing brings me joy. ❤
You're an inspiration, keep gifting us with your magic. 🙂
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Thank you so much for your lovely words! It really means a lot 🙂
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❤
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I have never read an ‘about’ so profound and so remarkably touching. Literally in awe of your writing. Keep up the great work. 🙂
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Hey!
Thank you so much, Manahil! Really happy to know that you find a home in my writings!
Hope you can keep coming back for more! 😀
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Sure. 🙂
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This is beautifully penned Arfa. The blog is wonderful. Keep writing, keep doing the impossible with your words. Cheers.
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This means so much! Thank you for dropping by and choosing to be a part of my life through this blog! It’s good to know that my words are worth a few minutes of home for my readers! ❤️
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I was revisiting my old blogroll and you are the only person of all who is still writing and keeping this blog alive. I am so glad to see that. Keep up the great work. (Y)
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Thank you so much! I guess it’s because I write solely for myself! But it’s really heartwarming to know that I do still have a bunch of readers! 😀
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