Tamasha

To me it seems like every one in the world has already read all Harry Potter books. At first, I didn’t read Harry Potter because I thought that it is a story for children. But it became so popular all over the world, grown ups were talking about Harry Potter everywhere. I still decided not to read the book, I thought that reading Harry Potter books is the latest trend. People will soon get out of it and find something else, something cooler and more mature than the story of a wizard. But the buzz was every where and with the arrival of movies, Harry Potter became a global phenomena. Now I have my mind forcing me to read the books. I had seen movies on television, and was familiar with the characters. Harry, Professor Dumbledor, Hermoine, Ron, and the whole lot of magicians, witches, elves, dragons, ghosts and owls, and the Quidditch.

Finally, I decided that I must read it. I went to the nearest bookstore and bought the first two books. I didn’t buy all of them because I still felt that I might not be able to enjoy the books. After reading the few chapters of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I knew that I was wrong. This is an interesting read and I am no different than most in the whole world.

The Harry Potter series is a story of a young boy who lived with his relatives. The Dursleys, treated him like dirt. His parents died in a mysterious accident when he was a baby. His relatives, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon wouldn’t talk about his parents. It seemed that they disliked Harry and his parents for some unknown reasons. Then one day, Harry finds out that his parents were no ordinary people. They were magicians and Harry is a wizard too. He recieves a letter informing him that he has got admission in Hogwarts, an school for wizards and witches. The Dursleys didn’t want Harry to attend Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. They try to hide and ran away to secluded place. But then a very large and mysterious man appears and personally delivers the letter to Harry and takes him to shop for his school uniform, accessories and books.

J. K. Rowling the author of this wonderful series has her way with words. She doesn’t tell you any thing, she keeps the focus on Harry, just like the readers Harry also don’t know anything about the world of magicians. The reader learns about the fantasy world by following Harry everywhere. Reader starts thinking and feeling like Harry, A boy who knows nothing about his past. Naturally he is curious to know about his parents, how they died and why he is a household name in the magic world. When he reaches Hogwarts, this curiousity leads him to discover secrets he was not supposed to learn about. This boy with very little knowledge of witchcraft faces the darkest evil forces of magic world.

Rolwing is something of a witch herself. She adds just the right ingredients to make a great read. There is magic, fantasy, thriller, mystery, heroism, emotions and a whole lot of elves, dragons, witches, owls, flying brooms, and portraits that talked. I would say that this book is a must read for anyone of any age. I will start reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second book in the series tonight. Wrapped in my beloved blanket with strawberry milkshake and snacks. I feel like a child again, and its beautiful.

To me it seems like every one in the world has already read all Harry Potter books. At first, I didn’t read Harry Potter because I thought that it is a story for children. But it became so popular all over the world, grown ups were talking about Harry Potter everywhere. I still decided not […]

Bullying is a serious problem. Specially for the children who become victim of bullying in schools, neighborhoods or communities. A few days ago my neice Minahil was bullied by some children in the neighbourhood. Her mother called me for advice. I don’t have any children, I am not even married. But I have an interest in parenting and children.

The incident that happened to Minahil, reminded me of some incidents from my own childhood. I was bullied by some children at school and in our neighborhood. It left a long lasting impression on my personality. A part from stress, as an adult I had difficulty to interact with other people. Fear of being ridiculed, bullied or ignored ruled my life. I realized the problem and got over it. But the impact was so long lasting that it still hurts when I think about it.

Parents should take bullying very seriously. Talking to your child helps but you can do a lot more than that. Teach your children how to protect themselves from bullies. Teach them how to diffuse the situation and help them by action. Looking around I found some very helpful web pages.

• Wikipedia - Bullying
• Bullying Prevention
• Stop Bullying Now US Department of Health and Human Services offers flash movies, games, and information about bullying and how to prevent it.
• Stop Bullying Now! Presenting practical research-based strategies to reduce bullying in schools.

Parents need to learn what they should do to help their children whether they are the victims or the bullies, they need help. It is also important that parents teach their children that they should help their friends and other children if they see someone bullying them or trying to hurt them. It is important that we teach our children about their right to be safe and how to seek and provide help to others.

Bullying is a serious problem. Specially for the children who become victim of bullying in schools, neighborhoods or communities. A few days ago my neice Minahil was bullied by some children in the neighbourhood. Her mother called me for advice. I don’t have any children, I am not even married. But I have an interest […]

My neice Minahil is having trouble with her new class. She is in kindergarten’s first year. She loved her school and her teacher Miss Saima back in pre-nursery. After the three month summer break, she has now started crying while going to school. Minahil’s parents are really upset about this new situation. Minahil wasn’t like that last year, so whats changed now? They understand that she is having difficulty getting herself adjust in the new room, new year and new teacher.

My sister Anney (Minahil’s mother) talked to Minahil’s teacher who told her that it is a very common problem among children of this age. She assured Anney that there is nothing to worry about, Minahil’s performance in class is more than satisfactory and she stops crying as soon as she enters the classroom. Anney and Ejaz think that may be there is something about this new teacher, may be she is too hard on their daughter, they are also thinking that there could be some other child or adult behind Minahil’s behavior change.

I looked on the web and it seems like this is a very common problem all over the world. This is a difficult time for the children, but parents and teachers can do a lot to make them feel better. Kidsource online has some great tips regarding this issue. Preschool Education also offers similar tips.

The key to get over this phase quickly is not to let the children think that they can win over the parents. Their should be no sick leaves, no school skipping, this is a tough decision for parents. But being a good responsible parent you will have to do it.

My neice Minahil is having trouble with her new class. She is in kindergarten’s first year. She loved her school and her teacher Miss Saima back in pre-nursery. After the three month summer break, she has now started crying while going to school. Minahil’s parents are really upset about this new situation. Minahil wasn’t like […]

I love reading stories to my neice Minahil. She visits us nearly every weekend with her mother and wants me to tell him some new story eachtime. I love to see the way her eyes shine with fascination, curiosity and imagination that takes her to wonderful world of fairies, magicians, witches and brave heroes. To see her eyes shine like that I need to come up with something great each week. I am very good at narrating the story but only if I know the story. I can not make up stories quickly.

While surfing I found Rumi’s blog where he mentioned HamAsar, a Denmark based Urdu literary journal. They have a very nice collection of Danish stories translated into Urdu, specially Hans Christian Andersen’s children’s stories. However, their claim that these stories are translated for the first time in Urdu is not correct. These stories are available in Urdu at local bookshops published by various publishers.

While browsing HamAsar, I decided to look around for children’s folk tales from different countries. I found a few websites:

Web Japan, has a collection of Japenese folk legends with really cute illustrations. Read the stories from “once upon a time in Japan” that every Japanese kid grows up listening to. FOLK LEGENDS OF JAPAN takes you on a journey to a fairy-tale world of boy heroes, terrible ogres, animal antics, and more

Chinese Tea Stories. Chinese folktales, retold by Colette Chooey.

African Folktales. Three African stories retold by Timothy Bush, including ‘The Salt Trader’s Justice’, ‘Lions Wings and Lion’s Bones’ and ‘The Curious Monkey’.

Mayan Folktales, These ancient folktales were told to Fernando Peñalosa by don Pedro Miguel Say, a famous Q’anjob’al storyteller from San Miguel Acátan, Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

I also found some Pakistani folktales for children, but I suppose you have Google, don’t you?

I love reading stories to my neice Minahil. She visits us nearly every weekend with her mother and wants me to tell him some new story eachtime. I love to see the way her eyes shine with fascination, curiosity and imagination that takes her to wonderful world of fairies, magicians, witches and brave heroes. To […]