Bricks and Blue light - Lahore, 2011

This is my 100th Blog Post! I started this blog to share what I found and saw. I didn’t expect so much love and recognition in such a short time. So thank you to all my dear readers! Much love and have a lovely weekend

Number of hits: 54Are you not sick of the same old tedious new year resolutions that break as soon as the first ray of the sun enters your room exactly one day after the 1st of Jan? I am and I am sure most of us out there share the same feeling. So how about [...]

The unexpected chill this year in Islamabad has taken its toll on my respiratory system, causing it to suffer from runaway snot and an unpleasant sounding cough. The more I tried to keep the germs away, the closer they got to me, probably by finding a hidden “backdoor” in my immune system, despite the fact that I never kept the hand sanitizer away from me. I’m not sure if I should thank a friend for hooking me on to these little bottles. At least they have proved their worth by delaying the onset of a cold, so that I’m probably the last one to get the big sneezes this season.

Sometimes I wonder if it really is colder this year, or whether it’s just the psychological effects of having lesser gas to burn in your kitchen and in your geyser. My feet fingers nearly got frostbitten last year, and I had them soaking in a warm salt water bath, thanks to a prompt suggestion from my parents in Lahore. Haven’t got that this year, thankfully, but I have felt an increased requirement for woolies, despite the fact that I have accumulated a fine layer of fat under my skin (yes, I use a micro gauge to measure the thickness of my skin from time to time). It hasn’t rained this month, and that is adding to the chill, since everyone expects Mother Nature to turn her thermostat down when the clouds decide to unload.

But with the chill comes the fun. The fun of gobbling down handfuls of dry fruit assortments, of drinking chocolate milk lying in your ocean of quilts as you watch an old Christmas movie, of taking a nice hot shower in morning and then drying your hair in the sun (that is if you are lucky to wake up earlier than the others), and of jogging down the streets on a cold night, trying to warm those tootsies, among other things. It’s funny that winter always has to come at the end of the year; I can’t imagine (and probably don’t want to) how new years eve would be with the mercury hitting 40 degrees Celsius on the scale. Probably nature’s way of freezing everything before the big thaw in the first quarter of the new year. You may want to take advantage of the “freeze”, as I would call it, when most of the civilized world is on vacations, when the workload is less, when the kitchens are filled with the warmth and reinvigorating smell of homemade chicken corn soup, and when families get to spend more time together, and reminisce about the year gone by.

I think I’ll probably write another post for the new year, like I always do, asking people to plan and focus and all that. So I’ll leave you now with a very soft tune from Enya which I came across while surfing YouTube. Last year I was hooked on her One Toy Soldier song, and this is dedicated to another wonderful (albeit influenzic) winter.

Have a great time, and be close to the ones you love.

Gullian won the BEST PHOTOBLOG AWARD at Pakistan Blog Awards! I’m so humbled and couldn’t be more happy! Wueeee! 

Gullian began in July 2011 so it hasn’t been that long since I joined the blogging world. Receiving this award is a great motivator to set higher goals for myself and cross boundaries that I’ve set in my photography. It’s amazing to receive recognition for one’s work and I drive strength from this award to aim higher and achieve more. 

You may wonder what I mean by ‘aim higher’. My simple objective in blogging is to share and talk about my street photography. And the reason I do street photography is because I live in an absolutely amazing place called Pakistan. There is so much diversity and beauty here, it’s unimaginable. I travel around often and am always left speechless at the stunning places and people that I meet or simply see. That’s how Gullian was born. With my deep sown wish to share the beauty lying peacefully in quite little street corners. When I pause to reflect, I think how this must be shared with others. I’ll keep doing street photography and I’ll keep blogging about it.  

I am aware that I hesitate about sharing too much. I hesitate about going too close to strangers on the street when taking a photo. I stand in utter fear at being shooed away. I worry that I may be invading another person’s private space. BUT THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO DO. I want to invade their space to be able to observe how they live. I want to be present when people on the street are living their lives, simply passing their day. I want to be present everywhere and all the time. Ah and then I wish for the invisibility cloak that Harry Potter had.

With new years just around the corner, I’m going to make a resolution. I will lose my fears and inhibitions (or at least try harder than before). I will test my strength and perseverance. I will stand my ground. I will go closer. I will look deeper. I will take more meaningful shots. I will share more stories. I will do better. Insha’allah.

A big thanks to everyone who voted for me and who thought my blog deserved the award! Much love.