Author: baqir shameem

The famous Blue Mosque is seen in the background. Closed for visitors due to the renovation works inside the mosque. Took the pictures later of its interiors when I went to pray in it! Though it's exteriors are not blue, it is referred as the Blue Mosque because of blue tiles surrounding it's interior walls… Continue reading Safarnama – Turkey – ISTANBUL →

  The comfortable journey from the cradle of ancient Egypt to Greece the oldest civilization in Europe was two hours when we landed at Athens airport. Greece lies on the route via which farming spread from the East Africa to Europe and is home to the first advanced civilizations in Europe and is considered the birthplace… Continue reading Safarnama – Greece →

The one and half hour flight from Cairo to Aswan was fairly pleasant in the vintage aircraft; the tour operator had insisted that I travel in business class as he had noticed that the difference in price from the economy class was manageable. Aswan airport reminded me of our own one at Bakshi Ka Talab… Continue reading Safarnama – Nile Cruise →

The tall man at the Cairo airport exit held the placard with my name on it and as I approached him he folded his hands and said ‘namaste’. He introduced himself as Walid Mohammad and guided us to the waiting car where the driver too greeted us with namaste. Puzzled a bit I ventured to… Continue reading Safarnama – Cairo →

Most have stayed in Dubai, a popular city for various reasons and many would probably like to visit it. This was perhaps my third or fourth visit. the last one was a decade back; on this occasion we imposed ourselves on our very dear relatives and enjoyed their grateful hospitality! They kept us engaged throughout… Continue reading Safarnama- Dubai →

“Do a good job and you get promoted to a position with more authority and responsibility, but the consequences of bad decisions are much worse when a person makes a decision that is beyond their level of competence to comprehend and deal with.” Peter Principle This was my second outing on the Yamuna Expressway and… Continue reading Peter Principle and Governance →

Let us endeavour to understand the meaning of Antisocial: The dictionary states: Averse to the society of others. Hostile or harmful to organized society; especially :being or marked by behavior deviating sharply from the social norm A post from the Facebook puts it across very succinctly: Yes of course, the smiling  icon from the facebook… Continue reading Who is Antisocial? Me or the Media? →

"Swamiji when will it rain?" the pretty foreign reporter asks Raju(Dev Anand) a jail returned criminal turned Sadhu. Fasting under the scorching heat of the sun for past 12 days to appease the rain God, on behalf of his ardent faithfuls, the Baba becomes weak and emaciated and dies just as the rain drops from… Continue reading In God’s Name →

The headline in the Newspaper was not conspicuous (Page 8, bottom) but it tickled my cerebrum! It read “Maha Adds Aamir Power to Save Water,” presumably Maha stood for Maharashtra. I was impressed, the Maharashtra Government had  finally discerned the control that Aamir, the film actor, commanded over the life giving and thirst quenching fast… Continue reading The Brand Ambassador →

The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines saints as ‘one officially recognized especially through canonization as preeminent for holiness’, although to a commoner such as me a saint is a person acknowledged as holy or virtuous and typically regarded as being in heaven after death. To the masses the general acceptance is that the saints are endowed… Continue reading Saints and Demons →