The First Shock
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Posted:Sep 17, 2014 4:14 am
Last Updated:Jan 6, 2023 3:21 am 3857 Views
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Tisha had been frantically trying to contact him since late last night when he abruptly turned off all sort of communications with her. They had been talking almost an hour or more at a stretch until he suddenly lost his composer and turned off the desktop without any warning! It was too much for him to bear, Tisha seemed suddenly almost unreasonable to him. He could never believe that Tasha could hide anything from him! It was beyond his imagination.
The gap started to widen gradually between the two after she came back home from Europe. He could feel the first hint of indifference when she was in France for a fortnight before visiting her niece in United Kingdom. She did not contact him during the first few days of her stay in France. He could not understand why Tisha was maintaining silence! Neither did she offer him any acceptable reason why she did not try to contact him soon after her arrival in Lyon. She simply said afterwards that, as she was busy, she could not buy a new sim card for her use in France! The matter though ended there but left the first sign of distrust between the two!
It was the first week of October when she came back home. As usual, he wanted to talk to her at the schedule time. However, she seemed reluctant to maintain the regular schedule. She however explained why she was unable to chat as before. Tisha simply shocked him by disclosing for the first time that she lives with her husband in a house under the same roof. This was contrary to what she told him before. Without being asked, she went on saying, “perhaps, you feel surprised why I said you otherwise initially when we met. Things have changed. I now live with him on humanitarian ground, as he is very sick and cannot take care of him! His close relatives do not live here either. There is another thing you ought to know my dear. My loves him very much. I have to see that part of our lives too for the time being! Hope you could understand what I wanted to say you.”
“Yes, I am trying to understand. However, it takes time to understand all the complications, Tisha! One thing is now clear to me why you did not want me to ring your fixed phone!``
“Now you know, do you not?”
“Yes, I do. Anyway, what had kept you busy this evening? You were not reachable on cell phone either. I found your messenger handle busy too!”
‘May be I was busy chatting with my relatives’ or friends. I cannot remember what kept me busy”.
“Never mind, Tisha, sometimes new friends may keep one very busy for obvious reasons!’
What do you mean? Did I tell you that he is a new friend? He is an old acquaintance. It remained so long dormant. I came across all his e-mails while deleting the files today. It seems he visits my profile picture everyday! I now can recollect that I might have talked to him once or twice in the past!”
“Is he the one who always puts your handle within the first brackets whenever he feels like greeting you?”
“Maybe, but am not sure about it. Others also like to do such things frequently too. They all like me! Do they not?”
“Yes, it appears so now. But I have not done so as yet!”
“You never explained why you have so far refrained yourself from doing so!”
“No, I have not. Did it hurt you?”
I don’t know!”
“Wonderful! May be, you are to spent more times now to make responses to those accumulated e-mails, I presume. Take your time, Tisha. I have to leave now. Stay happy and well.” He turned of the desktop abruptly without giving Tisha, any chance to make a reply.The Tisha Stories. To Be Continued.[/SIZE]
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Malala Yousafzai, The Brave Girl From The Swat Valley
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Posted:Sep 12, 2014 5:46 am
Last Updated:Sep 18, 2014 7:30 am 3891 Views
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Malala attackers arrested: Pak army
BBC Online
Militants suspected of shooting activist Malala Yousafzai have been arrested, Pakistan's army says.
The was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen in October 2012 because of her campaign for girls' education.
They boarded her school bus in Pakistan's north-western Swat valley and opened fire, in an assault that also wounded two of her school friends.
She has since recovered from the attack, which shocked the world and catapulted her to international fame.
She was named one of Time magazine's most influential people in 2013, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and has just released an autobiography.
We are proud of you Malala Yousafzai..
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Doll, Have A Nice Cup Of Coffee
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Posted:Sep 3, 2014 5:59 am
Last Updated:Jan 6, 2023 3:21 am 4748 Views
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Coffee is the most sought after brewed hot beverage in the world. A large number of people through out the world are now addicted to drinking coffee. It is one of the most popular drinks in the modern day world!
Coffee plants are cultivated extensively in more than seventy countries around the world--- primarily located in South East Asia, Africa and Equatorial Latin America. The Ripe coffee “berries” are picked, processed, and dried to yield the seeds inside and then the seeds are roasted before being ground and brewed to make coffee.
However, do all of us know when and where Coffee was first cultivated?
Coffee was first cultivated in southern Arabia. Yemen takes the pride of being the country in the world where coffee was first cultivated! Ethiopia is known to be the next country after Yemen where Coffee was cultivated too. Opinion, however, differs in this respect. Evidence suggests that the Ethiopians were aware of coffee plants and the seeds long before the Yemenis. Legend says that one Kaldi, the 9th- century Ethiopian goat herder is the discoverer of Coffee. It is said that this goat herder noticed the excitements of his goats soon after the goats ate the beans from a coffee tree! It is also an accepted fact that Coffee plants were introduced into Arab world from Ethiopia through Egypt and Yemen. Ethiopia is now the fifth largest producer of green coffee in the world!
May be, even the Yemenis would not believe now that coffee was first cultivated in their homeland in the 15th century.
Evidence of coffee- drinking appears in the middle of the 15th century in the Sufi Shrines of Yemen. The natives of East Africa also used coffee in religious ceremonies. Subsequently, secular coffee drinking was banned as the ceremonies conflicted with the beliefs of the Christian Church! The ban continued until the reign of Emperor Menelik II. The Turks who contribute much to popularize the beverage in Europe had also banned its consumption in the 17th century for political reason!
Coffee became more accepted in Europe after Pope Clermont VIII deemed it as a Christian beverage in 1600, almost nearly half a century after the Sufi Muslims used coffee in Yemeni shrines in the middle of !5th century and also despite appeals to ban the Muslim drink.
Now, Have a nice cup of coffee! A beverage has no religion what so ever!!
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Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)
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Posted:Aug 22, 2014 2:05 am
Last Updated:Dec 6, 2014 12:05 am 4443 Views
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Re posting so that we can be careful about the diseases!!
EVD is a serious and often fatal illness Case fatality rate is up to 90%. One of the world's most virulent diseases! Ebola virus was first isolated in 1976 during outbreak of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever in the then Zaire and Sudan.
This is an informative blog. All are invited to kindly contribute
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Man Returns Israeli Medal over Gaza
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Posted:Aug 17, 2014 12:40 am
Last Updated:Nov 27, 2015 5:36 am 4518 Views
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Man returns Israeli Medal over Gaza
BBC Online
A Dutchman honoured by Israel for hiding a Jewish during World War Two has handed back his medal after six of his relatives were killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza.
Henk Zanoli, 91, wrote to the Israeli embassy in The Hague to say he could no longer hold the honour.
He said an Israeli F-16 had destroyed his great-niece's home in Gaza, killing all inside, in the recent offensive.
Zanoli and his mother were awarded the "Righteous Among the Nations" honour by Israel in 2011 for helping to shelter a Jewish from the Nazis in their family home from 1943-45.
The award is accorded to non-Jews who risked their lives to protect and save Jews during the Holocaust.
Zanoli's great-niece is a Dutch diplomat who is married to Palestinian economist Ismail Ziadah, who was born in a refugee camp in central Gaza.
Zanoli, a retired lawyer, offered sharp criticism of Israel's Operation Protective Edge offensive, warning that such actions could lead to possible convictions of "war crimes and crimes against humanity".
"Against this background it is particularly shocking and tragic that today, four generations on, our family is faced with the murder of our kin in Gaza. Murder carried out by the State of Israel," he wrote in the letter addressed to Israeli ambassador Haim Davon.
Below :
The body of a boy, whom medics said was killed by a shell fired by an Israeli naval gunboat, is seen on a beach in Gaza City. Photo: Reuters
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What is and What is not Love ! How does it differ from Friendship?
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Posted:Aug 12, 2014 2:48 am
Last Updated:Jan 6, 2023 3:22 am 5849 Views
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What is love?
And what is not love?
How well can we define love?
What are the conceptual differences between love and friendship?
Is there any place for a third person of opposite sex between a man and women deeply involved in emotional love, even if the third person happens to be a close friend of one of the two?
Will any one kindly find answers to those questions which have been troubling me since long?
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In gratitude to..............................
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Posted:Jul 26, 2014 8:02 am
Last Updated:Jan 6, 2023 3:23 am 6760 Views
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.I do not know how to express my gratitude to you,my sweetheart,for your going to the church everyday to pray for my early recovery from the massive heart attack I suffered on the 18th May.2014, midnight when we two were together chatting online on Yahoo Messenger. My love, it did surprise me when I came to know on my release from the hospital that you prayed to your God for a person's early recovery who does not even practice your faith!! You asked your God to save me as I am also one of His sons!! My sweetheart, please allow me to reproduce here what you said to your God,
Quote…"God, I do not know where my beloved friend is now and in what physical condition he is, but you surely know that he is now in a hospital and you know best in what condition he is now. Please God, put your hand upon my beloved friend to cure him from all his sufferings. God if you really love me, then you should love my friend the same way and please God, prove it to me by curing him from his sickness even though he does not practice the same faith as mine"…unquote
My sweetheart, thank you for doing the correct thing during those two dreadful weeks when you could not even know anything about my condition and about my whereabouts!!!
Thanks again my sweetheart E G !!
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11
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Scary- Look
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Posted:Jul 16, 2014 6:59 am
Last Updated:Dec 6, 2023 5:37 am 8029 Views
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"Its not the color of the sky or the beauty of the clouds. It is sheer terror that impels this little girl to look up as an Israeli drone flies over her home in Gaza City early yesterday. The look in her eyes speaks of the fear and trauma in the lives of Gaza's , many of whom will endure the scars of war for a lifetime. It is their childhood, their innocence, that is about to be lost." Photo: AFP
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Talking to Tisha. Day 18
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Posted:Mar 23, 2014 3:00 am
Last Updated:May 10, 2019 10:59 pm 9067 Views
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Tisha’s message was short. She expressed her regret for not coming online to talk the scheduled time. She did not explain why her cell phone remained turned off. However, she asked him not to send any reply to her message as she was away from her home. She told him to stay put where he was as she intends to contact him on arrival back home in the evening. She ended the message apprising him that the device she had been using to send the message was a borrowed one.
He read the message once again and then continued to gaze at it until he completely got himself lost in his thoughts as usual!
“Where could be Tisha now? Has she gone to see an ailing relative living in a nearby town in a hurry? Has she been stuck up there for some reason or other? Why she did not say where she is now? She could have written a few lines in the message about her present whereabouts! What has prevented her to do so? Could she be at the place on the ocean shore, where she used to sneak away with her friend, to pass an hour or so talking, when she was nineteen years old?”
He could not think anymore. He left the bed and entered in the bathroom for taking a cold shower.
The day slowly but steadily grew old and entered into the twilight zone and then into a cool evening. He sat before his desktop and turned it on,and waited.
Tisha signed in after a while and posted, “I know what you intend to ask ! Sorry for skipping the usual greetings!”
“Then tell please,” he posted back.
“I was away from home. Went to the town where I grew up to pray for the salvation of a departed soul, who died on this day, 48 years ago!
“Was he a close relative?
“I told you about him night before last.”
Immediately he understood. Tisha was telling about the sad and untimely death of the man. He kept quiet for sometime and then posted for Tisha to read,” Do you pray for the salvation of his soul on this day every year?”
“Yes, I do. Every year, on this day, I go to the church where I used to go on Sundays with my friends to attend to Sunday mass.”
“Tisha, you are yet to tell what this man did in desperation when you showed your displeasure towards him?
“ He did what a decent person would do in such situation. He approached my parents accompanied by his elders with the proposal to marry .”
“Was his proposal turned down by your parents? How did they react?”
“ Yes, it was turned down. My father did not like the idea at all for obvious reasons. He told them that he would consider such a proposal only after I finish my education. Michel agreed and sought my father’s permission to meet me at our home from time to time.”
“I guess Michel was the name of this man. Surely, your parents did not agree to his proposal either!”
On the contrary, my father agreed and permitted him to visit our home once in a week certain conditions though.”
“What were the conditions, Tisha?”
“He must not follow on the roads. He must not insist for an early marriage. He must accept my final decision in this respect without any question!”
“What happened then, Tisha?”
“I would tell you, if you do not interrupt !”
“Fair enough, I won’t. Please go ahead.”
Tisha was silent for a minute or two and then began posting, “Delighted to his utmost, Michel made his best to abide by my father's rule. He came to visit us on Sundays, always very smartly dressed, and always with some kind of gift. But as for me, I didn't really appreciate his gifts, as I didn't love him as such but just liked him as a distant relative. So whenever he came and brought anything for me, I reluctantly accepted it but because of my father's acceptance of his proposal of marriage, and as my dad liked him very much as well, I had to accept his visits and gifts also. I could not do against the will of my father.
As time went by, he asked my father if he would allow him to accompany me to the Sunday mass in the church as he knew which church I used to attend on Sunday morning. When I was , I used to go to church with my parents but as I grew up, my father allowed to go along with my neighboring friends. My dad permitted Michel to accompany back home after the mass. I preferred to go along with my friends, however anyhow, I had to abide by my dad's wish too. Michel started to come to the same mass on Sundays, and accompanied me back home. One Sunday, my friends and I, planned to go to a movie for youngsters, after the mass. I informed my parents about it and they agreed. After the mass we went to see the movie as planned. However, Michel wasn't aware of our plan. I really didn't want to tell him. I wanted to be only with my friends. Michel, not being aware of our plan, came to fetch me after the mass. Not finding me, he went to for on the road which we frequently used to come back home. Being disturbed for not finding me, he decided to for on other roads, and while trying to cross hurriedly a junction, a vehicle coming from the opposite direction a speed him severely.
By that time, I had already returned home with my friends. We did not know about his accident until late evening, when his brother came, informed us about it, and told us that he was requesting continuously my presence at the hospital.
My dad told his brother that as it was too late to be there, we would go to visit him the next day. And we did it next day evening. You know the rest.” Tisha stopped posting.
He preferred to remain silent for a few minutes not knowing what to say, and then in order to change the subject, he asked Tisha, “Why did you keep your Cell Phone turned off last night? Have you turned it on now?”
“Were you worried for me?”
“Didn’t you know that I would be worried?”
“How could I know? You never expressed your feelings for me!”
“Could you not understand it?”
“May be, I did understand but was not sure of it.”
“Are you now sure of it?”
No, I am not yet sure about it! Are you really in love with me?”
Tisha, I did not know that until last night. I know now that I do really love you.”
“Did you miss me?”
“Yes, I did miss you. I felt like calling your land phone even!”
“Hope you did not do it.”
“No, I did not. Tell , why you do not like to your fixed phone?”
“May be, I shall have to tell you that one day! I need to go now. Sleep well and tight. Bye, until we meet tomorrow again, Take care.”
Tisha signed before allowing him to say anything in response.
To be continued...
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Day 17 Third Installment
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Posted:Feb 12, 2014 5:01 am
Last Updated:Nov 9, 2022 2:48 am 9295 Views
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Continued from last installment uploaded on Jan 14,2014
He picked up the cell phone from the bedside table eagerly and checked on the screen to ascertain the name of the caller. He was disappointed to find out that Tisha was not on sight! It was an alert for a text message just transmitted. He could not visualize who the sender was as no name was mentioned on the cell screen except the cell number of the sender, He thought the message was from his service provider and as such felt no inclination to open and read the message. He placed back the Cell on the small table as if it was of no importance to him then. He closed his eyes again, and tried to recall what Tisha had told him last night before parting with him.
It was the sixteenth day since they had started talking to each other. They discovered during past fifteen days that they could share their pains, sorrows and joys freely together.
She dreamt a lot then. She dreamt of a future free from mental pain, turmoil and suspicions. She had experienced an unspoken love affair at sixteen, which ended tragically before she could understand the meaning of true love. The affair was one-sided. She had no part to play in it. Though her father’s timely intervention ended the matter, she could not forget the episode. The young man’s tragic end still- haunts her. She can still remember with sadness the pain stricken face of the young man on the hospital bed. He smiled at her and asked her to visit him the next day again when her father took her to the hospital to see him. He did not survive the night.
“Tisha, do you feel any remorse for the tragic end of this young man?”
‘I surely did not want him to die. The affair was one-sided. I was only sixteen then. I was unable to understand the depth of his feelings for me. He was in love with me and wanted to marry me after I finish my studies.”
“Then your first love ended in a tragedy.”
‘How can you say so? I was not in love with him. I did not even know. However, he was a distant relation from my fathers’ side.”
“Why did he not tell you at the beginning that he was in love with you? How old he was then?"
“He was much older than I was. Probably he was either 26 or 28 years old.”
“Were you scared of him?”
“No, I was not at first. However, I became scared of him later on. He used to follow me everyday on my way home from school with my friends.”
“Did you ever talk to him?”
“Yes, I did at home later on when he used to visit us. I asked him one day not to follow me. Another time, I told him directly that I do not love him as such but like him as a relative. It made him all the more desperate.”
“What happened then?”
“Let us keep it for tomorrow. I need to prepare dinner for us now.”
Though her handle had disappeared from the page that night, but it reappeared to his vision from nowhere again to intensify his restlessness. He felt completely lost in emptiness. Then he remembered and picked up the cell from the table and opened the message to read. The message was from no other than Tisha!!!
( To be continued )
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