'Maktoob'...

January 19, 2012

I’ve always believed that there’s no such thing as a coincidence. Sometimes it’s divine intervention and at other times it’s the choices that we make; but there’s always a reason why things fall together (or apart!).

**************

I had just finished my sophomore year in Bahrain and moved to junior college. I wanted to get to know the institute better and so I went to the library and got my hands on the just released annual school magazine. I opened the magazine to the page that read ‘Std. XII toppers’ and the first thing that caught my eye was a name, ‘Neha Vig’. She was the English topper for that year; a fair face with a charming smile; it was as if I’d known her before. I brushed the thought aside as I walked out of the library though at some level I (involuntarily) retained the name and the face.

**************

Years flew by, (five to be precise). I was fresh out of college and all set to start my career. I had joined a recruitment agency and was perusing through resumes online when I bumped into the name again; ‘Neha Vig’. Somehow, I just knew it was her. I found it strange to have bumped into her resume. Given the population of the city and the millions from that population who had put up their resumes online, what were the odds of me finding hers?

**************

I went on to do my MBA the following year. I graduated last year and recently moved back to Bahrain for a job opportunity. A few days after I had landed I was called to attend an interview with a popular lifestyle magazine in the Kingdom. Excited, I was going through some of their old magazines when I bumped into a byline; ‘Neha Vig. I froze. She had been a reporter with the magazine for quite some time.

As I think in retrospect about all these past events, I can’t help but believe that Neha and I were destined to become friends. My thoughts about the soul living more than one life are unsettled. Nevertheless, I’m totally convinced that it was definitely more than a mere coincidence that made us good friends. 

“There is no such thing as a coincidence Neha,” I exclaim. She just rolls her eyes at me and flashes her charming annual school magazine smile!

 

Melissa Nazareth Archives:


 

By Melissa Nazareth
To submit your article / poem / short story to Daijiworld, please email it to news@daijiworld.com mentioning 'Article/poem submission for daijiworld' in the subject line. Please note the following:

  • The article / poem / short story should be original and previously unpublished in other websites except in the personal blog of the author. We will cross-check the originality of the article, and if found to be copied from another source in whole or in parts without appropriate acknowledgment, the submission will be rejected.
  • The author of the poem / article / short story should include a brief self-introduction limited to 500 characters and his/her recent picture (optional). Pictures relevant to the article may also be sent (optional), provided they are not bound by copyright. Travelogues should be sent along with relevant pictures not sourced from the Internet. Travelogues without relevant pictures will be rejected.
  • In case of a short story / article, the write-up should be at least one-and-a-half pages in word document in Times New Roman font 12 (or, about 700-800 words). Contributors are requested to keep their write-ups limited to a maximum of four pages. Longer write-ups may be sent in parts to publish in installments. Each installment should be sent within a week of the previous installment. A single poem sent for publication should be at least 3/4th of a page in length. Multiple short poems may be submitted for single publication.
  • All submissions should be in Microsoft Word format or text file. Pictures should not be larger than 1000 pixels in width, and of good resolution. Pictures should be attached separately in the mail and may be numbered if the author wants them to be placed in order.
  • Submission of the article / poem / short story does not automatically entail that it would be published. Daijiworld editors will examine each submission and decide on its acceptance/rejection purely based on merit.
  • Daijiworld reserves the right to edit the submission if necessary for grammar and spelling, without compromising on the author's tone and message.
  • Daijiworld reserves the right to reject submissions without prior notice. Mails/calls on the status of the submission will not be entertained. Contributors are requested to be patient.
  • The article / poem / short story should not be targeted directly or indirectly at any individual/group/community. Daijiworld will not assume responsibility for factual errors in the submission.
  • Once accepted, the article / poem / short story will be published as and when we have space. Publication may take up to four weeks from the date of submission of the write-up, depending on the number of submissions we receive. No author will be published twice in succession or twice within a fortnight.
  • Time-bound articles (example, on Mother's Day) should be sent at least a week in advance. Please specify the occasion as well as the date on which you would like it published while sending the write-up.

Comment on this article

  • Ronald Mathias, Bendur-Mangalore / Bahrain

    Sat, Jan 21 2012

    Very nice Article..Melissa,
    Also 100% perfect comments from A.S.Mathew, U.S.A.

  • A. S. Mathew, U.S.A.

    Thu, Jan 19 2012

    Interesting article. In life, many
    people won't openly speak about their negative and positive thoughts of life: but those forces,
    whether positive or negative has
    a powerful creating force behind
    them. We may forget our dreams of
    10 years old at 20, but one day that
    10 year age dream will start like a puzzling game and the dreams will
    be fulfilled. We can simply say
    "coincidence" that is the
    wrong word to be used, but every
    event of life has many factors around it. Our past dreams-actions-
    choice-hard work-and divine blessings etc will give us some
    green and red signals in life to
    move on, and those signals might be
    instant and unexpected.

  • Vincent Rego, Derebail / Kuwait

    Thu, Jan 19 2012

    Nice Article! Very much agree with the saying nothing is by coincidence but it all comes by choice.


Leave a Comment

Title: 'Maktoob'...



You have 2000 characters left.

Disclaimer:

Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Daijiworld.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.

Please note that sending false messages to insult, defame, intimidate, mislead or deceive people or to intentionally cause public disorder is punishable under law. It is obligatory on Daijiworld to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request.

Hence, sending offensive comments using daijiworld will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Daijiworld.com be held responsible.