NO food and no drink from sunset until sunrise for a whole month. Can you do this? May seem crazy to some people but for Muslims this is routine. Every year millions of Muslims across the world are fasting in a special month known in the Islamic calendar as the month of Ramadan. For Muslims this month rivals every other month purely because of its psychological and mental benefits as well as the patience one attains when fasting.
Fasting isn’t just about letting your stomach groan at you by remaining hungry. It’s about fighting ones inner desires, lusts and passions and keeping them at bay, whether they be eating chocolate (or any food for that matter), watching movies, fulfilling your sexual desires or even playing too much on your Nintendo Wii. The main purpose of fasting is to direct the heart away from all the unnecessary attachments of this world and to more of a closer attachment of God. Through our thoughts and actions a person has to try attain purity and hopefully your development of character and personality in this month will show through out the rest of the year.
And fasting for a whole day isn’t necessarily easy when you think about it, especially as the days are becoming longer each year. Being a student doesn’t help either as I will always see people eating in front of me, whether it is in the cafeteria where I usually grab my lunch or just outside near the town centre. I see the food, I want to eat the food, but I won’t eat the food, solely because God commanded me not to eat the food. This also goes for the bad habits one may have such as slandering, backbiting and lying.
But why is this month so important to Muslims? Well one of the main reasons is that its believed the Holy Quran was sent down in this particular month and so muslims are obliged to spend it in worship throughout the day, maximising in every supplication and worship towards God. Ramadan for Muslims is an exciting month in which everyone is in anticipation for since the rewards are great, both spiritually and physically. Its just like the feeling you get when waiting for a new film to come out or a computer game. No words can describe how good it feels to complete a day's fast or the joy and the feeling of festivity when the day's fasting is over.
For me this holy month is the only month whereby I can really have an x-ray of myself. Its like a month of training for me. Not really the, 'going into the gym and lifting 100kg' training, but more of the body and soul. I look and reflect on all the things I take for granted, such as my food, money,education, nice warm house, nice cup of tea, nice toast, nice this and nice that - the list is endless. When everyone's around the table just about to break the fast, the fragrance of the food hits yours mouth like strawberry and chocolate swirling in your mouth. Its that good. Since you remain hungry throughout the day, just about anything you eat will make you feel good. This is when your hunger is at its peak and that’s when you know what people in the third world countries are feeling like who are literally living in starvation because they are so poor.
Aside from the religious reasons and making you feel pity for the poor the health benefits of fasting are immense. If done properly, which means without overindulgence at the time of breaking fast, meaning saying a no no to those oily samosas, kebabs, burgers, parkoras (and again the list is endless), fasting can make you lose weight, control addictions and help your natural defence system making you heal much faster.
With all these benefits of fasting I find it weird to see many people don't fast. Believe it not though everyone fasts during the night anyway since the term 'breakfast' literally means 'breaking your fast' becasue you don't eat anything for night.
I have to admit though as the fasting hours get longer every year and the surprising remarks you get from people who are not fasting get funnier every year, the month seems to pass by so quickly. It just shows that rather than counting down each day in anticipation for Eid, we should really make each day count. That's when we'll really benefit from this 'month of training'.
Sunday, 13 September 2009
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
40 days in the Path of Allah....in Wales!
I've been slacking off in my blog posts i know, but I was away for 40 days in the path of Allah and just came back on Monday. I have to say...it was an experience and a half. If anyone doesn't know what i mean by going out in the 'path of Allah'...don't worry it's not some kind of extremist terrorist training scheme! Far from it. Its called 'Tabligue jamaat' the group which 'conveys' and calls towards Allah.
Tabligue literally means 'to convey' and this collective effort is something like missionary work where you are out giving your time for any number of days you can do. Usually it's recommended to do 3 days a month, 40 days a year and 4 months once in a lifetime. You are in a jamaat (group) and go from mosque to mosque in the country you are sent to, or in my case England. You work and make effort in each local area with the concern as to how Islam can come into our own life, the locality and the how the whole of mankind be saved from the fire of hell.
This effort mainly works on the people who are already Muslims to make them steadfast in the Islam, before going onto non-Muslims. This is because unfortunately most Muslims these days (even myself) are Muslims by name or by our tongue, but inwardly our faith in Allah is very low. We believe things like food and money are sustaining us when in fact Allah is sustaining us. These things are just a 'means' of sustaining us. We have to have such belief that even if we were to drink sand, through the will of Allah, this can even quench our thirst. The impossible does not exist for Allah because this is no difficult task for the creator of the whole universe.
We also strive so very hard in this world to try and attain success and status, forgetting about the hereafter and forgetting that one day we will die and be judged for every single action we did in this world. The nature of human beings is such that whatever status or position we get to, we will always want more. Nothing will ever satisfy us, until one day death comes knocking on the door, and we find that the value of this temporary life is over. The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once said, this world is like a paradise for the non-believer and a prison for the believer. He also said we must be like a traveller in this world, just stopping for a short while and getting ready to go onto our next destination, which is the real and never ending life.
So the main purpose for this effort is to mainly rectify yourself, and to build your faith in Allah. Since your in the mosque 24/7 for basically 40 days , your faith boost up like a recharged battery. You are away from all the desires and bad temptations of the world and in the environment where angels are residing and in a place where constant worship is going on. Everyday there are certain programmes which take place and certain people in the group are given certain roles to fulfill. For example, after the early morning prayers we get together in a circle and make shura (consultation/meeting). During this period we make concern for the local community, as to how everyone can be regular in the mosque for prayers and just generally bringing people closer to their faith. But we always bear in mind that we are in fact in need of guidence more than anyone else and we should never think we are better than someone in terms of faith. The more we invite people towards Allah the more my faith in Allah will grow - and this is the desired result.
During the consultation, everyone gives their opinion as to how the effort should be done in the area and who should be given which responsibilities. I was sometimes given the role of doing a short speech or lecture on the greatness of Allah. Other roles include taking care of each others well being which is called 'Khidmat' in arabic. This involves preparing breakfast, lunch, dinner for everyone, keeping the mosque clean and tidy, ironing and washing clothes, etc. This role is a very important part of Tablighi Jamaat since it is supposed to kill off the base desires of human beings and especially the pride which one has, since pride is a quality which only Allah, the creator and sustaniner of the whole universe deserves to have.
Other activities include reading from 'Hadith' books, which contain the sayings and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and just general individual worship e.g reading the Quran, rembering Allah through prayer beads, making supplications, etc. We learn though that even in our general lifestyle we can make anything worship but only if we do this act for the sake of pleasing Allah and follow the way in which prophet Muhammad (pbuh) would have done it. Everyone gets a turn in doing different activites so everyone is constantly learning.
Apart from staying in the mosque we go out and visit brothers door to door, and just generally on the streets, parks or wherever and give them dawah (invitation) towards the greatness of Allah. The greatness of Allah is really emphasised while we are out in jamaat because unless this conviction is not in the heart, all other Islamic practises will seem meaningless and 'empty'.
We first went to Dewsbury (the main headquarters of this effort in the UK) and we were sent to make effort in Wales. Wales is a wonderful place with nice scenery. The people there were generally quite friendly. We went and stayed in Bristol, Bath, Barry, Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot, Bridgend, Cardiff (which we stayed the longest), Gloucester and Cheltenham. I was surprised how very few people could actually speak Welsh, and how very similiar the neighborhoods were to that of places like Luton and London. We did face some antagonism but this was little enough to be shrugged off. There was the occasional beeps from the cars while we walked past, along with people screaming out of the cars saying God knows what but other than that it was pretty quiet.
There is a beauty in this effort where i haven't seen in anywhere else in the world. You're with brothers you don't even know, where you eat together, sleep together, worship together and give dawah together, all united with one concern, the same concern that our beloved Prophet had (pbuh) ....and this is how the whole of mankind can be saved from the fire of hell and enter into paradise.
It's pretty sad that it's ended since i wanted to do so much, and you'd be surprised at how quick the time went by. But at least i came back to the month of Ramadan where a whole new spiritual level is now being opened up.
Tabligue literally means 'to convey' and this collective effort is something like missionary work where you are out giving your time for any number of days you can do. Usually it's recommended to do 3 days a month, 40 days a year and 4 months once in a lifetime. You are in a jamaat (group) and go from mosque to mosque in the country you are sent to, or in my case England. You work and make effort in each local area with the concern as to how Islam can come into our own life, the locality and the how the whole of mankind be saved from the fire of hell.
This effort mainly works on the people who are already Muslims to make them steadfast in the Islam, before going onto non-Muslims. This is because unfortunately most Muslims these days (even myself) are Muslims by name or by our tongue, but inwardly our faith in Allah is very low. We believe things like food and money are sustaining us when in fact Allah is sustaining us. These things are just a 'means' of sustaining us. We have to have such belief that even if we were to drink sand, through the will of Allah, this can even quench our thirst. The impossible does not exist for Allah because this is no difficult task for the creator of the whole universe.
We also strive so very hard in this world to try and attain success and status, forgetting about the hereafter and forgetting that one day we will die and be judged for every single action we did in this world. The nature of human beings is such that whatever status or position we get to, we will always want more. Nothing will ever satisfy us, until one day death comes knocking on the door, and we find that the value of this temporary life is over. The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once said, this world is like a paradise for the non-believer and a prison for the believer. He also said we must be like a traveller in this world, just stopping for a short while and getting ready to go onto our next destination, which is the real and never ending life.
So the main purpose for this effort is to mainly rectify yourself, and to build your faith in Allah. Since your in the mosque 24/7 for basically 40 days , your faith boost up like a recharged battery. You are away from all the desires and bad temptations of the world and in the environment where angels are residing and in a place where constant worship is going on. Everyday there are certain programmes which take place and certain people in the group are given certain roles to fulfill. For example, after the early morning prayers we get together in a circle and make shura (consultation/meeting). During this period we make concern for the local community, as to how everyone can be regular in the mosque for prayers and just generally bringing people closer to their faith. But we always bear in mind that we are in fact in need of guidence more than anyone else and we should never think we are better than someone in terms of faith. The more we invite people towards Allah the more my faith in Allah will grow - and this is the desired result.
During the consultation, everyone gives their opinion as to how the effort should be done in the area and who should be given which responsibilities. I was sometimes given the role of doing a short speech or lecture on the greatness of Allah. Other roles include taking care of each others well being which is called 'Khidmat' in arabic. This involves preparing breakfast, lunch, dinner for everyone, keeping the mosque clean and tidy, ironing and washing clothes, etc. This role is a very important part of Tablighi Jamaat since it is supposed to kill off the base desires of human beings and especially the pride which one has, since pride is a quality which only Allah, the creator and sustaniner of the whole universe deserves to have.
Other activities include reading from 'Hadith' books, which contain the sayings and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and just general individual worship e.g reading the Quran, rembering Allah through prayer beads, making supplications, etc. We learn though that even in our general lifestyle we can make anything worship but only if we do this act for the sake of pleasing Allah and follow the way in which prophet Muhammad (pbuh) would have done it. Everyone gets a turn in doing different activites so everyone is constantly learning.
Apart from staying in the mosque we go out and visit brothers door to door, and just generally on the streets, parks or wherever and give them dawah (invitation) towards the greatness of Allah. The greatness of Allah is really emphasised while we are out in jamaat because unless this conviction is not in the heart, all other Islamic practises will seem meaningless and 'empty'.
We first went to Dewsbury (the main headquarters of this effort in the UK) and we were sent to make effort in Wales. Wales is a wonderful place with nice scenery. The people there were generally quite friendly. We went and stayed in Bristol, Bath, Barry, Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot, Bridgend, Cardiff (which we stayed the longest), Gloucester and Cheltenham. I was surprised how very few people could actually speak Welsh, and how very similiar the neighborhoods were to that of places like Luton and London. We did face some antagonism but this was little enough to be shrugged off. There was the occasional beeps from the cars while we walked past, along with people screaming out of the cars saying God knows what but other than that it was pretty quiet.
There is a beauty in this effort where i haven't seen in anywhere else in the world. You're with brothers you don't even know, where you eat together, sleep together, worship together and give dawah together, all united with one concern, the same concern that our beloved Prophet had (pbuh) ....and this is how the whole of mankind can be saved from the fire of hell and enter into paradise.
It's pretty sad that it's ended since i wanted to do so much, and you'd be surprised at how quick the time went by. But at least i came back to the month of Ramadan where a whole new spiritual level is now being opened up.
Monday, 29 June 2009
My bike got stolen...too bad...
I feel angry ...yet contended at the same time. I'm angry because someone actually got away with taking my bike but happy at the same time thinking that it probably happened for the best.
I was in a meeting for One Nation in their offices in Curzon Road Luton, when i decided to go out and read the magrib prayers, (prayers after sunset). When i finished i decided i wanted to come back to the office since we left some boys in there to paint a One Nation emblem on the walls. Instead i joined the Mushwara in the mosque (which is basically a meeting discussing what problems that need solving for the mosque and also how Islam can come into the local peoples lives). Anyway after this finished (after about hour) i came back to Curzon road with another brother to find out my bike was missing. I had locked it up beside a large pole.
I then looked hurriedly inside my pockets to see if i still had the keys since i thought i might have left them in the lock and thus someone easily could have just taken it away. Then i find my keys and look even more puzzled. I go into the office, suspecting the boys in there had something to do with this. They immediately tell me someone apparently snapped the lock and rode away with my bike. One of the boys says he must have used some pliers to break the lock and ride away. He said to me he did try and chase him but it was useless, since the thief went really fast into the roads nearly crashing into the cars.
I looked at him in dismay, since i had a bit of a doubt in what he was saying. but then he explained to me more that another person seen the incident which made me know that he was telling the truth. What i was angry about if the fact that i couldn't do anything about it. If i see someone riding the bike i will obviously try my best to get it back. BUT as a Muslim i cannot feel remorseful over this. Everything happens by the will of Allah and so this incident probably happened for the best. I've never actually had anything stolen from me before so this is a first.I guess its experience...in the future i will take care of my things more properly.
The funny thing is i only recently started to ride the bike again. It was in my shed for about two years, then my mum started to complain saying if you you dont ride the bike i'm gona get your dad to sell it, and thats when i started to ride it again - well just to the mosque and back.
I reflect back in this incident and think of the things i could have done to avoid it. Like the lock for example. I actually got this bike lock for free, so its cheap bike lock which probably in hindsight should not have been used. But also the area i left it in was pretty quiet and open. Which is quite bad actually...but since i was coming back there i thought, "why not just leave it there...it's locked?". BUT even if all these precautions were taken the will of Allah cannot be avoided. It will always prevail. So I've decided to forget about my bike, it's gone!
...although IF i did see it on the streets with someone....lets just say....MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!!!!!
I was in a meeting for One Nation in their offices in Curzon Road Luton, when i decided to go out and read the magrib prayers, (prayers after sunset). When i finished i decided i wanted to come back to the office since we left some boys in there to paint a One Nation emblem on the walls. Instead i joined the Mushwara in the mosque (which is basically a meeting discussing what problems that need solving for the mosque and also how Islam can come into the local peoples lives). Anyway after this finished (after about hour) i came back to Curzon road with another brother to find out my bike was missing. I had locked it up beside a large pole.
I then looked hurriedly inside my pockets to see if i still had the keys since i thought i might have left them in the lock and thus someone easily could have just taken it away. Then i find my keys and look even more puzzled. I go into the office, suspecting the boys in there had something to do with this. They immediately tell me someone apparently snapped the lock and rode away with my bike. One of the boys says he must have used some pliers to break the lock and ride away. He said to me he did try and chase him but it was useless, since the thief went really fast into the roads nearly crashing into the cars.
I looked at him in dismay, since i had a bit of a doubt in what he was saying. but then he explained to me more that another person seen the incident which made me know that he was telling the truth. What i was angry about if the fact that i couldn't do anything about it. If i see someone riding the bike i will obviously try my best to get it back. BUT as a Muslim i cannot feel remorseful over this. Everything happens by the will of Allah and so this incident probably happened for the best. I've never actually had anything stolen from me before so this is a first.I guess its experience...in the future i will take care of my things more properly.
The funny thing is i only recently started to ride the bike again. It was in my shed for about two years, then my mum started to complain saying if you you dont ride the bike i'm gona get your dad to sell it, and thats when i started to ride it again - well just to the mosque and back.
I reflect back in this incident and think of the things i could have done to avoid it. Like the lock for example. I actually got this bike lock for free, so its cheap bike lock which probably in hindsight should not have been used. But also the area i left it in was pretty quiet and open. Which is quite bad actually...but since i was coming back there i thought, "why not just leave it there...it's locked?". BUT even if all these precautions were taken the will of Allah cannot be avoided. It will always prevail. So I've decided to forget about my bike, it's gone!
...although IF i did see it on the streets with someone....lets just say....MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
BBC Work - Flog It!
Today was quite an experience. I done a days work as a steward for the daytime BBC programme Flog it! And yes i got paid for it which is quite nice. Normally these kind of things don't happen. I got the chance to help the production team which broaden my experience in TV production, as well as doings lots of Steward jobs, such as being all nice and smiley, greeting people, ushering people to the right places etc.etc.
The shooting was to take place in Whipsnade Zoo near Dunstable, not far from where i live so it was ok. The day was quite sunny and warm - a perfect day to go the zoo, so i was expecting many people to come and get their antiques shown and evaluated. I arrived there early in the morning by taxi (since i don't have a car yet...) and was anxiously looking for the place to meet up with the film crew. My contact was Hannah Ford, who was a runner for the program. She was the person responsible for taking care of the stewards. Surprisingly most of the students who applied for this steward placement were from the University of Bedfordshire, which was quite surprising. I would have thought every media student's eye would have lit up when seeing something like this, or was it just our University of Bedfordshire students that knew about it? Well what ever it was, it was good for me!
Hannah gathered all the students around as the film crew were setting up their their equipment and gave us a briefing. We had to were the Flog it! t-shirts to let people recognise us as 'part of the team' as well advertising for the programme. We were told if we appeared in front of the camera, it wouldn't matter since we have the Flog-it! t-shirts on. Either way, I didn't mind, since my Celebrity Cash in the Attic Experience only had me in view from a mirrors refection! so being in front of the camera this time would be nice!
But who am i kidding, i never came here to be in front of the camera, i came here for experience! Afterwards we were all assignmed different task to do, some were to greet people outside and give them directions for the valuation place( where the antiques get an estimated price), and others had to usher people to their seats, take surveys from people, make tea and coffee for the film crew and presenters as well as help lift items to the main building.
The roles were always rotated after an hour or so by Hannah, who seemed alittle under pressure as the day went by. I guess this is wht the pressure of TV production can, since one small mistake can ruin everything, so as the runner (as the name suggest) she had to make sure we (the stewards) are all ok as well as make sure everything is running smoothly.
Some famous faces we met were Paul Martin, who wa sthe main presenter of the show. Evryone of his scenes were rehearsed and constructed, which wasnt no suprise to me since i had seen this before in my experience in Celebrity Cash in the Attic. He seemed like a cheerful guy, but also seemed nakered, mabe becasue it was a very hot and sunny day. At on point i thought i was going to get sun burn since i was positioned at one spot just outside the entrance ushering people to the building and just being smiley. The sun rays were like laser beams hitting by body making my sweat come down like rain. Maybe thats a bit too detailed but thats how hot it was.
When it was my turn making the tea for the film crew, i spoke to some of them and nearly all of them said they were freelancers, just working on contracts. So nothing seemed like it was permemant and they just got by when wrok was available. This made me abit worried. How will i fare out if theses guys are just about making there money here there thorugh contracts.
Hopefully though i will build my portfolio and skills to the highest possible leel i can take it, during my stay in University and then going for job interview shouldnt be that hard...should it?
All in all this experience did show me the tough side of working in TV. But hey, atleast i can say i've worked for the BBC and got payed for it!
The shooting was to take place in Whipsnade Zoo near Dunstable, not far from where i live so it was ok. The day was quite sunny and warm - a perfect day to go the zoo, so i was expecting many people to come and get their antiques shown and evaluated. I arrived there early in the morning by taxi (since i don't have a car yet...) and was anxiously looking for the place to meet up with the film crew. My contact was Hannah Ford, who was a runner for the program. She was the person responsible for taking care of the stewards. Surprisingly most of the students who applied for this steward placement were from the University of Bedfordshire, which was quite surprising. I would have thought every media student's eye would have lit up when seeing something like this, or was it just our University of Bedfordshire students that knew about it? Well what ever it was, it was good for me!
Hannah gathered all the students around as the film crew were setting up their their equipment and gave us a briefing. We had to were the Flog it! t-shirts to let people recognise us as 'part of the team' as well advertising for the programme. We were told if we appeared in front of the camera, it wouldn't matter since we have the Flog-it! t-shirts on. Either way, I didn't mind, since my Celebrity Cash in the Attic Experience only had me in view from a mirrors refection! so being in front of the camera this time would be nice!
But who am i kidding, i never came here to be in front of the camera, i came here for experience! Afterwards we were all assignmed different task to do, some were to greet people outside and give them directions for the valuation place( where the antiques get an estimated price), and others had to usher people to their seats, take surveys from people, make tea and coffee for the film crew and presenters as well as help lift items to the main building.
The roles were always rotated after an hour or so by Hannah, who seemed alittle under pressure as the day went by. I guess this is wht the pressure of TV production can, since one small mistake can ruin everything, so as the runner (as the name suggest) she had to make sure we (the stewards) are all ok as well as make sure everything is running smoothly.
Some famous faces we met were Paul Martin, who wa sthe main presenter of the show. Evryone of his scenes were rehearsed and constructed, which wasnt no suprise to me since i had seen this before in my experience in Celebrity Cash in the Attic. He seemed like a cheerful guy, but also seemed nakered, mabe becasue it was a very hot and sunny day. At on point i thought i was going to get sun burn since i was positioned at one spot just outside the entrance ushering people to the building and just being smiley. The sun rays were like laser beams hitting by body making my sweat come down like rain. Maybe thats a bit too detailed but thats how hot it was.
When it was my turn making the tea for the film crew, i spoke to some of them and nearly all of them said they were freelancers, just working on contracts. So nothing seemed like it was permemant and they just got by when wrok was available. This made me abit worried. How will i fare out if theses guys are just about making there money here there thorugh contracts.
Hopefully though i will build my portfolio and skills to the highest possible leel i can take it, during my stay in University and then going for job interview shouldnt be that hard...should it?
All in all this experience did show me the tough side of working in TV. But hey, atleast i can say i've worked for the BBC and got payed for it!
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
The dust settles...assignments are OVER!
Thank the lord, I'm finally free...free from the burden of assignments deadlines. Well i actually i was free about a week ago but today was my last exam . It was a multiple choice based exam so it wasn't that bad - about media law and politics. Quite a combination eh? Well as a journalist I'm supposed to know my boundaries, as in what i can and cannot report. So it this whole media law module was very insightful.
As for my other assignments, well lets have the grades do the talking shall we? The magazine assignment and the documentary assignment were both group work and i think we managed to pull it off quite well, with MY persistence of course. I don't want to blabber on to much about this though just in case i jinx myself and my grades end up worse. I don't really believe in the jinx stuff of course but just in case...
Last week, the University of Bedfordshire had its student union media awards. And guess what? yup you've guessed it, i won an award! YAAAAAAY! I know you may be thinking: "What a...weirdo", but this actually meant quite a bit to me. It was held in the student union bar, so at first i was a bit reluctant to go but i knew i may have been up for an award so i went anyway. Obviously for me it was weird since, i've never really been in a 'bar', especially where people are gulping down alcohol. Luckily my journalism lecturer was there and she kept me company for most of the part. While i drank my J20 orange drink, (which i was cautious of for any spiking) and my lecturer was drinking a glass of champagne, we talked about my future and what i could do as a special project for my third year.
And then came the awards part. I was quite anxious at first since so many people were getting awards yet i wasn't getting anything. Then right near the end i heard my name: "2009 News Writer of the Year...Imran Choudhury!" My patience had paid off. I went onto the podium, hoping i wouldn't do a disastrous trip up the steps and grabbed my award. Fantastic. My grin was bigger than any clown I've seen.
As for my other assignments, well lets have the grades do the talking shall we? The magazine assignment and the documentary assignment were both group work and i think we managed to pull it off quite well, with MY persistence of course. I don't want to blabber on to much about this though just in case i jinx myself and my grades end up worse. I don't really believe in the jinx stuff of course but just in case...
Last week, the University of Bedfordshire had its student union media awards. And guess what? yup you've guessed it, i won an award! YAAAAAAY! I know you may be thinking: "What a...weirdo", but this actually meant quite a bit to me. It was held in the student union bar, so at first i was a bit reluctant to go but i knew i may have been up for an award so i went anyway. Obviously for me it was weird since, i've never really been in a 'bar', especially where people are gulping down alcohol. Luckily my journalism lecturer was there and she kept me company for most of the part. While i drank my J20 orange drink, (which i was cautious of for any spiking) and my lecturer was drinking a glass of champagne, we talked about my future and what i could do as a special project for my third year.
And then came the awards part. I was quite anxious at first since so many people were getting awards yet i wasn't getting anything. Then right near the end i heard my name: "2009 News Writer of the Year...Imran Choudhury!" My patience had paid off. I went onto the podium, hoping i wouldn't do a disastrous trip up the steps and grabbed my award. Fantastic. My grin was bigger than any clown I've seen.
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Sunshine and Assignment deadlines...
The sun rays warm my skin at 20 degrees. Why is it all of a sudden sunny and bright now? I'm just so tempted now to go out and play footy with my mates. But this month of May is the busiest month for every University student in the UK. Its like i'm free for 2-3 months then suddenly KAPOW!! Assignments galore!
I've got a 10 minute documentary to shoot edit and write about, a 2000 word feature article and a 20 page magazine to produce which includes an extensive plan. OK its just three assignment but 2 of these are BIG. Also when your working in groups its just hard to rely on other people. I HATE relying on other people. There you go i said it. If there's one thing I've learnt in my university experience so far, its that you should never rely on someone to get something done. You have to go out and do it yourself!
But i guess working with people who you don't really like working with (not that i don't like working with my group :D ) does bring out the best in you. I've noticed this myself. I'm a lot more patient and persevering than i was last year, where i would try an get everything done myself. Trust is a key thing in teamwork and if that's not there the whole team will break apart, so i'm beginning to trust people more now.
I've got a 10 minute documentary to shoot edit and write about, a 2000 word feature article and a 20 page magazine to produce which includes an extensive plan. OK its just three assignment but 2 of these are BIG. Also when your working in groups its just hard to rely on other people. I HATE relying on other people. There you go i said it. If there's one thing I've learnt in my university experience so far, its that you should never rely on someone to get something done. You have to go out and do it yourself!
But i guess working with people who you don't really like working with (not that i don't like working with my group :D ) does bring out the best in you. I've noticed this myself. I'm a lot more patient and persevering than i was last year, where i would try an get everything done myself. Trust is a key thing in teamwork and if that's not there the whole team will break apart, so i'm beginning to trust people more now.
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
One Nation
I've recently joined this voluntary group known as 'One Nation'. It aims to help the community by getting youths off the streets via the use of sports and leisure activities.My dads friend, Swab Ali, is the chair of the organization and asked me to be apart of One Nation, as its General Secretary/Press Officer. He saw my links with the local paper and probably thought: "i could use this guy". Anyway who am i kidding? The only reason i joined was just so i can get some experience in the voluntary sector. Apparently employers like this sort of thing.
The One Nation football team won the Barry Boltons Sunday league and so the chair thought this would be a good way of promoting One Nation as a football team aswell as One Nation, the Youth and Community organization. So they asked me to write a story for the local paper. Its also on the papers website which can be seen following this link: http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/lut/Nation-on-the-rise.5170942.jp
As the general secretary i was also assigned to create posters for One Nations and also modify its logo (at the top of this post) to make it look abit more modern. I used photoshop - obviously.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)