Chennai Vandallur Zoo’s Lions are infected with Covid-19. Unfortunately, Lioness Neela has lost her life. I’m really shocked to hear this news. Covid-19 kills animals? Hope we get out of this mess soon!

Finished reading: The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll 📚

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the Bullet Journal Method or analogue productivity.

A key takeaway is a process called Migration. Here, you review all open tasks from the previous month and re-evaluate it’s purpose and validity. If the task adds value to your life, keep them. if not, cross it off and move on! This along with weekly review will uplift your productivity ten fold.

In a nutshell, Ryder has done a brilliant job explaining the Bullet Journal method in a simple and easy to understand / implement language.

Go get this book!

Gold Medal Oil was part of my known pain-relief arsenal. While growing up, we used it generously for headaches & nasal blockage. I suppose with my migraines and sinusitis, this will come in handy when I’m back in the UK. 📷

It has been 30 days since my father passed away. Time flies!

I feel overwhelmed with the amount of work that needs to be sorted in this situation. Every day, I’m learning about new things needing my attention or to be taken care of.

In India, the time taken to get any formal documentation after one’s passing is ridiculous. One needs extreme levels of patience to handle the people in the bureaucracy. Even the staff at the bottom of the bureaucracy chain will test your patience. It’s frustrating for me because I grew up in the UAE & UK where things get done effectively and efficiently.

At the moment, I’m just taking one day at a time. It’s hard. I miss my father very much. May Allah SWT grant our family the strength and courage to move forward. Ameen!

Today, the air conditioning unit failed in my room. AC repair engineer reckons it would be better to replace the unit with a brand new one. I too agree but with full lockdown in place, nobody knows when the electrical showrooms will reopen.

Currently, the temperature reaches 34 degC. We do have a ceiling fan but that just not enough to cool down the room in the daytime. I feel like a stuffed chicken in an oven ready to be cooked.

The chicken reference is because my sister cooked some delicious fried chicken for lunch. Yum!

Alright! It’s about time I start exploring the world of podcasting/microcasting. I have been interested in podcasts since 2010 when I got my iPhone 3Gs. iTunes introduced me to it!

With the new update to Wavelength app and free two weeks trial, I thought why not I give it a go? So here it is!

I’m call my microcast as Ridwan’s Rough Notes. Rough Notes doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s just random notes on books I’m reading, life learnings, reflections etc etc.

Hope to continue this experiment to more than 6 notes and see how I feel?

Let’s start the journey. 🎙️

It is Eid-ul-Fitr, a day of celebration and gratitude.

I’m grateful for the good memories I had in this year’s Ramadan. I’m grateful to Allah, the Almighty for his countless blessings. I pray to him to give us the strength and fortitude to observe this Eid without our father.

May Allah SWT accept our fasts and good deeds. May Allah SWT shower his mercy and victory. Most importantly, to the people of Palestine whose courage and resilience inspire all the oppressed people of this world to stand up against tyranny and injustice. Ameen!

Thanks very much to the kind souls of Micro.blog!

Words cannot express my gratitude.

It has been more than a week since my father’s passing. I still cannot fathom this huge loss. I feel stuck in a rut. I feel overwhelmed with the big shoes I will be trying to fill in. It’s not going to be easy but I’ll try to move forward and leave a lasting legacy like my father.

May Allah SWT grant us all the strength, courage and confidence to face all of life’s challenges. Ameen.

A shining light has been extinguished, which can never be replaced.

My father has passed away on 21st April 2021, Wednesday, around 6:30 pm (Ramadan 7, 1442 AH).

My father has always been a champion of noble charitable causes in our family and the wider community.

My father has always reminded us to uphold family ties and kinship. I remind these words myself first and pass this message to you all.

Lastly, if my father has done any minor transgressions to your family or yourselves, please forgive my father for the sake of Allah, the Almighty and his Holy Prophet (SAW). And, please pray for my father’s afterlife and may Allah SWT grant him the highest levels of Paradise (Janat Al Firdouz).

One more thing, if I have done anything to hurt you with my words or actions, it was not my intention. I seek your forgiveness and please keep my family and me in your prayers and thoughts.

Whatever is bad of me is from Shaytan (Satan), and whatever is good from me is from the countless blessings of Allah, the Almighty.

May Allah SWT grant us all success in this life and the hereafter.