ADMIRABLE ARCHES

Arches in buildings and designs over the years have been attributed with a broad spectrum of adjectives ranging from majestic, towering, magnificent to cosily vaulted and warmly niched, just to name a few.

Historically, arches have also been associated with triumph and sorrow, holy buildings and royal seats - they truly are a cultural and architectural triumph (apparently dating as far back as the Mesopotamian period)- I think primarily, because of the delicate structural balance of compression forces vying with each other to hold them upright but even more so because they are infinitely pleasing to the eye.

For me personally, arches epitomise the charm of a place - whether they are eighty feet tall or eight feet low vaulted ceilings, in old buildings in Rome or new ones in Dubai - they give the place a definite character that would be sorely lacking without. There is something infinitely secure and serene about their soaring sinuous curves that defy gravity and raises the human eyes in appreciation.

My dream room -   a library with a vaulted ceiling and arched niches in natural bricks or stones which serve as book shelves and seating alcoves between them. A cosily burning tall fireplace, weathered leather settee with my favourite soft throw and walla! I would consider myself in heaven - I keep telling myself, one day...

The Librarian by one of my favourite artists ALIM RAKHMATULLEAV

The man who speaks to the soul - LUDOVICO EINAUDI

I can't get enough of his music - and I know what to reach for and listen to every time I am stressed, or tired or down trodden, or just want to get away from everyday chores and transend to a beautiful, wonderful place - and yes,  I have used the word " transend" because that exactly what Ludovico's music does, it speaks to your soul and carries it away on a beautiful melodious journey of highs and lows and sheer, utter bliss. There is something so pure, so true, so touching about the unspoken words and feelings his music conveys to your soul-  you can't help but be affected by it.

Ludovico is a composer par genius - he has taken traditional orchestra and shaken it up a bit -  bringing in musical influences and instruments from around the world and blending them all harmoniously together to create amazing pieces that are a treat to listen to. He is also an amazing pianist, with dexterous fingers that sometimes hover over and sometimes linger on keys for just the right amount of time to create exactly the effect he wants his notes to create. He plays with passion and clearly, clearly loves what he does - you can't make music like that otherwise.

Every time I listen to one of his pieces I close my eyes and let my soul drift away on a journey of  wonder and serenity - and afterwards, I feel surprisingly refreshed  - in a better state of mind, in a better mood, feel lighter and can see and appreciate the beauty all around me once again...

Sultry Summers

Summers has one of two effects on people - they either reach for their whites and pastels in cool shades of aqua and green, trying to recapture the feel of cool summer breezes or they go all out and don their brightest, sunniest and loudest colours paying homage to the brightness all around.

 Whichever one you choose to be - and I myself have oscillated between one and the other over the years - the pull of summer and it's affect on you is undeniable. The sultry heat, the welcome shade of verandah and trees, the pleasant, relatively cooler evenings all serve to bring out the best and the fun in you. You are suddenly reaching for tall cool lemonades, serving fresh exotic salads and having lazy summer Bar-be-ques with near and dear ones. Some of my best memories are built around these times - sharing laughter and stories late into the warm nights.

Summer is the time when I am most tempted to revamp my home as well - small changes here and there that make a world of difference - such as changing cushion covers on settees to a sunnier, brighter hue - or putting extra pots of fresh flowers on side tables. But to be honest that's as far as I go - I am not bold enough to go all out and embrace summer colours and bold patterns - and I really admire designs and designers who bring in patterns and bright colours together in an eclectic, heady mix - because I can see how they work together, but could have never imagined it myself.

One of my favorite pastimes these days, flicking through images of inspiring summer interiors - here's some for you to enjoy as well...

LIFE IS...One Damn Thing After Another

We all love a good moan - unloading our daily little misfortunes on our near and dear ones, things that went horribly wrong at work, traffic jams on the way or back, someone who let us down again, last minute, when we were so trusting and relying on their support - and that niggling pain in the back or neck or leg that we can't seem to shake off no matter what - and then there are the things that could go wrong (but haven't yet) and we can feel it in our bones the doom headed our way, like that dark thunderous cloud far off in the sky, that is surely going to pour down the minute we step outside our home.

And all these tales of woes are not because we are jobless, or out on the street, or living in a poverty stricken shanty town, with no warmth in winter and no luxuries to speak of, no, these tales of woes are exchanged in comfortable homes, over sumptuous dinner tables and in front of warm fireplaces. Life to us has become one damn thing after another, to bitch and moan about, to fill our down-trodden souls with more misery and negativity- we can't seem to moan enough or have enough, but what of?

Contentment in the here and now has become so elusive to most of us, we either whine about what  has-been or worry about what will-be, but totally forget about the here and now, about enjoying and living and making the most of what we have now, in the moment.

Happiness is truly a state of mind - if our minds and souls are tormented by demons of woes at all times, can we ever be happy, no matter how comfortable and fortunate we are? Life is how we view it and that's the bottom line- our daily experiences, encounters with people are given a negative hue by our limited vision and gloomy perception - it truly is a choice we consciously or subconsciously make and follow blindly till it becomes a habit.

So let's make a conscious effort to break free of this terrible habit, open our hearts and minds to new encounters, new experiences, find the good in everything and view life not as one damn thing after another but as one great experience after another, to savour, enjoy and live...

On Teaching Maths...

Maths has always held a certain fascination for me right from the start.


To begin with, numbers were easier to write and read than words -ten numerals versus twenty six alphabets made maths a whole lot easier for a four year old- and as I grew older, its simplicity, truth and ability to lend a helping hand to every other conceivable discipline around, made me respect it even more.

But of course, I hadn't thought this deeply about maths growing up - I just knew I liked mathematical reasoning - to me it seemed and looked like solving a puzzle- and every problem solved, gave me a certain buzz.

As I moved past primary into secondary and encountered Algebra and Trigonometry and Calculus and Statistics, I was blown away by how in its guise almost all of world's major decisions are based - from how countries are run to how bridges and skyscrapers are designed and built. How nature and galaxies rely on mathematical ratios and how beauty, perfection and design need a helping hand from mathematics too. Studying Computers in Uni, only renewed my deference for this boundless discipline.

Maths really is the Mother Teresa of all disciplines, it is a truly selfless subject, it is about all manners of things and about nothing at all in particular - it is like a clog that fits into all different kind of wheels to make them run smoothly. And its this innate selflessness, is what I admire about it the most -the ability to be a pivotal part of others success, but blend in the background, letting the spotlight shine on other crafts and trades and academia.

And yet, this wonderfully helpful, selfless subject, is the most disliked.

I hear it from students every day - "it's boring", "it doesn't make sense" and the classic "why do we need to find x?" is something every algebra  teacher around the world has heard more than once in their teaching life.

And I know the reason why students say these things and feel that way- it's the way mathematics has been taught and still being taught - from textbooks, sterile, without context. I have come across brilliant students in maths, who are very good at it, but still are not fascinated by it, no where near the fascination I felt and still feel. Students can't see the relevance and who can blame them - the very quality of maths that drew me to this subject, is also it's downfall - it doesn't have a strong enough identity in its own right for students to sit up and take notice.

And the solution is simple as well-  put it in context, don't tell them to find x, give them a real life problem where they feel the need to find x, without you pointing it out.

And that's what I try to do in my lessons, take a textbook problem, take the maths bits out and toss it to my students- how would they solve it?  -and believe me, the maths soon follows, unprompted by me.  They want to know, how to find the area of a cylinder, because if they knew that, they would be closer to the solution, and before long they are begging me to show them how it's done or searching on the net!

But these lessons don't come easy, they have to be carefully planned, you want the students to think they are in control- and in many ways they are,  but really you are getting them to think (mostly) the way you want - there of course will always be one student that goes completely off tangent and tries to derail your lesson!

And then there is the perceived system too, that works against what you are trying to do- you have to have lesson objectives identified and met for every single lesson -  which to me has always seemed  bizarre and just  pigeon holes students learning. To me teaching a student to do long divisions and memorize formula of area of a sphere by doing repeated calculations over and over again is such a waste of time - this generation does not need to memorize anything, they have all this information on their fingertips- what they do need is problem solving skills and practicing a logical, creative way of thinking ,reasoning, analyzing, deciding on calculations needed and making strategic informed judgments based on that - now these are the transferrable skills of the work force of tomorrow that will stand them in good stead.

So, my students have been golf players trying to figure out the perfect angle of their swing for a birdie, mountaineers trying to work out the inclines, pilots trying to work out the bearings on their flight path, stock brokers trying to work the percentage increase and decrease of their clients share price to make them the most profit and pocket a commission themselves, of course!  I have had interior designers in my class trying to give in to the whims of their eccentric clients and lay a coin carpet in their living room - and the extension, a flashy sheikh needs his Range Rover covered in gold coins (This is the UAE, these things do happen here!)

 And I am not alone in this, I get immense inspiration and ideas from other maths teachers who are trying to do similar things and posting their stories on the net - hopefully one day not to far off, we'll able to change the mindset of the young people we teach and make them appreciate the beauty of maths.