Why can’t we have a proper Singles Day?

Although we celebrate Singles Awareness Day & Singles Day on 2 different dates but still it just doesn’t seem to be a proper kind of celebration. I don’t see much enthusiasm in it & most of you must not be aware of it either.

February 15 has been declared Singles Awareness Day! This is the day that all of the single people can proudly stand up and show that it is OKAY to be single! I hardly see anyone on 15 getting excited as people get all excited on the 14th even though we don’t see anything hot & happening. Moreover, Singles Day is also a Chinese pop culture holiday on November 11 for people who are still living the single life.

There are single, smart, happy people. It’s another thing we have too many typical folks who believe in suffocating ideas. It’s high time we need to promote the idea that staying single doesn’t mean you are unhappy. It means you have opportunities. You are not burdened with responsibilities. You don’t know tensions revolving around in-laws & you don’t have to worry about husband who might get interested elsewhere.

You are free & what could be more beautiful than this? If you couldn’t meet anyone compatible & fun in all these years, there might be a reason. I don’t think it should be taken as something negative. We need all kinds of people in this world.

I’m sure many of you won’t agree with me. You don’t have to. This is how I look at it. And there was a time when I believed in both love & marriage but people do change & I have. And I think typical folks have no right to throw mud at those who are not all that typical like them. I also think it’s madness on their part to use phrases as ‘no good option’ for single people. You may think you know what single people are missing but the chances are that you do not know what you are missing. Life is not all that bad. Some people may experience different pattern but it doesn’t mean you’re missing out on life.

The book that is not on the shelf

I usually don’t like my writings, because I’m never satisfied. The only factors that stand out in my writings are most probably honesty & the fact that I write things with finality. Anyway, I really liked our book & I was not supposed to write on it today. In fact, I didn’t want to, but my sister is on the net & I have nothing better to do. And I’m certainly not in mood of reading right now. So, I’ll talk about our book ‘If mortals had been immortals & other short stories.’

Well Z & I had loads of fun while writing this book. We started off in 2006 & finished the book after a year. Writing a book is not anything easy, as many presume it to be. Try it & you will get the picture. We worked really hard. 1 & a half year was wasted in waiting as one of my brothers said that he would get it published in America (anything can be published in the land of opportunity) where he lives, but somehow he never had the time.

Our book is far ahead of time & it is experimental writing. Naturally America seemed to be the right place. Somehow we got it published online & here I would like to thank those 5 people who bought our book in which no one believes. We tried to get it in hard copy, but we haven’t succeeded so far, as it’s not about partition or music or some kind of art that the world can relate to. I really don’t know the reason as I don’t live in the minds of people. And just come to think of it, what a sad abode that would be! Maybe it’s not the right time, but when is the right time to start thinking? When is the right time to look at a thing from another angle? If it’s not now, then when? Do we need thousand more years to wait? Maybe they can wait. It suits them.

Writers like D. H. Lawrence have suffered & who are we? Exactly nothing! Rejection is not a new phenomenon for Z & I. In a way, I feel good that it’s not typical writing & that’s why people aren’t ready for it. Moreover, it’s available on the net. Even when we die, our book lives. The words we have scribbled aren’t being wasted. That much I know.

However, people drink piss because they have to & they start shitting in their pants when they hear of something extraordinary. I don’t know if it’s ever going to change. I still believe in my work & I was asking Z the other day that we should go till the end. We just can’t give up, cause people are not ready for something far ahead of time. Just because they are scared doesn’t mean the work is a piece of shit. And we see countless books that aren’t even readable & yet they are in the market. Quite frankly, I mostly read classics, cause these new books are rarely readable. Sometimes it seems paper has been wasted. I’m so sorry for being blunt, but this is how I see it. And I don’t think our book falls in that category.

I’m not saying Z & I are the best writers of this century. I can’t say that. But I know how we write & I don’t think anyone can demoralize us. I still believe in our work & I just can’t give up on it, cause not a single soul believes in it. In fact, I want to work on another book with my crazy partner. I look forward to it. I really do.

Nadira Rahman