Shopping with Perveen Welcome to chowk, Chris!

I like your article, it`s simple and whilst some description would add colour, it is a nice read that brings back some memories for me (and anecdotes of my own haggling experiences in Delhi).
I`ve submitted several articles for chowk and never been on FP :(

Are you still in Pakistan? I plan to visit there again soon, maybe work a while. Maybe you could advise me.

Blue Line Excellent article.
That`s all I can say :)

The Anatomy of a Smile Lovely article.
There are so many programmes offering to make somone look more attractive that people are made to feel ugly being themselves. There are a couple of programmes in the UK (I don`t know what is being shown elsewhere) that help somone look better by feeling better and dressing better (to show off natural assets that they should be proud of).
One recent episode was a woman who hated her ample derriere so much that she changed in the bathroom, away from her husband. Through the presenters numerous tactics she grew to accept, appreciate, then love her body, gaining enough confidence to model a bikini on a catwalk to rapturous applause, with a massive - and naturally beautiful - grin.
Sure, models are pretty. But if you look at the work of top photographers, the photographs that sell as pieces of artwork, that get comissioned and grace intelligent hardback books with more value and life than a throw-away fashion magazine, the pictures are of people. Real people. With wrinkles that speak of a lifetimes wisdom, and scars that have stories behind them.

:)

I used to consider myself as having a lot of junk, especially as I am now preparing to move house. But reading your account of old tubes of stuff, discarded talc tins and the like, reminds me that I have no problem with it.
Good article, entertaining and engaging.

Guddi A great story! I like how Guddi -for however long it lasts- has that feeling of being better than somone else, in a way not defined by financial richness.
Parts of the story hint at a future that may change her perception once again.....

Home is where the heart is Re: # 15 In a way you just move on, and what was home is no longer. After living away at university for so many years, moving back to my parents home was very difficult. Only by moving out again did things improve.

Home is where the heart is Re: # 11 Hello kaalchakra! Sometimes a smiley is needed to confirm the tone of a statement. In a longer piece of writing the tone is evident, but in a short comment it is not always so.

Home is where the heart is Re: # 12 Yes I see what you are saying, thank you. I think what I meant is when you do feel so out of place in your country and culture of origin (which, when you return to, people say `how does it feel to be home again?` and you can`t find the words to explain that you feel more at home on the road...)

But I do agree with you. :)

Home is where the heart is Re: # 8 what about when you feel more at home somewhere a million miles from where you ought to feel home? In a people and culture and climate so vastly different from where you have lived all your life.
People are strange :)

Home is where the heart is A great article!
Home really is a state of mine. (I meant to type `mind` there, the `mine` was a strange freudian slip typo). But yes, a sense of ownership in a location, and feeling comfortable in surroundings does make it home.
I`ve experienced this myself when I`ve referred to my guesthouse room as home, despite the majority of my belongings being in a completely different country.

Some people swear by putting up a couple of personal effects, some by some personal habits (a yoga session, morning jog, etc).

The sad thing is when a person does not feel at home in places where they originate or would ordinarily, like samar1982 mentioned in #2

Absent in the Spring A great piece, it kept me reading. Look forward to reading more!

The Princess and the Alley Cats So....what`s the latest....?? Update me.............

The Princess and the Alley Cats Re: # 173 agreed. In this world, keeping your eyes and mind open are most important.

And we all have our own prejudices, if we`re honest with ourselves.

The Princess and the Alley Cats Re: # 165 Rawalpindi is lovely. I only saw it from a car window :( but Mirpur is great too. :)

The Princess and the Alley Cats Re: # 163 hehe - I`d need to know key phrases in Punjabi, Gurjarati, Urdu, and Hindi. And in a made up language, just to be super-diverse.
And a handsome surgeon husband.

The Princess and the Alley Cats Re: # 164 ????