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nusrattalks · 2 years

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An Immigrant’s Notes- 1

Rubayat was woken up by the familiar, deafening knocks on her bedroom door- it was part of her house help Tara’s weekend ritual to try and break down her door in the process of waking her up.

But even Tara’s absolute lack of a sense of privacy couldn’t take away from the glee Rubayat woke up feeling. It was going to be an absolutely PERFECT day where everything and everyone including the weather was going to cooperate. With an ear to ear smile, Rubayat got out of bed and opened the curtains. And just as her heart had promised, the weather was indeed an indication of Dhaka feeling love for it’s people- sunny, breezy with the slightest sign of humidity and maybe some hints of rain. Perfect.

As she was washing up and brushing her teeth, she took her time to appreciate the beauty of the mundane: the feel of the toothbrush, the coolness of the water on her always-warm skin, the smile that greeted her in the mirror, the yellow of the indoor cactus by the window. So this is what ‘yellow’ feels like, she thought with giggles.

Even her beloved, torn-in-multiple-places maxi was saying ‘I love you’ to her in all possible languages.

She giggled some more.

Her parents met her at the dining table, along with her little sister Reba, waiting to start breakfast.

“Abba, I don’t know why you insist on waiting, it’s the weekend I should be able to sleep in some more.”

“Because otherwise, I’ll have to go days before we can all sit together at the table for breakfast.” He smiled. That warm, ‘Abba’ smile that radiated the sun’s rays.

She countered with giggles.

Rubayat looked around at the table and inhaled the sight and the smells: porota, dim poach and alu bhaji with her sister making their signature porota wrap, tongue out in concentration; Amma insisting on hand-feeding her; the smell of freshly brewing tea on the stove.

She could also smell the rest of the day. It smelt like her favourite Fridays, spent at their Uttara home, with those she loved as much as life itself. Smelt like the fragrance of turmeric and Chandan on Amma’s freshly showered skin, the fish fry for the feast which best described their Friday lunches, the smell of Abba’s skin as they’d all cuddle together in bed for a post-lunch nap, and the smell of fresh rain soil. The kind you only get to smell in Dhaka.

It sounded like cars honking at each other, and street peddlers reminding the neighborhood Ammas of the vegetables they forgot last minute; tunes of the old Bangla classics in the voice of Runa Laila and Shabnam that Abba will be playing later through the day already made its way into her ears.

She closed her eyes in anticipation and gratitude.

And just as she was about to take her first bite of the signature porota roll, Rubayat heard Amma’s frustration: “but how many times have I told you not to eat or drink anything in your dreams, Rubayat! Pet kharap korbe pore ke dekhbe tomake?”

As her brain tried to make sense of the confusion, her people and Dhaka home became a blur.

A jolt. And then, Tara’s deafening knocks.

Only, it wasn’t Tara.

It was the construction work taking place in the neighbourhood.

And it wasn’t her Dhaka bedroom.

It was the bedroom she was learning to call ‘mine’ in Melbourne.

As her body tried to make sense of what was going on, Rubayat’s brain tried to provide some assistance- This is Melbourne, Rubayat. You live here now. This is your new home.

That smell you’re getting is your roommate brewing coffee and making toast for breakfast.

That sound you’re hearing is Kiss FM playing the latest hits of Melbourne.

That alarm you are hearing is your phone telling you to wake the fuck up and call Robert about the meeting in Oakleigh at 3.

Abba, Amma and Reba are pretty far away. Dhaka home has to wait for a bit

Rubayat looked around her. Sure enough, her brain wasn’t lying, but her body was taking some time to re-adjust.

But wasn’t I just wrapping Amma up in my arms and smelling her skin? How could that not be happening right now?! Maybe if I close my eyes and open them again…

And so she shut her eyes tight, said ‘Allah please, Allah please’, and reopened them.

No Abba, Amma or Reba anywhere. Just her in her PJs, still feeling the warmth of her torn maxi.

With a sigh, she made her way out of bed with a smile.

Oh, well. Another day. Another dream about home. And a heart full of gratitude.

She went in to say good morning to her lovely Greek roommate, and the sight did make her heart smile.

Family away from family. Home away from home.

As she grabbed a piece of toast and made her way to get dressed, she heard her roommate call out.

“Wait, what’s those lines you were humming last night, again?”

Rubayat felt her heart fill up with sunshine and face light up with the biggest smile.

“I’ll be home for Christmas...if only in my dreams.”

#writers on tumblr #writers and readers #writersofbangladesh #browngirlbloggers #women writers #brownwriter #spilled #spilled in words #spilledink #spilled in writing #immigrant life #immigrants bangladesh melbournewriters writers

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sruthi-samuel · 1 year

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Oh lady, my lady, fascination is an understatement at how you hide everything inside you, like a butterfly hides in a cocoon. You can be going through a million things and yet the smile remains the same. You want to burst out many times, but several factors stop you. Once you do burst out, some get surprised and some get scared because not everyone can handle beauty the same way. Take your sweet time to come out because that version of you shines more than the stars themselves. #pinterest #womanwriter #brownwriters #writingcommunity #writerscommunity #instaprose #butterfly #woman #beauty #stuffi_wannasay (at World) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClgDuW_pZrh/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#pinterest #womanwriter #brownwriters #writingcommunity #writerscommunity #instaprose #butterfly #woman #beauty #stuffi_wannasay

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flumaer · 4 years

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She is me. 🧡 (Just a pinch of self love) . . Inspiration behind this piece is @amaranthine.writes 'cause she's the best. Any doubt????? Haha.. Go and visit her profile atleast once. Your all questions will be answered. 💗 . . Sending beautiful vibes you way. 🧡 . . TURN ON POST NOTIFICATIONS. . #flumaer #writersofindia #writeups #writerscommunityofinstagram #writingprompts #writersofig #writersnetwork #writinginspiration #writersofinstagram #feedtheme #brownfeed #brownwriters #indianwriters #india #indiawrites #pinkfeed #instagood #instadaily #instalove #shequotes #she #cherryblossom #backyard #captionsforinsta #captions #tsunami #lovepoetry #poetsofinstagram #poetsociety https://www.instagram.com/p/CFhb0LtlgH0/?igshid=1sq7i7wcvtuat

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breenache · 6 years

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Oh wow! I’m gonna be on this line-up with these badass #centroamericanxs at UC Berkeley this Friday to talk about our creative work! It’s open to the public so please roll through with your friends and family. #chapinas #salvi #brownartists #brownwriters #berkeley #ucberkeley

#centroamericanxs #chapinas #brownartists #berkeley #brownwriters #ucberkeley #salvi

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queerblackcreatives · 7 years

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#queerblackcreatives @weareopentv Created by founder @profajchristian in collaboration with a diverse group of #chicagoartists from the #OpenTVCommunity, Serial Dreamer follows residents of a #Chicago co-op in their everyday lives and their dreams. Dr. Christian writes: Chicago’s artists inspired me to dream. A few years ago when I was new to Chicago, I would run down Lakeshore Drive, listening to R&B and dreaming of televisual narratives. I was serially dreaming, casting as characters the artists who would eventually become my collaborators on Open TV (beta), a research project and web platform that I created to develop artistic, intersectional TV. With this campaign, I am asking you to support Serial Dreamer: Co-Op, a collaborative comedy pilot for a new series of stories about residents in a Chicago co-op as they dream about other worlds. The full series will follow a different character in each episode through their everyday life and their dreams. Each character and story line is created by a writer who has pitched or produced a project during Open TV's first two cycles or participated in the Open TV Writers Group during our residency at the @chiculturcenter . This project is an experiment in using queer TV development to mobilize our community and exponentially increase the number of artistic, intersectional TV stories coming out of Chicago. Serial Dreamer: Co-Op represents my dream for Open TV: ever-growing, ever-evolving, community-driven, and continually generating value from telling diverse stories. #storytelling #chicagowriters #queerwriters #blackwriters #brownwriters #blackfilmmakers #brownfilmmakers #womenfilmmakers #queerfilmmakers #transfilmmakers #followfriday #webseries #highmaintenance #womenwriters

#queerblackcreatives #chicagoartists #chicagowriters #chicago #brownwriters #followfriday #queerfilmmakers #womenwriters #webseries #womenfilmmakers #transfilmmakers #blackfilmmakers #storytelling #queerwriters #brownfilmmakers #opentvcommunity #highmaintenance #blackwriters

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bigxphilly · 7 years

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#Repost @weareopentv (@get_repost) ・・・ 12 hours left! #linkinbio @Regrann from @weareopentv - We're launching an ambitious new experiment: #SerialDreamer! Created by founder @profajchristian in collaboration with a diverse group of #chicagoartist s from the #OpenTVCommunity, Serial Dreamer follows residents of a #Chicago co-op in their everyday lives and their dreams. Dr. Christian writes: Chicago’s artists inspired me to dream. A few years ago when I was new to Chicago, I would run down Lakeshore Drive, listening to R&B and dreaming of televisual narratives. I was serially dreaming, casting as characters the artists who would eventually become my collaborators on Open TV (beta), a research project and web platform that I created to develop artistic, intersectional TV. With this campaign, I am asking you to support Serial Dreamer: Co-Op, a collaborative comedy pilot for a new series of stories about residents in a Chicago co-op as they dream about other worlds. The full series will follow a different character in each episode through their everyday life and their dreams. Each character and story line is created by a writer who has pitched or produced a project during Open TV's first two cycles or participated in the Open TV Writers Group during our residency at the @chiculturcenter . This project is an experiment in using queer TV development to mobilize our community and exponentially increase the number of artistic, intersectional TV stories coming out of Chicago. Serial Dreamer: Co-Op represents my dream for Open TV: ever-growing, ever-evolving, community-driven, and continually generating value from telling diverse stories. #storytelling #chicagowriters #queerwriters #blackwriters #brownwriters #blackfilmmakers #brownfilmmakers #womenfilmmakers #queerfilmmakers #transfilmmakers #followfriday #webseries #highmaintenance #womenwriters

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sruthi-samuel · 2 years

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We are exchanging words, in a worst way possible. I say something and you counter to it. This continues until a car passes by, drenching me under the mid day sun and bringing a smile to your beetroot red lips. I hear your voice, so different from a second ago, now squealing at the sight in front of you. Air starts blowing out of nowhere, making the hair strands caress your brown cheeks. You keep laughing not caring about it. I suddenly realize how I was making your small button nose scrunch and your temples frown, a second ago. I push the hair strands back of your ear and join you in laughing. I move forward to hug you, dampening your clothes to which you slightly hit on my chest and surrender to my embrace, still laughing at it. #pinterest #writerscommunity #writersofinsta #brownwriters #boomerang #romanticcouples #writeup #aesthetic #happiness #stuffi_wannasay (at World) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClS8roPp6cG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#pinterest #writerscommunity #writersofinsta #brownwriters #boomerang #romanticcouples #writeup #aesthetic #happiness #stuffi_wannasay

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sruthi-samuel · 2 years

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As the tip and tap of the rain drops reach my ear, as the beauty of the surroundings elevates to the peaks, as the leaves of trees sway to the air and a child appears out of the blue, smiling ear to ear, with an innocent spark in those dark brown eyes, walking into the rain as the rain drops rebound from the glossy brown skin. As I stand under the roof looking at kid enjoying and think to myself, "Where did I lose you all these days? Why have I never known of your existence? And why did you appear now?" The kid, as if she heard me, looks at me as her smile brightens and winks, uttering, "You are such a fool! I've always been with you and you've been so occupied that you've never acknowledged my existence." Writer's note: I heard somewhere that you should be a kid in rain and an adult in a storm. I know there are many storms in our life that we forget the existence of the kid in us. Let us acknowledge and embrace them❤️ #rain #aesthetic #pinterest #writingcommunity #innerchild #brownwriters #writersofinsta #indianwritersofinstagram #indianwriter #stuffi_wannasay (at World) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkAHQQuBtbP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#rain #aesthetic #pinterest #writingcommunity #innerchild #brownwriters #writersofinsta #indianwritersofinstagram #indianwriter #stuffi_wannasay

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flumaer · 4 years

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Will you? . . Follow @flumaer for more. . . #flumaer #writerscommunity #writersofindia #lovecouples #lovepoetry #lovequotes #romance #writeups #wristshot #writingprompts #writinginspiration #writersoninstagram #instagood #instadaily #instagram #instalove #poetsofinstagramcommunity #poetsofinstagram #poetsociety #poetsofig #writing #brownwriters #indianwriters #india #brownfeed #eternity #captionsforinsta #captions #picsart https://www.instagram.com/p/CFe42c2l0ZN/?igshid=w2vlo54m1auj

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