A day to come and a day to go ! A memoir of fourteen days quarantine in Maldives!

“A day to come and a day to go………...!

 When we landed at Allamah Iqbal International Airport on 2nd February 2021, we had no idea we will be staying here for seven months…for the first time in all these years we got the chance to be a part of casual family gatherings, weekend meetups, worries and festivities, tears, and laughers!

We will always cherish these wonderful memories! Cannot thank you enough for your love and hospitality! May Allah Taala bring us together with khair and aafiyat, ameen! Looking forward to see you all soon inshaAllah!”

(The message I posted on my family WhatsApp group while going to the airport!)



“Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has banned all the flights till further notice”.

 We were in Pakistan for three weeks’ time, when this piece of news caught us off guard on the very day of our arrival. Surprisingly, it took us less than five minutes to weigh all the possibilities and reach the decision of making best out of this opportunity. Yes, we thought it as an opportunity! 

Those were strange circumstances, from school to office everything was online, a rare chance to spend time with family. So, we thought to grab it fully and avail it to the fullest!

First thing on the planner was to put things in order. We had no idea that how long we would be stuck, and we did not want to be saying towards the end that it would be better had we started earlier. Here commenced a continuum of activities which lasted till the day we departed!

When I look back at those days, I wonder at the grit we showed as a family! Laborious work of rummaging, decluttering, clearing, cleaning, renovating, organizing, reorganizing amidst all this uncertainty, while trying to get adjusted with a lifestyle which after being abroad for more than a decade seemed akin to alien, was not an easy feast.

  Yet there were times of fun, festivity, and laughter among those moments of utter frustration! Times when we badly craved ‘home’ and times when we thought to be blessed that we were there!

"Nothing stays forever!" it might be a cliche` but one which perfectly betrays the truth! Nothing stays forever, things evolve, circumstances change and just like that one day we were on our way back to Riyadh. I held phone in my hands to write down a farewell note, before I could even typed a letter, I remembered a phrase which I had read many years ago in one of Paulo Coelho's books and murmured,

                                                 "A day to come and a day to go!" 

A day to come and a day to go ! A memoir of fourteen days quarantine in Maldives!

That’s it! We are going back 

Ayubowan!

A string of pearls!

Day One; Out of the water into PCRs

Day Two; 'this is where I want to be!'

Day Three; A day to be

Day Four; Sun, sand and snorkeling!

Day Five; Going bananas

Day Six; A usual day in Kandooma

Day Seven; Going nuts on the net!

Day Eight; Go fish!

The fact that I love about this life is that it gives us endless chances to grow. Every moment is a new moment and every day is another day. What you really need is, a believing heart, a determined mind, a smiling face and a hot cup of tea :)

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