IT all started one bright night in the winter of Dec. 20, 1976 and only two months from my seventh birthday. The sky was unusually clear after a week of storms and heavy rain, and millions of stars that I used to count on a daily basis as part of my child ritual play were scattered all over the fabric of the bright sky.
It must have been that night, for all details are still vivid and in full color. It was that amazing night when I witnessed my first sighting of a shooting star. It was so bright and visible that I knew even with my child eyesight that I was watching a miracle unfold.
The tale of the shooting star was silver shine, and the speed that it took to reach its destiny was incredible. I had to call her a name since I was naming everything that passed my brain. And the name had to reflect what I felt the moment I watched flick and zoom. I called it My Wishing Star.
Every year of the same time, or since I remember. I would gaze at the winter sky, every 20th of December, and call My Wishing Star. Not that I saw it again. But I felt good pretending that I saw it. It was enough to reminisce in its memory and its after effect.
My wishes are differed every year according to my age and wisdom. The early wishes were as simple and naïve as my first: A tricycle, a Barbie doll, a telescope, a red dress. From then on it escalated to more mature wishes: To lose weight, to be calm, to succeed at work. My wish last year was for an everlasting peace in the world. The one before that: A better life for the whales. My wishes were my command; they were my floating wood in the dangerous seas of life. Yet somehow this year I have a different wish. It’s not so peaceful at all. It might be a one-of-a-kind wish. I cannot tell you this wish yet because the month has yet to pass.
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Dear Nadia,
My wife and I are from India, the land of spices. But I must say I have discovered new kinds of spices in the Gulf region since I moved here for work two years ago. I know the names now, but I have no idea where they come from. I am very much interested in spices from Africa and the Arab world. Can you please explain?
— Rajiv, India
Dear Rajiv,
I am also a fan of spice, and to tell you the truth Arabian spices are a mix of Indian and African spices. And since you are from India I am sure you have a full catalogue of Indian and Asian spices, so I will try here to add the short list of the African spices we use here in the Gulf.
• Melgueta pepper: Spicy, hot and a little bitter.
• Kani pepper: Aromatic, pungent and slightly bitter.
• African sesame: Nutty.
• Silphion: Herbal.
• African tamarind: Sour and tart.
Best of luck, Nadia.