Mahboob's Journal

Canva bought Serif in March this year. Serif is the company behind the popular Affinity suite of creative software, which includes Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, and Affinity Publisher. The acquistion was valued at several hundred million dollars. It represents a strategic move for Canva to enhance its offerings and compete more effectively against Adobe's long-standing dominance in the design software market. The Affinity suite is recognized for its robust capabilities that rival Adobe's flagship products: Affinity Designer competes with Adobe Illustrator Affinity Photo serves as an alternative to Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Publisher parallels Adobe InDesign. Adobe transitioned to a cloud-based subscription model in 2013, officially phasing out its traditional perpetual licensing with the launch of Adobe Creative Cloud. This shift allowed Adobe to introduce updates more frequently, moving away from the previous 18 to 24-month upgrade cycle. As of November 2023, the pricin...

Years ago, I had two TV obsessions: IPL and Zee Saregama. As time went by, my interest dwindled in them. I remember the inaugural season and how the late Shane Warne captained Rajasthan Royals to be the champions. I enjoyed fully well when the then Hyderabad team Deccan Chargers clinched the trophy. Enjoyed the histrionics over the years of Virat Kohli, A.B. De Villiers, MSD, David Warner, Chris Gayle, Bhuvi, Malinga, Rashid Khan and so many more. But then there was a ban, the number of teams increased and though the interest was still there, it was not the match to match, ball to ball, glued to the screen kind of interest. Until this year. It was on a late evening in March that I sat with a bowl of haleem to watch a few overs of the SRH-MI game and I was hooked. Both to the game and the tournament. Felt good to see India’s richest family members sitting subdued. A shade of schadenfraude in me, maybe. Kavya jumped and danced like a kindergärtner. Records started tumbling. The IPL fan...

Nobody ever gives me gifts :) One can be philosophical and say, this life itself is a gift from the Almighty; the oxygen, the water, Nature, all are gifts and blessings, so make most of them. Yeah, I know, I know. Philosophical / spiritual is good, but once in a while childish is better. Therefore, just before my birthday, which is in July, when I saw the banner Apple Days at a neighborhood Vijay Sales outlet, I made up my mind. I will gift myself, the world be damned. Deal at the store was price reduction plus some moneyback splashed additionally, if you use specific credit cards, and ICICI was one of them. I got myself an iPad with Apple Pencil. Next day I purchased Procreate software from the Apple Store and installed it. A self-gifted birthday, one of my happiest. Apple’s tablet product and its accessory the Apple Pencil are less celebrated or popular than its siblings the MacBook Pro and iPhone, but I think the iPad when used with Procreate [or Fresco for Adobe fans] is the best...

Wedding anniversaries of the past usually consisted of travelling somewhere, fine dining, or even ordering in favourite dishes, usually Biryani. There was this one year where we relished a movie followed by a romantic dinner. This time, we didn’t plan anything. However, the day before, I saw a Facebook post by Sarita Agarwal showcasing different menu items at her Gachibowli outlet. Sarita was one of the Sunrisers Hyderabad fandom cohorts with whom who I shared cricketing emotions. Up when SRH did well, down when they did not. Sharing views and exchanging notes after every game was like a decadent dessert after dinner. More on the IPL experience in a separate post. In jest, I asked Sarita whether Facebook friends are entitled to discounts? She replied, yes, why not. The allure of a discounted offer is truly irresistible. When you get something at a price lesser than standard retail, the feeling of accomplishment is heavenly. So, the decision was made. House of Truly, it would be on Sa...

Chekhov's Swan Song Betrothed is still a whole mood. Anton Chekhov's final short story, Betrothed , w ritten in 1903, just a year before his death,   is a poignant exploration of self-discovery and societal pressures. Set against the backdrop of pre-revolutionary Russia, the story follows Nadya, a young woman grappling with her impending marriage. Chekhov weaves themes of personal growth, generational conflict, and the search for meaning into this deceptively simple tale. Nadya emerges as a realist, raised in the claustrophobic atmosphere of a household dominated by her mother and grandmother. Her fiancé, Andrey Andreitch, is presented as a one-dimensional character , somewhat idle and unmotivated . He prefers playing the fiddle   rather than taking on more traditional responsibilities.  He does not hold any definite post or have regular work, indicating that his artistic pursuits are more of a hobby than a passionate career. Nadya feels a sense of discontent and frustra...

Britain dislodged it conservatives. After fourteen years, the Labour Party stormed back to power. For our ruling party, 14 years will be one before the next general election and there could be a dislodge here too. In his first speech as Prime Minister on 5-Jul-2024, Keir Starmer directly acknowledged the lack of trust between the public and politicians, stating that "this wound... this lack of trust... can only be healed by actions not words." Starmer recognized that the "gap between the sacrifices made by people and the service they receive from politicians" had led to a "weariness in the heart of a nation" and a "draining away of the hope, the spirit, the belief in a better future." He pledged that his government would work to restore this trust, saying "we can make a start today with the simple acknowledgment that public service is a privilege and that your government should treat every single person in this country with respect....

Finished an art work today. Had the idea for long. A woman with arms spread, the backdrop is a butterfly. Three Mandala art circles. I made the motifs in Illustrator itself and made a pattern brush for each. Flares are the simple Flare tool, but deleting the rays and the secondary circles, duplicating the circle perpendicularly and squeezing both into an ellipse shape. Spent about three hours learning and practicing the Neon effect, that you see around the woman. Mandala motifs in the second image below. Actually, I created four. I will use the unused one in another artwork.

A shining chariot glides  in the moonbeam On it ride our shadows. The forgotten kiss ricochets , harnessed by the energy of the smell and taste of your mouth freshener. I recoil.   The world is full of jagged edges blunted by distance. But then, acceptance sowed the seeds of healing and the wind answered all the willows.   The lack of regret tears out F rom the whispers of ancient lore, emanate luminous archetypes, potent and raw, in the light of the stories, we never got to tell.   My inner child wants to come out, play with you, but monsters lurk in the shadows. Until they are slain, look out -- I am the rain on your window sill.

Upon this stage, money is the measure of wealth Yet all our riches yield no lasting fruit. That which we cannot carry after end of breath That we ought to spurn, this futile pursuit. Presentation is all that matters, Masks build names with tales sweet and vague. A ceaseless saga in shattered tatters Building reputation, a luxurious subterfuge. But love brings light to darkest night, we find, Guides us through life's tempestuous note. Leaving absurdism far behind, For all woes, it's the timeless antidote. True love, divine, stems from the Almighty's grace, Temporal deep love, through Him, finds its rightful place.

Bakrid observations & celebrations enhanced by a quick detour to Shamshabad yesterday. My daughter's foray into the corporate arena commences with pursuing a master's degree in business administration. A new chapter in her life and the family’s. Took a selfie at the amphitheatre on campus.

A classic beauty she is, the stunning Sonakshi Sinha. Made a digital painting of the Fareedan character player, using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. I hope you like this artwork. #DigitalArt 

the i, the me, the self, the mind all nothing but memory and the past conditioning of the brain. journeying male, indian, muslim, son, brother, friend, husband, father, lover, mentor proclaiming reader, writer, programmer, manager, founder being perceiver, listener, experiencer, chooser, jury, judge causing love, deep love, peace, happiness, creativity preventing lucidity, presence, connection, communication, communion breeding fear, anxiety, sorrow, despair, loneliness, guilt, irritation triggering envy, jealousy, greed, attachment, possessiveness, ill-will, hatred, cruelty, bias, prejudice inventing virtue, courage, ambition, beliefs, ideologies, stories, experiences NOW, aiming like a canvas bare, a map untold, a spring coiled tight, a bird in flight, a symphony untuned, set free from the inherent chaos of existence  and constraints of social and cultural norms, for  a site of potential and experimentation, for a more primal form of existence to  be a body without orga...

Alice Munro died on the 13 th  of May.  Though I had heard about her, never got myself to read her stories. But the press coverage and obituaries made me realise what an accomplished writer she was. Alice’s last book ‘Dear Life’ a collection of 4 longish short stories. The last story in this collection is, ‘Dear Life’. It is the first story of Munro that I’ve read. As she told The New Yorker, the four stories in “Dear Life” are   “not quite stories … autobiographical in feeling, thought not, sometimes, entirely so in fact.” In fact, the story titled ‘Dear Life’ r an in The New Yorker as a memoir, not a story.