Points Of View

A space to share your feedback. Over to you.

Published: Fri 7 Aug 2015, 12:34 PM

Best Letter
Friendship is Love
Friendship knows no barriers of nationality, gender, age, distance, caste or creed. It's the freedom to choose the person, with whom we can be the most free with. It's just like any other give-and-take relationship - the only difference being that we love giving in this relationship because what we receive from it in return is priceless (Going the Distance, July 31).
My best friend - Shabnam - and I have been friends since we were five years old, and touch wood, we continue to remain the best of friends, even while living in different countries and being busy with our respective careers.
But friendship doesn't mean the number of years you know each other; nor does it mean how much time you take out for each other.
I have friends I haven't contacted in the past few years, but I know they are my best buddies, and whenever we chat or meet in the future, we will be able to pick up the threads from just where we left off. That's the power of true friendship. An ego-free, non-judgmental bond of unconditional love and support. Friends are indeed the family we get to choose, and are one of life's greatest blessings, provided we value and treat them with the same respect that we accord to family.
Congratulations on your winning entry, tasneem doctor! We'll be in touch soon.
Love Conquers All
The enduring love story of Minear and Khoula pulled at my heartstrings. (Love in the Time of War, July 31). The Syrian couple, separated by war, is a perfect example of how determination, selfless love, steely resolution and lofty optimism help you to overcome challenges and hurdles.
Theirs is truly a unique relationship, with Minear being in Jordan and Khoula in Syria. In the midst of bloodshed, chaos, and fighting, their only means of communication was telephonic conversation and Whatsapp. Getting engaged to a person one has never met takes a lot of courage and immense trust. And the couple did it.
With relentless effort, they crossed the hurdles and barriers and came together, entering matrimony in 2014.
Their cross-border romance and eventual marital bliss is a testimony to human love, trust and sacrifice. It shows that borders, strife and distance do not matter if your love is genuine.
Thank you wknd. for making a deep impression on your readers with such amazing features. It was truly a heartening read.
Jayashree Kulkarni, Abu Dhabi
Minear and Khoula's inspiring love story is proof of the indomitable power of modern communication - in particular, of mobile phones. Technology may be taking constant steps forward, but everything that is new is often met with resistance and suspicion.
Many schools around the world ban mobile phones for fear that they are corrupting youngsters, while parents are constantly chastising their children for using phones and tablets.
While mobile phones do have their cons, it is time we understood that they are not just tools that make people anti-social. They are also tools that can connect us. Banning something is never the answer - it is all about teaching people how to use technology in order to make a difference.
Richard D'Souza, by email
All About Communication
It's interesting how the last issue of wknd. (July 31) was about the power, importance and effectiveness of communication in human relationships.
The Life Coach article (Improve Ties with Authentic Communication) illustrated how authentic, effective communication goes a long way in interpersonal dealings. The article on friendship (Going the Distance) showed how it's not the amount of time that you put into a friendship that makes it last in the long run, but the right amount of communication at the right time. The most heartwarming story was the Whatsapp wedding one (Love in the Time of War) that perfectly demonstrated how you don't even need face time or to even meet each other, for love and bonding to occur. Modern technology, if used in the right way, can foster feelings of love and companionship, and break the physical barriers and borders we build around us.
Whoever laments the disintegration of relationships in modern times, and the lack of communication, should read these articles. They prove that effective communication continues to thrive in today's fast-paced, tech-driven world.
They say where there is a will, there is a way, and it holds true for communication in relationships as well. If anyone claims they "just don't have the time", or that it is "difficult to meet people these days because everyone is so busy", those are just excuses. If you really want to make time for someone, you will.
Anne Summers, by email