In the summer of 1997, on a warm Arabian night I found myself feeling bored. I was bored of my toys, my tv and especially my select amount of comic books that were worn out and almost mangled. The pages were yellow, torn around the edges, disheveled and looked exhausted from religiously repetitive readings.

 

Living in a foreign land these comic books were my friends and a window to a fantastic world and yet on that fateful night they have abandoned me and left me to fend for myself. In this excruciating state of boredom my twelve year old self dreamed of the unthinkable. I decided to climb my mythical ‘Mount Olympus’ and conquer the fear of drawing. I grabbed a piece of paper a blunt wooden pencil and proceeded to replicate a character from the pages of my comic books. I vividly remember trying to sketch this image of a herculean hero trying to lift of a gigantic rock while being mercilessly attacked by a swarm of man-sized 'insect monsters'. I remember how I started drawing the toes and legs first, then proceeded upwards to illustrate the rest of his body. I also remember how the head was noticeably smaller than the original 'masterpiece'. The various versions of this momentous event will forever be etched in my mind.

 

Thus began a lifelong journey to  express myself, through words, images and other creative mediums. This journey is sprinkled with sporadic moments of personal milestones. From the day my parents bought me my first set of art tools to the first time I made my own canvas by sticking A4 papers on an 4'x6' piece of board. Whether it was arranging my first group exhibition in Dhaka City or buying my first set of portable water colors when moving to New York City, it has been a voyage towards self discovery. The lesson learned on the way is creativity is a 'Gift of God'. It is a talent we are all blessed with and how we nurture or exercise it dictates the nature of the creative output. Even with this conviction I am reluctant to call myself an 'artist' and I don't know why. Maybe this online diary will be act as my self inflicted catharsis. Either way if you have stuck around to the end of this article, I humbly thank you and welcome you to my blog.