Photograph by Denise F
Well, for those who may not know what Raat ki ranii (normally spelled with just one “i”) means, it literally translates to “Queen [Lady, Princess] of the night” in Urdu. Raat ki ranii refers to a flower, the Cestrum Nocturnum, a type of jasmine, which blooms at night emitting an intoxicating fragrance.
Creatively speaking my mind is most active during the night. There is such a stampede of thoughts, ideas, prose, and poetry running through my mind at this time that often times is quite overwhelming. On my nightstand I always keep a pad or notebook, a pen, and a number of different reading materials. When I’m tossing and turning, unable to sleep with my mind constantly talking to me, sometimes throwing out several ideas all at once, I grab a book to read or I jot down those barely graspable thoughts. Just last night I tired reading for a while, but being unable to concentrate I wrote like a fiend from midnight to 2 in the morning. I have morning classes, which I need to attend since it’s almost the end of the semester and finals are going on! Yet, even when I decided to call it quits my mind wouldn’t quiet down till 3 am when I finally fell asleep.
Come morning I can hardly remember what I was thinking the night before. All those great thoughts that I was too lazy and/or tired to write down nag me now to remember them like long forgotten friends, whose faces I can’t connect names to. They stand or dance around me causing much frustration, making me feel like I’m going senile at the age of 21.
Luckily, though I did write much of the stuff crowding my mind last night and thus, this post comes into existence. I’m Raatkiranii (with two i’s) because I bloom in the night. My soul seems to wander away from me to explore and experience for itself in the day and returns to me at sundown. It awakens me when all others are asleep. And my mind celebrates in the dark at its companion’s return home.
-Raatkiranii (K.F.S)
"The Oxford History of Islam" by John L. Esposito (Editor)
"O wave! Plunge headlong into the dark seas,
And change thyself with many a twist and turn;
Thou wast not born for tile solace of the shore;
Arise, untamed, and find a path for thyself."
- Allama Muhammad Iqbal
What a beautifully significant choice of names! Now I know why most of your comments on my blog have been late at night.
By the way, welcome to WordPress! I’ve updated my blog roll to point to your new address. I hope your transition to WordPress goes as well as mine did a few weeks ago — I haven’t had any problems at all.
Raatkiranii, you might want to check out this link for some information on what to do with your old blog. This link helped me quite a bit:
http://marcvz.net/blog/2007/08/21/now-we-are-one/
Yes, now you know!
Thank you for the welcome and the site! I’ve been drawn to WordPress and have been exploring it for the past few months and finally decided to make the move. So far I’m getting used to it, but, yeah, I haven’t had any problems either. I’ll take a look at the site I’m sure it’ll be helpful. Thanks again!
Peace be upon you Raatkiranii.
It is indeed a beautiful word(s).
I was thinking about it.
Raat-ki-ranii.
Raat ki ranii.
Raat-kiran-ii.
Raat kiran.
Raat ki kiran.
Somehow that came to mind. I find the thought beautiful- even if the sun doesn’t usually shine at night.
Kind regards,
Don’t be sad
PS: Regarding your mind being more active at night, I think it is not uncommon from anecdotal evidence. Many inventors, authors, poetics, mathematicians do note waking up in the night with ideas, thoughts and solutions (I couldn’t quote whom, but I’ve come across many recollections)- incidentally they often too kept note pads by the bedside. This fits, with the view as far as Neuroscience is concerned-during the night is when many new and old connections in the brain are formed.
Thank you, Don’t be sad for your kind words. And yes the concept is indeed beautiful even if the sun doesn’t rise at night. Poetic.
Your explanation regarding my active mind at night is quite enlightening. I hadn’t realized this before and I thank you for bringing to my attention. Perhaps I’ll do some research on the topic.