Books are her friends, writing and cooking are her passions, and so it was natural for Fawziya al Maskiry author of the book ‘Tender Breeze’ to write a cookery book titled, ‘A Taste to Remember’.
“Ever since school days, I had always been attracted to books, particularly books in poetry. I used to recite poetry in school competitions and had won prizes for it. However, it was not until I arrived in Oman in 1974 that I began to actually put down my thoughts in paper. I believe it was the beauty of the land that inspired me. Subsequently, the enormity of the constructions and developments in every sphere in the country practically mesmerized me into a feeling of deep emotional pride and joy that led me into writing,” noted Fawziya.
All these emotions were expressed in her book, ‘Tender Breeze’, published in 1996, and it turned out to be that she was the first Omani woman to publish poetry book in English.
By November 2010, Fawziya had found a platform to express her patriotism with her next book, ‘A Leader with a vision’. She dedicated the collection of poems to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos on the occasion of the 40th National Day of the Sultanate.
“Through these poems, I wanted the whole world to know of our country, our progress and of our great pride towards our beloved leader,” noted Fawziya.
Her poem titled ‘A Leader’s Vision’ goes like this:
From under the shade of a tree
He said we can learn
Old and young
Our Country’s future is his concern.
Noble lessons indeed
From our Sultan, we learn
That we all must heed
Keeping aside all greed
To help those in need
And make peace with all beings.
Wise lessons we learn
To sow the seeds
Of love beyond creed
For a nation so great
Worthy of our Sultan Qaboos
bin Said.
Building our country
From sand and stone
Embracing windswept deserts
To flourish, green
Following the lessons of
Our Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
Reflecting on the years of renaissance she had personally experienced Fawziya wrote down in her book yet another poem titled ‘The Sultan Qaboos Rose.’
Renaissance of superlatives,
an ecstasy
Reminiscent of our days of glory
The sultan’s dynasty
Steeped in history of achievement,
a legacy
Shining through our Sultan
Qaboos bin Said.
The red rose, a sign of concern
For nations to appreciate
and discern
A symbol of new initiatives
And new beginnings
Growing with confidence
Hope and blossoming.
The rose, a symbol of recognition
Of our Sultan’s commitment
To the enhancement of mankind
And his environment.
For Fawziya who received her education in Zanzibar and the United Kingdom, who worked at the Ministry of Information as Director of Liaison Department for ten years and at Omantel for another 17 years as a senior expert in Media and Information, it was a retirement that took her back to her passion — writing.
As she reflected, she saw Oman as ‘Jewel of Arabia’:
Long it did remain
Little known to the world
Until the renaissance came
To reveal to all
God’s blessings
To this land Oman.
A coastline of snowy sand
That stretches for miles and miles
Sparkling sea, crystal clear
Expose below coral galore
That dazzle and please the eye.
The rugged mountains
With frankincense fragrance
The green joyful valleys
Embraced by whispering palm trees
Gently swaying in the
scented breeze.
Publishing her books were as important as conveying her admiration towards the leader and the land. She believes any dream can be attained through motivation. In addition to having the determination, the reason behind her success has been her three children Nahla, Nada and Dr Fahad along with her biggest supporter her late husband Hamed al Kindy.
The jewel, Oman, must continue to shine and inspire many more and for readers who are going through the lines of Fawziya’s poems in the year 2020, they find tears flow easily as poems through our history have had a way of cherishing memories.
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