SAMA NASHEEDWRITING PORTFOLIO

CONTENT WRITING | COPY WRITING | COPY EDITING

Email: summernashyd@gmail.comMobile: + 960 7796567

CONTENT

CREATIVE WRITING

• On an Island • Images, Memories and Lost Hopes• Season of Mists• (Rucksack) Short Story published in the March 2014 edition of DhiYouth

Magazine

ARTICLES: Editorial and writing for “Hotelier Maldives” and “Breeze” by Coco Collection.

HOTELIER MALDIVES; a publication produced by Perspective Pvt Ltd.

FEATURES: • The Art of being an invisible attendant; Butler Training in the Maldives https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/invisible-attendant-butler-training-

maldives/ • Crossroads; an epoch of midscale tourism in the Maldives https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/crossroads-epoch-midscale-tourism-

maldives/

RESORT REVIEWS:• Kandima Maldives: Your K’nd of Place https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/resort-review-kandima-maldives/

PEOPLE:• Ibrahim Waheed; Director of F&B at Velaa Private Island https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/ibrahim-waheed-velaa-private-island/

• Aishath Hamid, Business Development Manager at Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo

https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/aishath-hamid-business-development-manager-shangri-la-hotel-colombo/

PROFILES:• Seara: Built on Trust and Quality Service https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/seara-sports-international/

• Strides towards sustainability at Anantara and Avani Hotels & Resorts https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/strides-towards-sustainability-at-anantara-

and-avani-hotels-resorts/

For more articles, please visit https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/author/sama-nasheed/

Breeze Magazine Issue 6; a publication produced by Perspective Pvt Ltd for Coco Collection by Sunland Hotels.

• Bandaha Jehun; A tale of Scavengers & Severance.• Paola Mattana Lamperti; An Italian with a Maldivian Soul• Santosh Kumar, Head Chef at Cornus Restaurant, Coco Palm Bodu Hithi.• Zeenaaru, from Naaila, with love.

For the complete articles, please visit https://www.cococollection.com/en/coco/breeze , Issue 6.

ADDITIONAL WORK; (Not included in this document)

CONTENT WRITING FOR CORPORATE OFFICES; Website Content, Drafting Standard Operating Procedures, Job Descriptions, Marketing Material and other required write-ups as well as copy editing internal documents.

CREATIVE WRITING

They say no man is an island. I’m inclined to disagree. I believe that every individual is indeed an island unto him/herself.

You, yourself determine the size, the shape, the climate, the terrain and the potency of this island. And those who are part of your life, be it family, friends, lovers or even those who bear ill will towards you, they are all visitors who frequent a stay.

At any given time, you are at perfect liberty to cast visitors off your island and watch them sail away, leaving you to thrive in your contentment... or to stew alone in your despair.

Some of these visitors, they stay more often and longer than others. Some trespass. Some beat and break down the carefully constructed walls of your sanctuary. And some, a blessed few, respect the distance they are kept at and your inherent need for privacy.

Then there are those who you give free reign to. A select few, perhaps a family member, a friend and more often than not, a lover. Some of them, they crack open and uproot the very foundation of your domain and leave it in ruins... leave you to grope around in the devastation they left in their wake. To put the pieces back together... to rebuild all over again.

But then there are those who nurture the land, those who beautify it. They take residence on your island without you even knowing how it came about. They make the sunsets appear more glorious with their mere presence. They make your island lush, green and potent.

Until one day, a day no different than any other, they leave. Some by choice and some without... and all you are left with are memories to be cherished till the end of time as you know it.

At the end of the day, you alone reside on your island and preside over it.

On an Island

You know that space between waking and dreaming where your body twitches, your eyelids flutter and your breathing switches from rapid to deep and back again on a loop? That is when my mind lets me view forgotten memories, like a ghost floating from the walls of my consciousness, into settings of times past.

A darkened room i lay in, with sunlight filtering through the curtain, my fingers trailing skin that had warmed me, all those long cold nights.

The patio of a cousin’s home in our island where once we sat, cradling seashells in our hands.

Classrooms that I walked to and from that echoed with excited laughter and innocence lost.

Walking through the graveyard, lingering where my great grandmother rested, watching rain drip down her tombstone and seep into the ground where she lay, I hoped, in peaceful repose. I was often told that I was her little doppelganger.

Bright lights that flickered above me while I lay cowering in pain on an unyielding hospital bed.

A bloody sunset that draped us in amber while we ran in unrestrained delight on a beach, chasing translucent little crabs into the waves.

These moments that still dwell in my subconscious mind, despite their insignificance, they flare up when my body falls into that state. And I am reminded of who I was and what it felt like to be me, right then and there. Those memories, they melt and dissolve into one another. Some, coherent strings of thought, while others are flashes of light, speech and faces.

I am mostly aware of it when it happens and i let it flood me, though there are moments when a part of me gropes around for a hold on reality. But still, i am at peace when I’m in that state, where I am neither awake nor asleep but simply suspended in an undemanding void that cocoons me.

I welcome it every time.

END

IMAGES,MEMORIES

& LOST HOPES

August has always been my favourite month. The air turns crispy, leaves change their colour and the sky becomes a luminous thick blanket that makes me blink and smile whenever i look up.

When i was a kid, August meant the changing of the seasons. It meant sudden rain showers, yellow petals littering the ground and walking to school with my shoes in my hands while my “gumbootu” kept my feet dry. And it meant puddles with brown leaves floating on their surfaces and the arrival of “dhondhooni moosunn”, which is still my favourite time of the year.

I was fortunate to live in a home that had a lot of space we could run around in. And birds to feed and cousins to play with during the long year-end holidays. And the best part about August was that the year was ending and the remaining days would be filled with all of the above, the most important factor being; Rain.

So i really miss grey skies and the sudden downpours that used to be the norm this time of the year. Lately, every year is more brutally humid than the one before and the days are sticky and long.

Maybe it was the fact that i was seeing everything through the eyes of a child that i was oblivious to the evils of the world but it really was a better time. I miss those vibrant Augusts that faded into stormy Decembers. I really, really do.

SEASON OF MISTS

The tunnel seemed endless as she limped along it, her heart thumping and body soaked with sweat. The gash on her leg was still raw and bleeding and she felt faint with both the blood loss and the grief that was clawing its way deeper into her chest. The war raged overhead, relentless. The sound of gunfire and explosions was deafening. Sand and debris fell through the cracks on the ceiling, making her stumble in the dark as she fought to keep her sanity intact and the objective in sight.

Alexai was beside her, ever the loyal sidekick, wounded and bleeding himself, refusing to abandon her even in his nearly crippled state. She had all but tied him up but he had refused to let her go alone. Since the day she had fired a bullet into the eye of the demon hacking away at Alexai’s left hand with a hunting knife, he perceived following her into battle, wherever it took them, as his divine duty. And she probably would’ve perished in battle herself months before, if not for him. His presence was the only comfort she had now.

Her mind strayed to the black rucksack again and she bit back the scream that crawled its way up her throat. She lodged it in place and took a deep tremulous breath. She could not lose control now. Not when they were teetering at the edge of hopelessness. She knew as well as her Comdiv* that there was no way out of this hellhole. They were trapped here and the only escape they had was the ocean. But without a mode of transportation, succumbing to the freezing abyss of the Black Sea instead of dying in battle, fighting for their cause, was nothing more than spineless. Of those who remained after the deserters had left, she owed her life to most of them. She would not despair.

They took a turn and she realized they had reached the rear of the tunnel and swore

РЮКЗАКR U C K S A C K

vehemently, cursing God and the damned White Movement. It was caved in, tightly sealed by multiple layers of gigantic boulders that barely let a sliver of sunlight through the only crevice visible. No amount of manpower would make this blockade budge. There was no escape from this Hades. They were doomed.

Alexai grasped her shoulder, urging her to return to the others, all the while knowing they were probably returning to face the damning rifle points and the blood thirsty eyes of the White Army soldiers, and of course, him. The notorious General Alik Nikolaevich Yudenich of the White Guards.

https://issuu.com/dhiyouth/docs/dymag_march_2014

ARTICLES

HOTELIER MALDIVES; a publication produced by Perspective Pvt Ltd.

FEATURES:

The Art of being an invisible attendant; Butler Training in the MaldivesAbove all else, the Maldives is known as the quintessential holiday destination. The name itself incites images of pristine beaches, turquoise lagoons and luxurious resorts. What makes these resorts so tempting for guests is not just their aesthetic appeal but also the sense of being indulged and pampered, a well-deserved get away from their routine lives. And at the helm of providing this experience is the Butler, a personal concierge who enhances the concept of indulgence that these resorts have to offer to their guests...… https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/invisible-attendant-butler-training-maldives/

CROSSROADS; an epoch of midscale tourism in the MaldivesThe development of the Emboodhoo Lagoon multi-island integrated resort project, known as “CROSSROADS”, is the most comprehensive and expansive tourism project undertaken in the Maldives, ushering in a new wave of investment opportunities...https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/crossroads-epoch-midscale-tourism-maldives/

RESORT REVIEWS:

Kandima Maldives: Your K’ind of PlaceIt was 4:30 am when we set out to Kandima Maldives, a resort located just a 30 minute plane ride away from Velana International Airport. The flight was as pleasant as it could be and my colleague and I were greeted with a bright smile by the GRO at Dhaalu Domestic Airport. After taking the two minute bus ride to the speedboat, we were on our way to Kandima and we settled back to enjoy the view. And quite a view it was...https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/resort-review-kandima-maldives/

PEOPLE:

Ibrahim Waheed; Director of F&B at Velaa Private IslandFrom a life of deprivation to the vineyards and wineries of France, Ibrahim Waheed has had quite a journey, overcoming some austere challenges in life to become what he is today. As Director of Food and Beverages at Velaa Private Island, one of the highest rated properties in Noonu Atoll, Ibrahim now caters to the elite of the world...https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/ibrahim-waheed-velaa-private-island/

Aishath Hamid, Business Development Manager at Shangri-La Hotel, ColomboFour years after working in Traders Hotel Malé, now Hotel Jen – the seventh Traders property to adopt the ‘Jen’ brand by Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd – Aishath Hamid started a family and settled in Sri Lanka. Despite it being a foreign country and the challenges associated with the change in her personal life, she was still keen on developing her professional career and pursued it without hesitancy...…https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/aishath-hamid-business-development-manager-shangri-la-hotel-colombo/

PROFILES:

Seara: Built on Trust and Quality ServiceCanadian born Patrick Dean has spent 27 years of his life in Thailand, building a company that provides recreation and fitness facilities, which began as a small business in Bangkok in the year 1991. Patrick, a sports and fitness specialist, first travelled to Asia in 1985 as the General Manager of a Health and Fitness club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Back then he saw the potential of the emerging markets within the ASEAN region and dreamt of providing innovative solutions for fitness enthusiasts and service providers...… https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/seara-sports-international/

Strides towards sustainability at Anantara and Avani Hotels & ResortsOver the past decade, the global tourism industry has conformed to being significantly eco-conscious. The initiative has evolved over the years to hotels abandoning operational methods and various products that harm the environment and replacing them with eco-friendly solutions...…https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/strides-towards-sustainability-at-anantara-and-avani-hotels-resorts/

For more articles, please visit https://www.hoteliermaldives.com/author/sama-nasheed/

Breeze Magazine Issue 6; a publication produced by Perspective Pvt Ltd for Coco Collection by Sunland Hotels.

Bandaha Jehun; A tale of Scavengers & Severance.There is a folk tale about a Prince who once ruled the Maldivian Islands. In the tale, the Prince is distraught over the fact that he could not feed his people and so moulded a fish out of dough, ran his fingers on either side of the figurine, carving five lines on the sides (resembling the Skipjack Tuna), walked into the ocean, ushering it into the waves and whispered the prayer “Go forth and multiply to be caught by my people”...

Paola Mattana Lamperti; An Italian with a Maldivian SoulA Sommelier from a quaint little bar in Zurich, Switzerland, Italian born Paola Mattana Lamperti is a warm and lively woman who harbours an extraordinary passion for the Maldives in her heart. She has visited over 56 resorts in the Maldives and several local islands in her quest to discover more about everything this country has to offer. And her wanderings have always centred around her love for the primal essence of this tropical haven, deep respect for our culture and her strong environmental conscience...

Santosh Kumar, Head Chef at Cornus Restaurant, Coco Palm Bodu Hithi.Santhosh Kumar, a 28-year-old Thai Specialty Chef from the hilly terrains of Hyderabad, had his dream realised when he got the opportunity to work at Coco Palm Dhunikolhu. The charm of emerald canopies and pearl white shores are unlike anything he had experienced before as Santhosh had spent most of his life working in bustling cities...

Zeenaaru, from Naaila, with love.The minute I saw the cover of “Zeenaaru”, I felt myself being transported back in time to sunlit afternoons in my kitchen where I sat on a red stool helping my mom prepare breakfast meals during Ramadan. I don’t remember a time when that book hasn’t been in my mom’s possession and lying on the kitchen table, some pages splattered with dried drops of sauce and some pages marked with bent corners. The book is a treasure. It taught her many a recipe that I still savour, two decades later...…

For the complete articles, please visit https://www.cococollection.com/en/coco/breeze , Issue 6.

Email: summernashyd@gmail.comMobile: + 960 7796567