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13 September 2026

We are often impatient with life.

We want answers quickly, plans to work immediately and dreams to show some sign that they are moving.

But some things simply take time.

A friendship may need years before it becomes precious. A book may need months before it finds its readers. A difficult period may need to pass before we understand what it was teaching us.

We tend to judge progress by what we can see.

Life does not always work that way.

A seed does most of its important work beneath the soil, where nobody can see it. We may think nothing is happening when, in fact, something is preparing to emerge.

Perhaps some of the things we are waiting for are not late.

Perhaps they are simply becoming ready.

So, if something in your life is taking longer than you expected, do not immediately call it failure.

Keep doing what you can.

Keep the faith that belongs to you.

And allow time to do the part that only time can do.

Some doors do not open because we push harder.

They open when the right moment arrives.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: conversewithasmile
Email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com

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12 September 2026

There are moments in life when you realise you have been sitting at the wrong table.

Not literally, of course.

It may be a workplace where your ideas are never heard. A friendship where you are always the one making the effort. Or even a conversation where you slowly discover that everyone is speaking, but nobody is listening.

The natural reaction is to wonder what is wrong with you.

Perhaps nothing.

A chair does not become unsuitable because the person sitting on it is uncomfortable.

Sometimes we stay too long simply because leaving feels like admitting defeat. But leaving can also be an act of self-respect.

There is another possibility, too.

Perhaps the right table has not appeared yet.

Life has a strange way of introducing people at unexpected times. A conversation in an airport. A neighbour you barely knew. An old acquaintance encountered after twenty years. A stranger who says something that stays with you.

So, if one table does not feel right, do not spend the rest of your life blaming yourself for it.

Get up quietly.

There may be another table waiting.

And perhaps, this time, the conversation will be worth staying for.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: conversewithasmile
Email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com

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12 September 2026

Tunisia is often introduced through its Mediterranean beaches and ancient ruins, but its character becomes more intriguing farther south, where the landscape begins to change dramatically.

Near the edge of the Sahara lies Douz, long associated with desert life and sometimes called the “Gateway to the Sahara.” The town has traditionally been connected with nomadic communities, camel caravans and the movement of people across the desert.

The landscape is stark, but desert life has never been empty. It has required knowledge—of water, direction, weather and the habits of the land.

That relationship between people and an unforgiving environment is one of the most interesting parts of Tunisia’s story.

Yet Tunisia is not only desert. Its northern regions look towards the Mediterranean, while its history carries influences from the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Ottomans and others.

Perhaps that is what makes Tunisia fascinating.

It is a country where the blue of the Mediterranean and the vastness of the Sahara belong to the same national landscape.

Sometimes a country does not need to be loud to be memorable.

#Tunisia #Sahara #Culture #RajatChandraSarmah

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: conversewithasmile
Email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com

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12 September 2026

We sometimes mistake the world we see every day for the whole world.

The same road. The same faces. The same conversations. The same familiar concerns.

Then, suddenly, a photograph arrives from another country. A message comes from someone we have never met. We hear a song in a language we do not understand, yet something in its melody feels strangely familiar.

That is when we remember how enormous this world really is.

Somewhere, someone is beginning a day while we are ending ours. Someone is sitting beside a sea we have never seen. Someone is walking through a street whose name we cannot pronounce. Someone is worrying about the same things we worry about—family, money, ageing, love, tomorrow.

Different landscapes. Different languages. Much the same human heart.

Perhaps travelling is not always about crossing borders. Sometimes it is simply about allowing ourselves to look beyond our own little window.

The world becomes larger when we become curious.

And sometimes, a little curiosity is enough to make life feel new again.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: conversewithasmile
Email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com

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10 September 2026

Yesterday, I decided to become organised.

Not moderately organised. Completely organised.

I made a list.

The list had a heading, subheadings and even little boxes to tick. For the first ten minutes, I felt like the CEO of my own life.

Then I remembered that I had forgotten where I had kept the pen with which I had written the list.

I searched the table.

Nothing.

I checked the drawer.

Nothing.

I looked beside the telephone, under a newspaper and even inside a book, because apparently an organised person is expected to think creatively.

After twenty minutes, I found the pen.

It was in my hand.

At that point, I decided that perhaps life was already sufficiently organised.

The list was still on the table. I looked at the first item.

“Find the pen.”

Done.

I ticked it proudly.

Sometimes, progress is not about completing everything we planned.

Sometimes, it is simply about finishing one small thing and celebrating before life gives us another surprise.

And, honestly, finding a pen in your own hand deserves some recognition.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: conversewithasmile
Email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com

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10 September 2026

In Albania, there is a word that carries a meaning larger than its translation: Besa.

It is often explained as a promise, a pledge or a person’s word of honour. But its deeper meaning lies in the responsibility attached to that word. To give one’s besa is to offer a commitment that is expected to be respected.

Albanian traditions have long placed great importance on hospitality as well. A guest entering a home is not merely a visitor; hospitality carries a moral responsibility. Food, shelter and protection can become matters of honour.

What makes besa interesting is that it is not really about impressive speeches. It is about conduct.

A promise means little when circumstances are easy. Its real value appears when keeping it becomes inconvenient.

In a world where messages can be sent instantly and promises can sometimes be forgotten just as quickly, besa offers an older lesson: a person’s word can still be a form of character.

Perhaps that is why some traditions survive—not because they belong only to the past, but because they continue to answer questions the present has not solved.

#Albania #Besa #Culture #RajatChandraSarmah

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: conversewithasmile
Email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com

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11 September 2026

There are things we collect in life—money, possessions, photographs, certificates and memories. Yet, strangely, the things that remain longest are often the things we never intended to keep.

A kind word spoken to someone having a difficult day. A phone call made simply because we remembered. A little patience when anger would have been easier. A smile given to a stranger who may have needed it more than we knew.

Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It, “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.” Perhaps that is what growing older teaches us. Life is never perfectly arranged. There are disappointments, mistakes, losses and unfinished stories. But there are also small moments of goodness woven quietly through them.

We may not remember every conversation we had. Someone else may not remember ours either.

Perhaps that is the finest trace a person can leave behind—not a monument, but a little warmth in somebody else’s memory.

But sometimes, long after the words are forgotten, the feeling remains.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: conversewithasmile
Email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com

Date: 10/09/2026
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“I’ll just rest for five minutes.”
That sentence has probably ruined more plans than bad weather.
You sit down.
You close your eyes.
Five minutes.
That’s the agreement.
When you open them again, you have no idea what year it is.
You look at the clock.
Forty-five minutes have disappeared.
Nobody understands how.
You sit up quickly and announce,
“I wasn’t sleeping.”
Of course, nobody believes you.
“I was just resting my eyes.”
Apparently, resting your eyes now requires forty-five minutes.
Then comes the most dangerous question:
“What time is it?”
Someone tells you.
You calculate how much of the day you have lost.
Then you decide there is only one sensible thing to do.
Go back to sleep.
After all, you have already ruined the afternoon.
Why not make it complete?

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com
YouTube: Converse With A Smile

Date: 10/09/2026
All rights reserved by the author

When most people think of Jordan, the first images may be Petra, the desert or the ancient cities.
But at the country’s southern edge, another world begins.
Under the blue waters of the Gulf of Aqaba, an extraordinary coral ecosystem has been quietly developing for thousands of years.
In 2026, the Aqaba Marine Reserve became a UNESCO World Heritage property. UNESCO describes it as the world’s northernmost tropical coral reef system, with more than 150 species of hard coral, over 500 species of fish and about 1,000 species of molluscs.
What makes the story particularly fascinating is the resilience of its corals.
They have adapted over roughly 10,000 years to conditions including marine heatwaves, high salinity and high summer temperatures.
There is something humbling about that.
Above the water, people build cities, roads and buildings.
Below it, another world has been quietly adapting and surviving for thousands of years.
Perhaps we sometimes forget how much life exists beyond what our eyes normally see.
A coastline is never just a line on a map.
It can be the beginning of an entire world.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com
YouTube: Converse With A Smile

#Jordan #Aqaba #NatureStories #WorldHeritage

Date: 10/09/2026
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“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
— Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan, Act III
I like this line because life does not always give us a choice about where we stand.
Some days are difficult.
Plans go wrong. People disappoint us. Something we had hoped for takes longer than expected.
We may not be able to change the situation immediately.
But perhaps we can change where we look.
A problem is still a problem.
Yet beyond it, there may still be something worth seeing.
A friend who remains.
A lesson we did not expect.
A second opportunity.
A quiet evening after a difficult day.
Looking at the stars does not mean pretending that the ground beneath us is not there.
It simply means remembering that the ground is not the whole world.
Sometimes we need to deal with what is in front of us.
And sometimes, after doing that, we need to look up.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com
YouTube: Converse With A Smile