Welcome to my new blog series of ‘Project Love’ where I am going to have random conversations about love, life and experiences with celebrities(not Shahrukh Khan or Ranbir Kapoor types but some amazing people) who are suuupper close to my heart (or your heart), people who might not be very famous but are real life heroes and celebrities for folks around them.

Disclaimer: Your feedback, constructive criticism and thoughts are ALWAYS welcome but I have zero tolerance for batameezi or rude comments. We are talking about ‘Project Love’ here. Show some love or don’t scroll down!

Salam Nasmaste Guys! I am here with the third segment of this series and today we have an amazing personality on board who is mostly known as Minahil’s husband (yep, talking about The Slightly Obsessive Dulhan here) in the blogging world. We have often seen Usama being a part of Minahil’s Instagram stories and I thought that everybody would love to know Usama beyond his (very recent) love for Piano, his famous cheese omelet and his passion for FIFA.

Join me as I talk to Usama and try to dig out about his childhood, career,love and life!

Hello Usama, so tell us about yourself?

Well, I’m a 27-year-old techy guy who loves to make new stuff and spontaneously crack lame jokes. I love exploring anything that’s techy so you would find me checking out YouTube reviews of randomest of things and reasoning with Minahil why we need to get it, but if you think I am a shopaholic just know I have 2 good shirts- both are the same color and if you see me wearing anything apart from those they have been put forcefully in my cupboard and I have been bullied or blackmailed into wearing them.

Hahaha absolutely loved your intro 😁

How was your childhood and how were you as a kid?

Well I think I was quite a curious youngster who wanted to fit in but what I sometimes hear about myself as a child makes me want to go back in time and slap the annoying young ungrateful brat. I have always been that techy Bhai in the family who set up everyone’s WiFi and fixed their phone or computers that’s why if you enter ANY house that I am related to, the WiFi password is the same. 😂

One of the highlights of my childhood has been my hair. Idk why people were so amused by them. They were super shiny and silky and bounced when I ran or jumped so I may or may not have had people ask me to jump and run just so they could see what my hair can do. Currently I am trying really hard to make some stay on my head. Did you know the water in UAE causes crazy hair fall!?!

Oh yes, I understand your pain of hair fall in UAE…been there till high school 😒

How did growing up with an elder brother feel like? Did you guys ever wish for a sister?

It was awesome, I always had someone to imitate. Though being the source of entertainment for his boredom wasn’t always the most enjoyable thing. I’ve never felt the absence of a sister since I had MANY cousins filling that role & we’re pretty much a close-knit family. If I had a sister while growing up, I wouldn’t have liked to share the attention 😛

Hahaha I am sure, nobody likes to be the middle kid! 😉

As a kid, what did you aspire to be when you grew up and why?

I aspired to be a scientist since burning glowy stuff was very satisfying to watch, meanwhile I loved to experiment with computers. The aspirations have obviously matured & I’ve grown into computer programming. Though I would still like to try my luck with music someday.

Scientist? Well, I am sure that must be new for everyone.

P.s. your love for music is pretty evident in Minahil’s stories and you are doing a great job!

Now that we are talking about love, when was the first time you fell in love in its truest sense? Can you recall and describe that feeling?

When I realized that my TV would turn on automatically if I put on my PS4. It was pretty neat!

JK, on our honeymoon in Seychelles,we were in the water on a beach when this giant wave came out of nowhere. It crashed on us with great force & we were both caught in it. At that point when my first natural reaction was to try to push against the force to try to reach my wife, I felt something I had never felt before. Nothing in the world mattered more than seeing her okay. Even to a point that I lost my new go-pro in the wave for an hour. Don’t worry though, as soon as she got back up I saw her laughing.

Ufff how beautiful! Marriage makes you feel all kinds of things, but the feeling of love is the absolute best!

So,when did it occur to you or what made you think that you want to marry Minahil and she is the one?

When you first meet Minahil, you soon realize she’s unlike any other person on the planet with the energy she brings and the uniqueness of her wit. It was pretty much after a few months of knowing her that I felt like k bus lag gai lottery.

Hahaha waqaii lottery lag gai😉

Did you feel any significant changes in your personality or life after getting married?

Of course, there are plenty of changes. You mature; I learned to be responsible and take care of someone else’s life and have mine taken care of by her everyday! In the perspective of personality, I think I’m a little calmer about everything now and much more responsible of others’ feelings than before. (p.s. I didn’t used to care about many people outside my family & friend circle)

Oh wow! That’s an amazing difference. Kudos to Minahil and Marriage! 😊

We have seen through Minahil’s Instagram that you guys have traveled a lot after getting married.

Did you travel a lot before getting married? What has travelling taught you?

I didn’t travel a lot; I’ve only been to Kenya on a community development program through AIESEC & Turkey once. Traveling has taught me that beneath the great blue sky, we are all one,we want to love and want to be loved at the end. God’s creation is unfathomable for us and it’s an endless journey of awe.

Whao…that was insightful!

We know that you love FIFA, playing Xbox and you are a Batman fan. What else do you like to do in your free time?

First off, *PS4 :p (playing Xbox today means enjoying only about 2 good games 😊)

My interests vary a lot. I am the kind of person who tries to learn a little bit of everything. So over the years my hobbies have ranged from playing guitar & video-making all the way to taking online courses & reading self-help books.

Haha I am still wondering the difference between Xbox and PS4 and I am sure you are disappointed 😉 

Anyway, so has anything changed your life? A turning point or any incident that changed your perspective about love, life and death?

Every day teaches you something new. But if I had to put a label on only one time where I feel I changed a lot was during my high-school years where I got exposed to back-biting, politics & betrayals that really made me much more humble, faithful & a low-key guy.

Hmmm, so what’s that one thing that you absolutely love about yourself? Is there anything that you would like to change in your personality?

That’s an interesting question, one that I don’t know the answer to. Maybe, I think that wanting to learn more everyday is something I am grateful of having as a trait. And I guess one thing that I’d like to change is how much I act on as compared to what I initially planned.

Is there anything weirdly funny about you or you have done previously that most people don’t know?

Once I made a huge issue out of burning my hand with a lighter. Even though my friends told me to calm down, I made them go to a clinic with me. The doctor ended up giving me a prescription which, when I handed to the pharmacy, turned out to be for a saniplast (bandage). My friends never let me hear the end of it.

This is a LOL moment here!

We absolutely love your house; its yellow and white interior makes us go all ‘awww’ but we would like to know how your home would have been if you weren’t married to Minahil or would have been living there all alone?

Well it would not have been nearly as aww-able as it is now. It wouldn’t have any yellow or mint, rather it would have one sofa, TV, PS4, a work station and a music corner. I can imagine it to be dark with an ambiance of either yellow or blue. However, I would like to state that it would NOT be dirty. I don’t do dirty. Messy – yes sometimes but NEVER dirty. 😊

Hahaha…we are glad to know that you are a pretty simple and organized (never dirty but sometimes messy) kind of person!

I have mostly seen women being victimized of the stereotypical question ‘Khushkhabi kab suna rahi ho’.

I am eager to know if men go through the same? And how do men tackle questions that are too personal to be shared with the world?

That made me smile. It reminded me of one thing my brother said, “Log kia sochein ge? Agar yeh bhe hum sochein ge tou log kia sochein ge?”

And I feel it fits here. Maybe I’m immune to caring about what others say and it comes genetically, or I’ve learnt this while growing up. I think men do go through this, I’ve also experienced a lot of eye-brow raising “excuse me?” moments, but letting it stay with you or slide-off is completely up to us. So, the choice is Clear!

“Log kia sochein ge? Agar yeh bhe hum sochein ge tou log kia sochein ge?” I absolutely loved this and I think this needs to be practiced often.

Uff you have no idea how much I enjoyed talking to you. Knowing you as a person was definitely a treat!

Let’s move on to my all-time-favorite Rapid Fire Round!

We hope you didn’t think much before answering these questions.

READY, SET, GO!

If you were any one city in this world, which one would you be?

Vienna

What’s that one movie that you can watch again and again without ever getting tired of?

The Mist

If you were to keep one worldly object with you after you die, what would that be?

A picture of my family as I’ve heard the after-life is a new life & I’d like to remember my old one too

When you text Minahil, what does your text usually say?

“Uth gai hou?”

“Look at this meme”

What’s the dumbest thing you believed as a kid?

That God is taking my photograph every time there is lightning

What’s one healthy habit of yours that you are super proud of?

Pushups

One thing that makes you judge a person

Them talking about someone else

One celebrity you would never date even if you get a chance and why?

Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman). I don’t see what others see in her at all.

If someone can narrate your entire life, who would that person be?

Tough question but I guess my friend Waleed would come closest.

What should they teach in school but don’t?

Embracing our uniqueness because everyone is supposed to be different

One thing that you would like to say to all wives in the world on behalf of all husbands.

When something is bothering you, the detective-puzzle game does not help

One life advice that you would like to give to all guys

Be open to criticism, learn to unlearn & relearn.

If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are now. – stolen from Master Shifu

This brings us to the end of another beautiful story of life and love with Usama. Thank you for taking out time and giving such thorough responses. I am sure my audience, Minahil’s audience, your family and friends know you a tit bit more after reading this.

I would like to add something about Usama here is that he has been highly professional, and I didn’t really have to run after him.

If you guys want to see some more life adventures of Usama and Minahil , go follow her The Slightly Obsessive Dulhan Instagram profile.

As for all of you, I am sure (and hope) you guys had a lot of fun knowing Usama on a personal level. I will be back with another beautiful addition of ‘Project Love’ very soon, till then stay awesome. See YOU around! 😊