About Nasrul

Nasrul has been setting new standards as an author, photographer, editor, educator, and art director for more than a decade. Currently Editor-in-Chief at Light & Composition, Head of Department of Art and Photography, and Language and Linguistics at Light & Composition University, Nasrul started his professional career in 2000. A couple of years later, Nasrul made his debut into advertising and joined Grey World Wide, where he worked with well-known organizations such as Nokia, Coca-Cola, Bata, and Telecom Malaysia. In 2006, he joined Paper Rhyme, as Head of Interactive, and at the same time helped in establishing the advertising and event management firms like Spell Bound and Final Avenue. From 2000 to 2007, he also made 4 documentaries, 35 animated commercials, and more than one hundred high-end corporate websites. However, everything changed while he went on the Annapurna Circuit trek, in Nepal, Nasrul left advertising and became a full time writer and photographer.

He wrote books such as The Quintessence of Photography: Understanding Composition, for developing artistic vision, and The Essence of Close-up Photography, for developing the basics of photographic vocabulary and exploring close-up photography with an artistic touch. His other books are Illuminating Nature: Moments in Reflection, with vivid examples of nature and wildlife photography, and The Happy Children of the Third World, which touches on the meaning of life, to its core. Nasrul has published over 100 articles on various aspects of art, photography, language, linguistics, religion, and science.

A Network Management graduate, Nasrul spent his first two and half years in the Department of Computer Science. Once he became Cisco Certified Network Associate, followed by Cisco Certified Network Professional and Cisco Certified Security Professional, he chose to complete his graduation in networking rather than computer science.

After leaving advertising in 2007, Nasrul was craving to learn more about the science of language, and thus, completed his MSc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition. Spending most of his time studying, photographing, researching, and traveling through different cultures, which drew Nasrul closer to people, life, and nature. He also researches and studies different religious’ scriptures in their original language using today’s established science, in order to understand the meaning of life. Nasrul’s research on science and religion helped him accept Islam.

Entries by Nasrul

Saffron

One of the world’s most expensive spices, saffron is used for coloring and flavoring sweet and savory food. It is from the orange-red dried stigmas of a small purple flower called the Crocus Sativus. It imparts a very pleasing flavor as well as a golden yellow color. In Indian cooking it is one of the most essential, especially in sweets and in savory dishes like Biryani, and Pulaos. The threads get crushed just before using. It should be stored in airtight environment, and kept in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months or in the refrigerator. From Spain in the west to India in the east, yearly more than 250,000 kg saffron are produced worldwide, and among that Iran is responsible for around 90–93% of its global production.

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Red Chillies

With fiery red and orange in color, Red Chilies usually grow around 4 inches in length. It comes in different varieties and commonly known as chilies or chili peppers. It is an alternative to use the crushed red pepper to get more authentic flavor and taste. The other known verities are Goan Red Chilies, which is large, and get very dark and almost black when dried. It gives good color to dishes in which it is used and is not as pungent as some of the smaller varieties of chili. Kashmiri red chilies are smaller and rounder and less pungent but give a very vibrant red color to a dish.

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Red Chili Powder

Made from the ground chilies, red chili powder is much hotter and has a pungent flavor and is a strong bite. Sometimes it comes with a blend of red peppers, cumin, and coriander powder. The ground product ranges from orange-red, to deep, dark red. It is one of the key spices in Indian cuisine.

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