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Sea View: Don't take away my Venice, my Bangkok
Morning comes with the arrival of sea shells. The breeze brushes lightly against the sand. Migratory birds take a last dip in the water before venturing out for long journeys ahead. The sunshine...
View ArticleOne for the road: How to plan your trip right
It’s that time of the year in Pakistan when people undertake long road trips. So beyond packing personal necessities, the focus on vehicular safety as well as personal safety should be a priority.Here...
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The day I interviewed Sir Christopher Lee
It was March 1997 and very much a routine day at The Review, the weekly upbeat magazine circulated with Dawn. The team was huddled over a desk brainstorming cover stories, when one of my colleagues...
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Thar's empty ponds of hope
Three years ago, I went to Tharparkar to conduct training for journalists, it was summertime. The searing heat seemed to burn right through the skin, even though the exposure only lasted the few...
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I Am Karachi: A Malir I did not know
'Show me the money!' I say.Out comes a Russian note from 1904, a half-a-century old 10,00000 Lira note (Turkish currency), the most colourful 10,000 currency note I have ever seen from Uganda, and...
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The sporting sajda: A history
A Pakistani cricketer doing the sajda (prostration) on the cricket field after achieving or crossing a sporting milestone, has become an iconic image in international cricket. The deed is inspired by...
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Can Karachi and Lahore do what Pakistan cannot?
Two weeks ago, I attended the Chicago Forum on Global Cities. The Forum brought in speakers and audiences from around the globe (from both public and private sector) and discussed how cities will shape...
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Food Stories: Pakora
Ramazan, rain, summer vacation and pakoray, these are a few of my favourite things. Yes, pakoray and Ramazan go hand in hand, as does rain and pakoray, and since this year Ramzan coincides with the...
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The music of Ghizer's flowing River
June is hot, as always, and remains hot unless it rains here in Punjab. The suffocation indoors, the constant buzzing of fans, the tiny sparrows searching for water in the scorching heat, the coo-coo...
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Ending the moon-sighting controversy through science
As Pakistanis prepare for the holy month, filling their refrigerators with Seher and Iftar essentials, and go lengths to ensure that their Eid dresses are ready on time, they are all fixated on one...
View ArticleIs the British school wrong in discouraging students from fasting?
A primary school in East London has sent out letters to their Muslim pupils’ parents, informing them that their children would not be allowed to fast on school grounds. Although it is tempting to write...
View ArticleHow our foreign remittances are being wasted
We know them as migrant workers; they live and earn in foreign lands to sustain livelihoods back home. They are essentially incarnations of Jackson Height’s Bhatti sahab.Due to the funds remitted by...
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David lost his legs but he stands tall
"Life isn’t how we perceive it to be. A tragedy completely changed my life forever. I will never be the same person again, but I know I cannot change my past. I can still make up my future though,"...
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On the brutally beautiful streets of Yemen
My dad suggested that as a member of the Bohra community, I should go to Yemen and visit the community's prominent places in the region. 'Yes, of course!' I burst out. I had always wanted to go to this...
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Gulyana: Punjab’s crumbling 900-year-old village
Gulyana, a 900-year-old historic village of Potohar, is located 10 kilometers south of Gujar Khan. The landscape here is dominated by old buildings, havelis, temples and Sikh samadhis which were...
View ArticleA plea of Karachi's terrorised
On May 22, in Karachi, my cousin was returning from his hotel at midnight, accompanied by three of his colleagues and his 10-year-old son. He had reluctantly taken his son with him on that day. All was...
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Blood ties: Will you be my lifeline?
When Nasreen was caught in a crossfire and taken to the hospital, her relatives were asked to find blood donors. The hospital was unable to provide her blood without having someone donate blood in her...
View ArticleIndia-Pakistan: Words that harm, acts that heal
Even the indefatigable Sri Narendra Darmodardas Modi can get tired and make mistakes. Otherwise, he would not have shot himself in the foot during his Bangladesh visit from the 5th to 7th of June. From...
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Riding the ferry to Turkey's forgotten paradise
After returning from a thrilling visit to the early 17th century Blue Mosque and the sixth century Byzantine masterpiece – the famous church-turned-mosque-turned museum in Istanbul – Aya Sofia, my...
View ArticleWhere should a Pakistani Hindu go?
With sheer frustration and utter disappointment, I, being a Pakistani Hindu, am fed up with the unending list of unaddressed complaints regarding discrimination, marginalisation and hatred spewed...
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