Lost in transition: generations of migration

The sense of continuity from multiple generations settled in the same place is not something affordable for immigrants.

Urdu and Punjabi: A Zero-Sum Game of Languages in 19th-century Colonial Punjab

Introduction In 19th-century colonial India, language was more than a tool for communication. It was also a marker of identity for communities. While language helped reshape identities in the colonial backdrop, languages themselves were also influenced by policies and practices. Given the diversity of languages and their varying functionality in a place like India, the…

A Recollection of Baba’s Time

We always talk about inheriting material from our fathers. In their life they are expected to provide for us. And after their death they are expected to secure our futures. Every time I look back at memories with my father, I recall a lot of time spent with him. And I don’t mean spending time…

Book Review: The Widows of Malabar Hill

I’m going to be honest, I judged this book by the cover. But it was in favour of the book. Something about the purplish hues and a embossed, veiled woman with a briefcase on the cover drew me to the book. It had the elements but was still not the cover of a typical South…

Bodily autonomy and deteriorating women’s health in Pakistan

If cultural norms cost so many lives every year, what's the harm in wrecking them?

Remembering Nasir Kazmi…..

March 2nd marks the 48th death anniversary of noted Urdu poet Syed Nasir Raza Kazmi, commonly known as Nasir Kazmi. Why am I writing about Nasir Kazmi on his death anniversary this year? Because I realized this year that my journey of reading and learning Urdu poetry began with Kazmi. I remember entering the Liberty…

Book Review 'Beloved Delhi: A Mughal City and Her Greatest Poets by Saif Mahmood

Delhi or Dilli is not just a Mughal city known for its amazing food, architecture or Chandni Chowk . It is a living garden of culture and literature whose paths have kissed the steps of greatest influences of South Asian and world history. Be it Gali Qasim Jaan or Balli Maraan, these lanes have witnessed…

Book Review: The familiar sorrows of Karachi in Kartography

South Asian fiction has been one of my favourite genres ever since I started reading. Even when I lived in Pakistan, it would be a welcome change from the dominant Western literature we would be exposed to in our schools. So reading a familiar name or street in an English-language novel would be a big…

Book Review: Sophia of Silicon Valley

There is no other genre of books I crave than a buzzing young professional's story. Sophia of Silicon Valley satisfied this craving to the fullest being the powerful, roller-coaster ride of a story about a young businesswoman. Anna Yen has carefully crafted the Young family, who is an immigrant family in California, living the American…

Book Review: Moveable Feasts by Sarah Murray

Rightly promised by the blurb, it is a journey behind the scenes of treats in our grocery stores that we gobble up so easily without thinking where or how it came about there.

Book Review: The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2) by Brandon Sanderson

Why spend hundreds on tickets to watch the Hamilton musical when you can just read the first half of Brandon Sanderson’s The Well of Ascension? Partway through the book, I could almost hear Washington’s voice telling Hamilton “Winning was easy, young man. Governing’s harder.” The evil Lord Ruler has kept the bureaucratic cogs in the…

Welcome my fellow reader, blogger…

It was getting lonely here so, guess what? Yes, I got a dear friend to join me in sharing her passion of reading. Going by the pseudonym trajaque this new author will be sharing book reviews of what she's currently reading - and mind you, she reads a lot! What's new and amazing is that…

Book Review: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1) by Brandon Sanderson

The age-old struggle between good and evil rarely favours the villain—except for when it does. The sun is red, ash falls from the sky, and plants, as far as people know, have always been brown. Brandon Sanderson’s The Final Empire, first of the Mistborn trilogy, centres itself in a world where one thousand years ago,…

Book Review: Upstairs Wife by Rafia Zakaria

There's no way to avoid saying this. Representation of Pakistan is minimal in books that are actually readable and not reference books. When there are stories from and about Pakistan they are limited to subjects like post-terrorism stories and portraying how difficult life is. While these stories are all genuine, there is also a need…

A perfect winter hobby…

I've said this in a previous post that I found knitting a great self-taught hobby with tonnes of room to improve. But to be honest my last attempt at pursuing knitting with fruitful results didn't go down well. It was summer, a lot was going on and I couldn't produce final products which eventually took…

Productivity 101: Time management

Full disclosure: even though this post is on time management, it has been in my list of drafts for a long time. Nevertheless, I get to it now! If you're new (or even old) to tackling multiple competing priorities at the same time you have at some point struggled with time. Just feeling like there's…

Winter break reading list

I started this post a while ago with the intention of setting a reading list target. I even started a good reads shelf 'winter-break' but as time went plans changed. I had planned to read mainly but recently picked up a big knitting project (more on that soon!) and have started catching up a lot…

Book Review: Danielle Steel’s “Fall from Grace”

This was my first time reading a Danielle Steel novel. After seeing it in bookstores, airport stores and news stands countless times, this one held my attention at Indigo Bookstore in the 2 for $15 paperback shelf.  I was looking for something with strong female characters, a chic setting and yet a gripping storyline and Falling…

Book review: Who thought this was a good idea?

I recommend this book to every young woman and man, even if they are not interested in public service, as a guide on how to get things done and stick it out at the workplace.

Morning water therapy

I have a not-so-great morning routine. I wake up stumbling out of my bed and have just enough time to get dressed, grab my stuff and a quick breakfast (that will be eaten in the office). This kind of rushed morning takes a toll on small things we must do that matter. Inspiration and processOne…

(Falling) behind!

Fall is in full swing. But for university students it is also a time of great struggle. The autumnal magic outside is gripping but you are stuck on your desk grappling with a paper. Starbucks is offering double rewards on PSLs but you have two midterms in a day.

Productivity 101: how I use my academic planner

I remember the old school days in Pakistan when our course book and notebook sets would include a 'diary'. It was to remember assignments, dates and deadlines. If only they came in pretty pink paisleys or funky geo prints - they didn't, thanks to school logos. So, as soon as my school didn't ask me…

The what, why and how of journaling

I have had an on-and-off relationship with writing about my life. Be it blogging or journaling, I'd have phases of doing lots and then nothing. I had to find a purpose and its meaning in my life. Recently as I got back to blogging, I also got back to focused journaling. The past few years…

3 things I have learned from working as a student

Ever since I started university in North America, I wanted to work alongside studying. I had done a long internship at The Express Tribune throughout high school so I knew that was something I can manage. When I finally got to work upon moving to Vancouver, I left no position (which I qualified for) unapplied.…

Reading schedule: the what, why and how?

Reading is such a major part of my life since ever. Be it leisure, school or work - words are just my thing. But it can get tough to keep up with books and it is easy to keep going through one waiting to finish it. Here's one way I plan to solve this problem…

#IndependenceDay: 5 books to understand Pakistan and its history

Yet another 14th August and we celebrate 73 years of Pakistan - a land won for freedom and independence of its people. However, somewhere down the line these notions have been misunderstood and misconstrued to the benefit of few and sheer disadvantage of many, many true Pakistanis. My contribution to Pakistan on this day and…

Essential Readings: Said’s Orientalism, Its Interlocutors, and Its Influence (by Anthony Alessandrini)

A discussion on the influence of Edward Said's Orientalism accompanied by a bibliography of his previous work on the topic and his interlocutors over the years. Jadaliyya is an independent ezine produced by the Arab Studies Institute. Jadaliyya provides a unique source of insight and critical analysis that combines local knowledge, scholarship, and advocacy with an eye…