30th October 2018 Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea On a beautiful Autumn day when fallen leaves color the earth with hues of dusty orange and crimson, and the skies carry with itself scents of hot coffee brewing, I find myself in the back alleys of Seoul, exploring the secretive neighborhood of Mapo-gu. Emma, Hana, Steven, and … Continue reading The Runners on the Bridge of Life: When Joy Won
It is not just billboards or television, English is in pamphlets and mall announcements. It is in Facebook, it is in Google. It is in WordPress. English is everywhere in Pakistan. And there is nothing inherently wrong with it. Except that sometimes, we forget those humans who cannot access this language - a great majority of humans. They cannot access a whole world (the internet, ideas, literature, or movies). So culturally and socially, they develop at a tangent than those who can read English.
War Memorial | Seoul, South Korea 22nd September 2018 As my friends from back home are donning pashmina shawls against a cold Autumn racing, I am sipping on a fresh and cold yogurt drink, which is not really lassi and not really yogurt but somewhere in the middle. After an adventurous walk through the labyrinths … Continue reading The Secret of Seoul: exploring sub-stories
Of all the states out there, why had I almost impulsively bought a return trip to North Dakota, where "nothing ever happens" ? Maybe because it sounded like something fun, and something adventurous. Maybe because a dear friend had invited me. Plus, with tickets so cheap, a college student like me yelled: "sign me up". I still think it was an impulse, a very adventure-spirited, Ezza impulse. An impul-Ez. Impulez. It is not a typo, no.
September 23rd, 2015San Francisco, United States Oh San Francisco, Thousands have walked through you and thousands will walk through you, braiding the trickling information from tourist guides into sophisticated essays. I am sorry but I cannot commit to doing that. I will see you in your moments of simple divinity, in the smile of … Continue reading A traveller’s home: Letter to San Francisco
Continued from: February 2015 Abbottabad, Pakistan I have had the fortune to savour some of the most interesting meals. Not for how deliciously spiced or finely minced the food was, but because my fellows of the meal spoke intriguing words of wisdom, delivered simply yet with infinite grace. I had the pleasure of … Continue reading A CHRISTIAN, A MUSLIM, AND AN ATHEIST WENT OUT FOR DINNER| PART 5/6 (THE DINNER)
9th September 2017 Suburban California, United States As I sit here braiding words and sentences from the symphonies of my heart, I care little for the limitations of language or grammar which actively suffocate me, or the worst monster of all: the writer's block when I try to write to please an audience. … Continue reading Infinite joys of San Francisco: an ode to being alive
July 4th, 2017 Abbottabad, Pakistan As I stand across the green and blue of Abbottabad, I feel my fingers tingle; I feel a need to paint; to let my heartstrings tug my fingertips and create art, in its surreal yet raw essence. Lints of cloud cascade the skies, drawing nearer from their infinite distances to … Continue reading Painting murals on a rainy day
(Continued from Part 3 ) Abbottabad, Pakistan February 2015 “I cannot wait to host her at Abbottabad this week!” exclaimed mum joyously as we left behind the restaurant and our ever loving hosts, Cynthia and Sarwar. ...And so, as time rolled on ever so slowly, I counted days till the day arrived when … Continue reading A Christian, a Muslim, and an Atheist went out for dinner| Part 4
( Continued from Part 2 ) February 2015 Islamabad, Pakistan I clutched my neck scarf for the fifteenth time and looked around awkwardly at this place I had never before ventured to; a fancy new restaurant. Adorned in a bright coloured sweater striking against my off-white kurta, I felt rather awkward and lost, even though my folks … Continue reading A Christian, a Muslim, and an Atheist went out for dinner | Part 3 (The Pilgrim’s Feast)
Walking On Wonder 