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
Category: inspirational
The music we cannot hear: a language that limits me
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.
The girl who is you and me
26th September 2018 Hongdae - Seoul, South Korea In a little corner of modern Seoul, I sit where nature and concrete build together. Where art and engineering coexist, and where food is plentiful. I am in Scandina cafe with my friends who are from all over the world: a country that speaks of a rich … Continue reading The girl who is you and me
The girl, the forest, and the tower
Seoul, South Korea September 11th, 2018 Here I am, stuck in a beautiful dog cafe with wonderful humans I have grown with- my friends, my humans. Here I am, wonderstruck after a magical yesterday. Here I am, lost in my thoughts of a beautiful forest and a trail that wound around the heart of Seoul. … Continue reading The girl, the forest, and the tower
The Butter On the Ferry’s Windowsill
Vallejo, California November 4th, 2017 The sun is drowning in spools of cotton, thread-like and so silvery that none would mistake them for fluffy Autumn clouds. Almost by design, there is only some sunlight that is directly shining. And in the pale blue sea of California, it is casting a spotlight on my little ferry. … Continue reading The Butter On the Ferry’s Windowsill
A traveller’s home: Letter to San Francisco
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
A CHRISTIAN, A MUSLIM, AND AN ATHEIST WENT OUT FOR DINNER| PART 5/6 (THE DINNER)
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)
Painting murals on a rainy day
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