Karachi — Stories

Many people didn’t know what Pakistan was. Right after 9/11, they did…

Some swore allegiance to Pakistan, others to Australia and others were in an existential crisis. There was a strange sense of community, which was dynamic and syncretic

The Devil Is In The Detail

Karachi was considered the ‘Paris of the East’, with its roaring nightclub scene sporting live bands, great food and plenty of booze…

Karachi Theosophical Society: the Historic TCK Archive

With such an eclectic mix of people, the city had to foster pluralism and harmony. One of the key venues to do so was the Karachi Theosophical society…

Temasek Tales

I had thought of it lacking cultural fluidity, when in fact Singapore was a smaller version of Asia…

Future Friendships Start In The Past

My new friend told me that we share the same piece of land, and the same group of people, so I’m Omani and he’s Pakistani…

Where Do I Begin?

I became the ‘Pakistani Australian’ or the ‘Australian Pakistani’ depending on whether I was meeting Sam or Sameet…

Wogs and Dings—Enemies of the State

The peace and tranquility were the main draw cards of Coolbinia Primary School, but it was also one of its major pitfalls. They bred comfort—the type which people get possessive about…

The Richest Poor Man

Born in 1928 in the small village of Bantva near Joona Garh, Gujrat (modern day India), Edhi had the ground shifting beneath him from a very young age...

Can Literature Trump Culture?

One day my mother passed me a book. It was called ‘The Harafish’ and written by the Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz (winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988). I picked up the book and only put it down once I completed it....

What The Birthday Gods Delivered

Then there was the McDonald’s birthday trend. Uncle Sam had muscled his way into the Karachi youth’s minds, and a Happy Meal and rides on colorful slides were the dream in the late 90s. I didn’t have one, but I was invited to one. It was an utter disappointment...

Recipe 3: Aloo Ki Bhujjiya

Best served with: puri, roti or paratha, rice, or bread...

The Holy Grail

I had been taught in school that heaven contained streams of milk and honey, however, that afternoon as I blasphemed, I knew God would forgive this enlightened experience when his golden trumpets sounded on my day of reckoning...