Of the gladdest moments in human life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of Habit, the leaden weight of Routine, the cloak of many Cares and the slavery of Hope, one feels once more happy. – Richard [...]

“May I come in?” she asked. “Of course! Is this a thing to ask?” I exclaimed, astonished. It was then that I noticed that brittle smile. Something was off. She was usually a very cheerful person. “What’s the matter?” I asked, handing her a glass of water. “I’ve left my [...]

As the voices get shrill over porn and prostitution, there needs to be a moment of sanity check. There are several schools of thought here, and the debate seems to be veering off topic yet again. In my view, porn and prostitution are important subjects to be debated, however it [...]

It is common to hear in protests that rape is not sex. Yet how true is it? Going by the literal meaning of sex, rape usually involves sex. Feminists tend to add the role of consent and in essence reduce the meaning of sex to “consensual sex” to make it [...]

However, the Qur’an has no such description. Where, then, did Buraq’s human face come from? Most often it is a female face. Hadees does mention the Buraq … but is the female face ever mentioned? (In any case, some Muslims do not believe in Hadees) Recently Richard Dawkins mentioned a ‘winged horse’ in his Twitter account, referring to Mehdi Hasan‘s belief … [...]

Urdu hai mera naam main Khusrau ki paheli Main Meer ki humraaz hun Ghalib ki saheli (My name is Urdu and I am Khusrau’s riddle I am Meer’s confidante and Ghalib’s friend) Kyun mujhko banate ho tassub ka nishana Maine to kabhi khud ko musalmaan nahi maana (Why have you [...]

Tunis, Tunisia: Setting sail from Naples on Italy’s coast, with a stopover in Sicily, Jolanda Putz made her way across the Mediterranean to Tunisia. At 81, she may have been one of the oldest attendees at the recently held World Social Forum in Tunisia and as a capitalism-loathing, social justice-loving [...]

‘Noodle Pema’ — that’s what she was called to distinguish her from the many other girls in her village also named Pema (Pema is one of the most common names for Ladakhi girls) — was the only child of a poor couple who lived in a small hamlet up in [...]

Multiculturalism is often a loosely used term. It is used to denote the presence of many cultures. Ask a school or college-goer as to what the example of multicultural society is; chances are he would say it is India. It is not wrong to say that India is a multicultural [...]

Something I was reading today triggered off what felt, at the moment, like a very important realisation. Everyone has been in a tizzy of anger since the gruesome rape of the five-year-old child in Delhi. People are protesting and standing up for someone who could be my sister, my neighbour or [...]

On the day Narendra Modi made the speech in a media conclave, Amaresh Misra, who claims to be well connected to the UP state Congress, lost it on Twitter. He proceeded to rain abuse on individuals supporting the right wing Modi. Swift outrage followed. The tweets were unquestionably vile. Misra’s [...]

 ’Umro Ayar – The Comic‘ was recently launched in Pakistan. A group of six youngsters who love comics want to bring them seriously into Pakistan. A great start. The group intends to bring out loads of classic tales, crime stories of Ibné Safi(!), and much, much more. I am sure [...]