#MuslimApologies

Every night before sleep I swallow little pills of apologies, Regular doses so I can doze,See dreams well without  random security checksEvery morning I mourn The day and its turnsAs I stir in strong condemnation with my tea As I brush my teeth with more apologies As I cloak myself in the otherness bestowed to meAnd step into a gaze thatNever leavesNever cedes.And they say:Why don’t you just make up...

Continue Reading 11 Jan 2015

Castelmezzano, Italy

Here I present a tale of epic proportions where a Desi girl with her very Desi parents set out to conquer the harsh Italian mountains armed with a GPS, 3G internet and very little  Italian.The story begins with our desire to not waste a long weekend at home. With our trusty GPS Jane, the weather forecast and some wiki-knowledge, off we went to Potenza. The drive from Puglia, in southern...

Continue Reading 08 Jan 2015

Words

Something that all languages have in common is that they all possess reservoirs of lethal words designed to hurt. Often these words might not be dangerous by themselves, but when coupled with a harsh tone and dressed in resentment, they are more hurtful than physical blows. These words don’t hurt in the same way. They bear down on you differently based on the time, style of deliver, and who unleashes...

Continue Reading 24 Dec 2014

Uppappa

One of my highlights from the Kasaragod trip a week ago, was the quality time I got to spend with my grandparents. Well, more like granduncle and aunt. My mother grew up with her uncle and aunt, so that became home for her. And for me, that meant an extra set of grandparents! Woohoo!My granduncle (uppapa) is one of the most charming and inspiring man I know.  At 84, he’s...

Continue Reading 19 Oct 2014

Eid!

EID! Alhamdulillah, we are almost there! After almost a month of fasting we bid farewell to this blessed month with this festival of family, food, and lots of fun.Muslims across the globe will wait eagerly tomorrow night to spot the crescent. Then some moon-fighting will follow with people eventually celebrating it together anyway. Kids will run around excited about the celebrations, some will burst crackers and dream about the Eidi (Gift money)...

Continue Reading 26 Jul 2014

The End of Ramadan...

Today is the last Friday of Ramadan. 27 days have flown by. I entered Ramadan with so much hope and many prayers, like everyone else, for new beginnings and happy endings. An intense desire to cleanse myself from within through this fasting and remembrance of God. And now we are here, as Ramadan slowly makes its way out, I desperately DESPERATELY want to hold on to it. The 3 am...

Continue Reading 25 Jul 2014