Asif Ali Zardari: woe to Pakistan?
The problem with democracy is that sometimes the person that comes into power is exactly the person you wish would get arrested and sent to prison forever. In the case of Pakistan, it has come to...
Category: Asia
Buried alive In Balochistan
Far be it from me to reinforce stereotypes about Pakistani attitudes towards the safety and security of women. I am a product of Musharraf's Enlightened Moderation and the soft image of Pakistan is...
Terror in Bangalore
I wasn’t born in Bangalore. I don’t live there now. But ever since I was a child, it’s been the seat of my family. I’ve smelled the jasmine and diesel in the air. I’ve seen the elections of...
Makotai, Ancient Jews, and a 2500-year-old ship: globalization in an ancient world
YaleGlobal, the magazine of the Yale University Centre for Study of Globalization, describes globalization as a historical process that began with the first movement of people out of Africa into...
Eating fish and sanyasa: Vivekananda’s travels in Travancore
The other day, I came across a very interesting document - an account of Swami Vivekananda’s visit to Thiruvananthapuram in December 1892. It was written by K Sundarama Iyer, a senior officer in...
The Hong Kong Sinfonietta, a growing presence
3 May 2008 Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 4 in G minor, Op 40 Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor, Op 18 The Sinfonietta, established in 1990, offered concertgoers the rare chance to enjoy...
When humanitarianism loses its message
I attended a silent vigil outside the Pakistani High Commission in London last week. It called for the abolishment of the death penalty in Pakistan and came just one week before the planned execution...
Yoni is the wrong damn word: marginalization and exoticism
Why, oh, why does it have to be Yoni Ki Baat? Why? I'm South Asian, right? I'm solid South Asian. So why does it make my blood boil that South Asians are doing an adaptation of the Vagina Monologues...
Disliking the Demi-God: the Dalai Lama and the cult of personality
He's an informant for the FBI Whack the Dalai Lama - The Dickies, "Whack the Dalai Lama" Okay, I don't actually advocate harming the Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, and don't hold serious...
Who’s Yo Savior, Biatch!
A few months ago I was standing in line at the post office talking to someone on the cell and every now and then I used an Urdu word. Sometimes when I speak Urdu, I say an English word with a FOB...