Life is a checklist to stay afloat

Gatekeepers, need to tick

At every turn

The balance is the misery

Need to keep paddling

Is however the default

Blood Island by Journalist Deep Halder is a breach on the canon of contemporary South Asian History which is dominated by a particular kind of scholar. The book is personal and speaks to the lived experience of the tragedy conveniently erased from the discourse. Unearthing the tragedy, breathes new life in to future work which can hopefully shape and shed life into events that were brushed under the carpet of progressive politics.

Oral History helps to preserve memories of the lived. Excellent approach which others should utilise as well.

Some people just amaze you. A cab driver who is a trained archeologist from Sana’a in Dubai gave me a 30 minute crash course on Arab History including dynamics in Yemen to Iran via Oman. He recognised my roots in Oman when I started speaking Arabic with him and he said are you from Oman?

He gave me the genealogy of people in the Arab world and explained the very complex terrain of contemporary Yemeni politics and who supports whom from Al Mahra to Jizan, in present day Saudi Arabia.

As a person trained in History from Yemen and Germany, he was perceptive and downright smart. He said ‘the purpose of history is to discover our shared heritage’ which speaks to the crisis prone region he comes from.

He plans to do his PhD and discussed his research theme as well. I wish him well.

Dubai Cabbies are a class of their own; Knowledgeable and thorough.

#mydubai

The future of work will be a horrible one, accentuating inequality- no insurance, everyone expected to relearn, no family time, all the power concentrated in a few people. The employee is a replaceable cog. The future of work works for the bosses. Life is at best a lottery for resources. Upward mobility is rare.