Earlier this month I was in a hotel in the Gulf for a couple of days. I met with staff from Rwanda at the front desk, Macedonia in the cafe, An Uzbek guy at the breakfast and transport staff from Bangladesh and Uganda. India and Pakistan are being displaced across the region thoroughly as new labor markets open up.

The region still has millions from South Asia, but the mix is getting more diverse.

#migration

Home is not a set of geotagged coordinates

It is the Maghreb Azzan of Taimur Masjid

The sauce of the Istanboly Shwarma

The familiar silence of the back alley

The parkway connector in Clementi

The smell of Block 708A Kopitiam

These ‘homes’ are lost

In the past

The past is nurtured as a ‘home’

That is what the ‘home’ remains

ESG metrics need culture centred indicators for the regional context. All the assessment frameworks are epistemologically embedded in the global north. New metrics are needed to capture the impact. Indicators are known as the technology of global governance and impact investing or ESG centred investing needs to be anchored in culture to reap the best dividends.

Battle scars

Battle hardened

Many more to fight

Life is a war

Where is the peace then?

Spoke at a World Health Organisation Seminar on Migration and Health with Global Health Policy Makers.

Incredible experience, thank you Prof Sanjoy and the Doha Institute Team for the privilege.

Such a bright and engaged student audience from across the Middle East is exceptional.

Tamil Paper, Daily Thanthi on Indian General Elections, with an opinion section on Mamata Di, as witnessed in Bur Dubai.

#randomnessinthediaspora

Singapore in a bottle. So many memories got flooded in, when you stumble upon the familiar taste of bottled green tea from Singapore.

Sometimes I do wonder where is the home and where is the Diaspora.

Mumbai the mega metropolitan cluster has been a dream factory and the unique informal community of Dharavi next to the domestic airport has been a cinematic magnet of choice for generations of film makers. Who would not prefer a story in ones backyard?

Slumdog Millionaire took the euphoria to its zenith but Mumbai or Bombai or Bombay has been a terrific muse for the portrayal of the human condition. My personal favourite is The Lunch Box with the old catholic realm of Hill Street Bandra depicted with the everyday life of a Mumbaikar. The Photograph, by the same director takes Mumbai as the backdrop.

Pa. Ranjith with Kaala sets up Tamil speaking Dharavi as the context for urban social justice wars, with a Dalit Angle. In contrast the politics with a small ‘p’ of the Zoya Akhtar helmed Gully Boy is subtle and depicts socioeconomic realities of a Muslim Family in a slum and the associated surroundings really well with the intertwining of crime, aspiration, dejection, and most importantly rap music as a vehicle for social elevator in a competitive city.

The music is political with the rap as a context for larger conversations on urban inclusion. Ranveer Singh as Muraad excels in a role which is the antithesis of his off screen persona. Alia Bhatt as Safeena, has a role to remember as the fierce medical student trying to breakout.

Vijay Raaz as the abusive father who marries a younger woman again is a star act. The movie truly is owned by newcomer Siddhanth Chaturvedi as MC Sher. His swag fills up the screen with panache.

The movie is hilarious in its anecdotes and speaks to the third generation Mumbaikar in me who finds Mumbai as the crucible for the original hustle with the Apna Time Ayega, which is the anthem of every resident with a twinkle in his or her eye. Mumbai is deeply political to the extent that it is apolitical in the race for resources. Money is a great leveller. Money rules in Mumbai, political power is deemed for Delhi.

There are many Mumbai’s within Mumbai, and the film successfully conveys the message. This is the biggest take away from the movie.

I have always lived in Muscat now in Dubai next door to Masjid’s. I grew up to the Azzan, and find the compulsory Jumma Namaz stoppage in the Gulf,a critical break/departure in our hyper modern lives where one privileges the Almighty. Ameen.