Sometimes departure brings agony Life before that was a speeding car Life was all about the fast line That we did not care about the debris by the wayside Now that we will be relegated to the bins of Memory We try to locate sorrow And make peace with it The peace is elusive As … More Departure, a Poem
Malls are cathedrals of late capitalism Symbolise a vague sameness An unnecessary similarity Whether Muscat, Mumbai or Medan Same shops, Daiso here, Starbucks there These sterilised structures of wasteful consumption Refuge for the middle class during summer These communal spaces of ‘brand brotherhood’ Often uproot disenfranchised communities of their land Only, to offer them a … More Malls, A Poem
Cities have their own nomenclature for expressing non welcoming behaviour against ‘expats’ and are quite creative at them. The acronym for the gulf should be as indicting as FILTH (Failed in London, Try Hong Kong) Singaporean version: Fallen Talent, Foreign Trash for FTs. There are various hierarchies amongst expats too, South Asian versus Western Passports … More Anti Expat Nomenclatures
Today, in the sweltering summer evening, as I frequent a favourite Turkish cafe, where three Bangladeshis from Pheni, Comilla and Brahmanbaria work as service staff. All three of them come from Bangladeshi districts adjoining Tripura and hence speak the dialect from the area. The time was in the heart of Iftar time, and my friend … More Bangladeshi migrant takes his politics to ‘Probash’
Globalisation or South Asianism is discussing the India-PAK Game with a Bangladeshi in Bengali in a Turkish cafe while sipping chai in Oman.
Ramadan in the Gulf Reclaims faith and humanity Reclaims family over profits Privileges Culture over Neoliberal Productivity The march towards modernity is halted Albeit for a month Celebrates faith, like no other part of the world MP 18/06/2017
Dreams of Temporary People Bags being packed Reluctantly memories are being packed too Uprooting from ones transient homes eons They were not very transient after all We accidentally invested too much Transience became Permanant We became one with the place ****************************** Growing up, is after all Piggy banking on our parents We hope to break … More Gulf Dreams
As a person who has been involved with Singapore over the past decade, through education and work at the two premier public sector universities; i would say that the FamiLEE matter is rather trivial, and surely makes for excellent banter over Teh Halia in a Kopitiam lah. Singapore is a postcolonial success story, and in … More Family Homes or not, Singapore comes first
Introduction: Sustainability is an oxymoron, as even seasoned professionals vaguely understand it and casually quote a definition from 1987 Brundtland Report. Sustainable development is understood to be different aspects to disparate stakeholders. The context is the kingmaker. Every geographic reality will have unique demands. Environmental, Social and Economic Strands are deeply intertwined in ways more … More Reimagining Environmental Governance: Unpacking the ‘Black Box’
In a Bangladesh India Cricket Game, both the National Anthems played before the game are written by the same man, in Bangla In addition, Ananda Samarakoon, who composed ‘Namo Sri Lanka matha’ studied at Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan. #SouthAsia #CT17
