Change Thinker

I belong nowhere The paycheck is the destination Hence I belong everywhere The belonging is to an imagination The physical destination, is however a luxury Few can belong to

Ten years back (no photos here), I was working at a consulting firm for projects in South Sudan in Oman, and moved in to NUS, Singapore for my terrific masters, an idealist who wanted to make the tiny red dot home to now after 4 countries, two masters and a few gigs later, a man … More A Decade, Later.

Had a fascinating evening chatting up with a bewildering cast of characters in Bur Dubai from a Moradabadi Barber who landed up in a salon via his time in Trissur, Kerala. He was talking about the entire economics of survival in Dubai. Years of maturity than his 9 grade education and his young demeanour. I … More Migrant Spaces: Bur Dubai

In the spirit of Prof Amit Chaudhuri @amit_chaudhuri ‘s Exhibition on Sweet Shops in Kolkata, I caught a few pics of an artisanal sweet shop in Bally, Howrah. The sweet maker was blissfully crafting his Gur Sandesh, sitting on the ground, while customers were entering the shop, while the winter sun was shyly making its … More Artisanal Sweet Shop in Howrah, India:A Photo Essay

Airports, these non places Sites of aspiration Conveyer belts of dreams Nodes of emotion Hot spots of commerce When, Skype is limiting Airports, melting pots For middle class Modernity More than civil engineers Aim for

How do you write the history of a place which is yours, but not yours. Relegated to the margins, where survival is a everyday negotiation, is documentation and memory that vital? If our lived experiences are not noted, who else will? How do I acknowledge my privilege in this process. How does History writing with … More History writing in the Khaleej

Migrant eateries are fragments of home or Bari/Basha/Ghar in the Khaleej/Gulf. A cramped coffee shop turned rotir dokan or a bread shop which offers murgir jhol, daal, cholaar buut and the sujir halwa, is like a panacea for the migrant looking for a pocket friendly but a sumptuous bite. The chicken curry was like for … More Chicken Curry for the Migrant Soul

I encounter Bangladeshis everyday here in the Gulf from the office to supermarkets to restaurants, watching poll related videos and the discussions can be rather heated. People are subconsciously connected to their notion of Desh, Gram and Bari through watsapp, the digital wonder kid and Facebook. For Bangladeshis, the poll is really vital. Usually they … More The Probashi on the Gono Vote

Everyday is a mini celebration Not a litany of Instagram events Embrace the little things Surrender to the whims Be a sailor Tailor to the winds of change Be ready to burn the present As ashes can grow plants The beauty Is to be alive In the moment

‘The Best of XYZ/The Next Generation’ lists are a reflection of an ingrained bias or a selection preferences of the editorial team of an organisation. But let’s look at any list from the prism of potential, rather than purely through the lens of analytical metric of social justice, or is it unfair even to exclude … More Celebrate Scholarship