The feeling was not new. Often he found himself in need of being away from everything that made him forget what he really was. Being surrounded by false faces full of hideous smiles all day was tiring to say the least, but that was life for him. Day in and day out, in a routine of attempting to be remarkable he had the act forever on his face; a lie for everyone as everyones was a lie for him. Only in these hours of nothing could he hope to some day be, mundane. A colourless painting to all that turned…

Horses in the sky

Outskirts of Chilas

We had begun to wander deeper into the heart of the Karakoram now with the wind catching up as we moved towards Gilgit. I had skipped out on a friend we picked up on the way, a guide from a tourism camp, we had taken him along before entering Chilas as we needed a local to let us through the checkpoints with ease.

He was a small chap, very friendly but excruciatingly loud at times! Of course he wasn’t to blame he just wanted us to enjoy the trip so he kept screaming “WOW” at the…

I was born in Dubai, though not my homeland it was home for me. I didn’t have any relatives per say there as the bulk of the family lived in Pakistan; the motherland. Though I suppose your motherland should be where you are most at home, at the time it was Dubai, over the years it became Pakistan to some extent. …

Where do I begin?

The Mall

Deserted, embarrassed, enraged and slightly thirsty but we can safely blame that to a unique combination of the embarrassment and anger. I was early, yet again, and that meant having to do the 4 letter rumble. Wait.

By rumble of course I’m referring to the furrow lines playing hopscotch on my forehead as I eagerly and with slowly gathered malice sit and wait. I must point out that I didn’t get to the sitting part so easily, not only was I denied access to my college (I shall ignore the fact that it’s an hour before…

Zah

Weddings are a beautiful thing to witness. I imagine they should be equally interesting to experience for the bride and groom after all their lives and the lives of those attached to them are changing from that moment.

I’ve been to Lahori weddings, Arab weddings and Pakistani weddings outside of Pakistan and now I’ve had the—I would like to say—honour of experiencing an authentic Pakhtun wedding. May I say I have been honourably amazed on a number of levels!

The idea of weddings in Pakistani and Indian cultures revolves around the rhetoric; lots of love, lots of happiness, lots of…

Babri Bhand

Just off the main entrance to Kohat, a rural cul-de-sac of sorts was our destination. Our transport had dropped us off in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere, an expression I understood quickly—perhaps just to calm myself—was mute as the middle of nowhere would be as far away from the nearest hint of civilisation and/or transit as possible, we were still on the road.

The edge of it at least.

It was pitch dark and though we were scared to ask the two women who were dropped off along with us we still did manage to somehow with…

En Route Kohat

Packed together close enough your limbs go numb but the warmth of the person next to you reminds you that you haven’t severed anything yet. The horizon a beautiful orchestra of pink and purple reminds me of the kurta I got for the wedding I’m going to attend so many miles away amidst the shadows of these mountains. A stunning splendor this view of reds as the sun sets away under the curve of the earth landing softly leaving behind cotton candy skies, clouds taking the shape of the mountains or the mountains taking shape of clouds.

Shitty situation to…

Somewhere away from Lahore

When travelling one gets the chance to meet and interact with people of different backgrounds and natures. You have the ones who leave you with fond memories, interesting discussions, others leave behind a sparkle in their eyes as they ask you the time in passing. …