Evolution of this blog

I started this blog in the spring of 2010. It had very personal beginnings and was my way of keeping friends and family posted about my life in Boston. Writing is not a tool though…It has a certain formative power of you, steering you away in directions that you would not have thought possible. This blog, in …

The Hunar Foundation- Enabling Pakistanis for a Brighter Future

Great cause for donations:

saramuzzammil

 

The Hunar Foundation is a non-profit organisation that took root with the objective of finding a solution to the problems of livelihood for the youth through quality vocational training of international standards. They offer one year courses in various trades followed by internships in industry or commercial organisations.

Apart from professional training, they aim to create better human beings by teaching work ethics, social and moral values. They are specifically focused on these critical aspects of social conduct so as to produce a high quality, skilled workforce of integrity, and who are readily employable locally and abroad.

THF has been working since 2008 to make sure that the majority of Pakistani population that is deprived of basic education can make a livelihood for themselves and help boost Pakistan’s social and economic conditions.

Please help their cause by donating as much as you can. Also, help create awareness for them by…

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Why is Pakistani Society so Divided on Malala?

First published on Medium. Why is Pakistani Society so Divided on Malala? Everyone has an opinion. I never thought watching The Daily Show would leave me misty-eyed… Nor did I think Jon Stewart could ever be left speechless.But watching Malala sitting calmly next to Jon Stewart recalling her innocent thought-process of what she’d do if she ever confronted a Talib was …

Insaaniyat: the need for an attitude change

Insaaniat

After witnessing the incidents of the last few days where many people lost their lives due to the presumed shia-sunni conflict and many similar incidents that have been occurring in our society, we felt a dire need to take an initiative of promoting the spirit of insaaniyat (humanity).

Whenever such incidents occur whether we attribute them to Shai-sunni, deobandi-barelvi, muslim-christian, mohajir-pathan (list goes on.. ) conflicts, the biggest question that arises is not what is the nature of our differences, the point is why do we always generate conflicts out of our differences. The problem is not with having or developing differences, the problem is with our attitude as to how we manage these differences.

Every society consists of individuals and these individuals have different personalities, preferences, experiences, needs and beliefs. it is perfectly normal to have different views and to belong to different groups or schools of thought but…

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The International Day of Tolerance & Insaaniat

November 16, 2013 It's tragic that on the International Day of Tolerance (November 16), Pakistan is dealing with the aftermath of sectarian violence. In a region that has a brilliant history of Sufi poetry (Bulleh Shah) and that has produced individuals like Abdul-Sattar Edhi, time and time again, we have seen the darkness that ensues because …

On Healing

Sometimes life can take you down a thorny path; you may feel lost and alone in the world; you're emotionally parched through this desert walk in the sweltering heat; you feel like you're losing strength, and that you can't play the cards you're dealt; you see no exits in this labyrinth; it seems like you're …

“Beyond the Ideas of Rightness or Wrongness”: Ambreen Butt

“Beyond the Ideas of Rightness or Wrongness”: Ambreen Butt By Maha Kamal A Pakistani artist with long, jet black hair works carefully in a suburban studio in Lexington, Massachusetts. Shades of ochre and maroon seem to come alive on one wall. On closer inspection, the colors are revealed to be a body of ants, representative …

Of cafe lattes and other banter

30th July 2012 As I type away this non-essay sipping a frappaccino at Beijing Capital airport, I’m thinking there may not be a lot of days with such abject freedom. While coffee beans inspire a caffeine high, the café atmosphere itself gives rise to a lazy calm There’s a strong smell of cacao mingled with …

Chengdu

It seemed surreal. After all, a Bollywood tune playing randomly in the middle of People’s Square Park in Chengdu was a little unimaginable. About 150 people swayed elegantly to the tune in movements that resembled the serenity of a river. Some of us tried to mimic their actions. But with payal bolay chan chan  in …

#Connected

The sun glittered like molten gold as the sun set on the Charles River. The way different shades of color blended into one another on a canvas of clouds was absolutely breathtaking. I soaked in the moment; just standing by the water, breathing nature in. Yet after those few minutes of solitude, I wanted to …