Author: kulsumk
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Coke Studio Season 15: A Masterclass in Reclaiming Culture
I wouldn’t call myself a Coke Studio connoisseur; I only really started listening to it since season 14. The turning point was ‘Pasoori’ by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill. I loved Ali Sethi’s music and this one was no exception. Since season 14 they also started making behind-the-scenes videos called…
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On Gaza
Featured Image: Ash Hayes . . . It’s October 15, and in just seven days, more than two thousand Palestinians have been killed. Many more are injured. Entire families have been erased from a city. Israel has ordered an evacuation of Gaza, as hospitals struggle to treat the wounded, the…
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Coming to God: Reflections on Faith
A little over a year ago, I was at a point in my life when my faith was hitting an all-time low. I had no wish to pray. I felt unworthy of asking God for anything, and I didn’t think I deserved to get what I asked for. I didn’t…
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The M Word
Featured Illustration: Daniela Jordan~Villaveces I’m in my early 20s. Still in university. Single so far. Muslim. Indian. And marriage is a trigger word to me. Not really. It’s not that the very word induces panic. Or that I can’t fathom the idea of it or that I’m against it. But…
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A Coming (of) Age
Featured Illustration: Raúl Gil At the beginning of the year, I read Fatima Farheen Mirza’s essay, Boxing. Mirza had taken an instant and unquestioned leap into my list of favorite authors after I read her book A Place For Us, a story that I keep coming back to in bits and snippets,…
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Eponym/Legacy
Featured Artwork: ‘The Prophet’s Daughters’, a series by Gheorghe Virtosu Sometimes people don’t recognize my name They hear it and say it’s unique It’s an old Arabic name, I tell them What does it mean, they ask I tell them I’m not sure, as far as I know it doesn’t…
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Side Effects
Featured Image: Hanifa Abdul Hameed Over the sewing machine Among the steady hum Of the needle gliding into the fabric I hear ‘Ladkiyon ko zyaada nahi parhaana chahiye Unki soch badal jaati hai. Ladkiyaan zyaada parh leti hain Toh bahu banna bhool jati hain.’ Girls shouldn’t study too much…
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Seasonal Poetry
Featured Illustration: Hanifa Abdul Hameed I am told Europe is beautiful in the summer Indian summers try their best to melt you to the ground. How shall I compare thy summer’s day to mine? Our flowers are scorched under the sun The same sun that shines so benevolently on you…
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You Are.
Featured Illustration: Sebastian Biggeri You’d rather plant roots Than search for them What are trees made of Whatever you cannot deny Is it the immigrant experience Or just experience Do I trivialize it by wondering if it’s just another way to soul-search This is a process You are the process…