“faluda islam” at discostan…

video excerpt by Ayesha Kamran; La Zona Rosa club in downtown Los Angeles Last weekend, some friends and I attended Discostan, a monthly event in downtown LA that was founded by filmmaker and DJ Arshia Haq, to view a midnight performance by Faluda Islam, who’s making a splash on the international art scene. Grandson of Pakistan’s late...

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15 Feb, 2019

one coup per dictator…

15 Feb, 2019

A decade ago while I was in Karachi, I captured this graffiti scrawl in Karachi. Today, as Trump declares national emergency to enforce the creation of “a wall,” I think about how far from democracy the USA has shifted.

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24 Jan, 2019

black wings…

24 Jan, 2019

a section of the cover of my novel, Black Wings; images by Minal Saldivar and collage by Oskar Sonnen Behind every story is another story. The new cover of my novel, Black Wings, is no exception. The image, designed by my artist friend Oskar Sonnen, is a collage of...

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protesting for equal education for all…

teachers picketing outside Burbank Middle School, Highland Park, Los Angeles The teachers’ strike in Los Angeles started last week and stretched for six long days, encompassing some of the rainiest days that we have experienced in the region. Still, 30,000 LAUSD teachers and employees—as well as students and supportive...

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19 Jan, 2019

women’s march, year three…

19 Jan, 2019

This morning, just like two years ago, Minal and I met up with my writer friend Elline Lipkin at Sierra Madre Villa’s metro station, so we could attend the Women’s March in downtown Los Angeles. This year’s march was more subdued than the first year when 750,000 protestors gathered...

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10 Jan, 2019

barbed wire…

10 Jan, 2019

barbed wire rolled around iron-wrought fence  Close to where I currently live is a park, next to which is a public high school. A US Marines headquarters building sits at the edge of the park. Whenever I walk around the park, I look past pointed iron rods to observe the parking lot....

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07 Jan, 2019

new work in papercuts’ nomad issue…

07 Jan, 2019

In summer 2018, writer Sorayya Khan invited me to submit new work to Desi Writer’s Lounge’s latest Papercuts issue, Nomad. The online publication was launched on December 31, 2018, and the publication features essays, stories, poems, and images by more than 30 writers and visual artists. I’m delighted that...

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28 Dec, 2018

driving through rain and loving it…

28 Dec, 2018

Rain along the freeway between Austin toward Houston My family’s December visit to Austin and Houston was punctuated by rain, mist, and cold temperatures. I was appreciative. I love the smell, the sound, and the sensation of water hitting earth.

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13 Sep, 2018

exploring little tokyo…

13 Sep, 2018

Mural by Bunnie Reiss in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo One afternoon, while exploring Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo, my friend Jamie and I stumbled on murals designed by Bunnie Reiss.

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stories all around us…

General Manager Mahbubul Alam, Liberation War Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh (photo from my 2013 Bangladesh visit and interview) Yesterday, I returned to the printer cartridge store where I had purchased toner for my laser printer. The woman behind the counter greeted me by my name. I was not entirely surprised that she...

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24 Mar, 2018

march for our lives…

24 Mar, 2018

On our second last day of spring break, Minal made sure that we woke up early to take LA Metro to Union Station. Once at the station, we joined a winding group of strangers who also held signs demanding gun control. Upon arriving at LA City Hall, we converged...

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23 Mar, 2018

taking a break…

23 Mar, 2018

This week, our spring break, René, Minal, and I boarded a flight to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, which is just two hours away from Los Angeles. When we landed in Puerto Vallarta, the airport was filled with tourists from the US, who were doing the same thing as we were:...

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I was inspired to begin my blog when I visited the library at my alma mater, Mount Holyoke College, and saw a framed photograph of my friends and me calling for divestment of funds from South Africa.

In 2007,  I began a blog when I visited my alma mater and saw a framed photograph of my friends and me calling for divestment of funds from South Africa. I use the blog to document my movement between spaces, Houston, Karachi, Delhi, Dhaka, Los Angeles and elsewhere, recording observations, images and conversations. Here, I document the multiple realities that I inhabit – writer, artist, mother, activist, educator, and transnational. Interviews from my blog were exhibited at Houston’s Baker Ripley Community Center (2014) and at Houston Public Library in downtown (2015). My papers are archived at the University of Houston’s library.