(This might be a hard read, since it is a direct response to the horrible, tragic passenger plane crash that happened in Karachi on May 22nd, 2020, and is informed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It is sloppy, and messy, and emotional, and angry in ways that are perhaps unwarranted, but I can at least … Continue reading On resilience, again
Category: Pakistan
Reclaiming “Auntie”
You must be thinking, my God, two posts on Waxes Poetic in the same month! What a treat! What a Christmas miracle! Or, if you know me really well and/or have followed this blog for a long time, you may more accurately be thinking, two posts in the same month? Neiha must be in the … Continue reading Reclaiming “Auntie”
“I promise there’s a reason I’m flushing my hair!” and other superstitious concerns
"I can't help but feel that this is my fault." My best friends, my mother, and my therapist have all heard me say some variation of the above sentence. This tends to be in response to some kind of bad news, and no matter how much physical distance is between the epicenter of the bad … Continue reading “I promise there’s a reason I’m flushing my hair!” and other superstitious concerns
Max Weber should have lied
I've written pretty extensively about my horror, anger, and fear at the American attempts at a Muslim ban and its various iterations. But aside from the practical shortcomings and moral depravity of such an attempt, there was always another layer of outrage towards it: How the hell can they make the visa process any harder … Continue reading Max Weber should have lied
The day of and those after
The thing about bombings and terrorist attacks is that, after a little while, it’s too easy to divorce an atrocity from the monotony of the day. The horror sits heavy on your skin like a too-thick cocoa-butter moisturizer, and it’s hard to let it sink in. But, with enough time and distraction, you get used … Continue reading The day of and those after
Edhi
I don't know when I became aware of Abdul Sattar Edhi. I guess that's the thing about "givens" - they have no origin, there is no place in time to which they belong, they simply are and Edhi simply was in a way we could only hope to be. Edhi was a fixture for every Pakistani. … Continue reading Edhi
The peculiar chivalry of Pakistani men
Before I begin: I don't want to seem as if I'm singling Pakistan out as a means to condescend the country that reared me. Pakistan as a "case study" is the terrain I'm most familiar with and, therefore, most comfortable with discussing. Anything else would be irresponsible. Moreover, this is a legitimate problem in Pakistan that is … Continue reading The peculiar chivalry of Pakistani men
Shame and retrospect
I don't like admitting to it but I was frankly far more imbued in the Western than I was in the local growing up in Pakistan. American cartoons, British books, English music - hell, even Japanese media - were a staple of my early life far more so than my own culture or the immediacy … Continue reading Shame and retrospect
To you, motherland – A Nation of Chronic Belittlers
Some things are so deeply ingrained in you that you do not become aware of them until you are faced with some kind of frame of reference. I always knew how deeply unequal Pakistan was - in a country where class is as apparent and omnipresent as rickety rickshaws alongside shiny new Mercedeses, you'd have … Continue reading To you, motherland – A Nation of Chronic Belittlers
Crowdfund “Zunn: Showgirls of Pakistan”
The creators of a documentary called Zunn: Showgirls of Pakistan are looking to crowdfund their post-production efforts. Showgirls of Pakistan is a documentary feature on the lives of dancing girls in Punjab, Pakistan. It unveils a world of smut theater and strip-shows in small towns and villages through the eyes of the women that are … Continue reading Crowdfund “Zunn: Showgirls of Pakistan”
Neiha Lasharie 