I'm a little annoyed, but I'm also a little sad. And this may be elitist, but I'm Lahori. We can get elitist. But no offense meant, I promise! I get invited to a lot of South Asia-related events on campus, and I can say that I have not been to a single one since I … Continue reading Voulez-vous bhangra avec moi?
Category: Pakistan
december 16 2014. thoughts.
"So, now what?" I'll get back to this in a second. I don't think I know yet. It took me a while to stop crying today. It was either grief (sobbing, wailing prayers) or complete despondence. I knew I wasn't alone, because all over my Facebook, my Twitter, my text messages were Pakistanis with black … Continue reading december 16 2014. thoughts.
I got off the armchair
My grandfather passed away when I was 14 years old. I may not have been as close to him as my brother was but I’d like to think my dada – Urdu for grandfather – was privy to the moment every star in my figurative sky aligned and made me recognize what I wanted from … Continue reading I got off the armchair
Short note – growth and wanderlust
I always did like that picture. I don't think I was five yet, and certainly not pleased with the idea of having pictures taken of myself but now, 14-15 years on, I'm glad these pictures exist. That's me, in all my thick-pig-tailed glory, in front of my old house in Lahore, a house I … Continue reading Short note – growth and wanderlust
“I swear this isn’t an accent!”: It totally is.
I don't think I have ever been more aware or conscious of my accent than in the United States. Frankly, I didn't think I had that much of an accent until I got here and started getting complimented on it. I always thought I had a general American accent with a slight Pakistani twang to … Continue reading “I swear this isn’t an accent!”: It totally is.
Mother tongue: Being an Urdu Lisper
I have 40 pages of dense reading to do for my classes tomorrow, so in the spirit of procrastination, I'm going to put this essay up. My major is a BA, so it demands proficiency in a second language; as such, I was required to write an essay detailing my proficiency in and relationship with … Continue reading Mother tongue: Being an Urdu Lisper
Assorted thoughts
It's so weird to have huge breaks between exams - my first A Level was yesterday, History, and it's my extra subject too, the one I self-study. There's always an added pressure to perform well in something you chose yourself. I managed to come out with an unprecedented A in history last year: and I … Continue reading Assorted thoughts
Open Letter to Pakistani voters
I'm going to list this in bullet points rather than prose form because I don't want to forgo my rationality in favor of digression. I'm so, so happy about the fact that people are promoting the importance of voting. Especially in a country like Pakistan, we need people who will actually vote, if only to remind … Continue reading Open Letter to Pakistani voters
Lahore Lahore hai…
...and there's no two ways about it. I often say that my heart is split in three - one part is in Boston, where I left it last summer. One part is, obviously, in my body, where it beats a melancholy rhythm, hoping to be reunited with at least one of its sisters. And the … Continue reading Lahore Lahore hai…
Hometown Glory
There's something about your hometown that'll always hold your heart. It doesn't matter what your relationship with the damned place is - it always holds a piece of you in itself, a piece that you can never get back, for better or for worse. Lahore doesn't just have a piece of me. It has my … Continue reading Hometown Glory
Neiha Lasharie 