Culture

Maharajas! Getting Acquainted with My Indian Side

April 9, 2012

When I first heard about the exhibit titled Maharaja: The Splendor of India’s Royal Courts at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, I thought to myself Cool, I should check that out since, y’know, India and Pakistan are neighbors and I’m totally Pakistani. (Some others may have been thinking: India isn’t in Asia!*) It [...]

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Measuring Up – Self Doubt While Cooking Pakistani Food the Not-So Old-Fashioned Way

March 7, 2012

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not too cultural. However, as “un-cultural” as I am, I really like Pakistani food. My mom is an excellent cook, Masha’Allah (Yes, this does warrant a “Masha’Allah”), so over the years, I’ve been learning how to make various dishes just the way my mom makes it. Sometimes, [...]

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Culture & Religion – Scattered Thoughts on the Book American Dervish

January 27, 2012

I went to a lecture last week on what Muslims think of evolution and the lecturer, a Muslim well versed on the subject, went on to say that what Muslims believe on that topic is dependent on the country and culture in which they grew up in. I thought it was a total cop-out. Aren’t [...]

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Tales from a Fake Hip Hop Fan

October 12, 2011

Back in 2007, I did my sister a favor and went with her to the Lupe Fiasco concert in San Francisco at the Fillmore. She was a fan while I knew close to nothing about him. All I knew about the guy was that he had a couple of albums out, he’s a skater, and [...]

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It’s Not Just About Me. Who Knew?!

August 22, 2011

Note: I wrote this entry like a week ago but didn’t have a chance to post ’cause I got a bit busy. I was walking with my Muslim coworker/prayer buddy to the prayer room* at work when I asked her how her roza was going. It didn’t occur to me until after I said it [...]

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On turning 30 (almost) and dealing with the whole single thing

June 22, 2011

So I’m going to turn 30 in less than a couple of weeks. Yes, that’s right, I’ll be three decades old. I was dreading this at first but I’ve faced reality and have accepted it for the simple fact that some people haven’t been fortunate enough to have even made it this far. I should [...]

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Going from Urdish to Urdu

October 20, 2010

In the summer of 1998, we spent about 6 weeks in Karachi, Pakistan visiting family. It was hot and many days were spent indoors, lazing around and watching TV. Once, a cousin turned to the siblings and me and warned us that the Urdu used in the program we were about to watch may be [...]

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“Are you down with the brown?”*

May 2, 2010

Earlier this week, I was wasting my time on the internet. Y’all know how that is. Somehow, I found myself on the Wikipedia page of Zachary Levi, the star of one of my favorite shows Chuck. I looked over his filmography and noticed that in one movie, he played a character named “Ray Rehman”. Rehman? [...]

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On Accents and Dialects

February 10, 2010

A couple of years ago, I was in a Banana Republic with the idea of getting a much needed wool coat. Because I’m useless when it comes to shopping, I asked one of the sales associates for her opinion on the jacket I was trying on. As we were discussing the merits of how I [...]

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Am I Ready To Go Back to Pakistan – Year 2

November 1, 2009

Last year, I wrote my first ever Am I Ready to Back to Pakistan entry so I thought I would continue the trend with another blog post. It has now been two years since I went on a trip to Pakistan with my family. I discussed the issues I had in the entry I referenced [...]

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