A letter to Pakistan Click above to listen to the Urdu audio. Once again, Pakistan stands at the cross-roads of history. This time, however, the entire world seems to be at a cross-roads. Being the sixth largest population in the world, Pakistan has a special place. Unfortunately, we’re seen…

Wrote this in April 2014 in memory of my maternal grandmother, an extra-ordinary woman who overcame suffering and adversity to become an entrepreneur, writer and thinker. She was born in the 1920s, somewhere around Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, India, to parents with an unfortunate and seemingly never-ending string of encounters…

You are a stand-up comedian who can no longer perform at the local comedy club because of social distancing. You cannot perform via Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Zoom or Google Meet because you need to connect with the audience. Will you locate to a different state with loose social distancing measures…

Political campaigns are now largely fought online. The 2016 presidential elections in the US demonstrated this well, particularly highlighting the benefits of micro-targeting. Democrats are still struggling to adapt to this new world while the Trump campaign is “poised to dominate online again” in the run-up to the 2020 elections. …

History is replete with figures who got persecuted, even assassinated, for speaking of love and transcendence. There seems to be eternal conflict between the pursuit of truth and the pursuit of power, a conflict that is at the roots of many religions, including Islam. After the Prophet Muhammad passed away…

I saw a curious species Eons away from home Gnawing at each other ’Cause they were all alone No problem, thought my friends Just look inside their minds Plant a learning program That iterates through time But I knew the curious species With the writing of each tome They’d see it all so differently The truth they’d want to own No problem, said my guru “Go do it”, and I came With a message for the people To be lost all the same Except some of the curious Who’d receive somewhat the poem A little closer at each turn To the top of Maslow’s cone But some would think they’re Gods Deserving of their thrones So close it got to working But did it? I don’t know…

A group of people has been chained at the bottom of a cave from the time they gained consciousness. They face a wall, on which they see shadows cast by the fire behind them. For them, these shadows constitute reality. Eventually, one of them manages to escape the cave and…