Diversity

We went to Sushi Azabu for dinner, my favourite restaurant in KL and on very good form last night, with some entirely new things (firefish with firefish liver), and others that were particularly delicate and delicious (prawns, scallops, fatty tuna etc). A lovely bit of skipjack tuna, which I had not preivously had as sushi. […]

Last generation

I went to get my waxing done at a new place, conveniently located at the end of the street. The woman who did the waxing was a Sikh who had arrived from Indian Punjab four years ago. I felt a little hesitation, as I always do, when meeting those on the other of Partition. All […]

Not my Islam

I thought this had some interesting things to say about the conflation of hijab with Muslim women. The one thing possibly more harmful than invisibility is simplistic or tokenistic representation. I am torn between acknowledging that in L’Oréal’s campaign there is a value for people who don’t see themselves represented in the mainstream media, and […]

Class component

I’m troubled about the classist nature of some of Pakistan’s answer to #MeToo – the women (only women that I have seen so far) telling stories about being molested as children. They are all stories of molestation by domestic servants or other lower class individuals. Cooks, drivers, gardeners, qaris. I imagine that there is more […]

While we’re on the subject

A friend of my parents would take me on motorcycle rides around the neighbourhood and make me sit on his penis. He would kiss me goodbye and slip his tongue inside my mouth. When I was eight or nine I had to do something about it. I went and sat on his lap and showed […]

Shit holes

I am amazed at the fuss about Trump calling the non-white world a shit hole. It is not as though the US and Americans generally do not consider us shit holes for not being American, whether or not their own ancestors are originally from those shit holes. Moreover, it is hardly the vilest thing that […]

Cold in KL

KL is shivering in a cold wave. As low as 23 degrees at times. I, clearly now a full time resident of the tropics, am definitely feeling the chill and last night felt quite cold under my usual silk sheet. The silk sheet is not from KL – it’s the only part of a Pakistani […]

Settling in again

A few days without posting as I settle back into my life. It’s not quite the usual, as of course the GF’s mother is still here. She is lovely, but having another person is inevitably a bit disruptive. I have made myself a little spot on the floor of the bedroom where I have been […]