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Frozen

It was a small story, covered only in the local press, largely ignored by the aggressive festivities of the holiday season: 'Man Found Frozen in Snow Bank' ...

In the Company of Women

For I knew that across the North American landscape, in large cities and small towns, there were others.

The Invisible Aliens

These illegals live sometimes invisible lives. They work in sweat-shops, labor under the hot sun picking fruit and lettuce, mow our lawns, clean our houses and look after our children

First, Honor Thyself

Her virginity and her body is not hers alone. They are symbols of her family’s honor, whether it is her birth family or that of her husband

A Thousand Cuts

Female genital mutilation is actually on the rise, as those who practice it, bring it with them as they make their Diasporic journeys to other lands

Give Us this Day our Tandoori Chicken

Apart from the usual news, there were accounts of the latest breed of terrorists. They need no bombs, they are small and undetectable and they are constantly on the move

Conduits

This is the reality, for most of us who live outside our countries. We’re always looking for that door… the conduit that connects our new home to the real home we long for

Ch-ch-changes

Change, is after all, the only true constant in life. The way we look changes, from our waistlines to our skin to our thinning hair

In Praise (and Defence) of Blasphemy

Blasphemy to me is the domain of a different mind, of a brave person (or a foolish one) but someone who definitely swims against the tide

Diasporic Indian

I realized that the strange unease within me, the missing piece was the overlapping, messy Jawahara of the Diaspora.

Standing Alone in Mecca by Asra Q. Nomani

The journey to Mecca and standing alone at the birthplace of Islam is a running metaphor in Nomani’s book. She is always alone, or so it seems, on the other side of most Islamic issues.

The Weight of Water

“Women are like water,” her father used to say, “they are gentle and patient and they take the shape of whatever situation into which they are poured.”

The Woman on the Tracks

Three wheels pass over her waist before the train stops.

Monsters Unlocked

Only human beings can kill like this: the ultimate predator, cunning, hunting in groups, with weapons and without remorse. And we all have this machete killer lurking within us. It only awaits some fuel to burst forth and destroy others and us along with

The Gun

A life which, after his retirement kept him on edge, surprised in a world that had changed so drastically since he had entered the service so many years ago. His wife was the biggest surprise.

The Allahabad I Knew

A customer was looking for Jacques Derrida’s works. He and the owner lamented Derrida’s death before launching into a passionate discussion on deconstruction. I smiled to myself. This was the Allahabad I remember, where words and books and wri

The Drive

She unclipped his seatbelt and hers, moving closer to him, forcing him into an embrace. He resisted for one long moment before collapsing into her arms. Together they cried, each holding the other, in the darkness of their car, not knowing where they were

The Beast and I

When I talk someone else, it is his cynical, mocking voice I hear in my ears. When I look into another person’s eyes, I peer instead into the center of his soul, glimpsing uncharted, thrilling vistas and promises that excite and repel me.

Ramblings On the Fence

Searching for your realities in a melting pot.

Resurrection

That night he dreamt of her hands again. They threaded small, white buds of the queen of the night into long strands. And wove them around his heart.

In This Together

my identity will be subsumed under the trappings of my skin and my name

Violent Changes

I will let life go on

Heart of Silence in the Place of Chaos

Two months later she found out he got married to a suitable girl

Degrees of Horror

Someone in Kutch is just a few degrees removed from me

Brocade

Like a worm they have crept inside my perfect daughter’s heart and mind

At Your Table: Gluttony

I follow visions of food that turn to dust and ashes in my mouth

Banyan Tree

a lone boat on the sea of the universe

The Ring

Of Angootha Baba’s divine toe and the miracles it engenders

Roses and Broken China

A fragrant look at yesterday

Her Other Self

Why did she wake up in nightmarish sweats chased by dark fears?

The Bird of Crimson and Gold

And it said to her, “it is coming. Be patient.”

His Slave

Lifting her face for her lover’s kiss, she closed her eyes, and stepped off

The Love Letter

I spend waking nights writing you a letter

Just a Chance Encounter

Now ... it was too late for me.

Corporate Battles

the seductive sweetness of ripe mangoes fresh from a tree

Jaya: Chronicle of an Anonymous Death

There is no one here, Jaya, only you, I tell myself.

Sound Quest

I could never...decide what the sound of flesh on flesh was

Jawahara Saidullah

• Articles on Chowk: 37
• First article: Jan 30, 1999
• Latest article: Dec 13, 2006
• Times read on Chowk: 379673