A Rikshaw Ride

My rapacious rickshaw driver mistook me for a tourist when he asked me for Rs 1500 for a ride to the local club. Puzzled and amused at my Urdu counter offer of Rs 100, he apologized and we settled on Rs 400. We chatted through our 20-minute journey outmaneuvering motorcycles, cars, busses, and the white […]

Of Muggings and Thefts

On a walk with Ayesha on a bright and buzzing afternoon a few days ago, I was accosted by a guy who yanked the watch off my wrist with some force and, after giving me a glare, ran off with two of his accomplices. These things happen in a matter of seconds and leave you […]

One day in Hyde Park

At Hyde Park with the kids. A young boy approached my 10-year-old Faizaan asking if he spoke English. Faizaan replied in the affirmative. The kid (Konstantin) wanted to speak about Minecraft, a video game kids this age love. I was overhearing this social engagement between the two, when Konstantin remarked to Faizaan “You know something. […]

Below the Line of Poverty

It is when a rickshaw driver waived me down and begged for money that my eyes opened to how bleak things are in Pakistan. He said that his daily earnings are no longer sufficient to feed his children or to keep his rickshaw running, that Eid was around the corner and he needed funds for […]