‘She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain’ - Louisa May Alcott
The Bookworm: a poem
Unveiled: Why I wear the headscarf
Over the years, I’ve heard the perfectly respectful 'headscarf', the culturally sensitive 'hijab', the slightly ominous 'veil', or my personal all-time favourite: the utterly bewildered 'head toga'...
Randomly Searching For Truth: reflections from across the pond
The disembodied lady makes an announcement. ‘Passengers on the BA 292 flight to Baltimore, please make your way to the boarding gate.' I've come with my most non-threatening scarf, pale pink with paisley print. It's not good enough. 'Irfan' is announced on the loudspeaker. I feel special. The disembodied voice knows who I am...
Review of ITV’s ‘Sanditon’
Look, I get it, Jane Austen has a type. But I just can't root for Broody McShouts-A-Lot, whose only interests seem to include nude bathing and mansplaining cricket...
Tea with Auntie: a poem
Dedicated to all the paan-chewing, advice-giving, haldi-supplying desi aunties out there...
When Shakespeare meets Bollywood
Anyone who's ever had the misfortune to be in my English class will have heard the words "well, in the Bollywood version..." Shakespeare's plays have been adapted the world over; in India, Othello becomes Omkara, Hamlet is Haider, and Romeo and Juliet are Ram-Leela. While the East has its own versions of the tragic love story, most notably Layla and... Continue Reading →
Red Riding Hood and Marxist Literary Theory
Once upon a time, there was a communist. And her name wasn't Little RED Riding Hood for nothing...
Twilight and Terrorism: Exploring the Gothic
Why are dolls used in horror movies? What makes a Gothic novel? And to what extent is 9/11 responsible for the Twilight franchise's popularity? With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it was time to delve into the sordid history of Gothic novels (which, incidentally, has nothing to do with the lip piercings and... Continue Reading →
Why I don’t need ‘empowering’
So, my school slapped my face onto a marketing poster. It's a (mostly) candid photo of me studying outside with my earphones in, head down, rocking a peach headscarf that just screams 'we have diversity!' My initial reaction was naturally your typical teenage-girly embarrassment, before alarm bells went off in my head, as I noticed... Continue Reading →
Interviewing Shrabani Basu, author of ‘Victoria and Abdul’
'Victoria and Abdul', which has been adapted into a film starring Judi Dench, tells the true story of Queen Victoria’s friendship with an Indian servant, Abdul Karim. He became the queen's ‘munshi’, her teacher, teaching her Urdu and the Qur'an to the chagrin of her English staff. I contacted the author, Shrabani Basu, who kindly agreed... Continue Reading →
