Library? Yes or no
AT the Pakistan Learning Festival, the session on ‘Incredible Libraries’ attracted many bibliophiles. It is a paradox that in this age of ‘un-education’ in Pakistan a discourse on libraries should…
Love for wisdom
In the world of wisdom, learning and intellect, philosophers are revered for their deep thinking and logical argument. Undoubtedly, Socrates was a legendary philosopher who immortalised himself when he preferred…
No justice, no peace
A FRIEND reminded me on Sunday morning that our friendship has been going strong for 40 years. Not a mean feat for two single women who haven’t lived in the…
Is it child abuse?
HERE is a narrative to introduce the subject so close to my heart. At a family gathering, I was chatting with my cousin’s granddaughter, a lively girl of three. As…
Flashpoint: Taiwan
THE ‘peaceful reunification’ of Taiwan with the mainland is one part of Xi Jinping’s ‘China Dream’ that’s unlikely to be rapidly realised. The most obvious alternative provides ample cause for…
Parenting the parent
I have served the education sector of Pakistan for almost 22 years now. Today if someone were to suggest that the most challenging aspect of that journey would be to…
Remembering a gentle soul
“Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player/ That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a…
Going all wrong – Part II
In the decade or so after school as I negotiated various economics and law degrees at Cambridge, London and Harvard, I kept returning to Pakistan and the conversations that were…
Independence for whom?
On August 14, 2020, I wrote: “Every year for the past twenty years, when August arrives, I suddenly go quiet. August holds so much weight for us – but for…
Going all wrong (Part – I)
Coming at the heels of the Minar-e-Pakistan ‘incident’, the prime minister’s recent lament that English medium schools are creating a class of individuals disconnected from their cultural moorings calls for…
