Economy & Politics
Importance of Being Offended
EGO Columnist Beena Ahmad returns to the Danish Cartoon fiasco to reflect on what it really means to support or oppose them. "I have come to realize that I don’t want to confirm the stereotypes that are at the heart of this debate for others, namely that Muslims are innately programmed to self-destruct in Allah’s name."
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Science & Technology
A Medical Intern’s Overnight Call
Encountering everything from drug abusers to an 80 year old man who thinks it's 1975, to the infamous Code Blue, which means a means a patient is pulseless or 'crapping out', we run down hospital halls, frantically begin CPR and draw blood cultures with Ali Haider: all part of a long chaotic Saturday night spent as an medical intern in NYC.
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Reviews & Previews
Water
Sangeeta Sibal reviews Deepa Mehta's stunning new film, Water. Set in 1938 Colonial India, the story begins when eight-year-old Chuyia is widowed and sent to a home where Hindu widows must live in penitence. Her fiesty presence affects the life of a beautiful young widow, who falls for a Gandhian idealist.
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Urdu & Hindi Poetry
Dasht-e-Tanhai
Ayesha Khanna translates Faiz's poem on solitude and longing. Considered one of Pakistan's greatest poets, Faiz won the Lenin Peace Prize in 1963.
dasht-e-tanhaai mein,
In the desert of my solitude,
ai jaan-e-jahaan, larzaan hain
oh love of my life, quiver
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Queer
Saathi Night
The idea behind Saathi Night came about when a group of friends came together in the hope of setting up a monthly club event aimed primarily at South Asian lesbian women and gay men living in Birmingham (UK). In its 5th year, Saathi Night remains one of the most unique club events to venture out to on a Friday night.
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Inner Sanctum
Chasing Dreams
The taxis of New York City are, in some ways, an American institution. They are the fastest way to get around in the fastest city in the world, and they, much like the city, are in constant motion – relentlessly hustling for fares in a town that prides itself on hustling with the best of them. Mo Khan examines the life of the desi cabbie.
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Art & Culture
At Two, SAIFF Comes of Age
The South Asian International Film Festival (or “SAIFF”) finally came of age this year, despite being an institution for only two annual iterations. As EGO Editor Mo Shah writes, SAIFF ironed out the kinks and the parties, hysteria, and people-watching, though still evident, finally took a back seat to a truly inspired set of films.
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Architecture & Design
Fashion and Architecture
Contemporary fashion designers and architects are creating incredibly innovative designs that are influenced by the tools and tricks and theory and philosophy of each other’s trade. EGO Columnist Azra Dawood writes on the dialogue between the two fields that is capturing everyone's attention and imagination.
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Art & Culture
Falu
Recently Falu has successfully captivated desis and non-desis alike in New York City. As Falu tells EGO Columnist Beena Ahmad, it’s experiential, which means that what you’re in for is a carefully orchestrated journey where the East and the West gently overlap like waves. Welcome to Falu's Raag 'n Roll!
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Urdu & Hindi Poetry
Hum Dekhain Gay
Ayesha Khanna translates Faiz's rousing poem against injustice and dictatorship.
Lazim Hai ke hum Bhi Dekhain Gay
It is necessary that we shall also see
Woh Din ke Jis ka Wadah Hai
That day which has been promised
Jo Loh-e-Azl pe Likha hai
Which is written with God's ink
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Urdu & Hindi Poetry
Ye Na Thee Hamaree Qismat
Ayesha Khanna translates Ghalib (1797-1869) poem about the pathos of yearning for the elusive lover.
ye na thee hamaree qismat ke
it was not in my fate
wisaal-e-yaar hota
to meet my lover
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Fiction
The Twentieth Wife
EGO presents an excerpt from this acclaimed novel by Indu Sundaresan. A novel about the life of the Empress Nur Jahan, The Twentieth Wife is rooted in historical fact and detail culled from accounts of seventeenth-century travelers to Emperor Jahangir's court and the memoirs of the Mughal kings.
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Urdu & Hindi Poetry
Abhi to Main Jawaan Hoon
Ayesha Khanna translates Hafeez Jallandhari's poem about the irrepressible desire of youth to be decadent and free, and rebel against societal norms that seek to restrain it. A tribute both to the young and the young at heart. Made famous by uber singer Malika Pukhraj's classic rendition of the poem.
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Science & Technology
Rational Unified Process
Ayesha Khanna and Charles Peterson discuss the importance of the Rational Unified Process, or RUP, in the context of business analysis for an equity trading system. RUP represents an organized way of gathering business requirements and building a software system given a well-defined project goal.
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