As written for The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka There was much intrigue surrounding the Louvre Abu Dhabi ever since the announcement of its would-be presence ten years ago. Connoisseurs were dubious, yet piqued. Others anticipated a taste of the art world in the culture-dry sands of a petro-nation. Would “the Arab world’s first universal museum” […]
February 8, 2018
As written for Kalaa Kathaa Jaffna-born poet Rudhramoorthy Cheran is most known for his heartrending literary works expressing the numerous paradigms having resulted from the civil war in Sri Lanka. Decades later, his words serve as inspiration for the title of the exhibition showcasing Sri Lankan art at the Dhaka Art Summit (DAS) this month. For […]
December 30, 2017
As written for Kalaa Kathaa Ideologically motivated brush strokes strike easel in Priyantha Udagedara’s new series ‘Orientalism,’ with layer upon layer from an almost hypnotic palette of hues for only the true enthusiast to unravel – exposing the paradox that is beautiful horror. Udagedara challenges the orientalist’s notion of foreign beauty and invites the viewer […]
January 18, 2016
As written for MuslimMatters.org [January 2016] There have been two knee-jerk reactions in response to the release of Dolce and Gabbana’s hijab and abaya collection: The Allure of the Middle East; First came the yay-sayers (for want of a better term) who with true Arab-style ululation lauded the fashion house for taking such a […]
September 16, 2009
Hullo. My name is Shaahima Fahim, and I’ve been clean for 30 days. What started out as a spiritual sacrifice, turned out to be a social experiment of sorts, when I decided to quit the biggest banes of the cyber world for a good, fat, month. Namely Facebook, Twitter, YouTube (or YouTwitFace as a friend […]
June 26, 2009
I’ve never written a eulogy before. Never been asked to, and never been inspired enough. And i’ve sure as hell never once considered taking time off to express onto paper (or website) emotion for the loss of a man i’ve never met. A man I can never say i’ve met, but a man I grew […]
June 1, 2009
Hurrah! It’s Summer folks! Summer has landed!! Don’t look at me like that. Like i’m mad. Like the heat’s finally got to me. Pardon me if this happens to be my season of choice. And in this part of the world i’m not exactly handed a smorgasbord of seasons to choose from; the best of […]
May 11, 2009
Babies are an evil lot, they are. They’re all connivingly round, soft and sqooshable; a vicious ploy, a clever disguise, to have all grown-ups running circles around their chubby little digits. They exploit that ‘adorable card’ handed out to them at birth, and send out telepathic messages to all adult-kind that suppresses their ability to […]
April 26, 2009
To say that I was a ‘bookworm’, would be the understatement of the decade. At one point (i’m almost afraid to profess), I was one of those uber-geeky kids who’d always have a book in hand, having the ‘audacity’ to read even when on a social call. I couldn’t help it. It’s been engraved in […]
April 21, 2009
One of the many attributes that make us human beings highest in the hierarchy, is probably the ability and variance with which we express emotion. Identical twins can have the exact tendencies in every aspect of their lives, but in the way they handle pain, for example. One might choose to mourn out loud, expelling […]
April 2, 2009
The one thing we owe to all this recession schmesession is the potential it has for conversation. We all love to complain. And once the signal turns green, we can launch into a series of anecdotes, ‘tsk tsk’ at the downfall of the dollar, and list out the names of close friends / relatives affected […]
April 11, 2018
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