Blogs

Vivid Imaginations – A Memoir: $55,000 has already been raised from the pre-sale booking of Vivid Imaginations – A Memoir. It is a recount of a memorable life of a Khoja Muslim with Gujarati genes, born and reared in E. Africa, migrating to the Middle East and then to the US. A frank and self-critical…

A Scolding I am frantically hoping, nay, praying that the Masjid al Hayy / HIC union will survive the initial, natural and expected turbulence of any new alliance and settle on an understanding to continue the marriage amicably. My prayers are that some respected and experienced elders will intervene, bring the two sides to a…

Holy Cow, Holy Ass, Holy Mess! I’ve blogged about India extensively. It’s a great country, my genes originate here, and it is my second home, since I visit her several times a year. India is also varied, complex and multicultural, she constantly elates and vexes me, and is a source of much pain, tragedy, and…

A Khoja Wedding In Montreal Montreal roads are best left to French Canadians; they are more suited to understand the mess that is navigating through this French-speaking city in otherwise more saner English speaking Canada; I only pray this statement does not create an uproar in the parliament in Ottawa. The roads from the airport…

Jiyo Pakistan, Zindabaad! You’d think Fatima and Nazir Merali’s home in Northwood, London is Janna, what with the variety of fruits on the table. We have Kesar mangoes from India, papaya from Brazil, plump cherries, apricots, plums, watermelon, oranges, and bananas! All exceedingly delicious. The one thing I have an issue with the UK is…

You may want to read part one here first? When I see these three girls, my heart does a somersault; Zainab, the middle one, has no shoes! She dons a pair of chaffed and dirty plastic chappals with thin socks hiding her feet. At my urging, Nabavi stops to chat with them, but Fatema, the…

I have never penned the story of how I landed up in and got involved with Afghanistan. The closest I can get to describing the feeling I have for this battered country is of a mother to her child. She bears incredible pain at childbirth, yet the love after the birth, even if the child…

Masjid el Hayy in Sanford is crowded and abuzz with eager Khojas waiting to know if we’ll be fasting from tomorrow, Monday, May 6. There would not ordinarily be such a large crowd, on a religious event-free day. A niyaaz dinner in honor of a just laid to rest prominent member of HIC does the…

Abdul Kareem Lalji is a big, towering personality; you can spot him from quite a distance. This largeness to his body size extends to his demeanor; cordial and likable, ready to listen to everybody with a ready, albeit wry smile. The man has been through a lot of trials and tribulations for a 43-year-old, 5…

Will missiles put rotis in our mouths? When my travels take me to Mumbai, India, which is often, I am royalty material. My encounter with immigration and customs is pleasant, courteous, brief. Being Platinum with The Leela, their driver picks me up in an airconditioned BMW and I am whisked up to my super-cooled room without…

Lucky Sohail and I are in the land of the Imams (a) once more, but this time, during the blessed birthdays of Shaban 3 and 4. Oh, what a soopa treat! Emirates Airline’s stepsister, flydubai, with matching step-sisterly service and attitude, flies us down to Najaf, where we arrive 30 minutes late, with my ears…

I’m on my way to Kabul, Afghanistan. Again. My 38th time to this traumatized country in the past 12 years or so CAI has been active here. The diverse challenges the Trustees of CAI face in managing the various humanitarian projects in this badbakht country is unrelenting and never cease. Most disconcerting is the safety…

Ramadhan 2019 – Appeal For Iftaar Aid The holy month of Ramadhan, when we share our bounties with those who don’t have enough to eat, is less than a few weeks away; CAI has begun preparing the logistics of purchase and distribution of food grains. Alhamd’Allah, this will be CAI’s 23rd year of Iftaar distribution…

India – Home Away From Home? India is my second home; I spend a lot of time here. I’ve been visiting this mahaan country, off and on, since 1980. I even lived here for 3 years, from 2008 through 2011. I have a love/hate relationship with her. I guess it’s like being with a spouse…