PART ONE On the Paris metro, a teenaged girl sits next to her mother. Her mother speaks to her in Urdu, reprimanding her softly for something she has done. Tumhe ye nahin karna chahiyye tha. Je suis désolé maman. Agar tumhaare abu ku pata chala tho? Je ne recommencerai pas. It’s an exchange I’ve had before, that I’ve… Continue reading On Language and Identity
Author: obaidf
Surfing
I've never felt the ocean more viscerally than that hour I spent surfing. We swam out maybe 50 yards into the ocean, close enough to be in sight of shore and far enough to be at the mercy of the waves. Floating was really easy on the board, the thick material and the long shape… Continue reading Surfing
Stargazing Reflection
Two hours drive from the city, up the forested roads of Mt. Rainier, comes a parking lot below a clearing. On the eve of a new moon, on a warm summer night, we hiked up and settled down, turned off our headlamps and looked up, dilated our pupils and gasped. There was not an inch… Continue reading Stargazing Reflection
Vignettes on Hajj
As the dusty, weary, thirsty pilgrims approach the blessed house they fall into orbit around it, eyes full and hearts yearning, hands outstretched towards the magnetic black cube towards which they prostrate back home. This lonely brick structure in the middle of an uninviting desert, unremarkable save for its symbolism, continues to attract longing souls… Continue reading Vignettes on Hajj
A Letter to Mohsin Hamid
Dear Mohsin,Mr. Cook made us read a lot of books my junior year of high school, but the book that stood out the most to me was yours, The Reluctant Fundamentalist. I had read books that I had seen bits of myself in before: The Power of One, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part… Continue reading A Letter to Mohsin Hamid
What Tech Can Learn From Public Health
The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has thrust the field of public health into the spotlight, and it’s been fascinating to observe how it drives towards better aggregate health outcomes in the face of unprecedented challenges. It serves as an interesting lens through which to view societal problems in the tech field, which also deals with… Continue reading What Tech Can Learn From Public Health
What It’s Like to Write Software on a Team
Imagine you are on a team tasked with writing a novel. At first you all huddle together and figure out what it’s about. Who is the intended audience? What will readers take away from the book? You hash out the arc of the story, the characters, how they’ll interact with each other to drive the… Continue reading What It’s Like to Write Software on a Team
A Beautiful Place to Die
The long, winding drive down the California coastline along Route 1 was hypnotizing: the constant zigzagging of the road through cliffs and mountains, the vastness of the Pacific ever to the right, the cool air, scented with a splendid saltiness. Only the clouds dampened the scene, but even they were beautiful in their grandeur. They… Continue reading A Beautiful Place to Die
What Icarus Learned
Perhaps the biggest charm Rabat has is its border with the Atlantic. There is a Kasbah atop a hill that overlooks the sea, shielding the gardens inside from the elements. There is a lighthouse that almost looks like a minaret; like one, it aspires to be a beacon of guidance and respite to wearied travelers… Continue reading What Icarus Learned
An Old Wives’ Tale
She sat near, but not at, the head of the table, her soft, wrinkled hands quivering as they brought the glass of water up to her thin lips. She sipped slowly while conversation continued around her. And then she coughed. She brought the glass down as she shook, her frail body trying desperately to remove… Continue reading An Old Wives’ Tale
Obaid Farooqui 
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