Finding Soho

Time to look ahead. Time to take the next step. Time to plan. Time to organise. Transitions have always been very difficult for me. Perhaps I overthink things and make myself more restless and nervous about transitions than I ought to, but I can't help feeling anxious about transitions. And why should this one be any different? Having said that, I know that I have grown and matured considerably over the last few years, and I cannot imagine that I will feel the same as I did the last time. I remember the last big transition very clearly. It was incredibly exciting but also incredibly nerve-wracking. It was also a time of relief, rejuvenation and rediscovery. I was and am today so grateful for it. Over the next few months, I will have to work hard. But just now, I want to take some time to reflect, take stock and express gratitude for everything. The journey ahead will be challenging but it's up to me to give it the best that I can.

After the tragedy, there is sadness. There is sorrow and there is remembrance. But all of it feels completely inadequate. It is so difficult to go on Facebook after atrocities such as this one. The words that people express and the feelings that they share are simultaneously overwhelming and inadequate. It is as if there is a shadow looming over their words. This is the shadow of uncertainty and learned helplessness. The prayers and the sorrow belie the reality of our utter helplessness in the face of violence. There is nothing that can be done about it. There is nothing new that can even be said about it anymore - all that had to be said has already been said. The prayers have been said many times before. The vigils have been held many times before. The sorrow has been expressed many times before. They say that love conquers hate. I don't believe it. I absolutely do not trust that it does. Violence seems unconquerable. Saying and doing nothing after an atrocity such as this seems...

Originally published in Peril magazine.  Sometime ago this year, I received a video file in a message from my father. At first glance, it looked like an old black-and-white recording. When I opened the clip, I found it was a British news report capturing the historic moment of the 14th Dalai Lama’s arrival in India after his escape from Tibet in 1959. The year 1959 was a watershed in Tibetan history.  In 1951, the 14th Dalai Lama signed an agreement with the People’s Republic of China granting the Communist Party effective control over Tibet. The introduction of socialist reforms in the Kham and Amdo regions of eastern Tibet from 1951 onwards led to social unrest and ultimately the eruption of armed resistance in 1956. Lhasa, which was granted greater autonomy than these other provinces, was, at least in the early stages, unaffected by the reforms program and the unrest. However, after the rebellion in the eastern region was suppressed and quashed in 1957, a...

Dear Nani,  The last two years were a struggle for you, and for the family. Towards the end, the struggles of everyday life and the endeavour to maintain your health took over completely, and perhaps it is with this in mind that we are so blessed that when you left us yesterday you were completely at peace, completely serene. You persevered for so long, and you were loved and looked after in your time of need so well, I could not have been more proud of my parents, aunts and uncles than I am today. But yesterday, as I said goodbye to your spirit, it was not the memories of the last two years that were foremost on my mind. It was the memories of you in your prime, of you as I knew you when we were kids, that flashed before my eyes. I remembered with so much gratitude the love that you had showered on us all all through our childhood. I remembered the long summer and winter holidays with you and Nana. I remembered your bright smile, your joyful face, your laughter.  I remembe...

You know how every once in a while you come across a genuinely talented artiste whose work speaks (sings?) for itself, and who's got no need for any frills and fancies to enhance her impact on the audience? That's Dami Im. Her voice is powerful. She performs beautifully. And her singing is what shines through in her performances - it's solely her voice that carries the performance. I hadn't really heard her music before her Eurovision nomination but having watched her X-factor 2013 performances and the music videos she's produced since, I can say that I really like her! Her singing and the lyrics of her songs cut right through to your heart - the feelings that she conveys through her music are impactful and beautiful. There's that mesmerising mixture of love and pain, movement and stillness, daring and vulnerability (listen to 'Gladiator'). She also comes across as very grounded, humble and personable. Quirky, thoughtful and lovely. Like Adele and Sia, ...

There is a trend in western politics that is growing by the day. There appears to be this belief that because something - some topic, some issue - has been re s olved by 'consensus', any questioning of it should be treated as wrong, unacceptable and incorrect. I witnessed this recently when a woman who had experienced adversity was mocked, sneered at and humiliated on television by the 'consensus' crowd for voicing an opinion (about her experience) that somehow made the consensus look bad. So now it's alright to demean someone who is already experiencing adversity because her experience, her loss makes your opinion look bad? It's remarkable that those who are so incredibly elitist as to demean everyday battlers on television are considered champions of the downtrodden. Words and gestures apparently matter more than your actual treatment of someone in adversity. 

In India, when it comes to discussions on the rights of sexual minorities amongst politicians and political parties, there is a glaring double standard that comes into play. It’s one that may baffle western observers but fits perfectly with the binary construction underpinning how many Indians view gender and sexuality. What’s happened over the past couple of years is that while gay rights have taken a few giant leaps backwards, transgender rights have taken a few giant leaps forwards. There are two parallel phenomena at work here: increasing support across the political spectrum for special laws to protect the rights of transgender people, and continuing reluctance to decriminalise homosexuality by repealing the infamous Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Sec 377 is a colonial-era statute that prohibits “sex against the order of nature”. As I explain later in this article, India has vacillated on Sec 377 in ways that have deeply disappointed those who had hoped for ...