Monthly Archives: July 2012

Syria & Iraq: now and then

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Razi Azmi

I am struck by two things: firstly, the language used by both government leaders and the opposition.  And, secondly, the similarities between what is happening now and what happened in the past, in Damascus, Baghdad and other centres of Muslim … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Affairs | 5 Comments

Fasting month, feasting season

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Razi Azmi

If fasting, through self-deprivation, is supposed to imbibe self-control, then the actual results are highly dubious. In practice, rather than being a month of deprivation, Ramzan is a time of high consumption. The eating cycle merely shifts from day to … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Affairs | 4 Comments

Good old New York

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Razi Azmi

The island of Manhattan is the heart of New York.  And like the human heart, it never sleeps.  Now the world’s most expensive real estate by far, 20 km long and about 3 km wide, it was purchased in 1626 … Continue reading →

Posted in Travelogues | 2 Comments

Superpower, super capital

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Razi Azmi

“That a man can take pleasure in marching in fours to the strains of a band is enough to make me despise him.  He has only been given his big brain by mistake; a backbone was all he needed.”

Posted in Travelogues | 3 Comments

Amidst friends in the American Midwest

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Razi Azmi

Miami Manor was not just a collection of apartments, it was a community of Master’s and Ph.D students, some with families, nearly all from overseas.  Children played, jumped, see-sawed and swung in the little enclosure under the watchful eyes of … Continue reading →

Posted in Travelogues | 2 Comments