The Curse of the Caste

Untouchability, a solemn critique of the now outlawed Indian
caste system by prominent artist and former
Dalit (or 'Untouchable') Savi Savarkar

I’m an urban boy. I love big cities with their fumy exhausts, historical monuments, rude people, wide wealth gaps, disgusting public transportation and chic restaurants. After the excruciating process of taking my IGCSE examinations this May in Cairo where the sirens and whistles are sometimes too loud for you to be able to think, I decided to visit my grandma in Alexandria which contrasts with Cairo the way New Jersey contrasts with New York.

After visiting the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Alexandria museum of Art and watching The Hangover 3 in a local cinema, I decided that what I was missing was yoghurt slush, a drink Alexandria is notoriously known for, on one of the rustic cafes located right by the Mediterranean. The experience was one of immense delightfulness as the scent of salt air surrounded me all over. When the waiter brought over the yoghurt slush, I said ‘merci’ instead of ‘shukran’ and expected a moment of awkwardness. Weirdly enough, I was treated to... Continue Reading on HASH

Think Again!

Summer… it’s that amazing time of the year when we get to embrace the hobbies that we barely get to practice year-long, well at least, for people who are too lazy to get a job, like me. Earlier this week, as I got to reading The Phantom of the Opera for the third time around, my father pulled a little intervention on me to force me out of my profound introversion. We ended up visiting my great-aunt, a Turk of sixty-something who was born and raised in Egypt and has come to know me as the toddler she babysat fifteen years ago when my parents went out on date night.

A long conversation with her got me pondering about choices, opportunities and determination. The result is this article. As a celebration of ‘Show, don't tell’, here is her story in her own words.

“I was born in 1951 on the outskirts of Cairo to a rich family, a family of circus performers… Continue Reading on HASH

Street Fashion: The Look of Tomorrow!

This article was published in the August 2013 issue of Teenstuff.

We all love watching movies like The Devil Wears Prada and The September Issue where seeing a woman walking down the streets in couture and six inch stilettos isn’t considered unreasonable, and although you’ll probably deny it when talking to friends, you fantasize over the day when you’ll look the same. Okay, let’s leave that bubble! Welcome back to Planet Earth where modern day women dress up in ready-to-wear labels to work rather than red carpet looks.

This season, especially in the teen world, of all of the different genres of chic, the one raving the scene is street fashion. Whether, you’re a Greaser, preppy or hippie, there’s a place for you in this phenomenon. Here are the top 5 pieces that are closet must-haves to help you accentuate your street look!

Denim all the Way!

Denim has stood as a symbol of bohemia and Gypsy-ness since it’s ascension. This is even further true today with denim skirts which are the next big thing. After fading from the fashion scene for a while in the eighties and early nineties, they were revived by Marnie Bjornson in the late nineties. My suggestion is to pair it up with a simple tank top if going to the mall or even better a sleeveless animal print. Avoid Polka Dots. A belt and those nerdy Ray bans we all have would match well! These looks have actually made their looks into some big collections from Stella McCartney to Louis Vuitton! Don’t forget to break the trend by wearing something other than the good, old blue shade! Jeggings are recommended too.

Breton Summer Stripes!

We all love summer stripes! They’re cheerful, colorful, vibrant and are the summer equivalent of spring florals. An amazing aspect about this ready to wear look is the versatility. You can wear them with skinny jeans, shorts, neon pants and if you’re daring with your fashion aesthetic, even a skirt! More importantly, whether you’re going to work, the club or a family reunion, it’s perfect. Though readily available at your local H&M or Zara, iconic designers have featured them in their runway looks this season.

Colorful Blazers!

Although these have been in trend for a while now, they seem to be sticking out a bit longer. What I like about this look is that it manages to combine the youthful feel that we all love with the formality that is occasionally required in conferences, meetings or interviews. As for the coloring choices, I’ll quote Heidi Klum here, “You go bold or you go home.” Try everything from lilac to fuchsia to burgundy. Remember, no fashionista looked fabulous by playing it safe.

Midsummer Night’s Dream!

Possibly not your best option when in the city but on vacation, in The North Coast or Sharm El Sheikh, this is what you gotta wear for a night out in the town, a karaoke party or so! It’s buoyant and hearty. Shades of pink, red, blue or green are all recommended. The length of the hemline is irrelevant here. Short or long, you will look breathtaking. Wear it with flats and leave your hair down.

Accessorizing!

Clothing is definitely a crucial part of creating that cool look you want to achieve, but if you ask Anna Wintour or Sarah Jessica Parker,  they’ll tell you the secret to looking your best is what surrounds the clothes! This is especially true when it comes to street fashion because the garments are usually simplistic and devoid of intricacy, so to bring out your inner diva, put on a variety of accessories. Most commonly seen in Paris’s Haute Couture Fashion week were studded bangles, Ray Bans, Hermès belt, Manolo Blahnik stilettos and Burberry neck scarves. Feel free to ditch the brands and wear something a little more YOU and affordable. It’s what really puts the whole look into perspective. This season, the cutting edge bags in the accompanying photo has been trending a lot thanks to M2Malletier. They are inspired by medieval tools and armor.

Home

Okay, don’t judge this as an article. It’s more of an emotionally heated diary entry I wrote on 3^rd July 2013.

About thirty months ago, the Egyptian society uprooted a tyrant. It was a bloody revolution, which took place over eighteen days, where tens of hundreds died in cold blood. Fast-forward to today, another tyrant, one of immense foolishness and absolutely no sense, has been ousted, this time, by a Coup d'état supported by the Egyptian crowds who rallied all over the nation forming the largest protests in the history of mankind with a total of twenty-two million civilians. This is not a political report so I’m going to cut to the chase. This is my story in the last two and a half years as an Egyptian, legally at least…

When the first revolution commenced, in the beginning of 2011, I was yet a resident of Dubai and was unknowledgeable about Egyptian politics of any sort. Luck came my way when I happened to be on vacation here and the uprising occurred. After lots of analytical reflection, pondering, and going through things in my head, I realized that I wanted to visit Tahrir Square so I did and it was a liberating experience. For a little while, I got the feeling that this place was ‘home’, but I was fourteen, naive and deluded, so makes sense.

On a personal and local basis, from the time that Mubarak was uprooted last year until this week was very chaotic. Nationally, the country went through several ups and downs with the Supreme council of armed forces taking over for a while then the Muslim brotherhood did. At that time, I moved to Egypt. The way I failed at relating with society as a whole got me thinking over my perception of home and how chanting and protesting in a place doesn’t make it home. It remains one where I feel secluded and left out. My introverted-ness along with the stagnant economy, lack of job security and overall decline in safety made me despise the nation as a whole. Being someone who always thinks things over, I realized that Egypt wasn’t my home and more importantly, I don’t have one, at least for now.

After having reached said conclusion, when my parents, politically aware individuals, started protesting, four days ago, I clearly told them that Egypt meant nothing to me and although my apathy annoyed them, they were respectful. I had a revelation when I discussed the issue with a friend who was caught in a similar dilemma but protested. He said, “If you don’t revolt now, minorities like us will still be apathetic centuries from now. If blacks, gays and women didn’t revolt in first-world countries, over the last centuries, they wouldn’t have become first world countries.” It took me a while to process that and I only went to Tahrir under immense parental pressure on the last day.

The momentum in Tahrir square said, “We can defy gravity if we want to. The sky wasn’t the limit, there was none.” I’m not going to elaborate on that because I did in an earlier article. When I went though, I couldn’t protest though. I just sat there, staring, preoccupied with the products of months of thinking. Why did I want to do this? Why did being here feel right? Would I do it If I were somewhere else? Am I Egyptian at heart?

The conclusive answer to me was when Ex-President Mohamed Morsi was finally ousted by the army. I was gloriously joyous. It wasn’t for me though. I was most likely out of there in a year and never coming back. I sat there, expressing my joy in ways differing from the rest of the crowd around me, talking in a different language. This was a victory for the world as a whole, the elimination of yet another tyrant. Things will get better for minorities in Egypt now and who knows what artistic or scientific achievement that will bring to us, and by us I mean the world as a whole. Cliché as it might sound, I truly do understand what ‘world citizen’ means now.

This is NOT how it is

When I was growing up, the unspoken philosophy of Egyptian society was “this is how it is.” As an Egyptian living overseas, I was constantly exposed to the sickening caste system and the chasm it created between the rich and the poor. While many Egyptians struggled to make ends meet, others drowned in luxuries like Lexus cars and ski trips to Switzerland. Whenever a naive child, not yet touched by life’s cruelty, asked, “Why?”, the response came as mechanically as if it were programmed: “Because… Continue reading on HASH

The Energy Resurfaced

I’m currently trying to compile every writing I’ve ever done onto this blog. This is a piece of writing that I recently found, one which I wrote at fourteen.

Let me start by dictating the reasons I have decided to write this. I don't know if this will end up as a short story, an article or simply, a poem. I sit on my desk and embrace the privacy of my room. A feeling holds me that I need to put my storming thoughts on paper and give you all a piece of my mind.

On 24th January 2011, I was a 'nation-less' person. Sure, the green passport, with the golden text, 'Arab Republic of Egypt' engraved in it, that identified my existence was in my bag. Nevertheless, I was a stranger to this country having abandoned it since the dawn of my life. I had no loyalty towards it at all and when its name was mentioned during a conversation the first thing that would come through my mind was dirty streets and homeless people thanks to the numerous TV shows giving this impression!

The Twenty-Fifth's dawn broke bringing with it a spectrum of hope and optimism, to the nation. For me, conversely, it was the typical Tuesday, where I would go to school, come home, have lunch followed by a study session!

I didn't mention it, did I? My parents are VERY patriotic people and I, naturally, found it annoying and at times disturbing as they willfully had me read their news feeds and online in an attempt to make me the same. This day, however, it was too much! My mom went on and on about how some serious movement is happening in Egypt and that it seems big which is something I heard twice or thrice a year! The following days were equally boring for me as my parents talked about something that only they seemed to know about and I had eventually believed it is a fragment of their imagination!

Friday, the Twenty-eighth came! Friday was the day the family usually spent with family friends, who annoyingly enough seemed equally patriotic! The 50 inch LCD screen in their house, broadcasting to us images of unity, strength, goal and, to the contrary, violence, slowly started to attract and intimidate me!

The word 'revolution' started being mentioned numerous times. According to my pocket Oxford dictionary, which I never left behind, revolution referred to, 'a forcible overthrow of a government'. The word to me, on the other hand, sounded like, 'the mystery'! It brought contradicting subconscious beliefs of war and peace, poverty and development, boom and recession! Was it a pro or a con, I wondered? Somewhere else within me, An emotional confusion erupted as well! I wondered what was happening to me and why!

I was never the person to care in the past. In fact, I mocked others who did. Through the eighteen days of revolution, a sense of loyalty started to grow and dominate within me. The reasons seemed anonymous but also, effective. Every death I heard or read about shook me to the core as I wondered whether the next might be a cousin or an uncle.

It all ended, after numerous illegitimate assassinations, on the eleventh of the latter month, or so it seemed. To many, it was assumed to be the commencing of a Utopian Era. But actually, this is when a demon left and was soon enough replaced by a more evil one! The SCAFs!!!

They played their game well at first, but soon enough the sugar coating was over. Although to a huge crowd, including myself, the energy of the revolt in them was 'dormant-ed', numerous individuals and parties were able to see them and expose them for the frauds that they have become or maybe even, already were! Governments Changed... frankly, they were nothing more than a public relations department for the SCAF who tried (slash failed) to deceive the intellectual citizens!

I would not like to bore you with details, but today, two days post the violations (more appropriately, massacre) that has occurred in the city of Port Saeed in a football stadium, I have realized that the flames in most of us has ran out over months of deception and cheap theatrical acting.

I hope that the massacre has been a lighter or match stick big enough to re-ignite the flame in you. It has for me, which is why I am in engulfed by sorrow for letting them deceive us for such a long time, but let's not cry over spilled milk!

This is not a message particularly for followers of the liberal or Islamic parties but to the contrary, it is for you and I and for anyone who would call themselves, 'Egyptian'! For those of you who choose to stay indifferent and negative, all I can say is that, the seventy three martyrs who have passed away in the stadium were not protesters! They were simply football fans! You can be their successor in a month or two, and vandalism and violence shall always be there as the SCAF is in power.

I hope post reading this, your energy has been resurfaced!

One Short Day

Even after nearly a year living in the penthouse my spouse and I bought when Sarah turned two, the panoramic view from the expansive window pane never fails to take my breath away. The sight of every skyscraper looking back at me from my Upper West Side castle in the sky continues to tantalize me. It was what drove me to move to the city from across the world to begin with, after high school, exactly two decades ago. Yet, having been raised in an urban environment myself, it was not the steel erections on their own that appealed to me. In fact, what did was the grandeur of the city with all its theaters, art galleries, fashion shows, club openings, so on and so forth. For a young writer trying to break out of the preordained shell he was fixated in… Continue Reading on HASH