Do not call them mad, please!

Published in The News Blog on February 22, 2012 :http://blogs.thenews.com.pk/blogs/2012/02/22/do-not-call-them-mad-please/ When I feel feverish, lethargic, sneeze and have a runny nose, all know I suffer from common cold, and that I am infected with a virus. If I tell them that I went to see my GP and am taking meds, they all know medications [...]

Beautifully meaningful

These are colourful bits with each of a unique shape, size, yet so purposeless, resembling a pile of multicoloured rubble, until…. ..magic happens. And they all   find their right roles in the right places. Which piece fits best next to the other isn’t necessarily of the same shade or same shape. What is worth [...]

Know the bitter truth of Diabetes

PART-I “The tsunami wave of diabetes mellitus and its health and economic consequences is threatening much of the world. The need to prevent and control this debilitating chronic disease is urgent, before desperation sets in.” Journal of Royal Society of medicine. How does this  matter to us South Asians? Indian Subcontinent (which includes India, Pakistan, [...]

Leaving your heart prints

Valentine’s Day isn’t just about expensive gifts, teddy bears, chocolates or red roses to girlfriends. It’s about  making any of your loved ones ( whosoever they may be)  feel that they matter. And to make anyone feel  that you care, fortunately does not take loads of money. In fact it does not  cost anything but  a [...]

Dilemma of duty vs compassion

Having a background from the medical profession, it is not difficult to understand the dilemmas that erupt between professional ethics  and compassion, when they, at times, seem  to clash. Doctors are often accused of ‘compassion fatigue’ which I find is a completely misplaced myth.  However, at times, one’s hands are tied through requisites of an  ’ethical’ behaviour. This painful story [...]

Sights and Sounds May Disappear, but Smell Shall Linger.

Published in TheNewsBlog February 7, 2012. http://blogs.thenews.com.pk/blogs/2012/02/07/sights-and-sounds-may-disappear-but-smell-shall-linger/ “When I miss her, I go to her closet to sense my daughter’s fragrance.” Arfa Karim‘s Mom said on her 17th birthday. The words from the teary eyed mother gave me goose bumps. She was certainly not talking about the perfumes that Arfa adorned, but the odour that she [...]

Painfully Humane

Published in TheNewsBlog on January 31, 2012. http://blogs.thenews.com.pk/blogs/2012/01/31/painfully-humane/ A couple of days ago I met a neighbour outside the house, walking her two cute cocker spaniels. We exchanged New Year Greetings and as a ritual I asked: “So how did you spend your new years eve?” “Oh I spent my evening feasting with my girls.” she [...]

Daring to cross the love border

Published in Aman Ki Asha, The News on January 24, 2012. Ilmana Fasih shares some stories of building cross-border bridges through the social media A world without borders was my childhood dream. The desperation and the need for this dream to realise, came out in the open when I embarked on my ‘pyar border paar’ [...]

Love your Heart to Live

Please read this very carefully. A large study from McMaster University Canada, and some researches in India and Pakistan have come to a know that: • We the South Asians have 5-6 times higher risk of Coronary Heart Disease than Europeans, Africans or other ethnic populations • The Heart disease in South Asians occurs at [...]