Kamran
As the half-moon rises above the hills, the Atacama desert glows in the soft moonlight. There is absolute silence. All I can hear is my breath. Thoughts begin to surface! “What brought me to this remote place?” If it is to be alone, then why my mind is occupied by thoughts of friends and family? … Read more
In Layyah, the doorbell rings at our house. Outside, a child clings to his mother’s finger and stares at me with big eyes. His mom Shamim Akhtar is here with her daughter and a little son. My sister had given free ration and money to this family a while ago and also told me about … Read more
“Sh“ince I was a child, I loved driving a donkey cart. I got the feeling of flying from it. My elders were also in this profession. I have been working in this street in Sadar, Karachi for the past 25 years. I carry cement, machinery, furniture, heavy equipment, anything you name it,” Yousuf said whom … Read more
They say the mother earth is healing because of COVID-19—less air pollution, the better ozone layer, cleaner rivers, and less trash. All very good news. Except there are some whose living depends on trash! Meet Faiz Ullah Ishaqzai (left) and Sardar Wali Ishaqzai (right) who are twin brothers of age 17. They are from Quetta, … Read more
12 April 2020. Lockdown: Day 22 in Karachi, Pakistan. On normal days, Empress Market is one of the busiest places in Karachi. Today, it is deserted. Despite the lockdown, some women still take the risk to come here every day with the hope to make a living by selling dry fruit. Every daily wager worker … Read more
“Garma lena hai bhai? 80 rupay kilo hey! (Do you want to buy sweet melons, brother? They are 80 Rupees/kilo!)” I turn left and see Shafiq smiling at me. His cart is full of yellow ripe melons that are shining in the soft evening light. “How is lockdown going?” I ask him. “Bhai, na poocho … Read more
“This lockdown has broken my back. Nowadays, I hardly earn 100–150 rupees. I have five children. You tell me how can I feed them? I can drive for a few hours and the police wouldn’t let me go very far. Today, I dropped my first passenger at Regal Chowk and was happy that I earned … Read more
“Mama, Mama, chawal dey do! (Uncle, uncle, give me rice!)” the kid pleads through the van window. The driver shifts into the reverse gear and turns the steering. Akhuwat’s white van swerves to the right, pushing children away but they somehow latch onto the window frame. “Why don’t you give him one rice meal?” I … Read more
A couple of months ago, a friend took me to the Business Network International event in San Fransisco Bay Area where everybody gathered for networking. Someone came up to me and asked, “what business do you do?” “None!” I replied. “Do you work for someone then?” “No. I don’t!” “Do you plan to start something … Read more
Dalton Highway Part 3. On the Dalton Highway in Alaska, it became increasingly cold above the Arctic Circle. I had not expected this kind of cold in mid-august and was ill-prepared in terms of warm clothing. Persistent cold wind and rain meant I took very few breaks and had to skip lunch. In the last … Read more
Dalton Highway Part 2 On the Dalton Highway, the mother nature played intense music and the landscape turned surreal as I moved further up north. I don’t know if it was due to mental and physical exhaustion that I felt being in a dreamlike state in an unknown world, fighting with the monsters I couldn’t … Read more
Dalton Highway Alaska Part 1 After navigating on countless roads since the beginning of my trip from Ushuaia, Argentina, I was on the Dalton Highway in Alaska. It was the last road on my four-year bicycle journey through the Americas. The Dalton Highway is about 900 km long, which is only a fraction of 33,105 … Read more
In June 2019, I cycled the Dempster Highway as a part of my bicycle trip from Ushuaia, Argentina to Alaska. It is the only road in Canada that takes you past the Arctic Circle. It is a 900 km unpaved road in Yukon and Northwest Territories crossing the tree line on to tundra and ending … Read more
If you draw a horizontal line on the world map at the 30.963280° latitude, somewhere this line is going to cross my hometown Layyah in Pakistan. During my bicycle trip from Argentina to Alaska bicycle tour, I crossed this latitude near San Felipe in Baja California, Mexico in January 2018 and thus, was in perfect … Read more
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