The Dad, The Son, And The Stars

Once upon a time, a child from a remote city of Layyah in Pakistan was afraid of the dark. Waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to spot a speck of light in the room terrified him. He couldn’t go back to sleep. The darkness choked him. He felt disoriented … Read more

You Are Not Lost In Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest desert on the planet. There are some places in the Atacama where no rainfall has ever been recorded. Nothing can survive there, neither plants nor birds or even insects. It is not a typical desert where it’s just dunes. The Atacama offers much more. Valle de la … Read more

A Night And A Sunrise At Torres

The sun had set behind the mountains, and as the light faded, hordes of tourists started disappearing from the Torres lookout. Our legs ached after a day-long hike on our first day in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. All the campsite we had spotted during the day were all already full. We kept … Read more

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

Today is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples! When the European colonizers arrived in the Americas, the indigenous population was diminished by 80–90% within the first few centuries mainly due to epidemic diseases the new settlers had brought with them. The colonizers destroyed indigenous empires and butchered natives to capture gold and land. … Read more

Are We Alone?

The Atacama Desert glows in the moonlight, and I look at the twinkling stars in great amazement. It is hard to believe that we all are made of stardust. Long before we were born as humans, we existed as lifeless matter at the heart of a star. How long did it take for the stardust … Read more

Atacama Desert Night

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

ALMA Observatory

محبت مجھے ان جوانوں سے ہے ستاروں پہ جو ڈالتے ہیں کمند The youth to whom the stars are not out of bounds, are the ones I love indeed. When I was a child, we had a large paint board outside our tyre shop in Layyah, Pakistan. It was a painting of a lonely country … Read more

A Floating Tent and A Sinking Dream!

After a day of cycling on the gravel road, I reach the bank of Rio Baker river. Each screw of my body is loose. I wipe off the dust and sweat on my face with the cold turquoise-blue water of the river. It is very quiet but in my head I can hear the bicycle … Read more