Kavi Shankar's Blogs

In Sindh (as well as other parts of Pakistan and India), the word faqeer  ( Hijrra and Kinarr) has a dual meaning. Typically, it refers to a beggar, but in the local context it also means a revered figure—someone with spiritual or mystical significance. There is a saying in Sindhi culture: “Never incur the curse of a faqeer; always seek their blessing.” This is the story of two hijra faqeers —gender nonconforming individuals often known as transgender persons—who lived in different worlds, one in a village and the other in a city. Like many others from their community, they survived by singing and dancing at weddings and childbirth celebrations and collecting alms. Despite their separate geographies, their lives shared a cruel symmetry. Both were shunned by their families and viewed through the same lens of social disdain. The pain of their existence was eerily similar. The village faqeer was known as Mama Hussain , though no one really knew his original name. Children, wome...

                                                                                                   Fiction A high alert had been declared across the city due to the disappearance of the Commissioner’s prized dog. Police and district officials mounted loudspeakers on rickshaws and other vehicles, broadcasting threatening announcements. “The Commissioner’s dog is valuable. Whoever finds it must hand it over to the police. It is equipped with a tracker. If found in anyone’s possession, strict action will be taken.” Along with the warnings, the police were actively searching every corner of the city—vehicles, homes, housing societies, and markets. Several “suspicious individuals” had already bee...

  Fiction It was a scorching June afternoon. The sun blazed down with unforgiving fury as I drove from the village to the city along a wide highway. My car sped down the black asphalt at 140 kilometers per hour. On either side, there was silence stretching into the distance—only scattered dwellings, some brick, some mud, flashed by like cinematic frames. The heatwaves rising off the road formed mirages that shimmered and vanished. I watched it all unfold through the windshield as I drove. As I rounded a curve, a donkey suddenly appeared in the middle of the road. I slammed the brakes, but not in time. The car struck the animal and jolted to a stop, stalling instantly. The donkey lay badly injured on the road. People from the nearby settlement rushed to the scene. Some asked if I was okay, while others helped fix the broken bumper and tried to get the car started. I thanked them. One man, in his forties or fifties, said angrily, “People just let their animals roam freely—no ...

  Philosophy In the intellectual history of ancient India, many philosophical schools emerged that offered different explanations about religion, life, and the nature of the universe. Among them, one of the most unique and bold traditions was the Charvaka philosophy, also known as the Lokayata school of thought. This movement presented a materialistic and rational outlook that stood in sharp contrast to the dominant religious and spiritual traditions of ancient India. Historians generally trace the origin of the Charvaka philosophy to around the 6th century BCE, a period of intense intellectual and religious ferment in India. During this period, several new philosophical and religious traditions emerged, challenging established beliefs. It was also the era when Buddhism and Jainism arose, each presenting new interpretations of life, morality, and liberation. In contrast to these traditions, the Charvaka movement emphasized a purely materialistic understanding of reality. The philos...

                                                                                                Fiction   It was late at night when I turned onto my street, just a few steps from home. That’s when a dog blocked my path. I tried to shoo it away, but it stood firm, unmoved, its eyes locked onto mine. Something was unsettling in its gaze—piercing, almost knowing. A wave of fear passed through me. I recalled how dog bites had become alarmingly common in recent days, and how public hospitals were often out of anti-rabies vaccines. What if this dog were rabid? What if it bit me, and I died a senseless death? I considered running. But it was as if the dog could read my thoughts. It grew alert. Every ...

                                                                                                    S cam                                                                 Sandeep Kumar returned to Karachi from Dubai during the COVID-19 lockdown. After years of working in Dubai’s real estate market, he had come back hoping to start a modest, peaceful life with his family. But Pakistan’s worsening economic crisis shattered his expectations. Jobs came and went, and the income he managed to earn was never enough to ...

                                                                                                   Fiction It had been only a month since my daughter and I brought home a parrot. This morni ng, that parrot—our beloved Totto—died. My daughter, heartbroken, hadn’t eaten since dawn. She stared at his lifeless body in silence. When I reached out to pick him up, she quickly cradled him in her arms and refused to let me take him. The day began as any other. I was getting ready for the office, and she was preparing for school. That’s when we noticed Totto wasn’t in the house. My daughter was the first to point it out. Together, we began searching. I feared the worst—that perhaps a cat had gotten to him. ...