On the patterns on your seat & more

Din Dhalay @ Native Coffee & Grub // For years I’ve been looking for a place in the city that I could partner with for pop-up experiences and events. A place that understands and wants to be a part of community-building to put together something beyond music gigs and open mics. Native Coffee is turning out to be that place. I’ve only exchanged a couple of messages with them for now and need have a longer discussion, but I don’t see any flags why it wouldn’t work out.

Same goes for Grub. Discussions still pending, but I just know something will work out. Both places have very different purposes: Native is more slow and sit-down, Grub is more grab and go. So the experiences I hopefully get to design with them will also be quite fun to think through and implement.

If you have ideas for what to propose to these places, any participatory projects, small thoughtful events, public art, things you know about or have been a part of in other parts of the world - please do share with me. Let’s do this!

A.P. Bio // Unsure why I didn’t hear about this before. It ended a couple years ago, and English Teacher seems to have been very heavily influenced by this. This one’s a little more insane, but I can also see it as being set in the same school. It’s my watch-while-eating show these days.

Tann Mann BTS // Sorry for more TMNON content, but this BTS of Shuja on the tabla and Sehar singing Baaton Baaton Mein is just so good. Also, damnn girl can SING!

Bagwati // I’m really trying to not spend on things I don’t absolutely need this year, but this tote by Afterward is making me waver. They also shared this little design process thingum. Plus, full points for that naming reference.

BDS Successes // It’s understandably difficult to hold on to hope or keep pushing when nothing seems to budge. But with the boycott movement, we’ve been making dents all over the place. Enough that collectively they’re a crater. Important that we keep reminding ourselves of the successes even when - specially when - devastation is relentless. STICK TO YOUR BOYCOTTS. They are working.

Blinkit Ambulance // This is… an interesting one. Blinkit introduced what is essentially Uber for Ambulances. There’s a lot to unpack there and this thread is an essential read if you’re unsure of how dystopian this is and how wrong this could go.

Losing Zohra Rajpar // Zohra founded the Karachi chapter of Who Is Hussain and was deeply loved by everyone who met her for her kindness and devotion. She unfortunately passed away this week after battling a long illness.

Daawat @ Dastaangoi  // Fatima Kaleem presents an experiential exhibition at Dastaangoi, Islamabad, this Saturday.

Call for Artists by AABP // Alliance Against Blasphemy Politics has put out an exhibition call for their upcoming conference.

Branding Bootcamp by Ajeeb Design Fest // Areeb is probably the most experimental visual designer we have in the country. This is a great chance to get into his brain and learn directly from him.

Restoring Turabi Library // Turabi Library has been the hub of Azadari archives, recording and preserving Shia cultural and literary content for the last 40 years. It unfortunately caught fire after a short circuit recently and is in an urgent need of funds for restoration.

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Line art motion graphics by Awais // These are SO CUTEE. But also SO ELEGANTT.

Documenting seat patterns // If I had a stronger passport (weeps) and money (double weeps), this is 100% the kind of stuff I’d be doing.

Pretty windows // Nothing to see here just a perfect example of an incredibly useful architectural element that’s also the prettiest. Bring back nostalgic architecture please and thank you.

Brickwork // Social housing doesn’t need to be ugly and mundane. This just proves it.

Iranian bricklayers // More stunning brickwork, from Iran.

Research as leisure // HARD RELATE to everything in this article. Me doing research as leisure is partly why this newsletter exists. It’s also why I’ve decided to put together a course on design in the Mughal era this year. More on that some other time. But this was such a treat to read because it sums up all thoughts and feelings about how or why I do it so nicely.

Social spaces in urban agroforest // Refer back to weeps for stronger passport and money, because I am drooling over this course.

A strange evolution // Elephants have literally stopped growing tusks so they’re not targeted by poachers. And bird wings are getting shorter to avoid being hit by… cars?!

Non-brain memory cells // First they tell us memories are false, now they’re telling us memory functions aren’t even exclusive to the brain? Our kidneys are storing information? Gives a whole new meaning to the body keeps count.

Using AI to decipher ancient texts // AI is reading the unreadable: a scorched scroll from Pompeii after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 has just been made accessible after trying and failing for 2000 years.

Foiling tomb-raiders // Secret tunnels under the house? Illicit excavation of ancient burial sites? Remains of an 11th-century church? This story from Italy is a blockbuster in the making.

That’s enough yapping for today. Until the next one, shaam bakhair 🌅🤍

If you want to talk about my work, bounce some ideas, or just have a casual chat fangirling over a film, feel free to schedule a jam session with me here.