11 Ramadan 1443

Its beginning is mercy.
Its middle is forgiveness.
Its end is freedom.

We had a family ziftar, a throwback to Ramadan 2020, when NYC was a pandemic epicenter and I was quarantining in Washington Heights and my parents and siblings were together in Florida.

We talked about the Ultimatum but not for long because I only watched Episode 1. We agreed that Season 1 of Upload is better than Season 2.

And I shared that I recently met a man who told me – after asking where I’m from, no where I’m really from, no where my parents are from – that Bengalis are generally intelligent because they eat so much fish, and that Bengali women in particular are genetically predisposed to have excellent singing voices.

The racism almost made me feel like I was back at the masjid again.

Nostalgia can be really f-ed up sometimes.