Art is in the eye of the beholder. True. No one can define what is and what is not art either as it is a very subjective and emotive thing.To me, art must serve a purpose. And it must raise more questions than provide answers. It is this particular faculty that elevates a society; when even just one person within it starts questioning accepted norms as a result of witnessing, interacting or engaging with art. …
By mahmood 
Life is a series of rituals. This is ours. This is our Friday. Frances and I spend the day together and walk in Bahrain City Centre normally – for those not from this area, people can’t walk outside especially in the summer, and malls are big enough, interesting enough, and very importantly are air conditioned so it makes the exercise worth it. While walking, we enjoy talking, window shopping, shopping and meeting with friends we encounter. …
By mahmood 
Yep. One year. A full city of over twenty thousand souls has been under siege for one full year, since 20 June 2016. How about that? It must qualify for a world record of some kind and I know that this is the reason it is really in place, to pin yet another browny point on Bahrain’s incredible levels of advancement in this modern age. So, bear witness, I am rather thankful for the siege. There …
By mahmood 
My friend Doug Doulton shared this on his Facebook timeline: In it, Naomi Klein states: Shock. It’s a word that has come up a lot since November— for obvious reasons. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about shock. Ten years ago, I published “The Shock Doctrine,” an investigation that spanned four decades from Pinochet’s U.S.-backed coup in 1970s Chile to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I noticed a brutal and recurring tactic by right wing …
By mahmood 
I woke up with a start two or three times last night and couldn’t figure out why…. Then it dawned on me. The quiet. No police helicopters buzzing overhead at low altitude. In the vicinity of Duraz, we see and hear helicopters flying at relatively low altitude day and night. Every single day since the Duraz Siege started almost a year ago exactly. Last night, I think, was the first time in a year that we …
By mahmood