Ishaa

“The jokes we tell or laugh at subsume our deepest vulnerabilities. We often struggle to comprehend the sheer intensity of some experiences. Our mind – that cruel beast – tries to soften the blow by teaching us to laugh at things that trouble us the most. Dark humor intrigues me because it originates from pain, irrespective of whether it's conscious or unrealized.”
― Taha Kehar, Story Circle: Letters on Creativity & Friendship

“I don’t think people are capable of understanding the people they love. This may come across as somewhat cynical because we’re frequently told about the healing power of empathy. But we often forget that empathy is a rare commodity. People are innately self-serving, especially when it comes to love. It is impossible for them to love every facet of our being; they only love those elements that serve their own narrow interests. The parts they neglect are invariably what they choose not to understand. Unfortunately, they develop a myopic view of our identity based on their own perceptions of us.
Ideally, love isn’t about extracting what we can from others. Instead, it requires people to give each other the space to blossom into full-fledged individuals. In a South Asian context, we allow love to become where people are stripped of their individualities.”
― Taha Kehar, Story Circle: Letters on Creativity & Friendship

“Though I have also seen that the more truly you begin to express yourself, the more the ‘noise,’ the crowd dissipates, but not before it hurts you in some indefinable way.”
― Fatima Ijaz, Story Circle: Letters on Creativity & Friendship

“Grief is something I live with everyday. It has its own language and I’ve learnt to speak it. Memories of my mother are no longer “sacred territory”. I can now answer questions about her without any emotion. I suppose we grow accustomed to the aches we must carry for life.”
― Taha Kehar, Story Circle: Letters on Creativity & Friendship