The Sanniah Experience (TSE)

Original Poem by Sanniah Hassan Content warning: mentions of death, climate disaster, and displacement. Note:  This poem reflects on the devastating floods that have swept through Pakistan, capturing the grief, loss, and helplessness experienced by survivors and witnesses. It is a call to remember those affected and to reckon with the realities of climate change. One moment all was clear, The next I couldn’t breathe.   As the noise blared through the TV One dead, dozens wounded –   Its noise ringing in my ears.   The water came at once, they said, No end in sight.   Uprooting trees, drowning cattle, Displacing families – Leaving not a soul about.   The police cars blared their sirens Visiting neighbourhoods sounding alarm Cautioning people to stay inside Lest they lose their lives.   The damage had been done – Life in shambles across villages Hope drowned with the current   My people bled. Their te...

©The Sanniah Experience! (TSE) Exploring marriages from interracial to interfaith in the rom-com diaspora of the modern-day British-Pakistani identity. Jemima Khan’s massively promoted 2022 British rom-com directed by Shekhar Kapur, What’s Love Got to Do it? stars Lily James, Shazad Latif, Shabana Azmi, Emma Thompson, Sajal Aly, and many others with a surprise cameo of Pakistan’s beloved musical genius, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Dealing with issues of arranged marriage in the modern age coining the term ‘Love Contractually’, the movie has a promising start and a hopeful future preaching to the youth to stop pretending in unhappy or ‘insisted marriages’ as the male lead portrayed by Shazad Latif says to his parents. On the surface, the film deals with protagonist Kazim Khan’s journey from deciding to look for a bride to actually marrying a young Pakistani Muslim girl with whom he shares a sense of compatibility. ©The Sanniah Experience! (TSE) What’s Love Got to Do it? starts with British-...

© The Sanniah Experience! (TSE) By Sanniah Hassan What’s in a colour? It’s just but that Why do people wish, To be white Not black? Why do some people Desire for things Not theirs Like being white, While being Black by birth Or even in rare cases -  Black when White Why are we so conscious of colour? When in our subconscious We do know  That it is anything but Colour just makes us different It doesn’t define us Doesn’t make us who we are Then why are people so conscious of colour When it matters not at large! All my life I’ve been told That I’m better And why might you ask? ‘cause I’m fairer by skin Yet I choose to believe as some few people Around the world Colour is not who I am And it does not make me, me It is just a means To recognise  me In a room full of those just like me Then why is it that people Wish to be of a colour And not be happy with What they are There ...

© The Sanniah Experience! (TSE) By Sanniah Hassan I often think of what we would say to our loved ones if we could send them letters after their passing. So I decided to write a series of letters to those loved ones. This being the first, from a young daughter to her father as a way t thank him for his efforts in his life and after. Dear Father, Today I can proudly tell you that I have grown up into a kind-hearted, almost-independent young woman. I say almost because although I have come a long way I still have many obstacles to cross. I'm no longer that little girl you cherished and loved, who you constantly cocooned in your embrace to protect me from the evil eyes of people and society, to cherish me tenderly and make me believe that I am on top of the world because I have you by my side. No matter what the world throws at me, I know that I can pull through because I am your daughter. Although I am your princess, I can also be a warrior. Do you remember how I used to l...