Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar's Blog, page 25

Wordless Wednesday: Doha Driving

If there’s one subject that comes up at meetings, parties, weddings, dinners, amongst expats or Arabs, men or women: it’s driving in Doha. And I don’t mean conversations about only accidents or the traffic. From the neon painted luxury vehicles to the melange of nationalities behind the wheel, getting on the road in Qatar is [...]

Give the Oldest Form of Technology This Season

You’re running around like a maniac because you have a long list and only one day to get all the shopping in. I have the solution for you and you don’t even have to pay me for the advice. Give the gift that is as old as humanity itself: share a story. We have shiny [...]

Wordless Wednesday: Climate Change — Arabs and Africans

COP 18, the UN Climate Change conference, is drawing to a close this week in Qatar. There have been lots of discussions on what various parts of the world can do, particularly the Arab region since the conference is being hosted in Doha. Here are some images from the public protest (a very rare event in [...]

Does Laughter Have an Accent?

A few weeks ago I shared the trailer for my first short documentary about comics in the Arabian country of Qatar. The comedians and the shows are the most multicultural places in the small country. Expats and locals, people from all ages and backgrounds come together several times a month to poke fun at the [...]

Doha is Trending on Twitter But You Probably Still Won’t Know Where It Is

I was hard at work getting in my NaNoWriMo word count. An early morning nursery run and forced seclusion to makeup for the other three weeks in November when I produced my first short film and hosted a delightful Thanksgiving. I hit my goal of 4,000 words this morning and did what any respectable writer [...]

Wordless Wednesday: Robert De Nero in Qatar

    Related articles Wordless Wednesday: Laughing with an Accent SA Actor At Doha Tribeca Film Fest Robert De Niro opens Doha Tribeca Film Festival

Wordless Wednesday: Robert Di Nero in Qatar

    Related articles Wordless Wednesday: Laughing with an Accent SA Actor At Doha Tribeca Film Fest Robert De Niro opens Doha Tribeca Film Festival

Not to NaNo… Featuring Wenona Hulsey

As you know, I’m a bit behind on my NaNoWriMo project this year but with the husband away for the week, hoping to kick it into high gear. I’ll be sure to update you on how that goes; my meager 8,000 words may not stand a chance at recovery during this third week when everyone [...]

Flesh: A Vietnam You Haven’t Seen Before

For the past year or so, I’ve been hard at work on a novel manuscript, set in Laos, a landlocked country near Cambodia and Vietnam. I wasn’t sure how to tell this story about a place most people couldn’t pronounce, much less point to on a map. Luckily, during my lull, I was asked to [...]

Wordless Wednesday: Laughing with an Accent

I wanted to take a break from writing but I was still interested in telling stories. And the place where I live, Doha, Qatar, is a constant source of inspiration for experimentation. Is humor universal? Can comics in the Middle East be funny—considering the censorship and social taboos? These are the questions I explore in [...]