On Belonging

Book excerpt: Returning to Lahore after almost a decade, wandering London guide and community worker Saira Niazi reflects on what it means to belong on both a personal and a universal level. In a series of personal essays on topics including exploration, love, faith, transience, mental health and being a woman of colour, Niazi shares her strange and unlikely journey towards becoming a wandering guide. She draws upon the stories, experiences, and insights of the extraordinary people she has met along the way, from monks and mudlarks to storytellers and scientists, and celebrates the many different kinds of beautiful lives that exist.