Saima Desai
About me:
I'm Saima, an editor, writer, DJ, and artist-dilettante.
I'm an indie media diehard who's got a hand in a few different publications. I was the editor of Briarpatch Magazine, where I won some awards, and now I edit The Grind. I'm on the editorial collective of Between The Lines Books. I've written about politics and culture for The Breach, The Tyee, THIS Magazine, Briarpatch, and The Grind.
Also, I moonlight as a DJ, occasionally emerging under cover of night to play my eclectic collection of club music. I can also be found sewing, painting, bicycling, planning elaborate parties, baking cakes, and community organizing.
Updates:
Here's what I'm up to right now.
I was recently a guest host on the podcast Victor's Children, interviewing my brilliant friend David Camfield about his new book, Red Flags: A Reckoning with Communism for the Future of the Left. Listen here!
I've been writing and editing for the April/May issue of The Grind. It'll be out in print across Toronto in early April. Here's where to find The Grind.
More of my work:
DJing
I learned to DJ out of desperation. It was 2019, I was living in Regina, Saskatchewan, and I needed someone to play music I could dance to.
Today, I DJ under the name DJ Durga – the Hindu goddess whose sleeping persona, Saima, gave me my everyday name.
I play a little of many genres from across the world. I love bollywood, house, afrobeat, techno, reggaeton, pop, and experimental club music.
My DJ practice comes from a curiosity about the sounds, ideas, and feelings that move us in sync.
Writing
Hindu organizations are springing up in Canada, often parroting Conservative talking points about crime, cost of living, and anti-LGBTQ politics
Writing
Hindu organizations are springing up in Canada, often parroting Conservative talking points about crime, cost of living, and anti-LGBTQ politics
Thousands of seniors died in Ontario’s long-term care homes during the COVID pandemic. One daughter calls Doug Ford’s actions since then “a slap in the face.”
Briarpatch ✦ Happy 50th Birthday, Briarpatch
Briarpatch has been an important part of the political education of thousands of people before me and, I hope, countless people to come.
Contact: