MEET Q

Blossom’s Time Lord

Children always ask questions.
Big ones.
Sharp ones.
The kind that make adults stop, scratch their heads, and sometimes… avoid answering.

But here’s the truth:
If we want to fix things today, we can’t run from the root causes of yesterday.

That’s where Q comes in.

Q is 11 years old, East London born, and a Time Traveller Extraordinaire.
At Blossom, Q takes us on journeys through time — back to our grassroots, back to the root causes of everything we see around us now.

Why?
Because history isn’t just about the past.
It’s about understanding the struggles, the survival, and the stories that shaped who we are today.

Q reminds us:
👉 To research, not just react.
👉 To ask questions, even when the answers are uncomfortable.
👉 To look deeper, so we can grow stronger.

At Blossom, we call him our Time Lord — because through his questions, we travel back, we reflect, and we find the wisdom we need to move forward.

🌸 Our Commitment

At Blossom, we are committed to real equity.
And to get there, we must face the root reasons — the hard truths, the hidden stories, and the causes too often ignored.

Because only by understanding where the struggle began can we build a future that is fair, strong, and truly equal.

✨ Q shows us that children’s questions aren’t small — they are the sparks that light the way to real change.

Bazaar of the Story Tellers - Khissa Kahaani Bazaar  

Welcome to the Khissa Kahaani Bazaar, a unique digital space inspired by the legendary Qissa Khwani Bazaar of Peshawar, brought to you by BLOSSOM GROUP in East London. Explore a vibrant collection of stories that connect, teach, and heal, reflecting our commitment to turning community trust into real change.

Khissa Kahaani Bazaar

By Q — 11 years old, East London, Time Traveller Extraordinaire

Yo! I’m Q — part-time school kid, full-time time traveller.

I was born in the UK — proper East London boy, innit. But my story? It started way before me.

🌍 The Roots

My grandparents and great-grandparents came from Pakistan a long time ago — back when TikTok wasn’t even a dream and a horse was basically Uber.

So yeah, I’m British Pakistani.
But sometimes it feels like parts of the story are missing.

We know who we are now.
But what about before?
The stories that never made it into the books?

📖 Lost Stories

Here’s the truth:

  • Loads of stories got lost.

  • Books were burned.

  • Voices silenced.

  • History rewritten — usually by people who said they were “doing us a favour.”

And don’t even get me started on that whole “We discovered your land” line.

Like, bruv — imagine our ancestors standing on the beach with banners saying:
“PLEASE DISCOVER US, LOVELY PEOPLE! We’ve been waiting!”

Nah, fam. We were already there —
building cities, writing poetry, drinking chai, living life.
No one needed discovering.

💔 The Cost

Meanwhile, our lands?
Drained. Stripped. Broken.

So what happened next?
Our grandparents rolled up here to rebuild the very country that had broken theirs.

They drove buses.
Worked in factories.
Cleaned hospitals.
They kept everything moving.

🏠 Life in the UK

But their new life wasn’t easy.
They faced:

  • Struggles.

  • Racism.

  • Name-calling.

  • Being treated like second-class citizens.

Yes, there were good times too —
strong communities, big weddings, aunties making life sweet.

But make no mistake:
It. Was. Hard.

Ten people crammed in one house.
No heating.
One samosa feeding five kids like it’s treasure.

That’s real survival mode.

🔑 Why It Matters

All of that history — all the moves outsiders made back then — shaped everything we see today:

  • Where we live.

  • What jobs we do.

  • How we see ourselves.

  • Even the fights we’re still having now.

✨ This is our story.
Not lost. Not silenced.
Told loud and proud — right here in the Khissa Kahaani Bazaar.

So what’s Khissa Kahaani Bazaar then?

It’s our space.
A digital version of a legendary spot in Peshawar called Qissa Khwani Bazaar — the “Bazaar of Storytellers.”
Back in the day, people sat, sipped chai, and swapped stories.
No Netflix. No Insta likes.
Just vibes, voices, and truths.

And now?
We’re bringing that energy back — for everyone.
Kids, grown-ups, the whole crew.

What’s here for you?

  • Stories that actually mean something.
    Funny ones. Deep ones. True ones. Wild ones.

  • Big questions — the kind no one’s too small to ask.

  • A reminder that the past, present, and future?
    It’s all connected.

When we know the stories, we know ourselves.
And that changes EVERYTHING — school, family, friendships, even the big “Who am I?” stuff.

🔥 So listen up, yeah? Don’t sleep on this.
When your grandparents or uncles or aunties start talking — about Partition, about slavery, about how Hawaiians lost their kingdom, how Aborigines got crushed, how Africa was stripped, how islands were snatched for sugar, how famines were CREATED, and how all of that led to them coming to Britain…
LISTEN.
Cos these stories aren’t just history.
They’re us.
They explain why the world is like this.
And maybe how we can make it better.

So click around. Watch. Read. Ask questions. Tell YOUR story.
Cos this isn’t just about the past.
This is about the future.
And trust me:
Time waits for no one.

 

MEET DEGANAWIDA 

America's  before America

Kaaka Q Time Talks – Episode 1 Title: “The Day They Said They Discovered Us” Guest: Deganawida – Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy), 13 years old

Yo, yo! What’s good, people? It’s your boy Kaaka Q — part-time school kid, full-time time traveller. The Q? Yeah, that’s for Questions, cos trust me, I’ve got a million.

Now today… we’re jumping way back in time. Like, no Wi-Fi, no TikTok, no Uber Eats — just forests, rivers, and some of the most organized societies on Earth.

We’re in the land that’s now called America. But before America… there was a whole world here. Nations, councils, democracies — yeah, they had politics before your favourite president was even a thought.

And I’ve got someone with me who saw it all change. Her name is Deganawida. She’s 13, from the Haudenosaunee — some of you might know them as the Iroquois Confederacy. Back then, her people ran one of the oldest democracies on Earth. Facts.

So what happened when ships showed up on the horizon? How did things go from peace to chaos? Let’s hear it straight from someone who lived it.

Kaaka Q:

Deganawida, big respect for joining me. Tell everyone who you are and what life was like before the Europeans came.

Deganawida:

My name is Deganawida — it means “Two Rivers Flowing Together.” I am of the Turtle Clan, Haudenosaunee. We are the People of the Longhouse.

Before they came, life was strong. We had the Great Law of Peace — that is our way of living together without war. Clan mothers chose our chiefs. We planted the Three Sisters — corn, beans, squash. We hunted deer in the forests, fished in clear rivers.

We gave thanks for everything — the sun, the moon, the rain, the earth. Children laughed. The council fire burned. We thought it would burn forever.

Kaaka Q:

Bruv… sounds like you had it patterned. And you had democracy before most countries even knew what that word was, right?

Deganawida:

Yes. Our Great Law influenced others. Even the founders of the United States learned from us. But they did not keep the respect for women and nature that we had.

Kaaka Q:

(shakes head)
Of course they didn’t. So… then the Europeans pull up. Tell me what you saw.

Deganawida:

Ships like floating mountains came to our shores. At first, we were curious. We welcomed them. We shared food. They gave knives, beads, metal pots. We thought, maybe two rivers can flow together.

But then came guns. Soldiers. Priests. They said, “Be like us or you are nothing.”

Kaaka Q:

Here we go…
What happened to your tribe?

Deganawida:

We lost many. Some in battle. More from sickness we had never seen — smallpox, measles. Entire villages vanished in days.

Then came papers. They said, “Sign this treaty.” We did not know it meant goodbye to our land forever.

Kaaka Q:

Bruv. That’s cold. And the kids? What happened to them?

Deganawida:

They took our children. Cut their hair. Beat them for speaking our words. In schools far away, they said, “Forget your people. Be like us.” They tried to erase us.

Kaaka Q:

(silent for a moment)
That… hits. And then later, everyone’s acting like Columbus was some kind of hero, saying he “discovered America.”
How does that sound to you?

Deganawida:

(bitter laugh)
Discovered? We were here thousands of years before. How do you discover a land full of life? Fires burned. Children laughed by the river. There were nations, laws, peace. You don’t “discover” people. You invade them.

Kaaka Q:

Bars. Straight-up bars. So… what do you want kids listening now to know?

Deganawida:

That we are still here. Our language, our songs, our fire — still burning. But also this: what happened to us was not an accident. It was greed. And when the earth cries today — when rivers choke, when forests fall — it is because that hunger never stopped.

Kaaka Q:

So you’re saying what happened to you isn’t just history — it’s a warning.

Deganawida:

Yes. If you forget, it will happen again.

Kaaka Q (closing):

Wow. Deganawida… you just schooled us harder than my teacher ever could. People, don’t forget this: the past isn’t dead. It’s talking to us.

So next time someone says “Columbus discovered America”?
Tell them: Nah. People were here. People are still here.

Stay curious. Keep asking questions.
I’m Kaaka Q — and I’ll see you… in another time.
Peace.