Day before yesterday, as I was lying around at around 4 pm to steal some shut eye, to pass the final hours of a fast that refused to end, I head a sound that in Isloo means perfection. The sound of thunder capped with the wheeze of a strong strong breeze. And by the time I got up (after 15-20 mins) everything outside was new. There was a sudden chill in the wind, the sky was a violent shade of crimson, with glistening clouds scattered in the sky, reflecting the pure light from the sun. Everything alive and green had miraculously found its one true color, and there were countless shades of green on display. And above all, stepping outside was accompanied by an urge to walk outside! All in all, the perfect Isloo day!
The perfect Isloo day is the one day that convinces you to spend the rest of your life in this city of wonder. That one day which is enough to counter any argument thrown by any lover of Lahore or Karachi, or heck anywhere in the world. But somehow there's more to it. I spent about 6 months in Raleigh, a city a lot like my Isloo, with the same sort of temperamental weather, and long stretches of lush greens. And I never once felt truly at home. Yes I did agree on more occasions then one, that if I were to move, I could move here! But the moment I set foot in Isloo (about 2 months to the date) after a 12 hour delay, I was at peace. I somehow knew that everything would be just fine. Whoever said "familiarity breeds contempt" should think again, because familiarity, in my case, has bred a love of epic proportions.
That night, quite late, I went to the roof of my house. By the time the breeze had gotten stronger, and the smell of jasmine (planted lovingly in our backyard by my father) was mixed in the wind, where every few seconds, you just felt like breathing in forever, for everyone who knows, knows that nothing compares to the smell of a jasmine plant at night.
But as I was saying, it was nice to have that perfect Isloo day again, and even nicer that I was here to see and feel it for myself. For even though hearing about the perfect Isloo day, and creating it in the mind, is no doubt a great activity, but it can never ever beat the feeling of actually being there.
So here's to being here then...
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
Breaking tradition
So for the first time in my short blogging life, I am about to copy a forwarded email to me on my blog. See normally I am the guy you hear bitching about all the useless forwards we get everyday. I am the guy who is known to have called the person up on more then one occasion who sent me a forwarded email to give my (little) piece of mind.
But here I am copying a forwarded email. I asked the person who sent me the forward to give me the name of the person who wrote this (and permission) to put this in my zoo. Unfortunately the person who sent me this did not know who wrote this, it was just a nameless forward, heck even I might have written this some sleepless night! But if you've written this, then please let me know, for I would definately want to read your blog!
Anyway enough by me...here goes.
Close your eyes.....
And go back in time....
Before Internet, VCD and DVD.
Before semi-automatic machine guns, joyriders and crack ....
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo or Video Games...
Way back....
I'm talking about Hide and seek (Chhupan Chhupaee) or Barf Panee or Dodge the Ball in the park or on streets.
The corner shop, Butter Scotch Candy, Mitchells Milk Toffee, Jubilee, football with an old can, jumping in enormous puddles, Building dams
The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass, Mayfair bubble gum, A POLKA ice cream pop cone on a warm summer night,
Wait......Watching Weekday 5pm evening or Saturday Morning cartoons... short commercials, The Tom and Jerry, He-Man, Captain Caveman, Voltron,
Walligator, Danger Mouse and Pink Panther.
Staying up late for Knight Rider, Air Wolf or Power of Metthew Star, Watching nice Urdu Plays like Un Kahi, Tanhaiyaan, Sunehray Din, Aangan Tera.
When around the corner seemed far away, and going into down town or Liberty Market seemed like going somewhere.
A million mosquito bites, wasp and bee stings.
Sticky fingers.
Walking to school, no matter what the weather.
Running till you were out of breath.
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt!
Jumping on the bed.
Pillow fights.
Climbing trees, building igloo Ice Lollies out of tiny amounts of snow.
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
Being tired from playing...
Remember that?
The biggest embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.
I'm not finished just yet...
Eating raw jelly, orange squash, ice popps.
Remember when...
You knew everyone in your street - and so did your parents!
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
You didn't sleep a wink on EiD Chaand Raat…
When 100 Rs. was decent pocket money.
When you'd get a coke for 4 Rs.
When nearly everyone's mum was at home when the kids got there from School.
It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.
When being sent to the head's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.
Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat!
And some of us are still afraid of them!!!
Didn't that feel good?
Just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!
Remember when....
Decisions were made by going "eeny- meeny-miney-mo."
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly".
The worst thing you could catch from other person was germs, and the worst thing in your day was having to sit next to opposite sex.
Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a catapult.
Nobody was prettier than your Mum.
Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable aspirin.
Ice cream was considered a basic food group.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dare".
Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.
If you can remember most of these, then you have LIVED!
But here I am copying a forwarded email. I asked the person who sent me the forward to give me the name of the person who wrote this (and permission) to put this in my zoo. Unfortunately the person who sent me this did not know who wrote this, it was just a nameless forward, heck even I might have written this some sleepless night! But if you've written this, then please let me know, for I would definately want to read your blog!
Anyway enough by me...here goes.
Close your eyes.....
And go back in time....
Before Internet, VCD and DVD.
Before semi-automatic machine guns, joyriders and crack ....
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo or Video Games...
Way back....
I'm talking about Hide and seek (Chhupan Chhupaee) or Barf Panee or Dodge the Ball in the park or on streets.
The corner shop, Butter Scotch Candy, Mitchells Milk Toffee, Jubilee, football with an old can, jumping in enormous puddles, Building dams
The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass, Mayfair bubble gum, A POLKA ice cream pop cone on a warm summer night,
Wait......Watching Weekday 5pm evening or Saturday Morning cartoons... short commercials, The Tom and Jerry, He-Man, Captain Caveman, Voltron,
Walligator, Danger Mouse and Pink Panther.
Staying up late for Knight Rider, Air Wolf or Power of Metthew Star, Watching nice Urdu Plays like Un Kahi, Tanhaiyaan, Sunehray Din, Aangan Tera.
When around the corner seemed far away, and going into down town or Liberty Market seemed like going somewhere.
A million mosquito bites, wasp and bee stings.
Sticky fingers.
Walking to school, no matter what the weather.
Running till you were out of breath.
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt!
Jumping on the bed.
Pillow fights.
Climbing trees, building igloo Ice Lollies out of tiny amounts of snow.
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
Being tired from playing...
Remember that?
The biggest embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.
I'm not finished just yet...
Eating raw jelly, orange squash, ice popps.
Remember when...
You knew everyone in your street - and so did your parents!
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
You didn't sleep a wink on EiD Chaand Raat…
When 100 Rs. was decent pocket money.
When you'd get a coke for 4 Rs.
When nearly everyone's mum was at home when the kids got there from School.
It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.
When being sent to the head's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.
Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat!
And some of us are still afraid of them!!!
Didn't that feel good?
Just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!
Remember when....
Decisions were made by going "eeny- meeny-miney-mo."
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly".
The worst thing you could catch from other person was germs, and the worst thing in your day was having to sit next to opposite sex.
Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a catapult.
Nobody was prettier than your Mum.
Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable aspirin.
Ice cream was considered a basic food group.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dare".
Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.
If you can remember most of these, then you have LIVED!
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Welcome me back!
Let's just say that I am glad that my time off is finally over, and Thank God that it's ended in a happy ending, leading to many new beginnings. And I guess I can only blog when I am coming into work on a regular basis, because when I'm off work, the only time I turn my machine on is when I want to watch a movie or listen to some music.
This past month I have been feeling the rippling effect of life at its best and heavens at their ironic most. Where one thing leads to many other things, and they in turn do the same, and suddenly your circumfrence is filled with ripples, and you're just running around catching one thing by it tail, and colliding head on with another. And when finally it's over and things slow down, all you can do is to just collapse for a day or two hiding behind an attack of allergies, and just hope that if you sneeze and sniff enough, maybe, just maybe everyone would leave you alone!
But now it's all better since I have started coming into work again, and life suddenly makes more sense, I guess it's the comfort of familiarity that I am enjoying right now.
Good thing is that I still don't have a deadline to pack my bags and go, so enjoying Isloo from the comfort of routined life is quite fantastic. I would however appreciate if the climate changed for the cooler, because now the heat is getting on my nerves! But I guess the way we're molesting our environment, we should get used to much worse. What was the Al Gore documentary? It shold be compulsory viewing for all.
But on a much much better note, finally the Israeli offensive on Lebonan has been halted and the senseless killing ended, at least for the time being. Come to think of it we live in mother earth, and earth being life's mother, it isn't surprising that mother earth is contemplating assisted suicide (assisted by our cars and industry of course). For show me a mother who can stand so many murders of her children and I'll show you a person who has never lied.
But the trees are still green and the wind still soothing...and as long as we have that I guess we'd eventually be alright, for I guess our lives are lived in small moments of peace and utter joy.
See you soon...
This past month I have been feeling the rippling effect of life at its best and heavens at their ironic most. Where one thing leads to many other things, and they in turn do the same, and suddenly your circumfrence is filled with ripples, and you're just running around catching one thing by it tail, and colliding head on with another. And when finally it's over and things slow down, all you can do is to just collapse for a day or two hiding behind an attack of allergies, and just hope that if you sneeze and sniff enough, maybe, just maybe everyone would leave you alone!
But now it's all better since I have started coming into work again, and life suddenly makes more sense, I guess it's the comfort of familiarity that I am enjoying right now.
Good thing is that I still don't have a deadline to pack my bags and go, so enjoying Isloo from the comfort of routined life is quite fantastic. I would however appreciate if the climate changed for the cooler, because now the heat is getting on my nerves! But I guess the way we're molesting our environment, we should get used to much worse. What was the Al Gore documentary? It shold be compulsory viewing for all.
But on a much much better note, finally the Israeli offensive on Lebonan has been halted and the senseless killing ended, at least for the time being. Come to think of it we live in mother earth, and earth being life's mother, it isn't surprising that mother earth is contemplating assisted suicide (assisted by our cars and industry of course). For show me a mother who can stand so many murders of her children and I'll show you a person who has never lied.
But the trees are still green and the wind still soothing...and as long as we have that I guess we'd eventually be alright, for I guess our lives are lived in small moments of peace and utter joy.
See you soon...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
