The reason we love Isloo...

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...