I have forgotten what place it was where mt first memory of industrial exhibition was. Contrary to what my family might think, I remember my grandmother very vividly during the shopping; I remember my khala too, on another occasion (She is now in America for the last 20 years). What I know is, that it was the place to go to shop...and then it was no more.
After that I remember the Shakarparyain venue too, though it was dust primarily. I remember my last trip there when I was looking around to buy a pack of threads from ASLI PARI , they used to sell one in assorted colours; however they were nopt around. I successfully applied for nearly three credit cards and received them all, (I used to be more credible then ).
This time it would be a new venue... the Pak-China friendship centre..And I look forward going there;
On my first visit with my grandmother, I had bought a few pack of kitchen toys, this time I need a few real ones... The major difference however is that I was more interested in cooking a quarter century ago...Now it is a chore. I shall not be beaming with joy when I buy a pan this time...odd!
Thursday 21 March 2013
Friday 15 March 2013
I have already downloaded how to steal a million, will see it later in the evening after more than ten years... I had to download it in the office from a piracy web-site, it is surely illegal and just shows my just mind. The last time i saw it was by lending the movie from British council library which has since closed due to the security issues... This charge alone is enough for my feeling towards the terrorists, my city has been badly defaced since...since...since nearly ten years ago.
Work today was light, however I have had my dose of irritation today. There are a thing which i thought was important and I duly high lighted it, but there is none so blind as he who will not see. and I feel foolish sticking my head out! I usually do, however, today I have done two things to end the pessimism, a) decided to en roll into some educational program and b) started this blog to serve as an outlet for my frustrations :)
My naib qasib, has not appeared, as expected. His family is determined to make a proper mental case out of him, which is rather typical of all families, just that his is better at these things ... So he is now absent from duty for some one month now, should i charge him with the offence for this certainly is no welfare fund, or should I show a bit of more mercy on him... I do wonder!
A few reminders, a few mis-sent mails and a few routine letters and a day full of nothingness. Except a few dis-appointments, disillusions and wasted hours!
I do need to go to nursery for kitchen garden and my darzi to create a wardrobe! might cook chicken in white sauce today.
Question: what is the well dressed pakistani woman wearing? straight shirts and shilwars like the old FM? the higher front hemline and u-shaped hems like the chairman parliamentary committee? sleeveless like the models of the new lawns in today's newspaper? straight or bell trousers or tight pyjamas? gowns or short shirts? Its a jungle out there!!! I shall stick or nearly long shirts with straight pants and fail on all accounts, miserably...hurrah!!! what a mess... and who wants to wear Pharaohs on shirts, plain white Egyptian cotton would have made more sense... but who would listen to me?
12:29 (a.m. may I add) and I am very very sleepy! The party last night was a) boring and b) which often goes with boring , unduly long...now who serves dinner at 9:30 unless its me having dinner in my bed watching movie, other then that one cannot be expected to think clearly and act soberly after one hour of reception type wait, one hour of speeches and very dull ones for that matter, and dinner at , at the expense of repetition, at 9:30 !
12:29 (a.m. may I add) and I am very very sleepy! The party last night was a) boring and b) which often goes with boring , unduly long...now who serves dinner at 9:30 unless its me having dinner in my bed watching movie, other then that one cannot be expected to think clearly and act soberly after one hour of reception type wait, one hour of speeches and very dull ones for that matter, and dinner at , at the expense of repetition, at 9:30 !
Thursday 14 March 2013
spring in islamabad
14th march, 2013, Dawn says last Islamabad saw these rains was 14 years ago... and I remember each rain of those seasons, as if it were yesterday.
I remember the day when at eleven in the morning all lights in the classroom of grade 4-B were lit, because it was pitch dark, just like a night and then to the delight of nine year old girls , there was thunderstrom. The science teacher allowed us to leave our seats and stand in the window, and appriciate nature's mood swings. Then there was the last day of exams, sixth grade i guess, when there was a hail strom. Teachers then had asked us to bring our own glasses to drink water from the school filter-water cooler and each of us had a plastic glass of some shape and size. These we took out of our bags; we stood in the corridor and held them out, soon they would fill with hails and then they were inverted to revel a tower of ice on our hands. Then there was a March-after-exam-walk in the school lawn (we always had final exams in March!), I was wearing double socks and was walking with my sister , and I held a pink hand bag. That was the first time I realised that I had this medical condition of itching fingers in winter, not very pleasent.
But we knew, always did, that it will rain in March, espacially on 23rd March. Even if it was a sunny day, it did have some sprinkle in the hour, which was very welcome. I remember vividly the last march past I saw, I have forgotten the year but i remember it was the one attended by some number of head of states. I remember the Bangladeshi PM's sari and her waving to everyone before leaving in her car; I remember the face of the turk who lead the turk troope in the March; and of an earlier year I remember my new green shoes that were all full of mud by the time I had reaced the pavillian to see the parade. But it has not happened for years; the parade area is cut off from rest of the blue area road, at a newly named D chowk because it is no more a round about. Parades do not happen anymore due to security reasons. No more do the troops march on the constituition avenue, turn on jinnah avenue and walk past the "salami ka chabutra" ; no more are children selected from schools to sing anthems before the ceremony and no more does PTV broadcast the traffic plan for the day. Our children know nothing of how green my valley was! I wonder how long shall we remember that as speakers were set on jinnah avenue for the parade rehersals nearly in early march, in the morning, when there was no rehersal. you could hear talawat from them. Recitation of quran as we made our way to work...Nobody honked at anybody during the hour, there used to be a peaceful silence around.
None of it happens anymore...peace does not happen here anymore.
But that was not what I had set off to write. I wanted to say that since it has rained after 14 years, maybe it shall wash away our sins and maybe our children shall see the parade once more and I will be able to drive from constitution avenue to jinnah avenue and there shall be spring in Islamabad...
The rain has stopped. It has been along day, but I am truly glad that I have been of some service to a little segment of the nation today.
One of our late officer's child wrote to me today. Wanted a bit of help for her tution fees. I do wish at the same time that I could help and knock a bit of sense in the child. Studying abroad at graduate level is a luxury not a necessity. A child thought she will come back and earn her way up. This is unfortunatly also not true. The poor family is evidently not prepared for the real world. And I do feel sorry for all of them who have no idea how real people of the nation live or survive . though it is not some thing i would wish upon anyone, but that is how life is, and that is how the world is!
My dear boss is upto his politics again and I wonder what is in his sleeve this time (his transfer or mine? ) ! Time shall reveal ! :)
I remember the day when at eleven in the morning all lights in the classroom of grade 4-B were lit, because it was pitch dark, just like a night and then to the delight of nine year old girls , there was thunderstrom. The science teacher allowed us to leave our seats and stand in the window, and appriciate nature's mood swings. Then there was the last day of exams, sixth grade i guess, when there was a hail strom. Teachers then had asked us to bring our own glasses to drink water from the school filter-water cooler and each of us had a plastic glass of some shape and size. These we took out of our bags; we stood in the corridor and held them out, soon they would fill with hails and then they were inverted to revel a tower of ice on our hands. Then there was a March-after-exam-walk in the school lawn (we always had final exams in March!), I was wearing double socks and was walking with my sister , and I held a pink hand bag. That was the first time I realised that I had this medical condition of itching fingers in winter, not very pleasent.
But we knew, always did, that it will rain in March, espacially on 23rd March. Even if it was a sunny day, it did have some sprinkle in the hour, which was very welcome. I remember vividly the last march past I saw, I have forgotten the year but i remember it was the one attended by some number of head of states. I remember the Bangladeshi PM's sari and her waving to everyone before leaving in her car; I remember the face of the turk who lead the turk troope in the March; and of an earlier year I remember my new green shoes that were all full of mud by the time I had reaced the pavillian to see the parade. But it has not happened for years; the parade area is cut off from rest of the blue area road, at a newly named D chowk because it is no more a round about. Parades do not happen anymore due to security reasons. No more do the troops march on the constituition avenue, turn on jinnah avenue and walk past the "salami ka chabutra" ; no more are children selected from schools to sing anthems before the ceremony and no more does PTV broadcast the traffic plan for the day. Our children know nothing of how green my valley was! I wonder how long shall we remember that as speakers were set on jinnah avenue for the parade rehersals nearly in early march, in the morning, when there was no rehersal. you could hear talawat from them. Recitation of quran as we made our way to work...Nobody honked at anybody during the hour, there used to be a peaceful silence around.
None of it happens anymore...peace does not happen here anymore.
But that was not what I had set off to write. I wanted to say that since it has rained after 14 years, maybe it shall wash away our sins and maybe our children shall see the parade once more and I will be able to drive from constitution avenue to jinnah avenue and there shall be spring in Islamabad...
The rain has stopped. It has been along day, but I am truly glad that I have been of some service to a little segment of the nation today.
One of our late officer's child wrote to me today. Wanted a bit of help for her tution fees. I do wish at the same time that I could help and knock a bit of sense in the child. Studying abroad at graduate level is a luxury not a necessity. A child thought she will come back and earn her way up. This is unfortunatly also not true. The poor family is evidently not prepared for the real world. And I do feel sorry for all of them who have no idea how real people of the nation live or survive . though it is not some thing i would wish upon anyone, but that is how life is, and that is how the world is!
My dear boss is upto his politics again and I wonder what is in his sleeve this time (his transfer or mine? ) ! Time shall reveal ! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)