Karachi - Summer 2015

Just another day in the busy city. Two friends overheard.....

Tufail: Yar its got hot these days. I am glad our area has got a quota for 8 hours of electricity.
Aslam: Really! Man you are lucky. We have been sending continuous requests to increase our quota to same 6 hours which we had last year. Our Nazim says that we should be able to have that before the local elections. Lets see.

Tufail: I think the government has done a fine job by having the markets open at 6AM and close at 3PM
Aslam: Well i am not too sure about that, i guess it was a better impact when they asked the factories to run at nights a couple of weeks back.

Tufail: Yes, the situation has really improved after that.
Aslam: (grimly) Not for us.

Aslam: I am planning to get a small scale solar powered power generation for my house. I've heard that the new technology can help running a couple of fans and lights for hours.
Tufail: Yes, that's the new solution. The UPS solutions are no more feasible as the batteries never get charged. But do you know this solution would cost you over 50k ?

Aslam: Yeah, i have saved some money from the competition victory last month. We were the lowest electricity consumers in the whole neighbourhood!
Tufail: Really?

Aslam: Yup.
Tufail: Do let me know when you go to buyout the solar solution. I might also get one.

Aslam: Sure. Will let you know.

Tufail: OK great. Allah Hafiz
Aslam: Allah Waris.

Getting into the kitchen

Ammi and bhabhi always kicked me out of the kitchen.

"Bilal! please let us work"
"But i want to learn how to make things"

"JUST LEAVE!"


and i never got a chance. After marriage, i had to battle though yet another level of resistance.

"Why do YOU want to do it when WE do it BEST !"


Winds of change
Last month, a friend of mine told me how he had made a strawberry dessert during one of his business trips. Starved with the passion to make it myself i took the recipe from him.

It wasn't as difficult to make it as convincing people that i could make it. Even tough i wasn't given a place inside the kitchen, permission was granted to do my stuff on the dining table after making military grade security arrangements to insure i wont break anything.

I HAD to bear all that with a rather BIG smile.

Anyways it took me an hour of hard work and patience to make the thing. My wife was the first one to taste it and said that it tasted good. She was rolling her eyes when she said that so i wasn't sure what would happen at dinner.

I borrowed a crystal bowl for the first impression to be good and my left artwork to chill in the freezer till dinner time.

At dinner.
After the main course was over, came the time i was waiting for. Dessert.

I went to get the bowl and when i was coming towards the table, all eyes were on me. Everyone was smiling as if saying "What in the world will he make us eat now"

Everyone took a little of it initially. But when Abbu asked for a refill, bhai and i went "Pass ho gaya !" almost instantly.

It was a big success and everyone enjoyed. The whole bowl was over in less than 15 minutes and everyone appreciated all aspects from the presentation to the taste.

Conclusion
Even though i still cant make it to the kitchen to actually cook, but my "Strawberry Delight" certainly helped me getting closer.

Al Khan.

A khan saab works as an assistant at my local grocery store. Bearing all the other qualities of being a pathan, he also just loves to talk and not listen. I usually try to avoid him as it takes me twice the time to do my grocery if he is the helping hand.

A few days back i went to the store for the morning bread. I saw Khan standing close the bread aisle with a red nose. It seemed that Khan wasn't well so i asked him how he was.

(try and think khan talking in the usual pathan accent)

me: "kia hoa khan? tabeeyat kharab hai kia"
Khan: "yar kia bataey halat bohot kharab hai"

me: kia ho gaya?
khan: "lamba story hai....kal raat hum ko jaldi sona ta aur hum ko hamary sar main darad ta. naaak bi band ta. Hum bot pareshan ta"

and he continued...

"hamara dost nay bola sar aur naak par balm lagao. Abhi hum patahan hai na kia karay, darad par itna gussa aaya k hum nay naak k andar balm laga dia"

me: "phir??"
khan: "bus phir poori raat hum so nahin saka! Pathan hai na kia karay!"


Yes he was right, "Pathan hai na kia karay!"