The World at your Feet, the Change* in your Hands

An Eid with mixed blessings

This is going to be a random compilation of thoughts from the events that unfolded.

1) WHEN IS EID for God's sake??

And so I'll say to Muslims celebrating Eid-il Fitr, Eid Mubarak! today, tomorrow or whenever the old mullahs see the moon and declares it Eid. Saudi Arabia and some parts of Pakistan celebrated on Friday, Singapore and South East Asia on Saturday, and coming in last was the rest of Pakistan.

After the last iftar, gunshots were heard... I hope no one died from a stray bullet. Watched on mythbusters how a bullet shot at even the slightest angle will still retain its speed because of its trajectory path. But nothing came out in the news so I guess the "gun slinging celebrators" used blanks or shot right at 90 degrees angle into the night sky.

2) FAREWELL to Ben and Frankie
I'm sooo going to miss you boys! and since everyone else except me and Yao were out of Karachi, the house felt extremely empty after they left.

3) Humbled by FATE, Assured by FAITH
So the plan was to go to my uncle's for Eid. He called me up at 11 am, saying that he'd pick me up in an hour. I said Nehi (No) yaar, Uncle.. I am going shopping this afternoon. You can pick me up from the airport at night cos I'd be sending Ben off...

He says, "Acha, Beti... I will pick you up from the airport. Call me again and tell me what time. Allah Hafiz!"

I then proceeded to spring-clean my room and my toilet, ooh, my mum would be so proud! And then gave myself a haircut. Hair turned out OK, wasn't a disaster, even if it WAS no one would know! haha!

And then as I was going out with Ben for last minute shopping, I called my uncle at 3.30pm, and someone else picks up. "Kon hey?" I ask in Urdu, and then got a loong reply in Urdu. I only caught the words, "Accident" , "mobile" , "ambulance" and "tanker".

I say, "Maafkaro, Urdu nehi bol sakhti," Sorry I don't speak Urdu. English please. And then I get pretty much the same answer where I only caught the words accident, mobile, ambulance and tanker.

I thought, oh my uncle must have left his phone somewhere and took someone in an ambulance after this other person got hit by a tanker. "Acha, teekhey... Shukriya" I say. OK, alright. Thank you.

Well, to cut the story short, my uncle was in a bike accident. He hit a tanker or a truck. Head-on collision I heard. Broken wrists, fractured hip, bruised face. I'm just thankful he's alive. Though a nagging question, if at 11 am on Saturday when my uncle called, I'd said yes, come pick me up.... might fate have decided something different?

4) Liaquat National Hospital
30 mins drive away.... Yellow cab taxi costs me 200 rupees. Went alone on Friday night. SMS'd Taha & Yao: "Dude, I'm going to Liaquat hospital. In the cab now. Should reach in 30 mins. If you don't hear from me, please commence emergency procedures..." And then 30 mins later: "Reached"

Thinking about that now...if I did get abducted somehow, I'd pretty much have to save myself. hmmm..

Reached the hospital, lied to my other uncles... said that my "friend" sent me here. Saw my injured uncle. Busy ER, Uncle unsconscious... bloody sheets... bruised head... my cousin describing his injuries. Nothing to the head nor neck nor spine... And that is good news.

Got out of the ER, sat with relatives in the field... fed the swarm of mosquitoes with my blood... Henko language spoken all around.... mixed with tears and sobs in the background.... Sirens of ambulance arriving at the ER gate... A sigh of relief, believing everything will be OK InshaAllah...

5) Not the best Eid celebration, but it's still something.

Sunday, Woke up at 7.30, did Eid prayers and then went back to sleep. Woke up again at 11, prepared some brunch with previous night's Kerahi and naan. Some sweets, chocolates, pistachios, Yao's stories... and our neighbour's bhangra music filtering through. I'm sorry Yao, but I can only catch half of what you told me....

Zamzama was silent like a ghost town...

Then off to the hospital again.

6) The need to laugh and cry

Monday night slept at another uncle's home. Took a bus from Liaquat to Landhi. Standing up in the women's compartment in the front for about half an hour, and then finally jostled for a seat. Sat in the front with the engine beneath my feet. We were stuck in a traffic jam for more than an hour, the bus in between 3 water trucks. One to the front and 2 on the left. So there was no breeze, and a sauna from the engine.

I've never wished more to be a guy than that moment. for 2 reasons:

a) I can simply climb up the bus unto its roof and breathe proper air instead of the smoke from the trucks in front of us.

b) I can go run into some bushes and go pee when I need to. And I needed to SO BAD...

As I try to cool down and relax by thinking happy thoughts, I notice the bus driver.... he had his tongue stuck out, and up touching his moustache... almost like he was sucking the sweat from his moustache. And he had big, glaring eyes and a long beard and his eyes darting to and fro searching, and inching his bus on...

Hence, the need to laugh and cry.

7) Welcome home

Finally a slice of normalcy when the peeps from Islamabad came home.... With worse stories to come!

posted by Zafirah @ PM 02:20