The Damage Has Been Done

I faced Abu front and center to show him my eyes as I hadn't met him since my PRK surgery. Abu was one to really dislike my contact lenses and amongst his many reasons was a classic one that my eyes looked even more large and strained when I had my contacts on.
So there I was at the airport, waiting for my luggage to arrive on the conveyor belt. I faced him to show him my eyes and jokingly told him that I discovered that my eyes are truly large even without the contact lenses.
To which Abu solemnly replied that it was merely because the lenses had already made my eyes large even before my surgery and nothing can be done to reverse the process.
Sigh.

Phir Bannein Ge Aashna

As soon as I stepped out into the open air at the Karachi airport, I was momentarily stunned by my want to seek out each part of my city and ask the things it went through while I was gone. Almost as if to reach out and touch the parts that hurt the most. A physical pain I still cannot quite explain.

The Ways of My Mum

The first thing that I noticed on entering my room was the newly stitched, ironed and ready to wear shalwar kameez that Ami had strategically placed on my bed. She's treating my two months away from her like a grueling venture into the unknown with very little chances of my return, she's this happy to see me alhamdo lillah. Alhamdo lillah.

Softly As I Leave You

I've come across adults who joke that children can sense fear. I think children can also sense a departure. What else could explain Meher's prolonged hugs and countless kisses to me today?

"I Love Karachi" Banners

Thanks to Ejaz Asi, I can show my love for Karachi by putting up one of many beautiful banners created by him. All are free to view the rest of his work and put it up to show their love for their city, provided the credit remains his.

A Growing Dependancy

Just that sitting in Umreeka and watching a pastried version of today's carnage on television makes me miss home so much.
I woke up to check Karachi Metblogs for the news, and I realized that I turn to the Metblogs for news more than I would turn to even Dawn.com - Metblogs is so real compared to the news, both have human beings writing it, and yet one sounds like a newsfeed and the other is an actual human narrative.

Of Adornment

The Prophet SAWS said, "Modesty does not come into anything without adorning it."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1253

Ticklish

Probably the best thing I've heard since I heard the songs they came up with for Abu during the last general elections, a song I heard during the news coverage of the rally outside Lahore High Court, described as a milli naghma: "Chacha vardi laanda kyun nahin."
This is a kind of unity as well, to be able to forms words in a tune or a rhythm and describe an era for a nation altogether.

Bazeecha-e-Atfaal

Rabia Baji was shocked to see Meher take off her shirt while dancing to an Indian song playing on a DVD she had put on herself. Omar Bhai replied that Meher was merely imitating what she saw in the song, and chose to wear as much or as little as the heroine in the song.
Why is that still surprising, I wonder. It is nearly impossible to set limits on how much you want a child to imitate when you expose him / her to the Full Monty, so to speak.

Eating Calamari Right Before Going to Bed

I dreamt that Google hooked up with Apple and designed a profile interface for its users. Consequently users on Google Talk who had pictures in their profile had an electric blue colored apple next to their name, instead of the usual green dot.