1:30 pm: The bus hostess has just finished praying, invoking divine help and blessings for the journey. First in Urdu and then in a very well-rehearsed English she has asked the passengers to fasten their seat belts which seems not made for my girth. She has also made clear that according to regulation number xyz (don’t remember) smoking is forbidden in the bus. No wonder my Dad always insists on taking his own car.
Fortunately there are no kids in the bus this time. They can be a source of unlimited torture. Once coming to Lahore from Karachi by train, there were three implacable children sitting at back. By the time we entered Punjab, I felt like strangling them. Don’t be so shocked; wait till you experience that kind of trauma.
When I was young and my Dad used to take me to zoo, museum or any other trip, he always asked me to write an essay after coming back. Not that I ever wrote it but today I feel like the same old boy. Baba, here you go. I dedicate this to you.
2:30 pm: We have been served snacks in not so good looking lunch boxes. Let me guess first, a tiny packet of biscuits and a sandwich. Let me open it now. 3,2,1...Wow, we have got Lays ladies and gentlemen. This pack of chips has taken Pakistan by storm. They are everywhere and have become our staple diet. It is so much fun to eat them during lectures because as they say, you can’t hide the crunch. I don't know why we do it. We somehow feel manlier by taking such risks(panga to be more precise).
There is an old couple sitting across the aisle. Somehow they seem too cozy for such an age. Way past love's usual expiry date. The fat lady behind me (I haven’t seen her but she just sounds fat) is ceaselessly blabbering. My mother says she sounds like the protagonist of the book she is reading, ‘The Diary of a Social Butterfly’.
3:30 pm: I wonder whether the capital of the country has changed since I last visited it five years back. I still expect to inhale the usual fresh and scented air of the city. The balance of power is shifted though. The General has left and a democratically elected government holds the reigns now. The Lal Masjid showdown is kind of over. Safely sitting back in Lahore, we saw the whole incident unfold. Many innocent lives were lost and strong repercussions are still being felt to this very day.
4:30 pm: The salt range has started. This extraordinary terrain was the thing which made me cry when I first travelled by motorway. It still shakes me up. The infinite curiosity is ignited. I want to tread these hills like an avid archaeologist or paleontologist. I want to explore this region. In my hand is a book, ‘Geometry of God’ by Uzma Aslam Khan. It tells about the expedition carried out by paleontologist in this region in 1980. They found evidence of the oldest known primitive whale, named PAKICETUS (Pakistani Whale). It lived 50 million years ago and had an amphibious lifestyle and ranged in size from small dog to large wolf. It looked something like this.
6:15 pm: Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
Fortunately there are no kids in the bus this time. They can be a source of unlimited torture. Once coming to Lahore from Karachi by train, there were three implacable children sitting at back. By the time we entered Punjab, I felt like strangling them. Don’t be so shocked; wait till you experience that kind of trauma.
When I was young and my Dad used to take me to zoo, museum or any other trip, he always asked me to write an essay after coming back. Not that I ever wrote it but today I feel like the same old boy. Baba, here you go. I dedicate this to you.
2:30 pm: We have been served snacks in not so good looking lunch boxes. Let me guess first, a tiny packet of biscuits and a sandwich. Let me open it now. 3,2,1...Wow, we have got Lays ladies and gentlemen. This pack of chips has taken Pakistan by storm. They are everywhere and have become our staple diet. It is so much fun to eat them during lectures because as they say, you can’t hide the crunch. I don't know why we do it. We somehow feel manlier by taking such risks(panga to be more precise).
There is an old couple sitting across the aisle. Somehow they seem too cozy for such an age. Way past love's usual expiry date. The fat lady behind me (I haven’t seen her but she just sounds fat) is ceaselessly blabbering. My mother says she sounds like the protagonist of the book she is reading, ‘The Diary of a Social Butterfly’.
3:30 pm: I wonder whether the capital of the country has changed since I last visited it five years back. I still expect to inhale the usual fresh and scented air of the city. The balance of power is shifted though. The General has left and a democratically elected government holds the reigns now. The Lal Masjid showdown is kind of over. Safely sitting back in Lahore, we saw the whole incident unfold. Many innocent lives were lost and strong repercussions are still being felt to this very day.
4:30 pm: The salt range has started. This extraordinary terrain was the thing which made me cry when I first travelled by motorway. It still shakes me up. The infinite curiosity is ignited. I want to tread these hills like an avid archaeologist or paleontologist. I want to explore this region. In my hand is a book, ‘Geometry of God’ by Uzma Aslam Khan. It tells about the expedition carried out by paleontologist in this region in 1980. They found evidence of the oldest known primitive whale, named PAKICETUS (Pakistani Whale). It lived 50 million years ago and had an amphibious lifestyle and ranged in size from small dog to large wolf. It looked something like this.
6:15 pm: Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
2 comments:
Hello Hamza,
I was googling 'latest images of Pakicetus' when I came across your blog entry on my novel, The Geometry of God. I like the photo you've posted of the whale. The US cover of my book has another very different image, posted on my blog: http://uzmaaslamkhan.blogspot.com
We keep recreating this creature ...
Cheers,
Uzma
The world is not something that gives itself away that easily.
The book was well-researched and I don’t know whether it can be said for a work of fiction but the one word which kept bubbling up while I was reading the book was ‘honest’.
Happy writing and best wishes.
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