Lahore (Part II)
Rehma lives near ravi. He is an Aitchisonian. Like every lahori, he has to dress in designer clothes, no matter what. He is not flashy, yet discreetly designer- slightly touching the lahori vanity. But then like most of them, he is a ‘jigar’. The concept of being a ‘jigar’ epitomizes lahori lifestyle. It includes ‘kulf’walay shalwar kameez, a stuck out chest(no matter how small), a gold chain and sheer bravado – ‘uthwa day gain’, ‘marwa day gain’ sort of thing. You have to see it to understand.
Ifti has lived in Lahore his whole life. He actually belongs to Sargodha. He too is an Aitchisonian. He symbolizes the elite -the confusion, the manners, the future. The team of servants from ‘lands’, the Toyotas and civics, gymkhana membership, tennis and American education – political correctness taken to a new height. Torn between discipline and frivolity, he throws all-male/no booze parties on new years, dresses in DKNY suits but thinks ‘Pace’ is expensive. The perfect job awaits him on his return from New York.
Aicthison college and hira mandi are the two most famous relics of Lahore. They both are similar in the duties they perform- hira mand produces vulgar prostitutes who sell their bodies while Aitchison produces decent pimps who sell their country. Both of them boast an imperial past of satisfying and serving their british masters – the later more than the former.The difference just lies in the locality they reside in and the clothes they wear. They both adapt to new changes, learn from surroundings and flourish as time goes on.
Lahore celebrates basant like no other city. Females clad in yellow rub shoulders with their society-mates on terrace floors, amid loud music, cautious flirting and bits and pieces of kite flying. Its a status symbol for some and source of fun for others. The higher your status is, the taller your building is and the better your whisky brand. This is the only time when ‘begum sahibs’ tag along with their husbands to the vicinity of ‘hira-mandi’; the rest of the year husbands come alone. Basant is celebrated with all the passion that the city has. The ‘dhools’ and ‘hawai-firings’ dominate the day. Quite a few unlucky citizens die every year. But basant goes on to be celebrated with fervour and intensity. Soon there will be a ‘basant national holiday’.
Lahore lives through the rain. It has lived through everything – invasions, rallies, strikes. Solid walls surround the city, yet pliable people, adapting to changes. Its said, ” if you haven’t seen Lahore, you haven’t been born”. There is an energy in the city life. It touches everyone. Maybe that’s how metropolitan cities are; with a force of their own. The old city is a marvel, with decaying, yet still intact mughal architecture. However, where once shahjahan romanced anarkali, now amir has left his love for shazia, or S has left a heart for Z , and the exact date of when adnan visited the building. Lahore indeed is a fascinating city.
Okay, Umar. I LOVE the fact that you’re writing abt Lahore, my beloved hometown. You have great insight and your phrases are incisive. “The rest of the year the husbands do”… LOL@that!
And u mentioned AITCHSION! Good boy! I’m an Aitchisonian too. Class of 2000 A levels. And like all Acites Im proud of it…BUT unlike many of them, like u mentioned, I hate the fact that AC is elitist and a remnant of the Raj…and im very pleased that you share that view. Excellent comparison between AC and the Mandi. Indeed ACites have a history of sitting on their asses in high positions and corrupting the system further!
However: This piece lacks the former’s power. Here instead of linking together your POI’s and arguments, you have stated them very bluntly and a bit crudely. That’s what I felt. You may choose to disregard that…
Moreover,
“He is not flashy, yet discreetly designer- slightly touching the lahori vanity”
Sounds a bit awkward. Rephrase perhaps?
“Both of them boast an imperial past of satisfying and serving their british masters – the later more than the former”
Should be LATTER.
The last para, IMHO, was the weakest. You lose power here though a lack of variability of sentence structure. It becomes more like a drone than not to me, but that could be because of style preference, and tis ur call to change it or not.
Also: Fer the love of God, my good man, It was SALEEM aka JAHANGIR, akbar’s son, NOT SHAHJAHAN who had an affair with Anarkali. Historians even say the rivalry between Saleem and Akbar over Anarkali was a tad sexual in nature; Akbar, they claim, also had the hots fer her possibly. Who knows!
Overall, not bad at all.
8/10
Wonderful! I really like how you construct the lives of the inhabitants of Lahore. My favorite line of the text: “Lahore lives through the rain.” Absolutely beautiful.
I want to see more of Lahore through your eyes, and yeah Usman is right about the Anarkali bit.
It???s a complete gift this ???game??? and all it takes is hours of work. It???s not hard or difficult but the very fact that ANYBODY can do this is amazing.