Swarm of Rickshaw Drivers

We finally reached our destination, Lahore, in about four and a half hours. As soon as we got out of the bus and moved towards the exit, a swarm of rickshaw and taxi drivers surrounded us. All of them were chanting the same stuff, i.e. asking us to hire them to go to where ever we wanted to go. They were so many and we didn’t know what to do to get rid of them.

All five of us stood there like goofs for a little while, and then my little sister took the charge and led us out of that crowd. God bless her!

We finally hired a cab that took us all to our next destination, the WAPDA guest house.

Place Swapped

So the place was swapped. I feared I might lose my window seat but fortunately this did not happen. I got the window seat and when the bus started I enjoyed looking out. I did not make much conversation with the lady sitting beside me as I was not in a very cheery mood. But I remained polite at all times. :-)

Kept informing my sister of my well being by sending texts. ;-) Saw her when the bus stopped at the service station after an hour & a half and I had to get down. Saw her again when I boarded the bus again and then didn’t see her till we finally reached Lahore.

Twist and Move Back

Even before the bus started, there was a little twist. There was a lady, a grandmother, who was accompanied by two little girls, her grand daughters, and the three of them were sitting in two seats. Now the seat beside me was empty, so an arrangement was made that one of those three could sit there. But the old lady did not want that. She wanted to keep both of the little girls in front of her eyes (and she rightly wanted so). So it was decided that the two gentlemen sitting at the back in the seats beside theirs would move to my seat. And I would move back so that one of the three can sit with me.

I was sitting alone anyways, as the rest of the four girls in my party had paired up. So I didn’t mind switching my seat. It would help somebody as well so I took the chance and moved. My sister was a bit concerned at this, but I assured her that I would be OK. After all I was the OLDER of among us two.

Journey Began – First Stop - Daewoo

On Saturday, very early in the morning, I started my grand journey. Abbu was supposed to drop me and my sister on the Daewoo Bus Stop, and so he did. We reached on the stop well in time. My sister’s friend and her two sisters were already there. We bought the tickets and waited impatiently to get on the bus. I had met the sister’s friend’s sisters for the first time. But they were really sweet girls and so I didn’t find it hard making a conversation. Hope they thought the same about me.

Finally there was the announcement to get on the bus. So we took our bags and moved towards the bus. After getting our purses checked by the bus hostess at the door, we moved further into the bus. The seats were easy to find. So as soon as we found ours, we placed ourselves in them.

The Day was Saved! [This time NOT by the Power Puff Girls]

For a second there, after the call, I thought ‘OK! Here goes my plan to go to Lahore’. I had almost finalized that thought when suddenly I applied brakes and reflected on the situation for a while. I came up with a solution that was highly acceptable to me.

I thought that I can go to Lahore on Saturday and can come back the same day or early next day. I discussed this with my parents and sister. I was advised to come back on Saturday, instead of trying to rush back on Sunday; the day I was supposed to go to the office too.

So with the help of my brilliant plan the final touches of my family’s suggestions, the day was saved and the plan was resumed after slight modifications. I took a sigh of relief and slept happily as apparently a tiresome but adventurous day lay ahead.

Plan in Danger

There was a plan to go to Lahore for the weekend. I was a part of it. My sister, her friend and the friend’s two sisters were going to sight see and do some shopping. I was invited too. And I accepted. The plan was final, the seats were booked and all of us were all set to sail on the specified date and time, i.e. on Saturday morning.

But then I, the great, got a call from my big boss, while I was still on my way home from office on Friday. The call was about some bugs that had once again crept into an application. As my boss spoke to me, the list of bugs and error seemed to get longer and longer. After embarrassing me to some extent and scolding me I was given orders to get things fixed over the weekend. I felt a dash of emotional blackmail in all that as well, when I was reminded of being a ‘Manager’ and was encouraged to be bold; ready to take responsibility; always all set to jump in the rough waters to get things fixed.

*Continued*

The Lost Sparrow

There was a meeting with one of the prospective CMMI consultants for our company. When that guy came I was also called in the conference room. It was not long before I was sitting there that I noticed a small flying spec. At first I thought it was that big housefly. Thinking this, the next question that came to my mind was that did I see the fly from across the conference room glass or was it flying right over my head. I turned slightly but didn’t see anything. Taking a sigh of relief that the fat fly was outside I turned towards the visitor.

But just after moments, I saw that spec again. Not only that but a few tiny feather-like things in the air as well. I couldn’t take it any more. Couldn’t keep my head straight and my concentration focused on the meeting. I had to turn around. So I did. And there it was, a little sparrow, helplessly flying here and there in the office. It must have mistaken the office door as an exit from the building. Little did the little bird know where it was headed. Just one glance told me the whole plight of the bird that it had lost its way and was desperately seeking an outlet from the closed walls.

My motherly and animal loving instincts aroused at once. I wanted to run away from the meeting, towards the little afraid bird, and help it find its way towards the blue skies. But I had to wait patiently as it would have been absolutely rude, leaving our guest like that.

And I waited, and waited and waited till the meeting ended. But by the time I came out, the sparrow had already gone. I couldn’t inquire much about the well being of the bird as everybody seemed distant from this issue.

I just wish that the lost sparrow finally found its way and reached its destination. I myself am just like that sparrow these days. May Allah help me in finding my way out of the unknown territory towards clear blue skies as well. Aameen.

Fall from a Bike: Witnessed

Yesterday when I was coming to the office, I saw a guy fall off a bike very close to my car. I literally froze in my tracks. I got a bit scared for the guy and dearly wished he was not hurt. The guy, however, was very courageous as he instantly sprang to his feet after falling. He picked up his bike after brushing off the dirt from his clothes and continued with his journey.

All of this happened in a flash. But I kept thinking about it for a long time. I recalled many of the incidents of such falls that I had heard from family and friends. And it was nothing pleasant to think about.

I, for one, am already very careful and cautious about the bike riders on the road. I am particularly more careful when the riders have another person, usually a lady, sitting in the back. Whatever the bikers do, I make it a point to give way to them when I am driving, even if they are being rash and careless on the road. I do this because I know that I might not get hurt but for them even a little fall may prove to be fatal. Now the level of my caution has been turned up another notch.

May Allah keep all the bike riders safe and may He also knock some sense into them to be a bit more careful on the roads!

PS: I know everybody on the road should be careful, but I said the above prayer especially for bikers in context of my post.

Gum Sabotage

You can use anything to sabotage other people's stuff. Gum is one such powerful tool. Not in its 'raw' format, this is quite harmless, but in its dangerous ‘chewed’ form.

Yeah CHEWED. The chewed gum, as you all know, is a highly sticky substance that can stick to practically any surface. And to remove it is the most gruesome task in the whole wide world. Thank God that the gum I am talking about did not stick to me, my clothes, anything that was in contact with me or anything that belonged to me. Phew!

Some great personality in my office had helped himself (‘Himself’ because it could NEVER have been a girl.) to a gum and stuck to one of the metal file cupboards. And he didn’t just stick the gum in its usual blob form. He had tried creating some art with it and had stretched it to half a foot long area. It was a horrific sight. Purely, truly, madly, deeply disgusting (yes I have nicked the T M D words from the Savage Garden track).

I didn’t try to do any ‘social work’ either. I just saw the gum sticking there that stared back at me laughing sarcastically. I looked, got irritated, bestowed some monikers upon the person that had done it, and went about minding my own business.

I will ask the office boy in the morning to get rid of that. But I wish I could find out the culprit. Then I would love to stick him on the wall, just like he stuck his gum to the cupboard.

Gol Gappa Chat Recipe

To make gol gappa chat you need the following:

Gol Gappay 3
Imli/Khatai Wala Pani 1 cup
Channay 1 handful

Now that you have these (or you will get these), do the following:

1. Put the ‘pani’ in a bowl.
2. Crush the ‘gol gappay’ with your hands and throw those in.
3. Put the handful of ‘channay’ on top.
4. Let the gol gappay soak in the pani for a minute or two.

When you finish, the end product will be the gol gappa chat. ;-) You can dig in right away and eat it while the gol gappy are still slightly soaked and slightly crunchy. If you are a fan of gol gappay, I am sure you would love this variation as well.

Go ahead! Try it! And let me know.

Yummy Gol Gappay

Today when I came back home I was told that there are goll gappy in the house. Couldn’t wait another second after that, to get my hands on those. So as soon as I could, I pounced upon the yummy treat along with my family. I was having these after a very long time and so enjoyed a lot. It was fun trying to stuff ‘juice’ filled gol gappay in my mouth while taking care that those should not burst in mid way. ;-) hehe

People from Pakistan would probably know how to eat these. I was eating in the ‘traditional’ way as well. But in the end I made a ‘chat’ out of those. Now you would be wondering how that can be done. Well to make gol gappa chat, you can use MY recipe. It is really easy. Anybody can make it, provided the ingredients are available. I can bet on it. ;-)

Read on!

Unpredictable Life

There was a death in the family. It was a young death. The girl who passed away had just turned 22. She had gone out with her friends and classmates on a recreational trip. The plan was to go to Murree. They were not very far from the city when a truck hit their van. Other students sustained injuries as well but this girl got hurt the most. It was a head injury. Even though she was rushed to the hospital, she could not survive the critical injuries and breathed her last on her way there.

May Allah rest her soul in peace. Aameen.

Once again this incident made me realize that life is too short and you never know when you are going to die. Life is unpredictable. It can end any instant and that too without any notice. It is better to try to live the life to the fullest while we have the chance. It would be even better if we can do a little good for other people in this life so that we may reap the fruit in the hereafter. It is very important for us to realize that ‘tomorrow’ may never come so we better not put anything off for that time. Today is here and ‘now’ is the time to take action.

Treat at the Khookha

Today when I reached the office, I saw four of my colleagues sitting outside. Seeing this sight told me instantly that the door was locked and so nobody could get in. I thought it would be a couple of minutes wait before we would be let in. But I was told that it might take 30 to 35 minutes. A wave of excitement ran through me as I knew I could have more moments of freedom from work.

A pal suggested to go for tea at the ‘khookha’ (a very small eat-out place). I instantly agreed. So we three gals set out to attack the khookha [It was a girls' time out so boys NOT allowed]. When we reached there, there was no place for us to sit so we were offered seats outside while we waited. We had to wait for about 15 minutes before we could get in that tiny place. Once we went in, we were offered our ‘usual’ seats. [Yeah we are regular customers at that place! ;-)]

The freshly made ‘paratha’, that we ordered with the tea, made our day. It was so nice, hot and crisp that it is beyond description. It was simply heavenly. We did not stop there. First we ordered or paratha. Then we went for samoosa plate. Then we ordered another paratha. And then…. Well then we stopped ;-) The tea was also great. If only we had some more time, we would have had seconds and even thirds of that. I do not know if we can use this term for tea, but I would say it was delicious.

We had also gone there to eat after such a loooooong time [Umm well 10-12 days or so ;-) hehe], so we enjoyed a lot. As soon as we finished devouring the scrumptious and highly delectable meal we headed back to the office. We thanked our lucky stars as the office was open and we were also not late. It had been unlocked just a few minutes before our arrival.

So we had a fun time even before starting work. It was good. Wish we could do it more often.

No February Blog

There was so much to write about but i kept postponing it to the next day. And now when i have finally logged in on to blogger, i am shocked to see that due to all this postponement, i did not blog at all during the month of February. I am wondering if i was lazy or really busy. If i say in front of my parents that i am busy and i don't have much time they mock me. If i say the same in front of my friends they make fun. I myself can't make out where does all my time go. If anyone shares the same plight as mine, do let me know.