A big hello from me to all of you. I missed my blog so much when I was on my recent trip to Pakistan and I hope the feeling is mutual. Also a huge thank you to Sharjeel & my daughter Serena for doing the posts in my absence, I am so glad to be back! Fall is here and the scenery around me is just beautiful. I feel as if I am living in some remote dreamy area every time I look at these beautiful fall trees.
Yes that’s Henna on my hands which is now coming off. I attended a couple of weddings recently and you really can not attend a wedding in Pakistan without some Henna on your hands!
About the Trip – The only way I can describe my recent trip to Pakistan is ‘maximum nostalgia’. It was a trip down the memory lane and I think it really showed me who I was and what I have become. The first shocker or reminder was about my humble beginnings, the house seemed much smaller than what I had remembered it to be, the lights didn’t seem as bright and the rooms appeared a bit darker. But all of the people were the same and their eyes filled with tears of joy to see me. My aunts, uncles and my grandmother all hugged me tightly as if they were saying that we are not going to let you go back again. As I looked around it seemed as time was at a stand-still and much had not changed in the house, most of the furniture, decorations and even small things like spoons & plates were all the same. The sounds of school buses in the morning took me back to my school days, the first two days went by just absorbing the surroundings and meeting relatives. Meeting some relatives was a bit awkward because of my blog and I was considered somewhat provocative and too modern by Pakistani standards, so I remember getting these strange stares from different relatives (especially men). It was awkwardly humorous because I knew they wanted to say something but decided not to say anything.
Three days into my trip we were off to Lahore, we could have drove but I convinced everyone to take the train and it was awesome, it too brought back memories of my childhood. The train goes through small towns and you really get to see the other side of the country; beautiful landscapes, kids playing in the streets, buffalos taking a bath in the same water that women are washing clothes in and most of all you really get to see people enjoying the smallest joys of life. The train is noisy but seeing all of this brought a sense of calmness to me and as soon as we got off the train we were off to a wedding.
Again I entered the house and it was hugs & kisses, tears and joy on everyone’s face. My cousin (the bride) was estatic to see me and I was excited to see all of them. Once again I got those awkward stares because of the blog some ladies even mentioned ‘you look slimmer on the blog’ or ‘when did u get all these acne marks on your face’ or ‘how does your husband feel about your blog’ and the list goes on, needless to say I had tons of positive feedback as well and got kudos for doing something that most women choose not to do in that part of the world (which is simply expressing themselves freely).
After coming back from Lahore I spent some time with my wonderful friends and it was refreshing to see that women have come so far in terms of independent thinking and leading with their own hearts & minds. It was finally time for some shopping, after that I became busy in another cousin’s wedding and before I knew it, it was time to come back so I packed my bags and said good byes.
Dress – Khaadi