Friday Feature-Urdu(or Hindi) Nursery Rhymes

Asalamu alaikum,

Learning Urdu is difficult for me, but one thing that helps a bit in practicing speaking is to learn little nursery rhymes. Practicing the sound of the words in little silly poems help me be less nervous when actually speaking.

This is the first one that I learned, and the one I know best-

Machli jal ki rani hai
Jeevan uska pani hai
Haath lagaoge to dar jayegi,
Pani se nikalo to mer jayegi,
Machli ko pani men reynedo,
Jeevan uska pani hai.

The fish is the queen of the water,
The water is her life,
If you touch her she will be afraid,
If you take her out she will die,
So put the fish back in the water,
The water is her life.

I like this one, it is a little sad, but very pretty. When my nephew(he is one year older than Saad) was learning this one, he refused to say "mer jayegi". He didn't want to say that the fish will die, but he would substitute another word, like the fish will fall down or something. Saad doesn't mind, and will very happily talk about how he squished a bug and "now it's die". We all die eventually, I prefer not to hide death from him.---(oh, how heavy, can we move on?)

Another poem that is a bit longer is this one-
cham cham cham---
aath aaney ki chalia
aath aaney ka paan
chal mere ghorey Hindustan
hindustan ki pehli gali
pehli gali main liaqat ali
liaqat ali ko goli lagi
sari dunya roney lagi
rotey rotey bhook lagi
khalo beta moongphali
moongphali main dana nahin
hum tumharey nana nahin
nana gaye dehli
dehli sey laye billi
billi ne diye do bachey
Allah mian sachey
sachey sachey jaingey
bhai ki dulhan laaingey
bhai ki dulhan kali
sau nakhron wali
ek nakhra tuut gaya
bhai ka mun sooj gaya!

Cham cham cham
50 cents for one chalia
50 cents for one paan
Lets go, my horse, to India
First street in India,
in the first street lives Liaqat Ali
Shoot Liaqat Ali with a bullet,
all the world is crying
Crying and crying, I am hungry
eat my child, peanuts
there are no seed in the peanuts
I am not your grandfather
grandfather went to Delhi
From Delhi he brought a cat
and the cat gave two children
Allah is truth
go on the truthful way
brother brought a bride
brother’s bride is black
she is very prideful(stuck up)
her pride is broken
Brother is upset.

This one is a favorite of my niece, she can say almost the whole poem in one breath! Saad doesn't know this one yet, it is a bit long, and I am only just learning it. Please excuse any weird bits in translation(totally my fault), I am not very good at that bit, so I had to ask my SIL for some help.

When Pizza Is an Adventure!

Asalamu alaikum,

Last night around 1am I was in the kitchen about to make a late night snack for Saad before he went back to sleep. As I am heating his food, Tariq comes down and says he feels like pizza, get ready, lets go. At first I don't believe him, I mean come on it's 1am, and every time I suggest pizza he says- no, they probably don't taste good, and the pizzas are too small.

He goes to get his wallet and I realize he's not joking. I run upstairs to get my abaya and hijab. While I am in the room I have the strangest urge to throw on a pair of jeans instead of my shalwar ("American woman"+"American Food/PIZZA!"=the need to wear jeans), so I grab the only pair of jeans I currently own and change. I put on the abaya and wrap my hijab, pull up the bottom edge to make a niqab(I feel more comfortable when we go out at night this way-less stares), and rush back down stairs.

We take the big bike(Honda 125) and head out. Saad wants to go but it is too late to be taking him out, so he stays with Tariq's sister and watches cartoons until we get back.

We zoom through the streets, most of them are quiet. Along the main road there are some juice stands still serving, and a couple of restaurants. There is the hum of generators here and there, because of load shedding.

Finally we get to the restaurant, walk in and check out the menu. The guy says they have a special after midnight-buy one pizza get one free. So we pick out two pizzas and also get a side of chicken wings. We sit and wait for the pizzas, then they bring them over and we head out.

Have you ever tried to bring home two pizzas and a box of wings while sitting side saddle on a motorcycle? It was an interesting ride home, with a quick stop to get a 2 liter of Pepsi.

So there I am sitting side saddle on the bike behind Tariq, with these two pizzas and box of wings on my lap, my left hand gripping the boxes tightly(oh, I hope I don't squish the pizzas!), and my right arm wrapped around Tariq's waist to make sure I don't go flying off the bike. We zoom back towards the house, trying to get back before the pizzas get too cold, my abaya and hijab are flapping in the wind, and I've got one foot on the foot stand and other one dangling freely, the air rushing over it. As we turn the corner onto our street, the tip of the toe of my chapple touches the ground briefly as we lean to the left.

Safely home, with our pizzas(not squished at all!), we all sit down to enjoy our late night meal.

Friday Feature-First Flight into Karachi

Asalamu Alaikum,

My first time coming to Karachi was a bit of an adventure. Not quite as exciting as when we left the US, and not nearly as tiring. There are some things that I will always remember.

Our family almost always flies into Karachi by night. Partly because of work timings and partly to catch the best ticket deals. Some tips-flying from Dubai(rather than Abu Dhabi) to Karachi is cheaper, and you have more options for nonstop flights.

So any way, on our first flight to Karachi, when we started to descend I was staring out the window at the city. There were large sections of light, and then big dark sections, which I at first thought were forests/lakes/ginormous parking lots/etc. As I was watching, suddenly some of the dark sections lit up, and nearby lighted sections went dark. It was my first memory of load shedding! Tariq had explained what it was while we had been living in Abu Dhabi but I had never experienced it myself.

It was a very interesting experience. If you are flying into Karachi I do suggest a night flight, as you can't see it happen in the daytime.

Because it was a small flight we deplaned onto the ground after we landed, then there was a shuttle bus from the plane to the terminal. At the terminal the doors of the bus wouldn't open. Every other passenger(all men) climbed out one of the windows, until it was just Tariq, Saad, and I on the bus. One of the other passengers kindly stayed behind everyone else to help driver wrench the doors open wide enough to let us out.

After getting through immigration, we went to pick up our bags. One had burst a zipper! Nothing got lost so I think it happened when they stuck it on the conveyer belt, and we are awesome at packing suitcases(lots and lots of practice, we can fit everything together like a puzzle).

So that's my first memories of Karachi, a bit of hassle, but totally memorable!

Friday Feature-A very specific name game

Asalamu alaikum,

Urdu is a very specific language when it comes to words for family members. Uncles and aunties are never just that, they have different "titles" depending on if they are maternal or paternal relatives, and also if they are older or younger. To make it even more confusing nicknames are commonly thrown in to the mix!

For example, your paternal grandfather and grandmother are"dada"and "dadi", but your maternal grandfather and grandmother are "nana" and "nani" Your maternal uncles would all be "mama(or mamu)", and maternal aunts would be "khala", but your paternal uncles older than your father would be "tai abu" and the uncles younger than your father are "chacha(or chachu)", your paternal aunts would be "pupo".

Daughters in law are "Bahu", and are called "babhi" by all brothers and sisters, but other bahus may refer to each other differently. If the other bahu is married to your husband's older brother than she is your "jaytani"(and your husband's elder brother would be your "jayt"), if she is married to your younger brother then she is your devarani(and your husband's younger brother would be your "devar").

It can be a bit confusing having so many names for people, but it does save time when referring to someone you can just say for example- "she is my jaytani", instead of saying "she is the wife of my husband's elder brother" or "he is my chachu", instead of "he is my paternal uncle who is younger than my father". It did take a while to memorize all the different words, but it does help when the family is talking about extended family, I know who's who!

Nicknames are also common in our family. Actual names are only used by people older than you, and a lot of the time even then a nick name is used. Tariq has five sisters, each has a nickname, the oldest is "baji"(respectful title for your older sister), the second is "appi"(another respectful term for an older sister) then there is billi(cat), janu(like sweetheart, all the children call her this), and chanda(moon). The eldest son(my jayt-BIL older than Tariq), is called "Bhai" by everyone except my father in law who uses his name. Tariq is called "Tariq Bhai"(never just his name, for respect), by all except his father and older brother, and I. I call him something totally different. If we are alone I might call him by his name or an endearment like "honey", or "babe". If we're in front of his younger family I might still use his name, but no endearments! If we are out of the house or in the presence of older relatives I use what a lot of women call their husband "soon-yeh", which just means "listen". The Gori Wife had a great post on this whole topic(the names/titles and the not saying the husband's name thing) awhile ago-here it is.

I have my actual name as is listed on my IDs(only my own family and some friends use this, and Tariq when he is trying to be funny), and then the name I used after my reversion, Aishah which is used by all my in laws and some friends. But there is a distinction- all the people older than me in the family(Father in law, brother in law, his wife and two older sisters in law) call me Aishah, but the younger ones(three sisters in law and other younger cousins) never say just my name but always-"Aishah Babhi". One of Tariq's cousin's wives calls me the "dulhan"(bride), I think it is very sweet.

The nicknames and different titles are an interesting way of showing respect within the family.

For reference if any one is interested
Maternal grandparents-Nana, and Nani
Paternal grandparents-Dada and Dadi
Maternal uncles, and their wives-Mamu and Mami
Maternal aunts and their husbands-Khala and Khalu
Paternal uncles older than your father and their wives-tye abu and tya
Paternal uncles younger than your father and their wives-chachu and chachi
Father-Abu(there is another word, but it is not common-baap)
Mother-Ami(less commonly-maan)
Brothers-Bhai
Sisters-Bahen
Nephews and Nieces(brother's side)-Bateeja and bateeji
Nephews and Nieces(sister's side)Bahenja and bahenji
Brother's wife-Babhi
Husband's sister and her husband-Nund and Nundoy(although this one is really old fashioned and no one actually uses it)
Husband's brother and his wife(older than your husband)-Jayt and jaytani
Husband's brother and his wife(younger than your husband)-Devar and devarani
Father in law and Mother in Law-Sussar and Saas(most people just use the title their husband/wife uses-like ami and papa)

Random Graffiti observations

Asalamu alaikum,

A couple of months ago I had noticed a change in the graffiti along the main road in our little bit of Karachi.

Before there was amateurish looking spray painted graffiti, mostly in Urdu, but a bit in English. It was on almost ever bare wall, and the shutters of the stores. There were bits that supported the various political parties(MQM, PPP, PML{N or Q, take your pick}, ANP), and other bits that random nonsense.

More recently (I think it might have something to do with the tension/violence in Karachi the past couple months), the old graffiti was painted over and more professional graffiti was put up.

It is almost all supporting MQM. It seems to be positive graffiti, not trashing other political parties or anything like that.

There are some that seem slightly odd to me though. One piece in particular takes up a huge wall (probably at least 50 or more feet long), saying something about "empowerment for all" and "the symbol of revolution, Mr. Altaf Hussain". There are a couple others that call Altaf Hussain(leader of the MQM political party) "The Father of the Nation". That one kind of makes me confused as I thought the "father of the Nation" would be Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

I don't really think too much about it, as it'll probably wear off and/or be painted over in a while anyways, but it was kind of odd.

Achar...Pickles just aren't what I was expecting

Asalamu Alaikum,

I am used to pickle meaning a cucumber in brine, you know, the dill pickles served with deli sandwiches. The first time I saw achar, I had no idea what it was and had to ask. When Tariq said it was "pickle", I just kind of stared at him. It didn't look like a pickle to me.
Achar from our favorite place in the market.

I didn't like it at first, it smelled kind of odd, it was really oily, and just didn't look very appealing. I mean- mushy, oily, funny smelling vegetables or fruits? Ick!

A bit in a bowl to go with breakfast and the rest in a jar.

As with lots of stuff in my life now, it just took a while to get used to. I eventually gave in and tried a bit. First a bit of garlic, ok, not so bad. Then a small nibble of the carrot, hmm, that's kind of tasty. Then a taste of mango and a bit of lemon, wow that's pretty good actually. It did take a while longer to get used to eating the lemon and mango skins though.

We eat achar with dals(lentils) and rice, and other types of food that are a little on the plain side. Usually there is a little bowl of achar served with breakfast, as it is tasty to eat just plain achar with parathas.

We always buy the mixed achar that has green mangoes, lemons, carrots and garlic. Sometimes they put other stuff in it like olives. There are many different types of achar, but we always stick to our favorite, and we always buy from the same little store in the market.

Long motorcycle rides and strange sunburns.

Asalamu Alaikum,

Today Tariq and I(it was too hot to take Saad so we left him home with my SIL) went to the passport office in the Saddar area of Karachi, and we took the Honda 125 this time instead of a taxi.

Since we live pretty close to the airport, it was a somewhat long ride. I think it was probably more than 20 minutes each way. I was sitting side saddle on the back of the bike, and I had put on a niqab(Pakistani style, wrapped and pinned at the back of my head, covering from the middle of my nose down) as I sometimes do when we go shopping.

After we got home and had rested a bit, Tariq kept asking me why my nose was red, did a mosquito bite me? I thought that was probably it, and thought nothing more about it. Until about half an hour ago I looked in the mirror and noticed half my forehead was red also.

Can you see the line of red on my temple or across the middle of my nose?

I do tend to sunburn easily and have had many, many sunburns in the past. One of the benefits of wearing hijab and abaya though, is that I haven't had a sunburn in years. It took me about five minutes of staring at myself in the mirror to realize exactly why I had a red mask around my eyes and nose. When it dawned on me I felt very silly, how could I not know it was a sunburn?

Friday Feature-Khes aur Cambal Wale

Asalamu Alaikum,

The wale(door to door salesmen) sell different things according to the seasons. When it starts to cool down and all during the winter there are wale that sell Khes(sounds like "case") and cambal. Cambals are just soft comforter types of blankets, thick and usually fuzzy. The khes is a thinner woven blanket(here is a very detailed article on khes and other woven fabrics common in Southeast Asia), that is very common in the Sindh and Punjab ares of Pakistan.

A cambal wala, mostly they carry the blankets tied onto their back instead of on a cart like many other wale.
A khes wala, taking a little rest.

The khes wale usually come on bicycles, with the khes tied in a stack on the back and a couple on the front handle bars for display. Khes come in sets of two or four, and the plainer ones are usually still in one big piece that you have to cut and finish the edges yourself. There are fancier khes that have already been cut and have a finished edge, sometimes a fringe or tassels.

One side
and the reverse

The less expensive, plain types of khes are generally only two to three colors and have a very basic checker type pattern. Other khes have elaborate floral motifs with five or more colors, and most are reversible.

Fancy design on the long sides
The shorter edges with tassels.

The single khes is roughly four feet wide by six feet long, so the un-separated khes are about four feet wide by twenty four feet long.

This is one of the set of khes that Tariq bought for me last winter.

Friday Feature: A Trip to Liaquat Market

Asalam Alaikum,

I have been meaning to get this posted for a long time. The biggest market in our area is Liaqat Market. It is not a mall type where everything is enclosed, but more like an American style flea market, very open. In much of the market the shops are basically little alcoves, and the center aisles are roof less, or sometimes there are big sheets tied up to provide more shade.

We usually take the Honda 50 to go shopping as it is older(less likely to be stolen), and has the "dubba"(box area in the front), to hold stuff. Tariq is the in the middle, Saad sits in front of him, and I sit "side saddle" at the back. InshAllah I'll get a picture of all of us sometime, now that his sister is here to hold the camera. :-)

Tariq and Saad ready to go

When we get to the market there is a motorcycle parking area up front. It is five rupees to park and the watchman gives you a little ticket(half goes on the bike and half you take) so that he know you payed.
Motorcycles all lined up
Sometimes it gets a bit crowded

In the front section of the market is where most of the dry goods type stores are. All the chawal(rice), dals(lentils), masale(spices) and other things are in bins. There are usually a whole bunch of different bins of rice, some for biriyani, some for regular cooking, some that are better for kheer(rice pudding).
All the food lined up out in the open.

Also in the outer section is the vegetable and fruit wale(sellers). There are alcove type shops on the sides of the main road area, and then there are carts lined up in the center and anywhere there is space.


Inside the market is kind of like a maze with narrow little aisles. There are stores for shoes, kids clothes, cosmetics, tailoring materials, gents clothes and many many shops for ladies clothes. Usually one of our first stops is for ladies shalwar suits. The little alcoves that make up the shops have shelves on most of the walls stacked with bolts of fabric and suits already cut into sets of shalwar/kameez/dupatta. There is usually a small stage type area where the shopkeepers stand and show off the suits, and a line of seating for the customers to sit and relax while they look at the suits.
Wall of a shop with stacks of suits.

The suits rejected by the customer end up on the floor of the stage, to be folded after the customers leave.

After you have selected your suits, the next stop is the bale(edging) store, for any ribbons, laces, or beaded trimmings to go with your suit.
Oooh, shiny things. Sometimes I just like to look at the bales, because some are very pretty.

After you have your suit and your trimmings, then its off to buy your chudiyan(bangles). The walls of the bangle store are also filled with row upon row of shiny things! You give the shopkeeper the dupatta to make a matching set of bangles, and he'll make a set up and show it to you for approval. If you like it he packs it up and if you don't then he'll change out some pieces until it fits what you want.

Mendhi Party!

Asalam Alaikum,
Yesterday night we went to my friend Ammena'a mendhi party. It was a lot of fun, and her in laws seem like really nice people, mashAllah.



The setup was beautiful, the main color was orange with hanging icicle lights. The main stage for the bride and groom had a beautiful swing draped with a rainbow of different colored flowers(still with the main orange theme). There was also a dance floor set up! Even though I don't dance(it would not be pretty if I did, let me tell you!) it was great to see everyone having such a fun time.

At almost every function I go to I always have some random, weird little wardrobe malfunction(like at my sister in law's shadi the drawstring of my dress peeked out from the side:-( ), and this party was no different. This time I was ready, I tied my drawstring extra tight and tucked it in, I managed to fashionably set my dupatta all by myself, and then we were off in the taxi. When we got to the party and went inside to say hello, I wondered why I was walking so comfortably and why my shoes slipped off so easily when we went in the house. I sat down and was chatting with Ammena when it occurred to me. I immediately got up and went back to the doorway to check my shoes. Truly a huge facepalm moment, after carefully getting dressed up, I had left my fancy rhinestone and bead encrusted heels in the main entrance to our house and worn my grungy house chapples(flip flops). Errrg! When we got home I asked Tariq and his sister both- when ever we leave for a party please, oh please, check my foot wear! Alhamdulilah, one of Ammena's husband's cousins kindly lent me a pair of her shoes, and so I didn't have to walk around the party in my house chapples. Extra big thank you to the sweet cousin!

MashAllah, everything was wonderful, the music was good, and the food was great, and I can't wait until Sunday(only tomorrow!) for the Valima. Everyone pray for me and my wardrobe, I will be attempting a sari!

Friday Feature: The Friday Routine

Asalam Alaikum,

Our Friday routines very rarely vary. We actually have two routines, one when the whole family is together and one when it is split up and half of us are here and half in Abu Dhabi.

When the whole family is together it is usually in UAE. Friday mornings start a bit slowly, everyone sleeps in. Maybe one of us women will get up early and start the lunch cooking then go back to sleep. Around 11:30 or 12:00 everyone is up, but we don’t usually eat breakfast. Usually everyone just has a cup of chai, and some toast with jam or some biscuits, for the kids.

Because it is Friday, everybody has to shower and wear nice clothes (if we have new suits we save them and wear for the first time on Friday). While the chai is boiling there is a mad rush to use the iron, with everyone complaining that the person ahead of them is moving too slowly. :-)

Unfortunately our house in Abu Dhabi has only one bathroom, for a family of 11. I really don’t get that, I mean it is a three bedroom house, why only one bathroom? Anyway, just after chai, and the ironing session, the bathroom line forms, first my father in laws has his turn. After FIL is finished then all bets are off and it is every man/woman for themselves. If it’s winter time, then at some point in the line a small argument will break out as someone has taken an extra long shower, used up all the hot water and now everybody after them has to take a freezing cold shower. The one who used all the hot water will be in mild disgrace for the rest of the day.

After all the chai/ironing/showers, the men leave for Jumah at the masjid. Sometimes some of us women will go, as in Abu Dhabi most of the masjids have a women’s section. Recently the men started taking the kids too(my brother in law has two sons), now that they are old enough to sit quietly or imitate their father rather than cry and disturb everyone else.

After everybody gets back from Jumah we all sit down to a big family lunch. Usually we eat simpler foods during the week like aloo gosht(like meat and potato soup), or dals(lentils), and vegetable salaans(curries). On Fridays we have fancier foods like biriyani(spicy rice and meat), or nihari. After a big heavy lunch, almost everybody goes for a nap(except for me, I can’t sleep in the day), then sometimes we’ll go out somewhere, shopping or to one of the many garden parks in Abu Dhabi.


In Pakistan the routine is a bit different, as there is only Tariq, one of his sisters, Saad and I. There are also five bathrooms instead of one. :-) I get up around 9:30 or 10:00 on Fridays, read some Qur’an, iron Tariq’s, Saad’s and my own clothes, then shower and change. Then I start breakfast, when that is almost ready I go wake up Saad, Tariq and my Sister in law. I give the baby his bath and put him in his shalwar kameez.


All ready for Jumah!

After a quick breaskfast Saad and Tariq leave for Jumah. I never get to go as in our area there is no space for women. :-( At first when Saad started to go to Jumah with Tariq and his Dada(Saad’s paternal grandfather, not Tariq’s, who was in Pakistan for time off from his job in Abu Dhabi), he was afraid and didn’t really want to go. Dada convinced Saad to go by bribing him with the promise of a juice box on the way home.

When Saad got back the first time he was so proud, he told me “Mama, Saad give money to Allah(swt).” Now his favorite thing about Jumah is that daddy will give him money to keep in his pocket before they go, for him to donate to the masjid.

After they get back we sit down to a family lunch, then hang around the house the rest of the day. Occasionally we’ll go to visit one of Tariq’s married sisters in the evening.

Two haiku for load shedding.

Asalam Alaikum,

Today during our morning load shedding time I was a bit bored and decide to write some haiku.

~~~How long is eternity?~~~
One point five hours seems
Eternal, but only one?
An instant of time.

~~~First Breeze~~~
No electric, wait-
Light ah-gae, fan’s cool breeze comes.
Alhamdulillah.

Friday Feature-Dayks/Catering

Asalam Alaikum,

For many of our parties/functions(engagements, mehndis, Qur'an khanees) we have some dayks delivered. Usually they have biriyani/pulao, or a quorma, with your choice of meat or chicken. They also have sweet dishes like zarda(sweet, multi colored rice with all sorts raisins/coconut/little sweet colored bits), or kheer(rice pudding).

For size comparison- Saad at 18 months next to a dayk.
Tariq transfers biriyani to a serving dish.

About an hour before the party starts the dayk wala comes by the house with the back of his truck full of dayks for his deliveries. He drops off your pot(s), and then goes to finish his deliveries. The waiters take over during the party and transfer the food to the buffet line, they are always busy carrying hot trays of food back and forth!

During the month of Muharram here in Karachi(specifically the ninth and tenth) people often fast. Commonly in our area the dayk walas prepare large amounts of haleem(kind of like a savory porrige, made with grains, lentils, and meat), which people will buy to feed people who are fasting, or donate to masjids.
A line of dayks full of haleem prepared for Ashura(tenth day of Muharram


Further away, since they take up so much space they are not inside but prepared on the side of the road.

Summer Already?

Asalam Alaikum,

It is summer already. The first floor of our house stays relatively cooler in the early morning until just after noon because it gets less sun exposure. The second floor has a line of huge windows, all wide open to catch as much breezes as possible, and the stairwell that leads to the roof is open as well, with only a steel grill for security. With everything open, and it being so hot the second floor gets hot very quickly. So today when I walked from the first floor up the stairs to get something from my room, I was hit with a wall of hot dry air. It was just flattening, and it will only get hotter. Two days ago the BBC weather report said Karachi was going to have a temperature of 34 degrees C(for other USians, that's about 93 degrees F), and it is only mid March.

When we lived in Florida it got pretty hot, and it was always humid. The biggest difference was that we had uninterrupted electricity and AC in just about every building. Here many people don't have AC, (or maybe they have it only in one room), and the electricity is always kind of iffy with the load shedding. It tends to get worse in the summer when people use their AC more, and we get more "unscheduled" load shedding, and tripping.

The first summer we were here it was really bad, and there were a several weeks when we had electricity for only 3-4 hours a day and that was it. Last summer was not as bad, with only 5-6 hours of load shedding and most of the day the lights stayed on. InshAllah this summer will be like this past one and not like the first one.

I am waiting for Tariq to turn on the AC in our room, if I do it he might complain about the electric bill! I have a strong feeling he'll turn it on within two weeks at the latest, as he has had a bit of trouble sleeping well for three nights in a row.

Friday Feature- Auto Rickshaws

Asalam Alaikum,

One of my favorite ways to get around in Karachi is rickshaws. The only time I get to ride in them though is when I go shopping with my sisters in law. Anytime I go out with Tariq it is always in a car/taxi or on the motorcycle.

A regular size rickshaw.

Peek-a-boo, Saad likes rickshaws too!

View from the back seat, steers with handlebars.

Outside the main market in our part of town the rickshaw drivers line up and wait for a fare.

I love rickshaws so much, when I saw these little toys in the market I just had to get them...for Saad.(Yeah for the baby, right! Babies make great excuses to buy things you are "too old for")

Zipping around in a rickshaw is really fun, the drivers usually go very fast and also turn sharply so it can be quite the adventure. The other day I posted about the truck art, rickshaws are also sometimes highly decorated, inside and out. Sometimes vinyl stickers or paint, sometimes bead hangings or colorful cloth. A couple of rickshaws we have rode in have strands of jasmine flowers hanging from the rear view mirror.

A couple little tips though if you have never been in a rickshaw- always negotiate the fare up front, if you don't then some drivers try to overcharge you by a lot. Also if you are pretty tall (Tariq is 5'10" and has trouble fitting comfortably in the regular rickshaws) then try to find a CNG rickshaw, they are a bit larger and so have more headroom.

Samp Wala-Snake Charmer

Asalam Alaikum,

This morning I heard the sound of a pipe being played outside, and since Tariq was sleeping and his dad was out for a walk, I was sure I was going to miss this one. Alhamdulillah my father in law came back just as the samp wala was walking past our door and my sister in law and I quickly asked him to stop him for us to see.


When my father in law asked about the snake, the wala said it was five years old and had the venom sacks had been removed. He didn't stay very long, just about five minutes. It was pretty cool to see the snake come up and sway around a bit. The samp wala had to tap it a little to get him to come up out of the basket. I don't know if it was sleeping or just annoyed at having to do this all the time. After he got the snake up and did his little performance my father in law gave him some money and then he put the snake back in and left.

He's selling what on his bicycle?

Asalam Alaikum,

Remember my post about walay? Since then I have taken some more pictures, while we hang out on the roof, of the door to door salesmen that frequent our neighborhood. It is always interesting to see who's coming down the street.

Who wants to guess whats inside?

This is a Qur'an wale. He has in this bundle on the front of his bicycle all sorts of different Qur'ans. He has the regular type of book that is what we normally read, and also the type that is separated into 30 little books called "sipara". The only time I ever see the second type is when people are having "Qur'an Khanees"(where a bunch of people gather to read Qur'an together and then eat food), and on bursees(death anniversaries when people get together to read Qur'an and then eat more food). It is pretty helpful, as each person can take one little book at a time and the gathering can very quickly complete a full Qur'an reading(or sometimes more than one). I do try to avoid going to bursees, as I am pretty sure it may be a bidah, and so to be on the safe side I just avoid them as much as possible. No one ever says anything about my non participation, and I kind of prefer it that way.

This Qur'an wale seems very dedicated. He comes down our street usually 3-4 times a week, and has been since we first came to Pakistan.

Truck Art

Asalam Alaikum,

A couple months ago a neighbor of ours had a tanker come to fill up their water tank and they had the cutest little decoration on the truck, we had to take a picture of it.



Saad loves airplanes and when he saw this one he got so excited to go out with daddy to look at it up close.



I really like seeing all the trucks and buses in Karachi, they are always decorated with vinyl stickers and paintings in every color of the rainbow. Some buses even have large tassels and feathers sticking out of the top. Even trucks that cart around garbage have decorations covering almost every inch! Here is a site with some great pictures of truck art in Pakistan.

I have seen some buses that are older and look pretty beat up, I do sometimes wonder if the vinyl is only for decoration or if it is like the old joke about duct tape being the only thing holding something together! It isn't just trucks and buses either, people decorate their motorcycles and bicycles too.

Pakistan is really a very vibrant, colorful place.

Friday Feature- Rooh Afza on the Roof

Asalam Alaikum,

My favorite juice drink has to be Rooh Afza. When we were in America Tariq found some at a local halal grocery and he told me I had to try it. It was delicious! The taste is hard to describe, but imagine if you could taste the scent of roses, it is kind of like that. Most often the Rooh Afza syrup is mixed with cold water, maybe some ice and sometimes a lemon slice. Some people like to drink it mixed with cold milk, and sometimes with Seven-up. There are other brands of juice like this-Naurus, Jam Shirin. They all have the same basic taste but some have a little extra of one thing or another. For example, to me, Naurus has a little too much cinnamon taste.

This is the bottle available here, the one in America was glass and had a slightly different label design.

Saad loves Rooh Afza, and he thinks it is funny when his tongue turns red

A relaxing afternoon on the roof

Rooh Afza is used a lot during Ramadan here in Pakistan. In our family we always have one pitcher of water and some dates to start and then follow that with Rooh Afza and all the snacks-samosa, pakora, chaat, and fruit.

Friday Feature- Why I can't be a tourist

Asalam Alaikum,

I don’t usually take too many pictures when we are outside shopping or just around town. This is mostly because Tariq has safety concerns. The area we live in is not one of the “high class” areas with lots of foreigners, so he worries about us sticking out more than we already do. He says that if I were to walk around the local market snapping pics, that it would encourage thieves because I “look like a tourist”.

Sometimes I use a cell phone camera, or Tariq will use it for me to take an interesting picture. They don’t usually come out well, but I am thinking about posting some just to give an idea of some of the interesting things we have seen.

This is probably one of the biggest reasons that I love to read other gori/desi blogs. Many times while visiting Southeast Asia, they have taken the types of pictures that I want to. It is pretty cool to see the things that I think are interesting/cool/weird pop up on somebody’s blog. Sometimes I’ll have moments when I’ll say something like “Ooh that happens here too!” or “Oh I felt that way too when I first saw the toilets here”.

I think it would probably be different is we actually were just visiting. For now, while we are living here full time, I’ll just have to stick to my bloglists and enjoy everyone else’s interest pictures!