"Sheher Lahore"

                  "Daal duss kha'an Sheher Lahore andar 

                  bahi kinney boohay tey kinniya'an bariya'an ney

                  Naley duss outho'un di itta'an bahi

                  kinniya'an tuttiya'an tey kinniya'an saria'an ney

                  Daal duss kha'an Sheher Lahore andar khooya'an 

                  kinniya'an mithia'an tey kinniya'an kharia'an ney

                  zara souch key davee jawab mainu outhey

                  kinniya'an viyahia'an tey kinniy'an kunwaria'an ney

                  Daal dussa'an main Sheher Lahore andar

                  bahi lakha'an boohey tey lakha'an hi baria'an ney

                  Jinna itta'an tey dhar gaye pair aashiq

                  oho tuttiy'an tey baqi sariy'an ney

                  Jinna kooya'an tey bhar gaye mashooq pani

                  oho mithia'an tey baqi khariy'an ney

                  Jehria'an behandi'an naal apney sajna dey

                  oho viahia'an tey baqi kanwari'an ney"

Hi Everyone,

A freshly brewed cup of Chai, company of Ahmad and Hassan, a few evenings of 'Sheher Lahore' and a tall glass of freshly squeezed anar juice here and there is all it is going to take to make my less than perfect life, perfect.

Chai is my first and last love as I got hooked on it quite early on in my life and then there was no turning back. It does wonders for me, picks me up when I am down and calms me down when I am anxious. When I moved abroad and got introduced to the new face of loneliness, countless cups of Chai taught me how to tackle it and became a mutual friend to both of us.

Then come Ahmad Safdar and Hassan Safdar: These two brothers who were born twelve months apart from each other and my son Haroon was born right in the middle, and God who has always been good to me blessed me with three son in the mere span of one year and i m pretty sure that not many women can make this claim. I got two sons without having to go through morning sickness and labor pains. I wouldn't hesitate to declare them as my own if i didn't have any fear of God  or more importantly fear of NAHEED (their mother) in me. Although they r my son's age, his soul mates, Anwar and my best friend's sons, they somehow redefined the word 'friendship' for me or I should rather say defined the word friendship for me for the very first time. They are there when I need them and even when I don't and that is the beauty of my relationship with them. I just love the fact that they are always there for me. 

Ahmad is a sheer genius whose mind has the caliber to play with anyone's mind anyway he wants. Anyone can easily become 'silly putty' in his hands. Highly motivational, very charismatic, and his ability to comprehend a person at first sight not only boggles your mind it grabs your heart as well. While Hassan's total understanding of a difficult situation, his unbelievable power to empathize, sometimes knowing what you need before you know it yourself, 'Having you at Hello'  and above all  ability to absorb pain quietly and gracefully is mind blowing and grabs u r soul big time.  

During my last visit to pakistan I was staying with them in Lahore. One fine evening, after having 3 cups of Chai, the Safdars (including their mom Naheed and Ahmad's wife Amna) took me out for dinner. After eating everything in that restaurant that didn't move, they wanted to indulge me with a tall glass of Anaar juice. Somehow during our search for the perfect juice stand, the boys decided to look for the perfect kulfa/Falooda as well. During this pursuit of happiness, I started looking around if I recognized few spots where i might have left few footprints. I found Sheher Lahore to be a little different this time around or maybe i was a little different this time around. I said 'I wish I could see lahore with foriegn eyes'. My comment startled Ahmad and he went 'Aunty you are so deep'. You can not take Ahmad's compliments/comments seriously or you are in big trouble.

The next morning when i woke up 'hung over' from the countless cups of Chai, two glasses of Anar juice and two servings of kulfa/falooda, I had two more cups of Chai as an antidote to get my head straight and my 'vision' back. I knew I would be paying for 'Happy Hour' this way but it was worth it. After this homemade remedy worked I realized that my connection with Sheher Lahore was more deep rooted than i thought. I lived here twice, once when i was very young and later from 1970 to 1976. I entered this city of glamor and lights at the tender age of fourteen with eyes wide open with wonder and curiosity. I was such a Dorothy in the land of oz and  this city offered everything it had to me and It had BadShahi Mosque, it had Lal Qilla. It also had Ichraa, Liberty Market, Anakali, Mall Road, fruit chaat from Bano Bazar and of course Lollywood at it's prime with glory and enchantment that completely blinded my eyes. It had a number of beautiful cinemas which at the time didn't seem sufficient to absorb that much glamor, it had Al-Hamrah Art Council which was over flowing with culture as well.

To this day when I go back home from the USA, and as soon as the PIA plane goes in taxi, beautiful folk music starts playing with all my nostalgic senses, and after a perfect landing from our great world renowned pilots, people start cheering and clapping as my eyes start to tear. As soon as I grab my carry-on and walk out of the plane I start inhaling Sheher Lahore. We become one entity as I become all about Lahore and Lahore becomes all about me and I am unable to tell who missed who more. It opens its arms wide and takes me in like a mother, is more than eager to show me a great time like a good old friend. It is usually at the middle of the night when I land and I feel as the whole city is up waiting for me as it's daughter is coming home after a very long (in every sense of the word) journey. This city has always left the door open for me to walk right in and claim my share of it, and as I walk down the portable metal staircase, with each and every step I feel more and more grounded and when my tired and swollen feet touch the ground I know i am finally where I belong.

I 'experienced' Lahore at a tender ages of fourteen to twenty when I saw my very small world through rose colored glasses, when I ruled my parent's hearts, when I could get away with murder as far as they were concerned, when I knew i wasn't the prettiest girl around but I thought I was the prettiest girl around, when Waheed Murad, Rajesh Khanna, Shahid and Shashi Kapoor were fighting over me (needless to say, only in my mind), when Ghulam Mustafa Khar, who sadly has turned into a dirty old man gradually, was the handsome, dashing Governor of Punjab, when I wasn't aware of the fact that there were four seasons in a lunar year as i was only introduced to 'Mosmey-Bahar', when I would walk miles and miles and my feet hardly touched the ground. 

The next day I did try my level best to look at Lahore through foreign eyes but failed miserably. You have to feel and own this city to absorb it,  Although it was and still is a very beautiful, charming, full of life historical city, my seeing this magical place through my young, naive, inexperienced, innocent, filled with wonder eyes, my coming of age, the depth of my soul or may be combination of all above made this city called Lahore 'Sheher Lahore'.

Much love,

Shehla