Qasim: Grant's picking me up. I'm off to college.
Grandma: Qasim, beta, you're going to college on a Saturday?
Qasim:( turning to Saad) Dad, How do you say "I'm volunteering at a soup kitchen" in Urdu?
Sakina (smugly) Oh your dad won't know that. I can tell you all about it. See, the word 'volunteer' doesn't exist in Urdu. It came up once for me when I used to be on the mosque board. I was trying to explain it to your grandmother but I realized it was impossible.
Qasim: Wait so people don't help each other in India?
Sakina: Of course they do, silly boy , but it's completely embedded and integrated into the extended family culture. You know, the youth serving the elders, the healthy making food for the sick or for the pregnant ladies. Then there's the childless aunt who'll gladly play with her sister's children and so on. You see it used to be like that in the West too.
Qasim: But?
Sakina: Well things have changed over the years. So yeah over here, it's all about Kiwanis Pancake breakfasts. In the East, it's more a lifestyle than a service project.
Saad: Jaan, I cannot believe you take so long to answer a simple question..
Sakina: It's important for Qasim to know about his heritage. When my aunt came here from Pakistan and saw handicapped parking spaces she gasped. She would say;
"That's one less person being helped out of their car by an able bodied individual"
Saad: For someone who did not grow up in India, you sure claim to know a lot about the culture. Listen Qasim, the reason there's no word in Urdu for 'volunteer' is because it's not just some dreamy theory your mom has about how everyone constantly helping one another. It's a third world country. There is always someone poorer than you. So you just PAY someone to do things for you.
Qasim: We also have a word in English for that.
Grandma: Qasim, beta, you're going to college on a Saturday?
Qasim:( turning to Saad) Dad, How do you say "I'm volunteering at a soup kitchen" in Urdu?
Sakina (smugly) Oh your dad won't know that. I can tell you all about it. See, the word 'volunteer' doesn't exist in Urdu. It came up once for me when I used to be on the mosque board. I was trying to explain it to your grandmother but I realized it was impossible.
Qasim: Wait so people don't help each other in India?
Sakina: Of course they do, silly boy , but it's completely embedded and integrated into the extended family culture. You know, the youth serving the elders, the healthy making food for the sick or for the pregnant ladies. Then there's the childless aunt who'll gladly play with her sister's children and so on. You see it used to be like that in the West too.
Qasim: But?
Sakina: Well things have changed over the years. So yeah over here, it's all about Kiwanis Pancake breakfasts. In the East, it's more a lifestyle than a service project.
Saad: Jaan, I cannot believe you take so long to answer a simple question..
Sakina: It's important for Qasim to know about his heritage. When my aunt came here from Pakistan and saw handicapped parking spaces she gasped. She would say;
"That's one less person being helped out of their car by an able bodied individual"
Saad: For someone who did not grow up in India, you sure claim to know a lot about the culture. Listen Qasim, the reason there's no word in Urdu for 'volunteer' is because it's not just some dreamy theory your mom has about how everyone constantly helping one another. It's a third world country. There is always someone poorer than you. So you just PAY someone to do things for you.
Qasim: We also have a word in English for that.
2 comments:
I love it! Lol!
Good one. Rose-tinted glasses versus harsh reality!
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