Rukhsana was the one who was ready to hang up now. "Well anyway, Huma- let me know if..."
Huma interrupted. "It's been so long since I heard my old nickname, " she said. "Look Rukhsana Baji, it would have given me great pleasure to host my niece and her husband. When did we get to be so formal? I understand kids these days want to stay in hotels for privacy and coz it's fun all that but when will ever get to know them properly. We should at least be able to spend the days together. But if it's already been decided?"
Rukhsana began to explain. "It's just not up to me any more, kids just do what they want."
Huma wanted to put her elder cousin out of her misery. "Yes, that's fine. I know. My kids will probably do the same. They just don't know each other." Huma sat down with her phone and took a sip of chai before continuing. "They have no idea the fun we had."
Huma sighed and thought about how she felt when she was first trying to explain multiplication to her third grader. You had to go back and remind them about addition.
"Sometimes Qatar just gets so hot, Baji, that I think about the sleepovers on your roof. All of us in a row and Kamal at the end next to the wall."
"Oh my," responded Rukhsana, " Didn't we all share Archie comics before falling asleep. Can you believe we read by moonlight?"
Huma took her cue. "If it wasn't for the moonlight we would never have had that kite fight. Remember on Tilsang Raat? You and Qasim Bhai used wire instead of string and beat everyone. I think Kamal cried for days after that."
Rukhsana did not recall the last time she had actually snorted audibly. "Allah mia, I had totally forgotten that pathang incident. I didn't think you all knew about the wire. "
Huma's speech had quickened. "But right after that, we had to all get ready for a mehndi party. You showed me how to pluck my eyebrows that night. I felt so grown up. You four sisters were the ones who introduced me to all the girly stuff. Oh and nail polish. You always yelled at me for leaving the cap unscrewed."
"Well fortunately I don't remember that part," responded Rukhsana. " But I loved doing eye make-up on you. I was jealous of your lashes."
"No way," said Huma trying not to sound too excited. " And I was envious of how you knew all those card games. Qasim Bhai did teach me and Kamal how to play rummy but he got frustrated because I could never quite get all the rules down."
"Do you remember the time we stayed up until 3am playing that dumb game?" burst out Rukhsana suddenly.
Huma had a pricking of conscience. " Baji, isn't this call getting expensive?"
But Rukhsana was not thinking about international calling plan rates. " Oh my gosh, the all-night rummy game! Dadima came into our room to get ready for Fajr prayer and she was furious seeing us with cards all around us. I remember she took the whole pack and threw it out into the street, mumbling something about gambling at the holiest time of day."
The yankee was laughing loudly now and in full swing. "Oh Humi, did you know the cards landed on the local muezzin who was running to the masjid to do the adhan. He was so angry he came and knocked on the door and woke up the whole house. I'll never forget Baba's face. I thought he would put us all up for adoption that night."
Huma hardly dared respond lest she curbed the flow of such detail. Rukhsana began giggling uncontrollably. "Oh, oh no, I just remembered. The water fight."
Huma almost choked on her beverage. "At our house right? Oh, these kids these days with their fancy super soaker guns. What do they know about the fun we had. Every summer. Yup. Mummi would fill up the water tank and everyone would grab lotas, and chamboos- even bagonas and wow, the whole khandan would join in, right?
"Yes," said Rukhsana, drying her eyes. "Everyone, Barrey Mamujan, all the chachas, khalas, and yes-Dadima!"
It is Amirpet, 1976. The temperatures are so high that you can SMELL the heat. Huma's father has arranged for a feast for the entire extended family. All gather on the veranda after the meal of roast lamb, kaddu ka dalcha and baked fish. The younger children beg for one more round of watery warfare while the women exchange ideas about kameez designs for an upcoming family wedding. Khalid Chacha is telling stories about pranks from his youth until it's time for everyone to call for rickshaws and bid the evening farewell.
In India, it is as though the whole year revolves around the monsoon season. Rain is not an encumbrance or an annoyance. There is no reaching for umbrellas or wellington boots. Here they PRAY for precipitation. When the clouds send forth their aquatic bounty, the streets are filled with children. Huma and Kamal tear out pages from yesterday's Siasat and quickly construct paper boats for racing. Razia and Rana simply dance and rejoice in the God-given downpour. Once they are drenched, they walk home in muddy streets to warm baths and mild scoldings.
Then when the showery season subsides, it will be time for the annual zoo picnic. The Ahmed men are hard-core moghuls. For them, it is less about seeing the animals and more about the food.
But everyone eagerly awaits the arrival of Hasina Aunty. She is always three hours late but brings the best lunch. Perfecly spherical shikampoor and parathas of exactly the right thickness. Then metallic dabbah upon dabbah of daals, chutneys and khorma. Khalid Chacha has never actually seen these world-famous zoological gardens. He simply lies down in the grassed-in eating area where even the peacocks leave him alone to snore contentedly, until it is time to go home.
Rukhsana heard a couple of faint beeping sounds. Her phonecard had almost expired. She could not believe they had been talking for over 2 hours. "Humi, I should go and get the dinner on," she said sitting up straight. "Look I don't know, maybe I'll tell the kids you can take them around, show them Qatar. And how about we forget about them staying at the Marriott?"
"It would be a pleasure. said Huma. I know exactly what sights they need to see."
Huma interrupted. "It's been so long since I heard my old nickname, " she said. "Look Rukhsana Baji, it would have given me great pleasure to host my niece and her husband. When did we get to be so formal? I understand kids these days want to stay in hotels for privacy and coz it's fun all that but when will ever get to know them properly. We should at least be able to spend the days together. But if it's already been decided?"
Rukhsana began to explain. "It's just not up to me any more, kids just do what they want."
Huma wanted to put her elder cousin out of her misery. "Yes, that's fine. I know. My kids will probably do the same. They just don't know each other." Huma sat down with her phone and took a sip of chai before continuing. "They have no idea the fun we had."
Huma sighed and thought about how she felt when she was first trying to explain multiplication to her third grader. You had to go back and remind them about addition.
"Sometimes Qatar just gets so hot, Baji, that I think about the sleepovers on your roof. All of us in a row and Kamal at the end next to the wall."
"Oh my," responded Rukhsana, " Didn't we all share Archie comics before falling asleep. Can you believe we read by moonlight?"
Huma took her cue. "If it wasn't for the moonlight we would never have had that kite fight. Remember on Tilsang Raat? You and Qasim Bhai used wire instead of string and beat everyone. I think Kamal cried for days after that."
Rukhsana did not recall the last time she had actually snorted audibly. "Allah mia, I had totally forgotten that pathang incident. I didn't think you all knew about the wire. "
Huma's speech had quickened. "But right after that, we had to all get ready for a mehndi party. You showed me how to pluck my eyebrows that night. I felt so grown up. You four sisters were the ones who introduced me to all the girly stuff. Oh and nail polish. You always yelled at me for leaving the cap unscrewed."
"Well fortunately I don't remember that part," responded Rukhsana. " But I loved doing eye make-up on you. I was jealous of your lashes."
"No way," said Huma trying not to sound too excited. " And I was envious of how you knew all those card games. Qasim Bhai did teach me and Kamal how to play rummy but he got frustrated because I could never quite get all the rules down."
"Do you remember the time we stayed up until 3am playing that dumb game?" burst out Rukhsana suddenly.
Huma had a pricking of conscience. " Baji, isn't this call getting expensive?"
But Rukhsana was not thinking about international calling plan rates. " Oh my gosh, the all-night rummy game! Dadima came into our room to get ready for Fajr prayer and she was furious seeing us with cards all around us. I remember she took the whole pack and threw it out into the street, mumbling something about gambling at the holiest time of day."
The yankee was laughing loudly now and in full swing. "Oh Humi, did you know the cards landed on the local muezzin who was running to the masjid to do the adhan. He was so angry he came and knocked on the door and woke up the whole house. I'll never forget Baba's face. I thought he would put us all up for adoption that night."
Huma hardly dared respond lest she curbed the flow of such detail. Rukhsana began giggling uncontrollably. "Oh, oh no, I just remembered. The water fight."
Huma almost choked on her beverage. "At our house right? Oh, these kids these days with their fancy super soaker guns. What do they know about the fun we had. Every summer. Yup. Mummi would fill up the water tank and everyone would grab lotas, and chamboos- even bagonas and wow, the whole khandan would join in, right?
"Yes," said Rukhsana, drying her eyes. "Everyone, Barrey Mamujan, all the chachas, khalas, and yes-Dadima!"It is Amirpet, 1976. The temperatures are so high that you can SMELL the heat. Huma's father has arranged for a feast for the entire extended family. All gather on the veranda after the meal of roast lamb, kaddu ka dalcha and baked fish. The younger children beg for one more round of watery warfare while the women exchange ideas about kameez designs for an upcoming family wedding. Khalid Chacha is telling stories about pranks from his youth until it's time for everyone to call for rickshaws and bid the evening farewell.
In India, it is as though the whole year revolves around the monsoon season. Rain is not an encumbrance or an annoyance. There is no reaching for umbrellas or wellington boots. Here they PRAY for precipitation. When the clouds send forth their aquatic bounty, the streets are filled with children. Huma and Kamal tear out pages from yesterday's Siasat and quickly construct paper boats for racing. Razia and Rana simply dance and rejoice in the God-given downpour. Once they are drenched, they walk home in muddy streets to warm baths and mild scoldings.
Then when the showery season subsides, it will be time for the annual zoo picnic. The Ahmed men are hard-core moghuls. For them, it is less about seeing the animals and more about the food.
But everyone eagerly awaits the arrival of Hasina Aunty. She is always three hours late but brings the best lunch. Perfecly spherical shikampoor and parathas of exactly the right thickness. Then metallic dabbah upon dabbah of daals, chutneys and khorma. Khalid Chacha has never actually seen these world-famous zoological gardens. He simply lies down in the grassed-in eating area where even the peacocks leave him alone to snore contentedly, until it is time to go home.
Rukhsana heard a couple of faint beeping sounds. Her phonecard had almost expired. She could not believe they had been talking for over 2 hours. "Humi, I should go and get the dinner on," she said sitting up straight. "Look I don't know, maybe I'll tell the kids you can take them around, show them Qatar. And how about we forget about them staying at the Marriott?"
"It would be a pleasure. said Huma. I know exactly what sights they need to see."
1 comment:
I remember being in my first New England downpour, recently arrived from California. I stood in the showering rain, surprised at how warm the water was. The dour Yankees just shook their heads and attributed my behavior to "California, the land of nuts and fruits". It may be hard for people who have not experienced a drought to understand how welcome rain can be.
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