A Wedding Night in Boston...

Atif, I am looking forward to reading more from your side. Please write more often.

Twas a solid write-up. Solid. Well done Atif!

Buhat Acha ;) specially

``..virginity like a disease and found a cure for it as soon as they could``

n

``He asked my opinion. I told him flat out that she was too good to be his wife.``

n

``... God will look the other way. ``

:)

tahmed32:

A misshapen overweight, over jewelled overdressed woman remains a misshapen overweight overjewelled overdressed woman regardless of the color of her hair. Thankfully, most Pakistani women are not like that of course.

hunh?

i would have spilled that cup of coffee/green tea had i been drinking one reading these two contradictory statements...the first one i agree fully...the second one, taken contextually (meaning we are considering the wedding scene)...i would humbly disagree...

…less than a decade into marriage they display ...no make that visibly display the ill effects of rich food, compounded by bad posture, poor dress coordination, herd mentality…and a less than desirable fashion sense...

caveat: the above general observation does not include M nor mrs tahmed;)...akhar shaam ko hum dOno ko ghar bhee jana hay;)...also it does not apply to some sensible chowkies who are either there... or getting there...

rgds,

t


digression on the fashion scene: to be fair as my friend kat says the designer scene in pakistan does owe to the well heeled aunties…without their patronage faiza samee, who almost single handedly rescued the art of zardozi handiwork and is to be showcased at bridal asia (india) 2004, imrana ahmad of body focus, sana and safinaz, nilofer shahid of meeras ammara ahmad, shayaane, and host of others would be wringing their hands and probably be raising brats or writing poems…(don’t know which is worse, probably the latter!)……complimenting their creations the up and coming accessory maker amna kardar….thud!thud! (sound of one hand slapping the other)...ok, i stop...

Enjoyed this highly readable and well written piece immensely!

Hi Atif!

Congrats on your friend`s wedding. I`ve had a very good friend of mine get married too.

And when a friend of yours gets married, yes, it feels very weird [but good =)] You see all those aunties or uncles greeting them on their weddings, with endless duas and once they`d be done you`d ask your friend who that was only to discover your friend was meeting them either for the first time or (maximum) the fifth yet the way those guests were expressing their duas, it seemed as though no one else in the world was happier that them. You might feel bad, because these strangers continuously come and go, all with smiles and prayers for your friend while you, who`s one of the very best friends of the groom or bride is sitting there joking about their confused facial expressions and making the formalities of the day even harder for them. Shouldn`t you wish them a happy life because you really know they deserve it? Shouldn`t you at least tell them how thrilled you are? After all, you are way happier about it than the millions of aunties out there concerned about getting their jewelry noticed.

That`s when you realize your prayers for them are too deep to come out in words so you just get up and hug them because you know that no words can express how you feel.

Besides, no matter how elegant they look in their extremely magnificent dresses, to you they`re the same old friends who`d accidentaly snort while laughing with you on jokes your parents would kill you to share.

hey Atif !
great work..like always ...
I think people like you have the gift of taking any topic or event and by putting your `magic` words and emotions into it can turn it into simple pleasure...
I had a cake yesterday which was called...`chocolate Lava`...I microwaved it for 15 seconds before eating it and the pleasure was increased 20 fold. Your article somehow gave the same kind of pleasure.

atif

someone recommended your ilogs and they are fantastic. the one about jogging on the charles is a booker prize winner. your writing is absolutely juvenile (i mean it as a compliment) and i am afraid, may vanish upon getting married. untill then, its all in your own hands ;-) so write wantonly.

One of my friend got married and then it was her valima.
She sat on the stage, giggling and telling all the nosey girlfriends the `` details` ...till later her khala zaad bhai walked upto the stage..and said..` khuda kai vastaay ab tau ulgee teen rows ko pata chul gaya hai..how many times you guys did it...`

Very enjoyable reading ... hope to see more from you ....

Atif: You have a knack for taking simple ideas and stories and adding just enough humor and satire to turn them into an enjoyable read. As a reader, I was able to relate to your story, especially the long speech by the imam. We`ve all seen girls and aunties wearing sleeveless shirts put their duputtas on their heads when qazi saahib waxes eloquent about the benefits of marriage. (Not that I am against sleeveless shirts, au contraire...)

Also, thanks for not using unnecessarily long and overly complex sentences just to show off your mastery of the English language.

Atif,

There are some great lines in this piece! Hope to read more soon!

Sobia you wrote ``Oh by the way, I maintain that no abcd girl can match a lahorun when it comes to those ``jhatkas`` and ``matkas`` - take that as a challenge if you must! :)``.

hmmm...having personally seen Paki girls do bhangra in lahore and in boston, i know its a tough pick. But if I were to decide between the two, I would take both. I am a simple guy, and don`t mean no harm to any one. As Yogi Bera once said ``if you come across a fork in the road, take it``.

scout thanks for your kind words. BTW - do you realize that you have evolved into a mother figure at chowk? If I ever have a mother-in-law, I wish she be like you - da`dee (a punjabi word meaning tough). I need that to keep my wayward ways in check.

tahmed32 writes ``A misshapen overweight, over jewelled overdressed woman remains a misshapen overweight overjewelled overdressed woman regardless of the color of her hair.``

tahmed sahib - I think you have hit the nail in the head with this one. speaking of heads, i am A-ok with girls/aunties coloring their hair. I think having color in hair is an `in` thing for paki girls. They look nice too. However, what really creeps me out is when men do the same. A man should be a man, and not a titlee (butterfly). But thats just me talking.

Haha! still laughing.Great article.Reminds me of a wedding I attended back in Wisconsin.No blonde and brunette pakistani girls though...i have yet to see a specimen....

best line: After a brief period of customary repulsion....lol...how true how true!

huma_mir thanks for your kind words. i think you are being too `nice`. on top of that you have become friends with `nice` girls like sobia, scout and succubus. thats really `nice`. and Tabish has read your sentiments. but he no think me nice. he bad boy. he no play with me no more. he stay home and ....

BruceLee writes ``I watched some Pakistanis doing bhangra at a wedding once and it was hilarious.``

hey listen big boy, there are only two countries in the world with bhangra as their folk dance - pakistan and india. 60% of pakistanis are punjabis. 20% of indians are punjabis. and you have the nerve to taunt OUR dance?! If Dalair Mehndi is your international bhangra star, then we are fine being ``hilarious``

suchetapotnis writes ``...being thankful to the Almighty for the existence of pretty girls! How many youngsters would actually be caught saying it in public! Good for you.``

sucheta - it is part of my belief system that it would have been a worse punishment if God had kept Havva in heaven and thrown Adam into this world alone. To have women in this world, it cost men one rib. It would still have been a great deal if it had cost us another rib - as well as an arm and a leg. fa`bay ayyay aa` la erubbakuma tokazzaybaan.

sobia writes ``oye, isspeak faar yaarself..i have been published on chowk a few times...kahan say aa jaatay hain!``

Sobia you are like an onion. just when I think I have seen the end of it, there is another layer waiting to be peeled. whereas I am like a tomato - you get what you see. so u are a writer too. I stand corrected. need to read up on you.

saminasha my scientifically-categorized-caucasian friend!!! How are you! Need to get into some more intellectual conversations with you. but time has been pretty precious lately for me and my mongoloid, negroid and caucasian colleagues alike. You give me the run for the money. But the hustler that I am, I end up getting the best of you. NOT!