Writing from the Bus

Monday, 14th June, 1:40 P.M

There will be days when I'll be staring out of my window wondering why the sun loves us so much that it can't stay away for more than half a day. Days when I'll be stuck in a traffic jam and wishing that the sea was a little further away so that Karachi would be a little less humid. Days when I'll wish I lived in the north pole. But those are just some days. All said and done I think Karachi has the kind of weather that people in all other parts of the world crave. A sunny warmth countered by a fresh salty breeze and the perfect golden tinge to the landscape.

Come to think of it, Pakistan as a whole is really a marvelous country. In the high north you'll find people who look like the Chinese; a little lower down you'll find people who look like Europeans; further down and you'll find those who look like Africans and to their left, people who look like Indians and Americans. All of these different races in one tiny dragon-shaped country; all because it's longer than it is wider.

In which other country do you find a city by the sea in Sindh, followed by the vast deserts and dunes of Baluchistan, followed by the lush greenery and fresh air of Punjab and the mild frostiness of N.W.F.P followed by magnificent mountain ranges home to the second largest peak in the world: K2. It is as if this remarkable piece of land holds a pinch of every bit of the world, preserved so far, in it's natural form.

It's struggling under an ugly mask. It is like it's trapped in a room of burning mirrors, forced to gaze unwillingly at the mask that corrodes its face. And every time it finds room to breathe it is pulled back under by those who dig their sharp little heels in its soil. But I don't want it to be a puppet anymore, forced by the rats who sit in its clockwork head to pace underground in frustration. I would rather snip away those threads and kick away the rats and push the dragon out of the cave. Even if there is a chance that it may hurtle to the ground. Because I really think that if it got a chance to spread its wings, it could soar.