Straight Talk - Remembering Home

After a week in Houston and almost three weeks in the US of A, I was beginning to miss home and thinking about returning. Why, I am not sure, but perhaps, as the old Sinatra song goes, 'It's so nice to go traveling and roam as gypsies will roam, but it is so much nicer to come home.'

I suppose there is no place like home and even Karachi, with all its trials and tribulations, is still 'home' to even those who have been living in the US for many years. If things like law and order, basic infrastructure, traffic, etc., were to improve in Pakistan, many 'American Pakistanis' who have good jobs and a comfortable life style, would still pack their bags and head home.

I rang up Farkhanda Ahmed, who is managing the affairs of Helpline and who, I hope will take over the full responsibility by next year, if all was well. She assured me that things were under control and our CSR Awards and Fund Raiser on the 28th of August were going well and there was no need for me to rush back.

So, I am off to Venice Beach for three days, where my nephew, Tanvir is joining me. I shall be back in sunny and noisy city of Karachi on 8th August, where I believe it has been business as usual or the lack of it. There are reports of riots in Islamabad due to the falling Stock Market, deaths and blackouts in Karachi due to the rains and ominous warnings from Uncle Sam on the misconduct of our ISI.

Farah and Shahid, their three children and ten suitcases finally left for Karachi last week, after spending almost three months in the States. It was a struggle to get all five of them and their baggage into the van, but they somehow managed to fit it all in.

And suddenly the house was empty, with an eerie silence and even Dhooki and Sukhi Ram were subdued for the next few days. Shaihid and Az have been friends since the age of three, while Farah was in Junior Grammar School with AZ and are like sisters.