It's the Little Things!

Impressions of daily life in Pakistan:

garbage on the side of the road, not picked up ........ ever

crows with grey brown heads

drivers who don't keep to lanes ....... what lanes ........ great drivers though

motorcycles with wife sidesaddle on the back, child in her lap, and child in front of dad

motorcycles with five people

motorcycle driver with helmet, wife no, children no ......... tough to take, that one

stray dogs, dogs tied up, dogs howling, dogs I cannot help

cats I want to bring inside

politeness of people, honesty of people, friendliness of people

electricity power cuts, called loadshedding, which interrupts the work day - right now we have power cuts between 9-10 am, 2-3 p.m and 7-8 p.m - with temperatures in the high 30's centigrade + high humidity ......... whew ........ I get to sweat a lot

police barricades, security at government buildings

women in colorful clothes, or all in black, with covered faces

mangos, mangos, mangos and peaches

dhal and chapati ....... yummmmmm

mangoes, mangoes ...................

Mango Freak

I really am a mango freak, ever since Virginia introduced me to those yellow mangoes when we were in Hong Kong .......... of course that was just a treat, I never expected to be surrounded by yellow mangoes, peaches, lychees, grapes, and some black things I actually don't like ...... unusual for me ........ I like just about everything.

With these yellow mangoes you have to know how to get the most out of them, Virginia showed me how to cut closely along the pit on the long side, so you get three pieces, you chew around the pit, and use cut sides as cups ........ there is nothing like a good mango, it is rightly called the King of Fruits.

Usually I buy them from vendors along the side of the road, but today we went to the fruit and vegetable market ......... one word ...... chaos. Donkey carts, horse carts, bicycles, people everywhere, then on top of that cars and trucks trying to move around. As we walked into the market area, I got all sorts of squelchy things on my shoes ....... everywhere you look there is organic waste on the road, and all over the market, so that where there is a slight change in grade, like stepping off a curb, there is sticky black stuff, does not smell bad, but I get the impression it has been there for ever ........ so did I tell you I was with the driver of the office car, that's how I got to the market, perhaps you wondered ....... ?

Where were we ....... yes, in the middle of all the black stuff on the road, in the market. Now the places next to the roads are piled high with wooden boxes, full of mangoes, large to medium. We met the driver's friend, and looked at the boxes, they are about one foot long, by nine inches or so wide, and nine inches deep. I don't yet know how many it contains, I'll let you know when I find out, let's say for now there are 36, so at 3 per day .......... looks like I will be sharing with the guys at the office. I took a box of peaches for the office, those were marvelous as well.

So what did I get out of today, apart from eats ......... well, as soon as I go to places like this, I always think about the donkeys and horses, doing their work in the high heat and humidity, and getting a thwack across the backside for their trouble, I was told they are accustomed to the heat ........ children as young as ten are out driving these carts doing business in the market.

Now, as we left the market, I saw a town of mud houses, along the banks of the river and in the flood plain, I was told these people here are Afghans, a source of cheap labour. I am not talking about a few, there were hundreds of mud houses, a whole community, with alley ways for vehicles etc. Now, there has to be a problem, I have no idea what sanitary facilities are provided, if any, I did see a couple of water pumps by the side of the road, one can only imagine what it must be like. At least, living close to the market, they do get food, not the freshest or the best ......... I was watching small children, three or four years old begging the vendors for their over ripe and cast offs ........ they learn early, those children, they need mangoes to survive, they don't have the luxury of becoming a mango freak ........ so many children, how will they ever get out of there ......... ?

The Rains Have Come

In Pakistan, rain is welcome, so welcome ...... I had no idea. In England the rain was a nuisance, it prevented me from joining my friends on long bike rides over the downs, or if I was out, I had better have my cape, and oilskin hat. But here, I now understand the value of rain.

Yesterday the temperature was about 43 C degrees, now, that could be OK, but with very high humidity, the effect was probably over the 50 mark. I am lucky at the office, they have very kindly given me the only room with an AC unit, and a ceiling fan, they even insist on keeping the door closed to ensure the cool air stays inside ....... that will tell you something about how decent these people are. They are gentle, fun loving and committed to their jobs. What a resource.

I digress. Rain. It came today, the wind came up, immediately there was a drop in humidity, and the temperature plummeted to around 30 ....... I'm in heaven. I was so thankful. But think, what about those people who are displaced, living in tents, the farmers, the animals etc, aren't they thankful as well .... everybody is. The staff at the guest house were very jolly today.

We people from the West have no idea how important this is. The people here prepare for the rains (the monsoon), many flowering plants have been planted along the roads, with sticks for them to climb, I am told that, in a few days, Islamabad will be a riot of color. Wonderful, I will enjoy. Wait, what about the feral cat family, will they be happy?

Yes, and no. I have been watching the cat family. After the heavy rain, the whole family was sitting together furiously licking themselves, to remove the water. I watched as they moved about - when they trod in puddles, there came the familiar paw shaking, holding it out, as if in disgust. They had fun for a while, the temperature was so much lower, they felt quite lively, mum cat fed them and they all fell asleep in a huddle, so funny, so sweet.

Later more rains came, and the cat family took shelter again. I see the white and grey has emerged and is sleeping outside the shelter, it is all curled up in a ball, ears twitching when the wind catches them ........ can I have a cat ......... please.

Feral Cats

As some of you know, I live in a guest house, here in Islamabad (photos later), the room is quite small, about 25x20 I suppose, with a washroom attached. The bed backs up to the large window, and I look out over the roofs of various houses. I say roofs, they are all flat, set at different levels, and finished in various ways, some concrete, some corrugated metal, strangely covered with what looks like sacking.

Amongst the roofs, plants and even trees have taken hold. Outside the window are what look like rose bushes, covered with small flowers and lovely bright green leaves. Within these bushes reside a family of feral cats. In truth, not a complete family, because there is no dad cat, he inhabits different spaces, looks really mean, with growths on his face, and, last time I saw him, a gash down his neck. Come to think of it I haven't seen him lately, nor heard any fighting in the side alley. No, I want to tell you about the mother cat.

The mother cat is a calico with strange, angular black markings, at first, I thought "what an ugly cat", but I have come to love her. She has beautiful yellow eyes, and when I approached one day, a lovely "meow", but she does not stay. The local cook must give her foods of various types, I suppose, because she does not look emaciated, even though she has been feeding her three kittens.

Yes, kittens, one solid ginger, one sort of calico, better say ginger and white, and one black with white. I have the opportunity to watch this family early morning, when it is still cool, and early evening when they wake up to do the night's business. I have been here about 6 weeks now, and they were a few weeks old when I arrived, so the kittens are mostly weaned, but mother will still feed them when they ask. She is quite marvelous, she even has adopted another kitten, probably a little older than hers, who is mostly white, with shades of grey. I saw all four today, as the kittens nuzzle her, to make her settle and they can feed, one was left out, and came over, crawling over the others to get to a teat. She licked that one when it arrived, and everybody adjusted, just wonderful.

Some awful things have also happened, a while back the ginger one disappeared, for days. I remember the exact time the mother became alarmed, she leapt on the highest point, and gave a cry, several times, and physically began looking. It was during this absence, that I saw the mother, nose to nose with that white and grey kitten, perhaps she was looking for a substitute!

I thought, that kitten is gone, but one day, there it was, back again, and looking quite healthy, I was amazed. The next problem was more difficult, one day, I was checking the family after coming back from a short trip to Lahore and Multan, I saw the ginger and white kitten emerge from the rose bush, dragging one of it's back legs .......... oh, disaster. What to do, you cannot just pick up a feral kitten and take it to the vet. In the end I had to let go of my emotional urges to rush out and help, it would not work, concentrate on other things. Days went on, and the kitten was having great difficulty, I think it was a dislocation, there was no sideways movement to indicate a break, at least from my observations.

Would you know, today it is much better, there is some problems when it runs, but overall it is a great improvement, it can now play and have fun like the others .......

............ now there we have it, there has to be a lesson here, probably "don't get upset about things over which you have no control" or "it was karma"......... take your choice.

First Thoughts

I now have a blog, thanks to Lorra. You will be very welcome to come along with me on my little adventures. I will try to make the posts interesting, and happy, whenever possible.

As you will now know, I am living in Pakistan, this is a fascinating place. It will take time to explore, but you can come with me, and we shall see it together.

You are always welcome to post comments and questions.