Ramadan seems to be coming along fine in the capital with men and women spending the day staying hungry, waiting patiently for the time the sun sets down so they can chow down the unhealthy delicacies waiting for them on their dining tables. The samosa and pakora manufacturers are having a great month by selling those onion, mince meat, and vegetable filled foods to all and sundry. Right next to them are the jalebi engineers, and the kachori developers. A typical marketplace, like the Melody Food Area for example, is a fun place to go minutes before iftari. All the fruit sellers are trying their best to sell all their rotting fruits so they pack up and go to the nearest mosque for the iftar. Eateries like the Melody Savor branch are thronged by people to grab a shopping bag full of their favorite pulao kabab (I personally find the act of stuffing a royal dish like a pulao in a transparent polythene bag quite disgraceful). Everyone is in a hurry to run back home before the sirens go off, and before the muezzins in every mosque in Islamabad announce the time to break the fast.

There are people, like yours truly, who enjoy wandering around right at the time of iftar. Walking down in the middle of the erstwhile busy roads at iftar time can be delightful. You can see all the policemen huddled up under trees and behind their concrete barricades with disposable plates full of the aforementioned delicacies. Yet there is always one of them standing guard, just in case a truck full of explosives with two euphoric men would happen to go by. There are also small time fruit sellers standing at street corners, and one of them was kind enough to offer me five dates for free at the time of iftar (I accepted two though, ate one and shoved the other one deep into the unforgiving bowels of my bag, probably to be eaten up by a cockroach or something).

Oh, by the way, on my way back home I noticed this new development in the Super Market. Can anyone guess what this little black mirchi means?

Anyway, the blessings of Ramadan are endless. Here are a few of them for your reading pleasure:

1) You get to have more food than you usually have.

2) You get to have more unhealthy food than you usually have.

3) You learn that food is the most important thing on the planet, and that Ramadan is all about the food.

4) You shove non-fasters behind embarrassing enclosures where they can have their happy time and have a bite or two to satiate their hunger (Poor souls! They should demand their rights).

5) Sexually active couples get to spend less time in bed together, and hence contribute in the noble cause of slowing down the population growth of this deprived nation.

6) Medications like Gaviscon and the white Milk of Magnesia have increased sales to help their consumers break down the large bubbles of gas in their intestines into smaller more manageable air packets.

7) And so on and so forth…

But seriously, without taking the ugly head of Ramadan commercialism, the political disturbances, the price hikes, and the religious complications, there are a few things about this month the make it the most important month of the year for a persons physical and mental health. Without Ramadan, the little social ills that plague our society would become something normal, and there would be no question of whether the ills being practiced are right or wrong. This the only time of the year when people abstain from things that are considered wrong, and they develop the patience and strength to do that. Ramadan is not about praying five times a day, or getting up early in the morning to eat paratha, or reciting the Qur’an, or staying hungry throughout the day… it is only about the well being of the spirit, and it is our job to learn how to keep our spirit happy and healthy during this holy month, and for every other month of the year.

It is also mainly about love and compassion, just like the compassion shown to me by that poor fruit seller standing with his cart in the corner of the street at iftar time by offering me dates with a smile on his face.

So Happy (belated) Ramadan everyone! And I hope you spend the rest of what remains of this Islamic month contemplating over the little ills inside you instead of worrying about staying hungry and thirsty.

One of the weirdest developments I noticed in the city is the installation of these hi-tech electricity meters outside a select group of houses in the capital. The small one is a single phase meter, and the larger one is a three phase meter (both installed outside my place):

We were having some electricity problems at home a few days after these meters were installed, and the WAPDA guys who visited our place told us that we would require ‘load balancing’ because these are “special” meter and do not operate like the old meters when the load is imbalanced. I was a bit skeptical about that suggestion, so we called up another WAPDA guy who happened to be more cooperative and friendlier than the previous ones. He removed some carbon deposit from one of the wires in the distribution box outside and tightened the bolt, and things were back to normal.

What surprises me most about this development is that in a situation when the electricity prices and load shedding is increasing, the government has the cojones to spend so much money on these new toys and experiment them on some houses in the capital. These things are so hi-tech that they are said to automatically report tampering and meter readings to the main office, eliminating the need for monthly visits of the meter reading guy.

I admit that I did tamper with a couple of buttons on the 3-phase meter though, just to see what would happen! If the government is experimenting on us, then why not vice versa?!

A view drafted by CDA … !

What do you think of so much construction? Ideas, critique, suggestions most welcome.

Click on link given above to see tooltips on the image correctly .

Jharoka chef spinning his magic

Does anyone know how this fellow does what he does? I’m talking about the Saltish Mutton Karahi at Jharoka (and Bolan, Shinwari etc.) that just melts in your mouth. It’s the stuff that will have you full and wanting more.

I was surprised not to find this Northern Pakistan specialty anywhere in Lahore or Karachi. Perhaps I didn’t look hard enough? Another selling point for the capital ;)

Looks like a DAM to me ;)

Image courtesy: Daily Times

So finally ITP (Islamabad Traffic Police) has made it a rule. Any driver caught on mobile while driving or not wearing a seat belt will be fined from today, Friday 1st August. This law is introduced to minimize the accidents caused.

A driver will be fined a sum of Rs. 300 for violation of these laws (which IMO is a very low amount – more the better).

BTW, I heard of laws in Sharjah and Dubai (not first hand news so cant really confirm if the situation is actually such) where the police just notes down the registration number of cars and send them heavy amount on tickets direct to their homes. They wont stop you asking why are you speaking on your mobile or why’s the seat belt hanging around. Perfect way to treat our people here as well. I wish.

So be careful next time you hear a ring tone in your car. Dont be tempted to pick it.  Good Luck~

Adieu~

ELECTRONIC SPEED DETECTORS ON 7TH AVENUE ISLAMABAD, originally uploaded by www.first-pakistan.blogspot.com.

Now people would probably slow down at the said spot to see their speeds .. I hope it gives birth to traffic mayhem on highway, Not!

Like dinosaurs, when it comes to Marine life … the only thing that sounds ferociously appealing to me is SHARK. And I definitely never thought that I’ll buy 1 kg of shark for Rs. 195 ;-)

Well not so fast we can now. Metro (yup Metro fever’s now down yet :~)) is letting you do that. last weekend when I went there the fish standing lying tall on the ice was definitely not Shark. When I passed the Marine corner today, wooohooo… Shark … a big big  shark was so aesthetically displayed. I  almost jumped at the sight and a pic of him (or her :D) with the kids was inevitable…. !

So here’s it for ya ….

Meet Mr. Shark and His Kids 

I hope selling Sharks is not violating any rules … shark’s a shark … I dont think its a FARM FISH … any idea if its selling is legally just?

You definitely have read Fatima’s Marine experience a few days earlier. Finally, I ot the chance to visit Metro too … its huge and its interesting.

The bakery is lucratively enticing  … but then meat section is no less.  Its chilly considering the loadsheddings country-wide … seem like a heaven =)

The Goat and Cow anatomical charts a lot  looked amazing … nicely displayed … ideal for Eid ul Adhaa (Azhaa … if you wana read so).  So now you can know whats a Bong and whats Puth.
Clean, hygienic and  wrapped bakray were  a delight to watch =))  see for yourself…!

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