I miss KHI

I woke up today to a strange morning. The streets were unusually loud and crowded. Cars whizzing by. Municipal workers doing their stuff. School children chattering. Expressionless grown-ups on their way to work. The air was a lot smoggier. I even saw a car accident and a fight too (If you can call it that).

All this reminded me of good old Karachi. It was like one of those morning drives of mine which I used to take along the Clifton beach. The pretext of course was teaching my little brother how to drive. But it was also an opportunity to break the speed barriers on my Suzuki Khyber (God I miss that car). You know, to boldly go where no BinAzhar has gone before :)

Anyway. This morning was almost the same as KHI. I remember high decibel sounds being produced even by the most soft spoken of the machines. Early morning vans transporting noisy school kids to their destinations. A few silencer-less rickshaws here and there making their presence felt. CDGK workers in bright orange jackets trying to avoid work. And of course the world renowned, patient and law abiding, drivers of our great city.

Still. There was something missing. I couldn’t figure out what. Maybe it was the lack of melanin in the people around me. Or maybe it was that way those two drivers (read sissies) were fighting. It didn't quite make me feel at home. (Well. They weren’t fighting at all. Apparently they were waiting for the Police. Chickens.)

I gave a sigh of disappointment. There was no place on Earth like KHI. But then it struck me. It was the air. It smelled like, like nothing. Just plain old air. I instantly knew what was missing. So naturally, I went home and burnt some polythene in the kitchen.