I got a call from my mum yesterday afternoon, she sounded upset. She had called me to tell me that there had
been a massive bomb blast in Lahore, in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park and she was
worried about my in-laws. Having no TV
this was the first I had heard. I tried
to get hold of them first via Viber, then Whatsapp, eventually getting through
on Skype. They were all fine
alhamdulillah, but upset at what had unfolded in their beloved city.
On weekends one of my five brothers-in-law will often take all of the
sisters-in-law and the kids to one of the local park’s (all 13 at the last
count). They will often pick a picnic or
take something to barbeque and spend a good part of the late afternoon and
early evening there. Usually they head
to Iqbal Park or Jallo Park, occasionally they go to Gulshan-e-Iqbal which is
enormous and full of families enjoying their day off school, or work, especially
working class people who might not be able to afford more expensive leisure
pursuits.
This weekend they were all too busy to go out with the kids. When I called, mum-in-law had checked up on
everyone and made sure they were safe.
She was sitting with the rest of the family watching on TV and trying to
understand. There had been a call for
blood donations at hospitals, which were packed with people who had responded.
To be honest, even when the rest of Pakistan seemed very unsafe, Lahore
had seemed the one place that was relatively safe from the hellish suicide bombings
and attacks on schools and police stations.
Its people are so very resilient and so full of life that nothing seems
to get the down. But to attack their children
and women in their innocent places of play is something else, without warning
or care. It’s enough to make you feel
despondent and heartbroken.
But this is Lahore we are talking about.
I spent summers there as a child, running around on the streets with my
naughty boy cousins, eating carrot halwa from street stands and visiting
Badshahi Masjid and Minar-e-Pakistan. I
spent a month there as a newly-wed, falling in love with the city as I fell in
love with my husband, the streets of Lahore at dusk a romantic backdrop as we
sped around all night on his motor-bike.
I took my daughter back as an infant and was amazed at how far the city
had come and how good life could be there is you could afford it. I took my oldest three back again a few years
later as massive inflation and load shedding (electricity shortages) kicked in,
making life so much harder for people.
So you can imagine this wonderful city has a place in my heart. But even more so I have a soft spot for the wonderful
big-hearted people of Lahore. In
Pakistan they are described as “zinda dil” – or alive, lively. Whether good or bad, religious or louche, they
are larger than life, very friendly and everyone wants to know your
business. They love to laugh and have
fun. In my mind Lahore is a city of pleasure
and pleasure-seekers: Basant, the kite festival, when everyone spends days
partying on their roof as they compete to fly their kites the highest. The pleasure gardens and parks, Food Street
and even better the million street vendors each famous for their own speciality:
channa chaat, gol gappay, roast charga chickens or burgers and chips. There is
a famous saying about Lahore: "Jinne Lahore nahin wekhya, jamia ae
nahin" – if you have not seen Lahore, you have not been born.
My dad-in-law served in the Pakistan army through two Indo-Park conflicts
and he would talk about how brave the people of Lahore were, even when the
Indian army advanced, people would not leave the city. He recalled how the army would always get a
warm welcome home to Lahore, being cheered and showered with flowers.
So this horrific attack will stun the people of Lahore, it might make
them more careful, but I know for a fact that it will not get them down. My prayers are with the city and its people. I make dua for the people who have been hurt
and lost loved ones, May Allah (SWT) give them sabr in this devastating time
and help them find some piece and May Allah (SWT) keep them safe.
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