Tour de Lahore with The Local Wanderer

Rickshaws, honks, kachoris and a whole lot of beauty

I used to visit Lahore, my home, from Karachi multiple times in a year before we moved to Switzerland. However, when I went home a couple of weeks back from pardes, it felt different. My tourist genes, which usually lie dormant when I am in Lahore, came to life and it almost seemed like my awwaleen farz to explore the city I have grown up in. I am not talking about checking out the malls or eating at the swanky new  restaurants – the eyes wanted REAL Lahore, and the palate was craving for REAL desi food. And where do you find both of these together? Androon Shehr, of course.

So, me, a friend who was visiting from Paris, and my sister (trying to be a good host) booked a day around Lahore with The Local Wanderer. In Rs.2,500/person, they met us at Dilli Darwaza, fed us a hearty breakfast at the Shaahi Baithak and then took us around the most famous monuments of the Walled City. Here’s everything we saw and did.

Darakhton ki chaaon, nani ki kahaanian, dadi ki almaari se churaai hooi chocolate, mera bachpan, mera Lahore.

Androon shehr ka mirch masala.

Sohni dharti te waddhiya khana.

As we waited for our shahi nashta at the Shahi Baithak

When in Punjab, do as Punjabis do! Makhans, malaais, and the ghees are all good every once in a while.

The food, comprising lassi, keema bhari kachoris, halwa, chanay, pooris and mix chai, was delicious enough to cause food coma and heavy enough to cause a heart attack. Hence, a 5 hour walking tour after all this was a perfect idea.

Post the ghee laden nashta we started our sight-seeing, first stop being the Shahi Hamaam, where the recent excavation and renovation work is truly impressive.

Suffering ignorance, the British Raj and extreme deterioration over time, the Royal Bath stands today with what remains of it's beautiful frescos and marble work, telling tales of the past. The guide explained in detail how the water system worked in olden times, allowing people to enjoy cool and warm baths.

It even had a daycare to relieve the females when they came for relaxation, which can be guaged from the ruins of toys found on the site! What an engineering marvel. 

It even had a daycare to relieve the females when they came for relaxation, which can be guaged from the ruins of toys found on the site! What an engineering marvel. 

The jubilant tourist on a rickshaw, enjoying the sights and sounds of Dilli Darwaza. 

This was my third visit to this pretty place but I seem to not get tired of the Wazir Khan Mosque. Some of its frescos and tile work have recently been restored, so the colours looked brighter than usual.

Poo bani Parvati. #K3G

We have such gems hidden in the streets of the walled city, boasting of our great past and culture but sadly they are not given the funds by the government or the respect they deserve by the public. 

Our tour guide pointed out little details in the frescos, hinting towards the intriguing stories of the time the mosque was built.

The stunning interior of the mosque.

Post our photo session, we travelled on Rangeela Rickshaws in style with Bollywood music to our next destination, i.e the Lahore Fort, alongside cars, honks, bikes, ghoras, khotas, humans and polluted fumes. Amidst tons of laughter, we saw some of the other historical drawazas of Lahore on our way and passed through the pretty Minaar e Pakistan garden, with the ricksha giving us real roller coaster feels. The guide then took us through the fort in detail. I am glad I did this guided trip after seeing a lot of the world so that I could fully appreciate that in terms of culture, history and art, we are no less.

Malika ne khwaab dekha ke mein chaand aur sitaatron ke saath asmaan ka safar kar rahi hoon, badal merey qadmon mein hein. Baadshah ne khwaab ke sadqay Sheeh Mehel banwa dala... I visited the fort quite a few times in my childhood but never knew of this story. The round pond outside the mahal is for the moon, the cloudy marble tiles for the clouds and the little palace decorated with infinite pieces of glass light up when a lamp is lit to signify the millions of stars in the sky.

Last stop: The magnificent Badshahi Mosque. Kahani khatam, sara ghee hazam. 

You can book a tour with The Local Wanderer here.
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The New Girl in Town

“Hi, I am Helen. We got here a week ago”, said the woman I was meeting for the first time at the mums’ coffee morning. As I heard her say that, her apprehensive vibes touched a corner of my heart that I had been to before. I could feel what she was feeling. I saw the look on her face throughout the morning. She looked a little confused, a little scared, but also determined.

As she was bombarded with the information about Swiss laws, the time shops shut down, how cold or not cold the place can be, the half-card for public transport, the indoor places she can take her kids to when it is cold and what sort of outdoor activities she can enjoy with her family in the summer, she was overwhelmed and probably thinking in her head “how am I going to do this”. Her stuff was to arrive from the US in 3 weeks. She was living in a hotel and while her kids went to school in the morning, she struggled to do her grocery and get her electronics by trying to communicate in a language she did not know.

7 months ago, I was her. The first month was horribly tough. Shehrbano was just 8 weeks when I got here and very used to the Pakistani ‘godi’ style. I had to hold her the entire day, her sleeping schedule was not established and the unopened boxes that lay in the other room beckoned me with full force. But, I achieved very little each day. I was eager to organize the cupboards and get my kitchen running and it was frustrating to not be able to do any of it. For days, we did take-aways from restaurants. And mind you, Swiss food isn’t the most appetizing. One evening, when Faizaan came home from work, all 3 of us were crying. Bano needed mama, Minha needed mama and mama probably just needed her own mama.

The initial few weeks also strained the relationship Minha and I shared. Not just because there was a 3^rd person in the equation but because I had to do so much more than I had ever done. There was just too much I expected of her and, for a while, I forgot she’s still a child. I had to learn to become a stay at home mother responsible for cleaning, cooking, ironing, the laundry, doing the grocery and managing all of that with a smile. It was hard.

I did not know the way around. The ingredients familiar to me were not available. Those that were, I wasn’t familiar with them. The town was small, so different from the bustling Karachi. Everything shut down at 6. Aur Sundays to jaisey qabaristan ke barabar (welcome to central Europe.) I had to plan for the entire weekend when fetching stuff from the store on Friday, from the dabalroti to the pyaaz. I did not know anyone. The only interaction I had with human kind was when I said Gruetzi and Ciao Ciao at the cash counters. It was terribly lonely.

We arrived in August and though the tail end of the summer was lovely, the winter came soon. With the sun beginning to set at 4 pm, it got extremely depressing. Our trips to McDonald’s after school also stopped, thanks to the icy winds.

However, before I knew it, I was braving it out in the snow with the baby. Sometimes, even by choice to just have a stroll. I began to appreciate the scenic surroundings. And enjoying sitting by the water. The baby seemed less of a monster and, with the help of the Translate app, grocery less challenging. I discovered the chef in me and began to enjoy my own company. The uphill climb to get home became less difficult, despite having a baby, a huge ass stroller and heavy groceries. I found my favorite cafes, the dishes that I liked at different restaurants. I found my favorite woman at the cash counter at the local grocery store too. I found my favorite buddhi aunty on the streets. And the favorite buddhay uncle on the bench.

I started using the train on my own to get some time out with Bano. And sometimes without her as well. I finally felt some space in my brain clearing up to accommodate parents’ gatherings at the school or joining the mums for coffee mornings. I even got familiarized with a few faces and we started greeting each other on the streets. I found a few Pakistani girls in Zurich and over a few cups of coffee, I started to gel with them too. I now feel ready to go beyond just loving my Old Town and joining a book club or a hiking group.

And as I looked at the woman jotting down all the information in a diary, I realized I made it. I learnt how to love my new home, how to call it my place. I learnt how to miss Karachi and my family a little less. I learnt how to replace biryani with the doner box as my usual meal. With spending more time developing my blog, I learnt how to miss IBA a little less (well, with this I am still struggling). And I, the new girl in town, wasn’t really the new one anymore. Others had come to take my place and I had graduated. As I found myself giving her Schaffy updates and extending my help as well as my friendship to make her feel welcome, I said “you WILL make it” to the new girl in town.

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Chai Talk: Using the 'N-word'

Let's talk about the health of your mind over some chai?

Topic: Saying NO is your right. Haanji, bilkul.

I do a lot of self-talking to stay in touch with my feelings and try to eliminate factors which negatively affect my inner peace. One of those factors was not being able to say NO until a couple of years back. And since I have realized how much zeheni irritation that brings to me, and sometimes a physical toll too, I have been trying to master the art of saying NO. Well, it’s not really an art, just a few things you need to teach yourself to blurt out the N word more often. Here they are:

Just do it

Develop the courage to be straightforward and just say it when you want to. Remember - Agla banda chahtay hooey bhi apko khaa nahin jaye ga.

Being cute works

When you say NO, say it with the sweetest smile you can produce. And while doing it over texts, do it with a lot of emojis. Be polite when saying it and apologize. Don't be rude, put up the best cute face that you can.

Short and sweet

Refrain from giving a million explanations. Be brief and firm to avoid an uncomfortable conversation. Jitni baatein, utnay sawaal. And you want to keep it easier for yourself.

Make your list

Define a set of people to whom you never want to say NO, and that's because this is how YOU WANT IT to be. I have a very clearly defined list including very few special people, for whom I do things because I want to not because I am obligated to or because I expect reciprocation at some point down the road. Saying yes to them every single time makes ME happy even if that yes means giving up my own sanity or comfort.

Self love = ‘gulloocoze ki drip’

Using the N-word is doing yourself a favour, an act of showing self love, which you need to be able to play a positive role at home and at work. And there is NOTHING wrong with prioritizing. Life can be demanding with kids, their school, with home chores and even more so when you're a working mother. So, take a rain check when you need one. Know that you cannot always make everyone happy. That’s just how it is so throw that guilt out of the window.

Use the ‘SANU KEY?’ like a ninja

Also know that people DO make unreasonable requests and every time one comes up, you DON'T have to bhichaaofy yourself. You and your time are more important than that. I understand saying NO is mostly going to invoke the displeasure of people. And a lot of taanas too. But I realised the damage that unrequired YES caused my inner peace, or the peace of my home, is not worth saving on the phoolay hooey moons. Now, like a badass, I say, kisi ne moon phulana hai to phulaye, merey liye mera moon sab se zaroori hai.

Apkay liye kiska moon zaroori hai? Feedback, high fives of agreement and comments of disagreement welcome. Also, hope the chai was good and refreshing. Khudahafiz. 

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