Zainab's Writings

This poem is about Karachi, the city where I was born and raised, and where I have lived my entire life. This is probably the most honest piece I could have written about this city. I still don't feel like I have done justice to it.  Since this poem is meant to be spoken word (ie. it is written more for the ears than for the eyes), I am thinking of making it into a video with my own voice-over so people can listen to it the way I want them to hear it. Not sure if I will ever get around to doing it, though, so here's the poem anyway. --- The City by the Sea This is the city by the sea, the port city, the sea city. The sea is what it is famous and most known for. The sea is what people from all over the country come here to see. But the sea, like all precious things this city has to offer, is tucked away at its southern tip, on the other side of the bridge that divides, a luxury for the privileged. But when you see things more closely, more clearly, you see that t...

Dear Karachi, I love you. Everyday, they tell me how terrible you are, with your overpopulated neighbourhoods and filthy streets flowing with sewage, they tell me tales of your unreliable, almost nonexistent transport system, of poverty and power outages. Till not so long ago, I used to read in the paper; stories about corruption, robberies and the government’s lack of attention thereof. I don’t read the newspaper anymore. I know there’s more to you than what the news reports say. There’s good in you, good which I see everyday when I step outside. I love you for all your sincere people, people who care and are willing to make a difference. I love you for the fact that despite all your industrial growth, traditional values thrive anyway; you still have not transformed completely into a modern capitalist society. I love your diversity; your people which originate from different parts of the subcontinent creating a wonderful distinct culture, each with their own set of ideas and bel...

This is the first chapter of a short story I'm working on. I will hopefully post the other parts soon, or as I get done with them. ----- It was an early Sunday morning, and after a hectic week of work, the neighbourhood slept uninterrupted. Everything was still and silent; everything except for the branches of an old neem tree that swayed in the wind - and the sparrow that lived on it - which went about their usual business, oblivious of the fact that it was a Sunday. Next to the neem tree there was an old house (the oldest on the street, perhaps even older than the neem tree itself). For years the house had stood alone next to empty plots on the street, and it had seen the deserted region grow into a neighbourhood that buzzed with life. But now, it wore a tired look; it seemed like it no longer wanted to carry on with life. The yellowish paint on the walls once used to be white, but now it was peeling off; it seemed as if the people around had stopped caring for it. In...

Welcome back readers and Eid Mubarak! I can't believe this is my second post in 2018 and more than half the year has flown by...I am extremely sorry for not being able to post anything (I was busy with stuff) but I'll try to post more regularly from now on. :) This post is just some reflections upon returning to my home-city Karachi after a trip to Sharda (Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir). Kashmir is  such  a wonderful place..I was awed by the beauty and serenity of the atmosphere. We got ample opportunities to explore the place as well as to interact with the locals and, in short, had lots of fun. :) ----- I glance out of the cab’s windscreen. I squint. How come are we not surrounded by mountains? I wonder. Then it strikes me: of course. We are in Karachi, and there are no mountains in Karachi. As our cab hits the roads, we are surrounded by cars, people, traffic, lights (Karachi isn’t called the city of lights for no reason), billboards and visual pollution. Shop...

A descriptive essay. I thoroughly enjoyed myself writing and editing it! Pakistan is well known for its exotic cuisines, which most visitors find spicy yet extremely delicious. Flavoured with unique, bittersweet herbs and spices, and garnished with richly aromatic ghee, with brilliant hot chillies mixed in, the food is, undoubtedly, mouth-watering.  From the tender, juicy kebabs, to steaming biryani topped with raita and colourful vegetable curries, the food can be described as merely tantalizing. Even the soft, crisp flatbreads, the naans and the chapattis , garnished deliciously with butter or sesame seeds, are delicious. Visitors, and even natives, are tempted with the sights and smells outside a small local restaurant or dhaba s. Chicken being roasted on huge, wavering fires, and Haleem being stirred vigorously in huge cauldrons, with wonderful aromas drifting in all directions. Hence people are magnetically drawn towards the restaurants and end up having a scrumptious ...

1.     State bank Museum, Karachi-Pakistan’s first money museum 2.    Ibn e qasim park, Karachi-one of the most beautiful parks of karachi 3.     Quaid e Azam  House museum, Karachi-quaid’s house, relics and belongings 4.     Lahore museum-a detailed museum on just everything 5.    Wonder world, Lahore-the world of fun 6.   Javed Manzil, Lahore- allama iqbal’s house 7.    Shalamar bagh, Lahore-a garden from the time of Moghul emperor shah jahan 8.    Museum of science and technology, Lahore-the best science museum I’ve ever visited 9.    Lok Virsa Museum, Islamabad-A museum of Pakistani culture and heritage 10. Bird Park, Islamabad-A park for birds and parrots 11.   Natural History Museum, Islamabad-A museum about the rich natural history of Pakistan 12. Pakistan Movement Museum, Islamabad-A museum about the Pakistan movement and founding fathers

This is a story which I have been working on for months. Although this was meant to be a Novella ( a short novel) it turns out to be what they call 'a short story'. This is 1,196 words long, making it barely a short story. Because the topic is a patriotic one, I decided to post it today on 14th August. I hope this will make people realize how valuable Pakistan is. Pakistan Zindabad! Mr. and Mrs. Khan lived in Karachi but they were always saying how good America was. “Just like a dream”, Mr. Khan often said and his wife agreed. America was very much more luxurious, safer, and better in every way than her own country. She longed to live there. After all, who would want to live in Pakistan?  A poor third world country with dirty streets , load shedding, an unjust government and unfair laws. And no hope of things getting better, either.  Mrs. Khan knew America was the best option-and she dreamed of going there all the time. * * * The alarm sounded, waking them up. Mr...

I was inspired by the green flag that fluttered on a neighbor's roof. 'Keep the flag Flying'', I whispered to myself. Then I wrote a poem. Here it is. The times are bad, People are sad. But all hope is not lost, We won’t give up-at any cost. Keep the Flag Flying! And things will improve. Our fathers’ struggle won’t be a waste, We’ve got to save it, Hurry, Make haste! Nothing for us is out of bounds, Let’s get together to nurse the nation’s wounds. Keep the flag flying! All hope is not yet lost. We all love our country, that love is enough, And even though the work seems tough, If all of us tend to do it, We’ll manage it in the end. Keep the flag flying! Nothing is too difficult. Keep the flag flying, Pakistanis!

Homeschooling in Pakistan is not very common as people think that homeschoolers cannot study and educational institutes are the only place where people can learn. Homeschooling can be a very difficult decision for parents to make especially if you’re living in Pakistan.  First of all, people make all sorts of comments like “You’re not going to send your kids to School???? I can’t believe it!” and then there’s that ever so common “How will they learn?”!  People believe that learning is some rocket science that only schools can assist kids to do and nobody can learn without it. In the olden days, there was nothing such as school  and  parents would teach their kids whatever was considered important. They told their children the ways and rules of living, their manners; they taught them skills, like farming and knitting. There was no way parents would agree to send their kids to someone else who would teach them  their ways and punish them in any way they like ...

Everyone has a reason of pride, a reason to be proud over something. Something I feel proud about is my country. Pakistan is a country which I need and my country needs me. But what I am noticing and feeling, strongly, is that many people don't seem to love their country, and are starting to devalue it. Some people express their opinions by going abroad, leaving their home-country, while others keep complaining and cursing the country and it's government. What I am trying to say is, that some people find no reasoning for loving their country. People need to know that their country has almost everything, and God definitely chose Pakistan to be their homeland, and not Africa, Antarctica, or America, because of some reason, right??? The most important things I see in this country and it's people, are... ...Brotherhood and unity amongst the people... ...The richness of the land, and the variety of wildlife we have here... ...The culture, the heritage, and the languages.....