Reflections on Pakistan (Part I)

I remember feeling excited getting on the airplane. I hadn’t flown since I was six and I was now twenty-one years old. Just the take-off was so amazing a feeling. I recall looking below at the tiny gleaming lights in the distance and what a beautiful view of the city it was. It was then that I began to feel so very small; as though Allah (God) was showing me how easy it was for Him to take me from one world and put me into another which I was totally unfamiliar with. I could hardly believe that I was going to Pakistan, my home country. I hadn’t been there for fifteen years and all that I could remember of it now were fragmented memories of my extended family and childhood experiences. I saw the trip as an opportunity to discover my roots, to use it to understand what shaped my parents, as well as a chapter in my life where I would learn from the lessons of adjusting to a world foreign to mine. More importantly, Pakistan was my place of birth and origin. It was the land I had first opened my eyes in. Thus, it was an adventure see with a mature understanding what I had first seen upon entering this world.

I almost forgot to mention that I was traveling with one of my best friends, Sunny. He was actually going to Pakistan with his father. We had the chance of sitting together on the first flight, but that was because his father decided to trade seats with me. Sunny had the window seat, but I would lean over when I wanted to see the view below. On our way to London, we discussed topics that ranged from religion to investing in stocks to our expectations of what was to come in Pakistan. This continued until both of us became exhausted. It was great to talk to him because college life kept us distant, given that we go to different schools.

While traveling to Pakistan, there were many stops in different countries. The flight-route was from Boston to London, from London to Bahrain, and finally from Bahrain to Islamabad. The first foreign airport I stopped at was the London Heathrow Airport. I was left dazzled studying the people of that land, their speech, and their behavior. It felt like a movie seeing the airport employees speaking in their British accent and this time the people weren’t acting. My heart yearned to go out into London city to explore some more to witness for myself, how vast indeed Allah (God) has created this earth. Bahrain was also amazing. There, I saw all the Arabs dressed in traditional attire which included the checkered red cloth which some wear on their heads. It was interesting to see. This was a world where I was no longer a minority and a place where I felt I would be accepted easily. This too was a world my heart desired to explore. I yearned to leave the airport and run into the city to examine the people and their lifestyle. The airport was also beautiful in Bahrain with its mini-mall inside. I can distinctly remember passing by a small shop where I saw a set of colorful toy birds which were attached to the ceiling and were flying in repetitive circles. While in Bahrain, Sunny, his father, and I enjoyed halaal(analogous to kosher for the Jewish) grilled chicken burgers, which we purchased with the Bahraini currency we had recently bought. As the time to board the flight was nearing, we moved towards our gate of departure. This was the last flight that was to take us directly into Pakistan. I was exhausted from the jet lag but the thought of nearing my destination kept me wakeful as I boarded the plane…