We went to Mehmood Chacha's day before yesterday . We had been meaning to go to their place but either i was at work or mummy was not free . And since now im concentrating on my studies and was off from work , i thought its now or never .

Anyways all of us were together bus irtiza nahi tha .He was at a friend's place .Their appartment is still as yellow as a sunflower .I'd say even brighter . There were a lot of men sitting downstairs , men who had been working all day and now were relaxing in the ground that was a parking , a play ground and the entry to the actual appartments all in one.

As we climbed the steep small stairs , I got this feeling of Deja Vu . I mean i had been there before aswell but that was two years ago and i felt as i had dreamt about the place only last week . All along the stairs there were pots , brightly painted . Plant or no plant . It was all wet like someone had just washed the stairs .The appartments were really small . Two rooms . A small longue , a bathroom and a kitchen .And the fact that the bathroom was right infront of the main door was really new to say the least . Enter the appartment and the kitchen's to the rigth and then to the left is the dining room and the other room is the bed room . A small adjoining balcony completes this small home where mehmood chacha lived with his wife and two kids .When we were coming upstairs , I saw all those men staring at us like we were Martians . As i had pacrked my car in the ground besides those 30 some men , i immediately went into the balcony so that i could have a clear view of the car . And those lecherous men . hehehe .

Mehmood chacha was in the neighbours . He was recieving a call . His phone wasnt working . Shamim 's call . Not worth mentioning . I'd rather tell you about the love these people share in their small humble home rather than my dad's sis ; Shamim . Infact some other time i guess . Khair ...When he came back he was naturally very happy and dirty beacause he had been working on the water motor . He said something about the piston .... ahhh .I guess my appreciation for the man stems from the fact that i've alwasy seen him working on something . somehow . Somewhere .Be that the tubelight or the suction pump of our home or theirs ... anyways we sat down . Chachi was out shopping with kids for their school course books and uniforms .She went to the cowrangi urdu baza near rizvia .Then Mehmood chacha's mother-in-law came and hugged all of us . She smelled like a typical naani would . Paan , Chaalia , Katha , Chuuna , thandak etc ... plz excure the minglish . I feel like minglilng .

Chacha motioned me to follow him .He asked whether i could take him to the urdu bazar so that we could look for the kids and mum . He was afraid that they'll take forever because they'll take the public bus .He ASKED .God ! .I was kinda embarrassed by his humbleness.Sooo we went . I took murtaza along with me aisay hee . Once there I dropped chacha to look for his wife and me and murtaza went to Agha Juice to have some Mango Shake . There i came to know that agha uncle had been shot dead on 12th Rabiul Awwal this year allegedly in a sectarian attack . He was a good guy . His son Jawad was my classmate and a good pal . MAy GOd Rest His Soul .We had our juices and met back at the urdu bazar where i picked Mehmoood chacha and the wife and kids and we headed towards their home . We reached home and Chachi insisted that we stay for dinner . She is soo sweet that we couldnt say no . She quickly embarked upon this Nihari cooking journey while mummy helped her out .Mehmood Chacha started a movie . Guess what !!! Their own Wedding Movie . This was great . I felt like watching tanhiyan again expecting qabacha to jump out from the corner anytime . The best thing was that i saw amman , irtiza , farah , dad and myself in it . It was sometime around 1991-92 then . So i was in grade 8th probably . Imagine mama made me wear a jet Red shirt with a bright red tie in his wedding . Kinda Devilish look .But i still looked innocent . Aur irtiza ka toe pucho hi nahi ... He looked like a darling . He was probably 4 or 5 years old then . Soooo cute .

It felt great watching all of this past that was there but not with us anymore . I really cannot tell you how good it felt . And how i wished i could go back to that moment and pester my mother about the red shirt .DAmn ... soggy ...Khair The Nihari came out nice . Mumma always sayz that lucknow waaloon ko khanay ka saliqa hai.. well thats really true .I luvd the nihari and complimented her as well . We chatted a lil bit after dinner . We had already given the things that arjumand got from the US from them . Some perfumes , some cosmetics , chocolates and some toys . Mehmood Chacha kept arguing with me about abbu . He doesnt really understand but thinks its his reponsibility that I behave myself .

I've always been held responsible for everything that goes wrong . I told him . This is something that cannot be undone . How i survived my father's onslaught will haunt me for the rest of my life . chacha mentioned that it was his duty to address this issue . And i told him mine was to understand . But this didnt ruin my mood . We headed back home . Back in the car when everyone was saying something or the other , I was wondering whether my father's dogmatic influence will ever release me or not . I hope it does because i sure as hell am trying my ass off to break the shackles ..... Hail Nihari !!