Monday 1st August , 2005.
0600 hours .
Bed number 046 - Emergency - Liaqat National Hospital


My younger brother is shivering here infront of me at the Liaqat National Hospital. Literally shivering .I can see goosebumps on his arm .There is no doctor here instead an attendant is trying to locate a vein to administer the IVR . He cannot seem to find it .I glance at the unusually young female doctor concerned that maybe we need a more experienced pair of hands here .She looks at me . I look disheveled. Pajamaz , two cell phones in one hand .Some reports in the other . She looks deeps into my eyes , probably mumbles to herself … another moron and then smiles . She is a petit woman with huge eyelashes and mehndi on her hand . If you ask me , she was gorgeous . Smelled of Coffee and Ether .She took more than 5 seconds to smile and then responds to my look by saying these attendants are more experienced than us doctors .They’ve been doing his for years .Of course from the looks of it , the doc mustve been in her diapers by the time I reached 5th grade . I can hear the bp monitors at the back .BEEP . They say they will keep him for 6 more hours to see what’s wrong . .BEEP . .BEEP . .BEEP . Its 0600 am and my khaala is with me here . .BEEP . .BEEP . .BEEP . Sister stayed home . .BEEP .


We left after an hour . I had to be at work in two hours . It had been a long night and the day hadn’t even started yet .I got to work and I got a call from my sister that the docs want to operate . What shall we do ? Acute Appendix inflammatory condition .Dear girl let em operate . I admonish her gently. She has already been too lenient in this context . If you recall , this happened to him last eid night aswell and I we had to rush him to the hospital . I was talking to Saman in the morning when they told me it was getting bad . At the hospital, they sorta ignored it again. Went to a couple of more doctors who suggested against the operation . Now everyone knows that if we let an inflammatory appendix flourish , it only messes up things .Now I told her that she must get this thing out of the way or else God forbid things can get worse . hallelujah ! I have a receptive audience this time . The operation went well . A week of extensive traveling back and forth from work , studio , LNH and home but mashallah he’s home now .Better . Recovering rapidly .


Yesterday I was strolling outside in the evening talking to a friend when I heard the tenant’s eldest bahu yelling on her 3 year old son . Apparently he had defecated somewhere in the house and get this .. the kid hid the ‘masterpiece’ somewhere .!!! . the lady was shouting at the top of her lungs trying to coerce him to divulge the whereabouts of that evening’s meal . Now that was so darn clever of the kid . They call him Osama . I wonder where this Osama learnt to play such a trick .!!! Im sure this one can go In the Guinness Book of world records for some odd category . For my part I sure as hell wasn’t so gifted . Sheesh ….


You know Ive had difficulty expressing myself to people in general . This problem is breeds before the ones I really admire/love/cherish or look up to . But things have been getting better lately . Infact last week was phenomenal. It was my younger sis’s birthday . I got home late . AS soon as I entered she smiled at me and said … "Quickly bhai …wish me a happy birthday" .. I couldn’t believe it . I did what any brother would do .. I wished her and then I hugged her . She is after all my sister and even though she might be annoying 90% of the time , she still deserved an incredible birth day . And a neat bud-day wish from her annoying elder brother . I thanked God that she reminded me and that I had the common sense to respond to it . For those who keep a track of what I do , it’s a good omen .I get tongue tied . I find it difficult to do even the most simplest of tasks but the past few months have seen a steady improvement in general .I have backed my semi-spoken inarticulate emotional expression with actions at times .I’ve been more interactive , more open in relationships that I have been forging and certainly more approachable … im told .