In his eyes

"Travelling in the sweltering heat of summer is no joke, I don't know why my parents think I always need some sort of chaperon; I could have easily stayed in the hill station by myself but Amma ko bhi na, go to Khala's house beta, its not safe or socially acceptable for a girl your age staying by her self. I will be back in a few months from the USA. Enjoy your stay in Multan till that time, you have never seen it and you have always wanted to go visit." All the conversations of the last few days were echoing in Rehaams head.
      The last few days had been a blur of activity Ami had needed to go to the USA on urgent business, Abu was not well and had asked her to come as soon as possible. Ofcourse on such short notice it was impossible to take all the family, so she was being shuttled off to khala's house and her brother and sisters were going to go to Nana abu and Dadi ama's houses respectively. Rehaam was lost in her thoughts when the train came to a stop and with it came the deluge of humanity. All the Co Cak Cola and SPrait wala sounds, Kulfi and Garam anday, some charlatan selling snake oils. She really needed to get some tea, her head was hurting too much, she had been up since the crack of dawn and from the looks of it she probably will be up for another day until they reached khala's house at the rate this train was going, they were only at Fateh jang right now. She looked at the seat in front of her, Bua masi was fast asleep; she really did not  want to wake her up, maybe she could go and get two teas by her self after all she was 18 years old and that in her books was old enough. She got up and took the money  out of her back pack and climbed down from the train. It felt good to stretch her legs, she proceeded to the tea stand. There was already a gentleman in front of her ordering tea. She stood to the side to let him finish; and than ordered two teas herself. She took them and was on her way back to the train when the fellow who had been infront of her rushed past her and in the process she managed to spill half her tea, "ouch" she yelped as the hot tea scalded her soft hands "I  am so sorry I was just in such a rush," he said. She gave him an angry look and was about to start off on a tirade when he said, "allow me to buy another one please. I am so sorry, did I hurt your hand also"
"Yes unfortunately you did".she said " let me see", he said as he inspected her hand. "dont worry I am a medical student." "looks like a first degree burn, I have some ointment in the train, i ll bring it to your seat; allow me to bring you some tea now."
  She looked at his receding back, he was tall almost 6 feet and had thick brown hair. He was dressed in an offwhite Shalwar Kameez and wearing the traditional sandals for the region, given the heat it seemed the wise choice, she though staring down at her own sneaker clad feet. He returned in a few minutes with a cup of tea and proceeded to accompany her back to the train. She came to her compartment to find bua ama still asleep. He left her the tea and said he d be back with the ointment in a few minutes. She continued to sip her tea and was immersed in her thoughts when he returned with the medication. "I am really sorry to have injured you, I hope this helps with the burning." he said." She looked up at him and for the first time noticed his eyes, they were the color of  liquid amber, smoldering and warm as he looked down at her. She felt a rush of color to her cheek and looked down at her tea. "Thank you for bringing me the tea and medication"Rehaam said,  "I am Rehaam and this is my bua amma, we are going to Multan to visit my khala," she said in way of introduction. "I am Hisham and I am on my way back to the Medical College, I am a student at Nishtar Medical Center. I feel terrible for my carelessness, I hope you feel better and in case you need anything, I am sitting in berth number 4."  "Ok, thank you Hisham sahib," Rehaam said. After he left she applied the ointment to her hand and than proceeded to sip her tea. He did have the most enegmatic eyes she though as she settled down in her seat and started to observe the bustle of activity on the platform.

Train ride

Have you ever traveled by train in Pakistan? if you have than u must know that by the end of the trip the whole "dabba" is your family. My sudden recall of the train ride is due; cause i watched this movie called challoo dilli, its a well made movie and I would highly recommend it.
  I have traveled by train often between Lahore and Karachi. Infact train is one of my favorite ways to travel, If I have to choose between a train and an airplane I would always choose the train. Train is soooo much fun especcially between Lahore and Karachi because of the way the scenery changes from the plains to the desert. I think we are specially blessed because we have a country so full and rich with culture. On a train you acually get to experience that cultural shift as you get off on the various small town stations for tea and snacks. Travelling with my grand-mothers was the best cause they always knew which place had the best tea, which place had the best samosas and pakoras and mithais and which were special for what area.
If you have ever traveled by train in Pakistan you must also know how often they are delayed, so its quite amazing how all the passengers unite and pull together at times when the trains halt to a stop and there is no idea of when it will start again and the other best part is that if you are a lady travelling alone you would never need to pick up your own baggage, cause some samartan will always be there to help the damsel in distress.
 I remember when I was younger and I d go by train I d make friends with all the passengers and by the end of the journey my mom had to drag me back to my seat from some long lost Khala or Mamoo that I had found. I guess my favorite part was the sharing of food and stories, its funny how culture difference play a role in what one can say or not say in public. In Pakistan any one can be ur baji, or behan ji or khala or mamoo or chachoo and they will ask you about your complete bio data without flinching. So if you are a girl of the marriageable age beware cause you might just be betrothed to some aunty's wonderful nephew who works for some big firm. If  you are married and do not have children beware with a big B cause you will need to explain your choice for not being knee deep in poopie diapers and if you have one child you must have a good reason for not having a dozen as yet.
All this aside i still am in love with the culture where every one's  business is your business and your business is every one elses, it does show some level of care right. When ever we traveled by train with Dadoo she would have a whole basket of food packed for the trip and everything was consumed in order, because one always needed breakfast, lunch a snack and in most cases dinner. There was always fighting in the ranks about which berth to sleep on and for pardah's sake we d have all our chaddars hanging from the top of the berth if there was some poor fellow who was sharing the seat so be it, he would become an honorary uncle right than and would have to tolerate a gaggle of ladies giggling and talking and in our cases young ladies singing and performing some sort of tableau or another.
 I loved to sleep on the train with the steady rhythm of clacikity clack beneath the wheels, what fun that was.....
Trains in some ways remind me of life, in life we travel with a bunch of people who get off on their designated stops. Some stay with us for the long haul of the journey others for a short time, with some we form tight bonds and some we never get to know at all. All the people we travel with leave with us memories; some good and some bad. It is indeed fortunate to meet people and have meaningful relationships and when you meet those people it is always a good idea to keep them around in your life. It is wonderful when you lose some friend along the way and meet them again in some distant future, I guess the beauty of a good friendship is that no matter how much time has passed when you meet you feel you had never left at all, those friendships I think are the real keepers. So my prayer for you on your train journey of life is that may you meet wonderful companions to travel with and may your travels be easy and your burdens light.