Pakistani Summers

Pakistani summers? Haha, I’m sure the title makes you wonder, “What’s so special about Pakistani summers? Summers are the same everywhere! Hot.” But wait. Summers in Pakistan are different and special. Yes, special.

Contrary to popular belief, summer here is not just about scorching heat and countless hours of unplanned load shedding. There’s much more to it. It’s just about looking at the bigger picture. The bigger, brighter picture. For me, summer is like a festival. A festival of flavours. A festival of colours. A festival that many await.

It all begins when colourful billboards of lawn exhibitions make an appearance and women trade their high heels for comfortable joggers. You see them rushing in and out of shopping malls, loads of shopping bags clasped in their hands, beaming with pride.
If you ask a shopaholic like me, she would say that it gives her inner peace. And you bet, it does. It’s one of the most satisfying feelings in the world!Shopping bags bursting with bargains, filled with fortunes for yourself. Ah, bliss. Complete and utter bliss.
Buying colourful clothes, getting them stitched according to the latest fashion and showing them off to your friends is in itself so exciting!

Then come those juicy yellow fruits that rule our hearts. MANGOES! Just the mention of its name makes one’s mouth water. I’ve seen many Pakistanis,who live abroad, crave and yearn for them every summer.
As Muneera Akhtar, a member of our Facebook page, says, “Mangoes form all the other countries lack the tantalizing scent and the tempting look that makes you want to grab them and gobble them down at once”.
Those mangoes are then followed by the small purple fruits,Jamun and Falsay. These sweet and sour fruits have no replacement! Drinking their chilled juices while the sun scorches the earth is enough to refresh your soul and energize you.Even if you’re not exactly interested in fruits, the way those vendors call out, ‘Kaalay kaalay falsay, kaalay kaalay jamun lelo. Khatte meethe falsay lelo’. How can you just NOT buy them? Impossible. Just the way they call out to the passersby attracts one so much that one has to stop and give those tantalizing fruits a second glance. And then another. And one more. Until your wallets are lighter and you walk away a satisfied customer.

Oh and how can one forget the picnics to the beaches? Walking barefoot in the hot wet mud while the high tide waves crash against the shore is just so heavenly! That’s probably the reason that despite all the pollution on our beaches, they’re still so beloved. I mean, what’s the point of a picnic when you don’t go to a beach? Trust me, there’s nothing like a beach picnic. Eating fresh hot buttas as the waves lap at your feet and the strong wind blows your hair and clothes in all directions, as if attempting to rid your body and soul of the worries and tensions of life. There’s nothing like it, I tell you. Absolutely nothing!

Sigh. There’s so much more to Pakistani summers that I can go on forever and ever. But too bad, I can’t make this article that long. In short, Pakistani summers are not just about long sweaty hours of load shedding or the irritatingly hot and humid weather. There’s so much more to it, a whole pleasant side that often gets ignored. So, let’s not ignore that side anymore and embrace this summer with open welcoming arms and enjoy it to the fullest. Who knows if we’ll survive to see the next?