Load-shedding is another reason I haven't been online much. Each city government rations power bc there is an extreme shortage here. In Lahore we are without electricity for 8 hours per day now. Fortunately, Ammar's family is among less than 1% of the population that can afford a UPS system (which is a power generator of sorts), which will keep 1 light on per room & keeps the fans running. Everything else is out. All of the appliances. All lights deemed "unnecessary". Everything. I cannot imagine how the poorest of poor survive with no power at all. Ever. It get's so hot & humid here. But, I suppose they have adapted to it. I'm sure that doesn't make it any less miserable for these people.
I went to a shrine 2 Thurdays ago in a village called Mianmir to listen to Qawaali music (Sufi devotional music which is incredibly transic to hear). En route to the village (which is really a suburb of Lahore), I saw people sleeping on the side of the road with, literally, nothing but the clothes on their backs. I'm sure they came to Lahore seeking work, but even if they were lucky enough to find something, they still can't afford to pay rent. Imagine laying next to the road, being disturbed by the headlights of those better off than yourself, inhaling dust from the street. The question keeps coming to my mind, "What's on their minds? Are the feeling downtrodden & defeated?" Surely, they have families they must be concerned about. Or perhaps they're alone. Doubtful, as the population of this country is mushrooming for a reason. The poor tend to be the ones who embrace religion the most, as they are the one's most in need. Extremism is prevalent here, and Islam is similar to Christianity in being anti-contraceptives.
That night I also visited the Shah Jamal Shrine, one that is famous for a pair of drummers who begin at midnight every Thursday & play until dawn. One of the drummers has been deaf since birth, but he picked up the skill of rhythm from his father who would tap beats on his back when he was a child. This guy & his partner (I believe his name is Pappu Sain) are absolutely amazing. The night I went, I was 1 of 6 women present, with well over 500 men in attendance. The men sat in a very dense ccroud, which formed a circle for the devotees who danced like mad in the middle. These guys danced for hours, shaking their heads, stomping their feet, & best of all, spinning when they were moved to spin. They were drenched in sweat & clearly high on more than just "the spirit". In fact, I didn't take a hit of anything, but even from behind the protective barrier where women sat, I still felt the affects of being surrounded by hashish. And that was outside. I had the best sleep of my life that morning when I got home. Naturally, I could not go in to the WWF office that Friday, being so sleep deprived.
I did some shopping with Pinky, Ammar's 17 year old sister, for the shalwar camees so I won't stick out so much here. The shopping experience was good fun (even though I normally hate shopping for anything other than food), but exhausting. I had a hard time keeping up with this girl, who is a pro at picking out fabric, lace to match, designing the curta, and walking through ever step of what she wants with the tailor. I thought it would be easier just buying a few things ready-made, but didn't want to miss out on the experience of having something made & tailored just for me.
Most of my clothes are finally finished being stitched, and I find that people treat me quite a bit differently when I wear the shilwar & camees (traditional pants & shirt with a dupatta- scarf) than when I'm wearing my everyday jeans & t-shirts. Naturally, the locals appreciate that I am making an effort to appreciate their customs & culture, & I feel more comfortable when people assume that I am from the northern areas (where people have fair skin & light colored eyes), rather than staring at me, knowing I'm a foreigner. Of course, that assumption is shattered as soon as I open my mouth to speak.Even though I have learned a bit of the language (really a few words here & there), I don't know the grammar well enough to put together more than disjointed fragments of a sentence. Most of the people I encounter (the wealthy/elites, business people, academics, & goverment officials) do speak English, but I'd like to be able to speak to commoners (I know it sounds horrible to say that, but here there are servants, cooks, drivers, door-people- all in the service industry bc they need work). I encounter these people everyday, & get by with others translating for me, or with my pathetic attempts at speaking Urdu.
There is a guesthouse where some of my friends were staying, hosted by the American Institute for Pakistani Studies. This org is in serious trouble due to funding cuts by the US government. It's funny, the federal govt won't support American students studying Pakistani Studies in Pakistan, but will support the studying of Pakistan in other places.. what!? It's the same with Fullbright; they've cut their Pakistan progran altogether. It's a sad thing, because this Institute promotes cultural understanding & interaction, the obvious deterrent to extremist assumptions about people in other places eventually leading to "terrorism". I ot a few Urdu books from the library there today, & the program director invited me to come back for private lessons. Unfortunately I won't have time for language classes, being so busy with this research project. But I'll keep trying to read & pick up bits & pieces on my own..
Anyway, Jawaria (the girl from WWF who is working with me on this project), Ammar, & I are about to take off for Islamabad where we'll be for the next 10 days or so. I'll be interviewing scores of goverment official for the research project. Wish me luck!
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