Part II: Weddings and other scary things

like thigh flab.

Stifle yawn. Proceed to where bride sits, bling is blinding, adjust eyes and try to focus,  shut eye for bit but try not to bump into men with fat bellies and half a tooth missing- they ogle- should know they look like ogre while ogling but pity, have not slightest clue.

Look around for bride. Bride looklikes make search for bride more difficult, do not understand why every girl should put as many layers of make-up as bride, must they ruin bride’s special day? and not let her alone look like runaway godzilla from zoo.. bride must want to look unique, think sympathetically, must hate look alikes, blood must boil and redden cheeks but then layers of make-up must do good job of hiding said cheeks, ohhhh, now understood, congratulate beautician for foresight, and clap, several layers of make-up is actually dual-purposed and part of beautician’s contingency plan, is impressed…

Jump unaware when hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later) squeals and points at be-jewelled creature whose face looks like baby spice transitioning into posh spice, and stopping between transition, not a pretty sight, body seems out of proportion with face but that is least of its problems, it is bride afterall.

Nod, prepare to utter convincing ooh- and aah at dress and if necessary, make cooing sounds and say how-beautiful-you-look–what-(designer)-are-you-wearing?–what-a-gorgeous-couple-you-make -…with-that-confused-guy-over-there-who-seems-to-be-screaming-in-his-head, add only inwardly..

Move toward creature with caution and conciliatory fake smile on in case she is clairvoyant and can hear thoughts (look supernatural, don’t she? teeheehee), adjust hair for benefit of camera man click-click-clicking away, (hair is second best feature next to eyes, afterall)…  camera man is one of richest man at wedding second only to beautician who painted creature’s face,  job is to get bride and groom to pose for  ‘natural-looking’ pictures and just not stop clicking, also to make bridezilla here look beautiful after beautician ruined considerable chances, chuckle at self, no wonder richest man at wedding…

… see richest man stealthily use sepia, dark-grey and all sorts of black-and-white modes on his camera more and more often; most when bride giggles and bares teeth, maybe reminiscent of Hannibal the Cannibal… should not let hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later) hear thoughts, should not let anyone hear thoughts lest they think is jealous, is not jealous, is scared of such day dawning upon self… *shudder*

Stand at stage with bride and groom and smile properly for first time; can see waiters stand close to dinner tables ready to take off lids, only redeeming quality of event would be caterers being third richest people at wedding, shall forgive hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later) in such case.

Get off stage, fast, fast, fast, flower trail after shoe, do not want to fall off stage but stomach demands haste, be first one to stand beside waiter who stands beside food, smile, bugger stares, so whistle and move a little away, feign indifference, flip hair for affect, fix slipping-smile back where lips are until lids come off, feel perverted thinking of lids and them off but only talking about food dishes…  be first one to grab onto hot steaming naan, gobble thankfully and chew away at chicken piece, do not make eye contact with hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later) in case she reminds of things like etiquette and decorum, chomp, chomp, chomp… chomping away like baby elephant must look bad for image, chomp more, and voraciously, forgive hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later) immediately and wonder thoughtfully whether she will be hopeful enough ever ever again, resist and fight thought, proceed to chomp.

Look out for “Weddings and other scary things, an afterthought”.

Also read Part I: Weddings and other scary things

Part I: Weddings and other scary things

like eye goop.

Get dragged out of bed by hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later), half a sock in tow, been told the light will go at 8:00 p.m; it is 07:30, need to select clothes, then need to press clothes, fast.  Should wash face too. Should. It is too cold to wash face. Don’t. Take tissue, rub face vigorously with moisturizer to wipe dirt and tw0-day old mascara which is frighteningly stuck at all the wrong places around the eyes (the corners, the tips etc.), eyes feel wide shut, open them, try again. Been told by brother that face is fat and nothing looks good, also been told to wear girly clothes to look like girl, nonchalantly agree to looking like girl, get black shirt out, no shalwar or pajama to go with it, get black jeans out, they would have to do, shirt is long, will hide jeans, no one would know it is jeans, triumph at spark of brilliance, mentally thump back.

Face looks clean after moisturizer rub, hate make-up, hide from mum who will force make-up, wait for lights to go so she does not see the no-make face, crunch up and play hair to give messy look, love  that best about self. Don clothes before anybody sees, is relieved when light goes, apply lots and lots and lots of kajal, been told eyes are beautiful, should emphasize.

Rush, rush, rush to the wedding venue, hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later) looks sweetly murderous when she can finally see face, berates for lack of make-up and messy hair, does not see jeans, triumph once again at spark of brilliance, could be brand ambassa(dress) of such jeans- think inwardly- tell mum there is no make-up in bag, do not like lying, tell her that camera man is upon us and now leaving, what is point?, no-make-up-face is already on record, she shrugs, tells in so many words t0 not-fuck-off anywhere because there is a long journey to embark upon, throws us both in a throng of glittery, shiny women with painted faces, hahahhah, faces look so big can imagine someone playing ball with them, tons of make-up must make faces weigh, well, tons- giggles at self , is so funny- pastes fake smile on face, big enough to look like smile, small enough to not show teeth, do not like teeth, teeth are ugly….  fake smile is slipping, hold onto it like would a rein of a marching horse or the stump of a wriggly camel… something is in eye, twitch replaces smile… still say hello-how-are-you–you-look-so-nice–doesn’t-she-mum?–oh-you-have-a-baby-too–so-beautiful–do-come-to-our-house-sometime–no-we-are-still-living-there–hahaha-no-do-not-want-to-get-married-now–hahahah-no-want-to-study–hahaha-yes-please-do-tell-if-you-find-a-nice-guy-for-me (so I stay faaaaar away from him, say inwardly)–yes-cannot-stay-young-forever-you-are-right– yes-digital-clock-is-ticking–yes-yes-yes-yes…..

Steer self away from one to have similar conversation with another, hopeful mum (shall explain adjective later) smiles, she appreciates acquiesce- will take revenge from her soon-, oh, it is time to go see the bride now, is it?

 

Read Part II: Weddings and other scary things

Unwriting, a sequel

He has a memory of a pick’s.

Pick, you know, like a drink pick or a cocktail pick, that small thin stick which we use to pick small eatables from? Pieces of cucumber perhaps or watermelon…

Alright, I know picks are things and things do not have memory.. unless of course if you are counting memory cards, mobile phones, sim cards, computers…(so I was wrong, things do have memory)…. Lets just say, picks are things which have no memory. You know how you pick something with a pick and put it in your mouth and that’s that?- that is the end of its very existence. Maybe it had been lying on a tray for a really, really long time but apart from that, this pick or picks in general are short-lived and terminal.

So you see why I say his memory is like a pick’s? I could have said his memory is like that of a gold fish but that would have defeated the entire purpose of telling something in a round about way, going this-away and that-away without really getting to the point, using a word so many times it starts to p(r)ick at you;  so much so that even when the word is not being used, it seems like it is and thereby, convincing all of the unfortunate one-or-two readers that you have to stop being them (readers, that is).

The point is, and it is a universal fact (I use the word ‘fact’ very loosely because I really don’t think it is scientifically proven or even tested for that matter but if it were… ) that it is awfully irritating when people forget things which mean something to you and you told them repeatedly about it and they still manage to forget. And you, instead of taking it out at them, decide to write about it in the most bizarre fashion that your mind could whip up at that moment, and continue writing.

So yes, I am utilizing my phase of non-writing by writing about nothing. Perhaps my next post will be on my passionate love affair with punctuation marks; semi-colon in particular or on full stops alone and their significance in the world of running sentences, running lives- thronged with confusing emotions, bombarded with dizzying information, lost between the apprehension of death and the obvious disillusionment with life, unhinged, unsettling, flustered, befuddled foolishness…

Related articles

• It’s a full-stop. Not a gunshot. (coloringinthedark.wordpress.com)

Unwriting

Does one have to be a writer to have writer’s block?

Sit down. Be quiet. Don’t whine. Open word document. A fresh A4 page. Choose font to suit mood. Drop idea. Stick with Times New Roman. Move cursor to the top of the page. Prepare to write…. Prepare to write…

Stare. Stare. Stare.  Let fingers hover over the keyboard. Feel inspired. Feel very, very motivated to write. Mentally take your hand inside your head and rummage through looking for an idea. A figment of an idea perhaps?

Leave it. Get up and go for a long walk. How long can the mind remain blank? There must be some point when it stops being blank and throw over a nugget of idea, a simple thought, a sentence.. a word… an idea of a word?

Things are so topsy turvy, they are turvy-topsy. I feel I have a lot to talk about but I cannot quite form the right words. So instead I am writing about the state of non-writing.

How can it be writer’s block if I am writing? It is like selective amnesia, really. I have selective writer’s block. The mind refuses to produce bouts of ideas for what I want to write about and only words of frustration make sense and tumble out…

Then perhaps stop. Then perhaps sit back and decide not-to-write rather than to-write. Maybe the mind works like Thing 1 and Thing 2 from ‘The cat in the hat’. Order them something and they would guarantee doing the opposite. Maybe the mind is engineered to go as far away from things you are concentrating too much on, maybe it is lazy and exhausts easy.

So here it is. This is me stopping and unwriting. Lets see if it works. And soon.

Related articles

• “Listening to Writer’s Block” by Joshua J. Mark (writersparty.com)
• They make Drano for that, don’t they? (studenteventsblog.wordpress.com)
• Unclogging this writer’s block (myrandomlittleblog.wordpress.com)

The story of Mai-Kolachi

I recently had to write a story in 200 words and I wrote this.. granted, in a hurry but later on, I kind of liked what I wrote. 

Once upon a time, at this place where I stand right now, solid ground, I would row my boat down the Arabian Sea, humming the song of *‘Inqilab’ under my breath- my voice blissfully blending with the thrashing water underneath and almost hesitantly, with the lull of the air, whooshing past me. I looked around and saw what others could not see. What the villagers saw as water and but, water all around, I saw as road to a completely different world; beyond.

They saw boats as boats, I saw adventure. They saw fish as fish, I saw trade. They saw you as you and I as I but for me, a different story was strewn across the sky. People would call out my name: “Mai Kolachi, Mai Kolachi, come back, it is getting dark”, they would call, but I would row, row and row. Like a woman on a mission, I would row.

Could they still not see what I saw? I wanted to tell them to stop for a second. I wanted to tell them to put down their hooks and tools, to put down their shoals, their leathers, to come row with me, row along and imagine how it would be, if we pushed, pushed back this part of the sea…  imagine how it would be, to build here a big, big city…

That was once upon a time ago, at this place where I stand right now, solid ground.

*Inqilab is an urdu word for Change.

According to an old legend, Mai- Kolachi was the first of the inhabitants of Karachi who started the first fishing community by the sea