Today was a day to unwind, or so we thought. Well, I had plenty of work planned and my sister had to study for exams, but we all happily settled in comfortable clothes (in my father’s case those full of little holes from dropping cigarette ash) and set about non-wedding business. The only wedding obligation was to visit the hotel where the new in-laws were staying to say goodbye as they were to leave for Karachi this afternoon.
It was not to be. On the way home from the hotel, less than 10 minutes away, a call from my sister: the flight had been delayed about 4 hours so she was bringing the whole lot over for lunch. She was apologetic, of course, as were they, but we sprang into action. Leftovers from the night before bulked up with some daal and naan from Golden in Main Market, lemongrass from the garden to make tea, and a relative’s cook summoned for help. It passed successfully, as they are a pleasant and undemanding bunch (and good to chat with) but neither the rest nor the work we had hoped for could be done.
No sooner had they left that I was collected by a friend for tea at the Gymkhana. There is a pleasant outdoor seating spot there, overlooking the small artificial and the grounds, though the latter keep shrinking every time I come as Gymkhana builds new restaurants and entertainment areas. What a desirable place it seemed when I growing up, second only to the Punjab Club, but no more.
We were meeting the Oldest Friend, once estranged and now gradually returning to friendship though still not, or ever, the intense closeness of our teenage years. It was a pleasant chat, as the sun set and it grew colder. The friend told us some things I had not yet known, about how, when she lived in Dubai, she had started teaching at a very prestigous school there, and discovered she was the first and only South Asian teacher there, and for most students the first time they had ever encountered a South Asian who was not a cleaner or a driver. And how the Indian and Pakistani students crept up to her to confide in her about this.