Sundays at Zamzama!

It's always been considered normal to connect the word 'Sunday' to 'Relax, Sleep, Waste Away..'. Not down here, things aren't like that!

Having tried to cook breakfast the day before.. and having failed rather miserably at the parathas (readymade parathas, mind you!) - sigh.. - I decided not to be a quitter today!



So, I dared to venture into making breakfast for everyone again. This time it would be something not as desi or as complicated: Pancakes! (With readymade pancake mix of course! - Hey It's still not easy!). Needless to say, the courage paid off and the pancakes were mindblowing.



Mom would be proud! =D

Anyway, equipped with the resultant motivation, the men of the house decided to be put things in order. Next step was to be gardening. Those poor plants on the roof had been dying and that was unacceptable so my friends and I decided to take some action with our bare hands!



This was followed by a quick trip to a new Cafe that had been started by the Chairman of our National Board of Advisors. After having some great goodies and a productive discussion on MC Structure for 07/08, we got to sit with him and make calls to random CEOs on a Sunday evening. Need I mention, we had limited success, but hey, this man is absolutely awesome!

The day ended with a now cleaner and greener rooftop, sheesha, Karachi Broast, Pakola, and a very exciting AI 07/08 Candidate's Booklet! And of course, a Happy Birthday call to Tori!



Life never gets dull in Zamzama!

Was able to go to a quality Standup Comedy show today! Really impressed with the level of work there. These guys were FUNNY!

Just had a very thought-provoking conversation with Karim - Intern from Bangladesh - around religion. So much learning around some key issues as well as his point of view on it. The thought-provoking bit was actually realizing how lucky one is to be living in a house with such diversity in culture and in perspective. No other environment would have been able to achieve this! Wouldn't give it up for the world!

It was only day before we had a 'house meeting' and formulated a set of 'house rules'. This is such a unique cultural experience if you're from the Subcontinent since you're used to informal traditions that govern your life at home and not a set list of do's, don't, responsibles, schedules..

In other news, work-wise, am cooking up something REAL huge I'm REALLY excited about! Will disclose with a big bang very soon! :D

On a certain hard shoulder in a beautifully landscaped Lahore suburb, as I stood next to my overheated car staring cluelessly under the hood, I wasn't thinking about the radiator or how I was going to get home. My mind was still processing the overpowering experience I had had a couple of hours earlier.


AIESEC Lahore had put together a learning event: a few hours at the SOS Children's Village. Those few hours of playing with kids who had not been as lucky as to experience the protection of a normal household was extremely humbling for everyone who was able to make it. I was surprised beyond anything else to have been the person that I was all day. Not being particularly fond of children, this peculiar environment had me react in a cautious, yet comfortable manner. At the end, while everyone sat in the van and cheered in the euphoria that described their feelings for the day, it was too unsettling for me. At the debrief after, everyone got a chance to share their experience.

Now standing next to the steaming hot machine, I began to wonder about the day. So a number of young people had been engaged in a rare display of selflessness. But really.. is our involvement in such things actually selfless? Listening to myself and my friends after the session, the words "I feel lucky..", "We make such a difference..", "Those children gave us so much to think about..", "We should do this again..", as so on, it still feels like there is too much 'I', 'We' and 'Us' in there. I can't help but wonder if every such act, at some fundamental level, is yet another opportunity for us to be 'satisfied' with ourselves. While we're not busy thinking about our careers, our studies, our finances, we're still trying to find happiness and learning for our own selves.

It might be unfair and reductionism to boil down charity to a selfish motive.. but makes one question the virtue of so many things..

Glad I have a blog to think that aloud.