This November NoJoMo sent me down memory lane many times. Sometimes I revisited movie time with my siblings from childhood, sometimes I went back to high school to reminisce some of my best times, and today I'm going back to the kitchen from my childhood!
So what is the most vivid memory I have of the kitchen from my childhood?
I remember quite a lot of super significant things actually.
From the green roti ka dibba (above) to the demented exhaust fan, the green bar of Vim soap in the oldest plate in the world, and our helpers Anwar and Nasreen ... I remember everything! But today I'm talking about the one and only Anwar.
In Pakistan it is quite common to have helping staff employed in your homes. When I was really small we used to live in what we called the 'peela ghar' because our house was kind of yellow ('peela' is yellow and 'ghar' is house in Urdu). There we used to have a woman named Anwar. She used to live in our home in the quarter that belonged to her and she was, for some reason, very fond of me. I remember her as a super human who used to do so many things in a day and still have time to take quite a relaxing nap in the afternoon and also watch TV with us at night after dinner. How she did it, I have no idea! Oh and she even had time to play with us. Seriously baffled here.
I remember Anwar as a super sweet woman who loved me. She also had completely crazy theories though. Superstitious beliefs are quite common in people who come from the villages of Pakistan and Anwar was pretty superstitious too. For example once she ended up permanently declaring 'Murgh Cholay' (a Chicken curry cooked with garbanzo beans) as a bad omen that made my brother fall sick each time it was cooked. *laughs*
Seriously, she said the craziest stuff ever. One of her craziest theories though was my favorite ... So she used to say that children were very special to God - something I can agree on, fine. Then she said because of them being special they knew stuff of the future and their prayers came true. So guess what she did? She asked me to tell her if she would ever get married! Hahaha! And look at me - the drama - I used to tell her, and very seriously too, that she will get married. I remember doing it. I remember making the straightest face I could muster and tell her, "Yes, you will, soon." And she believed me too. She never doubted me for a second. In fact she used to confidently tell my mother and anybody else who'd listen, I'm sure, that Sara baaji has said it therefore I am destined. She even asked me to pray for her to get married soon and I did, with all honesty!
She gave me so much respect and importance! Hahaha! But most importantly she gave me lots of love. That's probably why I remember her so vividly. She cared for me, spent time with me, looked after me, and was super sweet. Crazy, yes, but so sweet!
This entry has been written for November Journaling Month 2018
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