Sunday, April 5, 2009

A Piece Of Days

I never knew until that moment how bad it could hurt to lose something you never really had.
- The Wonder Years
I remember when April 5th was a Friday - it was two years back ; all my classmates were hosting a farewell party for the seniors in Taj Banjara and I had stayed home. Though I never myself had a straight explanation why I wished to stay away, later I thanked Allah I didn't go. There were a few reasons I hardly remember now but one of them was how everybody behaves in a disco. On Thursday I recollected the freshers party in Taj Krishna, I attended when I was in my first year of bachelors more than four years back, when I went to the UT Dallas International Students Dance Party. I didn't go there to dance but just to attend a party. There were several such events all through the week which I had stayed away from so, I thought I should be a student too. It's three years now since this blog came into existence.

On Friday there was a foam-party my roommate friend attended. He asked me to come along but I had plans to prepare chicken biryani with my other roommate friend and I stayed away. Later he told me how he enjoyed though he didn't step into the foam for not having the right kind of footwear. I secretly wished I had been there for a while at least just to see how a foam-party looks like. There is free food too on all such parties that happen here; they happen every other day. There is so much to enjoy - parties, food, indoor and outdoor games, girls, boys money, luxuries - alhamdulillah I never find it difficult being selective.

I see how soda drinks and juices have slowly replaced water in my diet. They taste tastier with food, have calories that help me and make me feel good! My favorite is Dr. Pepper which none of my roommates appreciate. I remember my cousin telling me in one of the iftaar times in Ramzaan that Dr. Pepper tastes weired at first, but if I adjust to it I will never find any drink better than it. He was right. It's no wonder why so many people here especially with non-American origin don't like it - it tastes really weired. I wonder how I ended up liking it - that's weired too. I even like Minute Maid's Fruit Punch.

I met the same cousin on Friday at Walmart in night. He was with his UTD friends who know me too. I always feel great whenever I meet him and even these other guys. They are the kind of people who make me want to say I should be like them. But immediately I realize there are many things I need to learn from them but I would never want to be like any other person I come across. I might fall in love with how these people are, give them the highest respect or even call them the best of people I know, but I love being the person I am alhamdulillah. This cousin always gave me peace and help. He taught me how to order at McDonalds and Subway, taught me the basics of driving here each of which I observe even now, taught me to how girls wearing jeans here is not as bad as I used to think and also taught me how one can enjoy life following Allah's path.

I can recollect the night he was dropping me back to my apartment after a party I was invited to. I asked him why girls wore jeans here even though they always sport scarfs, pray ardently and observe all practices made mandatory by Allah. He told me that I need to get used to it. A few days later I had asked my cousin sister. She gave me a similar answer too. It was only after my long stay in Houston that I understood how my perspective had been illogical. We people from India are a little conservative in our approach about clothing and food. Since January both of these in me have changed - being conservative is not what is needed, being how Allah wants us to be is. Allah asked us for hijaab; never for any particular kind of clothes.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

whats a foam-party and how do you sleep on it?

xubayr said...

They have a room filled with soap bubbles and you can dance in it - depends on what all you are capable of doing in there!

sumanth said...

I guess we had a discussion on some of the issues written in your post, but you, mr karvan and dilsukhnagar had a very conservative outlook of things in general.

xubayr said...

Imagine Waheeduddin wearing a sleeveless shirt in Dallas. Nobody would even care to look at him. Imagine him wearing the same shirt in Hyderabad. You know what happens!

It is not conservativeness, it's the context - requires a little knowledge of what we are, how we are supposed to be and where we are!

sumanth said...

waheed wearing the same t shit in hyderabad would not have made much difference... waheed will be waheed(nautanki)...it depends on the beholders outlook .....also the context as u mentioned ...... if ppl in his mauhalla see him they think bacha abhi gosh ki dukaan se aara ..... whereas ppl outside would think .... infy mein koi project pe nahi hai shayd islia matargazdi bahut hori.....


“It is only in appearance that time is a river. It is rather a vast landscape and it is the eye of the beholder that moves.”

xubayr said...

you seem to have forgotten where you come from!

A witty saying proves nothing

:P

sumanth said...

the saying was not witty at all zubair,

i know where i hail from, u seem to have never understood the place we come from!!!