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Boston and Detroit are two cities in the world which I visit every year because my daughters and their families are there. Of course, the grandchildren are major attractions.
Comparisons are odious but I think Detroit can be dreary, while Boston is always bursting with excitement. I have written so much in the past about its institutions of learning, museums and libraries that it would amount to repetition if I mention anything here.
It’s a long journey from Karachi to Boston with changing flights at Abu Dhabi and New York. Leaving home at 2am, I board Etihad for Abu Dhabi at 5. The flight is short and comfortable, the service is good, but while I go through the magazines which are plentiful, I find most people trying to catch up with their sleep. I guess I am the odd man out.
The real journey, if I may so, begins on the flight to New York. Being a frequent flyer, I am updated from Economy to Business Class. The aircraft is full but the attention to passengers is unflagging. With a variety of newspapers and magazines, not to speak of the book that I am carrying, and a wide range of entertainment on the large screen in front of each passenger, there is not a dull moment. An elderly Columbian woman constantly watches English language movies from the black-and-white era. The one which she sees twice is based on the eternal love triangle; It reminds me of the subcontinental cinema of the 50s. An Arab, a seat ahead, can’t resist the comfort of the flat bed which the seat turns into at the press of a button. He sleeps almost all the way through. I don’t, except for a 40-minute nap. A charming Bangladeshi young woman with her infant looks serious but when I greet her in whatever little Bengali that I know, a radiant smile appears on her face. Such is the love for one’s language!
I enjoy talking to the friendly cabin crew, drawn from various countries who speak English in different accents. Earlier, at the Abu Dhabi airport I run into Michael (I forget his second name) an American, who loves mountains and is returning from Skardu, where he went to have a good look at K2; He sounds like a man in love. Michael says he prefers the Karakoram to the Himalayas and gives technical reasons for his preference, some of which go above my non-technical head. “I hope the rest of your country becomes as peaceful as Skardu and its environs,” he says. I can’t agree with him more.
The food on board is delicious and wide ranging. One can order anything any time but with restricted freedom of movement one is not hungry enough.
Landing at the JFK airport, the first shock that I encounter is that the wheels of my hand-carry decide to part with the bag. I sail through the Immigration and Customs. But at the Security Check on Terminal 5, from where I have to catch the Boston flight, a bottle of mineral water and a tube of shaving cream in my hand-carry cause a mini problem.
“OK, if I am not allowed to carry this small bottle of water, at least allow me to drink the mineral water,” I say. “You can, if you like, but you’ll have to go out, drink it and join the line once again,” was the answer I get. “You can get another bottle once you are in the departure lounge or use one of the many fountains,” says his colleague. The tube of shaving cream is cleared because it falls into the permissible quantity.
The flight is a little less Spartan than the American airlines these days, where the fares are low and hardly anything to eat and drink. This one gives cookies and chips in addition to a cold drink. We land at 10 pm.
Maryam, my granddaughter, thinks Nana (maternal grandfather) lives at the airport because that’s where he is picked up from and dropped off after staying with her for a few days. Much to my disappointment, she is not at the airport, but her two older brothers and dad are there. She doesn’t keep long hours so her Mom has to be with her.
My hosts live in a colonial house in Quincy, a suburb of Boston, named after two early American Presidents, a father and son. The 120-year-old house has been lovingly maintained by the grandchildren and great grandchildren of the man who built it. They sold it last year to Maryam’s parents, who take good care of it. People who live in places like Boston heat up their cars in their garages before they go to work in the long winter months. But this one doesn’t have a garage. Much to my embarrassment, I am reminded that cars were not invented 120 years ago.
Maryam’s parents invite some people from UMass (University of Massachusetts) at Boston. One of them asks me if, as a journalist, I felt safe in Pakistan. “I do because I write on music, literature and culture. The worst that can happen to me is to get hate mail if I make a disparaging remark about a performance of someone’s favourite musician or give an unfavourable review to a book someone raved about.”
There is a Jewish family, who is visiting from Israel. The husband is a rabbi. They have both studied at Boston. I ask him if there are people in his country who sympathise with the Palestinians. “You are talking to one,” he says and goes on to explain that the number of such people is not small. We talk about Pakistan as I answer his queries. We don’t touch sensitive issues. Instead we discuss the nuances of different languages. With migrants from different parts of the world in Israel, one hears a number of languages there.
This is the first time I am visiting Boston in summer. The weather is pleasant but the flip side is that the universities are closed. Last time I was here, I spoke to students of a department on the sufferings of the people in Pakistan and India on account of tense relations between the two governments. I have a standing invitation to talk to another batch of students and the faculty when I am in Boston again.
As I write these lines my hosts are preparing to go for Friday prayers at the Islamic Centre. This will not be my first visit. Two years ago I was there at Eid and I enjoyed the multi-racial lunch there.
The time difference between Karachi and Boston works to my disadvantage. I have to meet the deadline and send this blog before it’s Saturday morning in Pakistan.
The writer, who jointly authored the bestselling ‘Tales of Two Cities’ with Kuldip Nayar and more recently compiled and created ‘Mehdi Hasan: The Man and his Music’ writes and lectures on art, literature and culture. He also pens travelogues and humorous pieces.
The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
Nice to know, children could afford to buy and live in a 120 year old heritage home from its owners. The sole purpose of this blog is served !
Mr. Frequent Flyer – Westerns do not have "second name" but the first, middle, last names. When a passenger is moved to higher class it is an 'upgrade' not 'update'!… Eagerly awaiting the account for your return journey.
Absolute rubbish.
This isn't meant to be a major literary piece or a newspaper article, its a blog people, lighten up.
Dear Asif Sb
I am organizing a live concert of Indian playback singer Sharda on July 31st in Boston. Please contact me at 978-621-8030. Would be delighted if you could attend.
Its such a coincidence that only last week I was speaking about you to Mr. Rashid Latif (ex-HMV/EMI) who as you may know is in Toronto now. Boom Boom was also discussed as was Eastern Film of the yesteryears.
Best
Siraj Khan
Asif sb, a nice peace to read about. I loved the part "nana" although I am not yet at this stage but have two young daughters and I can imagine your delight in meeting your daughter and grand daughter. However, other important part that probably you can explore and right further about is the interaction with various nationalities and various religious groups. Specifically the lack of tolerance and acceptability within Pakistanis can hopefully be brought to a point where we can start welcoming people from other parts of the world and provide them with respect and love that any human being deserves.
I have been out of Pakistan for 12 years now and have been with people from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. I find that all societies are composed of same kind of people ie the Very Bad, Very Good and the not-very Bad and the not-very good. What changes the impression of a society is the number of Bad or Good people in the mix.
I am not sure how many non-muslims are being converted in Pakistan – thanks to the aggression and violence. In Dubai for example around circa 1600 people converted to Islam in 2010. Now I am not appreciative of a very open side of Dubai but as a tolerant society the non-muslims had a greater chance and freedom to see muslims closely and understand and convert at their on free will without fear. I hope your writings on culture can change our society to be a more tolerant one. To me Justice is the first thing and tolerance is the second most important thing required in our society.
Your lovely story brightened up my morning. Enjoyed reading the innocence of the sentence"my nana lives at the airport" . With small happenings of the life u have carved out a pleasant story.These days when our minds r all the time engaged with multiple problems of Pakistan, we need these types of light story/articles. God bless Pakistan. pls. do write some more. Thanks.
I found the article silly and useless. I don't understand what the bloggers are drooling over.
find time to come to toronto or ontario. we always have an open heart for visiting pakistanis with enormous hearts and tolerance for persons of other faiths. the situation for christians now in pakistan is sad. preach tolerance in your columns.
I wonder what was the purpose of this article?
In my opinion the article is a very personal account of the writer's jounery to his family in Boston. The article reads more like an essay a high school teacher would ask students to write as an assignment. The article belongs in the Travel section of a tourisim journal not in a reputable newspaper like the Dawn. I do not understand the purpose of the piece nor would I call it journalism.
I dont get whats he wanted to project?is it about etihad or a business class coz he is a frequent traveller or about his family vist worth mentioning ie university of massachusetts?well to be honest i got only one inpression from this is article that its a good ESSAY.
Hard to tell if this article is about Etihad's service, complaining about US airport security, or promoting Boston by comparing it to one of the worst cities in America (Detroit).
Dear Noorani Sahib! Please let me know wherefrom I can have your books.? Thanks and bye bye
Please write to me on my email address, giving your phone number and email, and I will tell you how to get signed copies. Are you in North America?
Sorry, I forgot to mention my email address: asifnoorani2002@yahoo.com
From last 14 years I am away for my homeland, we do miss the beauty and affection of our relations therefore the word "Nana" has compelled me to read. I do believe that the whole page is worth to read. Your style of writing is very impressive and way you express the situation is marvelous. Best regards.
If the city of Detroit 'can be dreary' and the city of Boston 'bursting with excitement', there is a reason worth mentioning. The city of Boston was founded by John Winthrop. After the 'Reformation' and the memories of the Europena religious wars, he remained someone felt to be under siege. He felt he had a divine mission. In order to counter the forces of the 'kingdom of Anti-Christ', he decided to lay down the educational institutions. The aim was to teach the new men in learning the bible as it is. But he also knew that mere mastering the bible wouldn't land him anywhere.
Since he wanted to bypass the rich cities of Rome and London, he sought investment from all sources to develop human capital. His efforts paid off. Within fity years of the forming of the city, men and women with techinical and intellectual disciplines were busy exporting goods not just to the rest of the colonies but to the outside world. To this day, the city not only possess the greatest human capital but also attracts the most talented from the rest of the world. A case study.
It is said that Houston is 4 times bigger than Boston in population.
When I lived there 14 yrs ago, there were 16 Universities in Boston,compared to Houston which had 4 Universities only.
Often in the long harsh winter months, I wondered who would live in a place like this except for the fact that it was the Mecca of education and knowledge.
So I was pleased when my daughter decided to go to Wellesley College near Boston.
I said sure go to Boston but come back home.
I truly understand the emotions expressed as I am going through the same trail. I have come all the way to Hamilton, New Zealand to meet my daughters and my grandchildren settled here. It was quiet a
change coming from Karachi under load shedding spell with mercury hitting around 40 mark to auckland airport enjoying 18 c cold zone. Hamilton is a small town as compared to Auckland there are about 1000 muslim immigrant including one Abdullah a new Kiwi convert whom I met in the mosque. I came across mostly doctors who are graduates from Khyber Medical college except my son in law and daughters who graduated from medical colleges in Karachi. we traveled by Malaysian Airlines with good hospitality on air and ground. I had to say" Terimakashif" thankyou for malaysian when I was served with good coffee
So folks do visit New Zealand, land of Kiwis when you get a chance. It seems that God was in best of his moods when HE created NZ. Thank you my Lord let your good mood prevail while you are looking at Karachi. Ameen
Moin Khan
Hamilton, NZ Home away from Home
Refreshing to read a simple, descriptive piece with only a minor trace (i.e. the big deal made about perfectly sensible airplane safety regulations) of the same hollow fault-finding with the US that seems to be de rigueur with Pakistanis nowadays.
As someone from Pakistan and living in D.C I loved your writing.It flowed and kept my interest and like someone else up there the "airport Nana Jee" sentence got my attention when I was skimming through.Keep it up Sir!
Since you are visiting in the summer, get you hosts to take you to see a ball game at Fenway park. Even if you know nothing about baseball, a visit to the 'Green Monster' is a must.
Just on word of caution: Don't mention the name Bucky Dent within five miles of Fenway. It is a dirty word as far as Bostonians are concerned. I am sure your hosts can fill you in on the rest of the story.
Asif, it is distinctive art to keep the reader guessing 'wus' (what's in newfnie) the name of storyteller. Pakistanis in greater Pakistan needs writers to inspire for humanity including national feelings. Well done! I belong to the Qayyum Nazar Butt (the children poet) lineage. Safe journey when you travel.
I can’t get what the blog is about. In the first quarter, Mr. Asif Norrani more than exaggerated in praising the airline that he travelled. May be the airline knows who to pamper, especially journalists from subcontinent. My personal experience in travelling by this airline, especially in the Economy class is not that pleasant.
Not sure what the purpose of this artcile was nor is it a literary piece on its own.
What a profound piece of writing. It is written beautifully and leaves the readers to enjoy, ponder, and analogize their own surroundings and lives. Americans and Indians, just like any other people, like to live, love, socialize, have good time, and the love for ones children and grandchildren is universal. People of greater Pakistan should realize the common aspirations and values of humans and do away with hatred for one another.
'Maryam, my granddaughter, thinks Nana (maternal grandfather) lives at the airport because that’s where he is picked up from and dropped off after staying with her for a few days.'
Loved that… Enjoy… If you happen to be in Chicago Area do let me know and I will hook you up with Danial Noorani of TCF-USA, another great Pakistani working selflessly for creating education opportunities in Pakistan
Very interesting and factual writeup. Loved it. Will be looking forward for more in time to come.
Welcome to Boston Mr Asif Norrani. If you visited Quicny Islamic center, Please try to visit Sharon Islmaic center, espaecially on Fridays where we have Community Dinner before Maghrib and an educational Halaqa.
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I share these common observations (what you have listed) since I living here as a yound professional for last 5 years. Enjoy your trip and do visit Museum of Fine Arts (if you have not
Asif, Enjoy the companionship of your grand children. I am your friend of the yester years.
Enjoyed reading this piece very much……..more of the same please
Enjoyed reading the article.
Very well written! Great observation and expression.
Sweet and simple
Enjoy your trip.
Lovely story to read,thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
nice to read. bon voyage
nice and lovely story
lovely story