This blog is an attempt to chronicle the history of my parents. I have always been fascinated by their stories of bygone days, and I’m afraid I’ll forget them unless I write them down. The picture that presents itself is of a pre-Partition subcontinent, a place in India fondly remembered by my father as the setting of his childhood, and my mother’s hometown in Pakistan, the city by the sea that my father migrated to and settled in.
It is also a picture of the times they lived in, the 40’s, the 50’s and the 60’s, a deeply nostalgic time for them both, when life-changing events happened and their futures were set in stone.
It is going to be an educational experience for me, since I plan to delve deeper into history and geography as I listen to their stories, to get some context and atmosphere into the verbal picture. I’m going to throw myself into this project with passion, and hope interested readers will enjoy the journey as much as I know I will.
I have my lovely Facebook friend, Geetali Tare (over at Shimla Gallimaufry) to thank for goading, coaxing, cajoling and galvanising me into action!
27th June 2011.
I just read this poem today at Wordsmith’s Desk, someone who visited my blog and ‘liked’ one of my posts. I thought it was beautiful and it expresses the mood I’m in when I walk down memory lane.
Down an old and dusty road,
From many years ago.
Memories are stirring,
Stories to be told.
Home fires would be glowing,
In the farm house on the right.
Faces watching at the window,
For their Dad to come in sight.
Supper on the table,
Fireplace burning bright.
Together for the evening,
Before we say goodnight.
A tear reflects the memories,
From many years ago.
I often think about them,
Down an old and dusty road.
~LeRoy Dean.
Days Of Yore 
I will be on the sidelines cheering you on. I look forward to more reminiscences, photographs, snippets, voice recordings, videos, souvenirs… This promises to be a wonderful journey.
Special thanks to your parents for agreeing to share their memories.
Let’s hope they keep cooperating!! 😀
I appreciate your efforts
It’s a joint effort dear Abbaji 😀
Well M…If anyone can do it…you can! A wonderful idea and I look forward to reading 🙂
Hi,
Good posts… One of the few blogs worth following. Not getting too political, it would be interesting to learn more about the lives of people before and during and after the partitian… Apart from what they say in the history books.
I’ve always found it difficult to write personal experiences in first person on a blog. Its a great learning experience for me to read ur posts.
Good to hear from you Z, and thank you for subscribing 🙂 hope you continue to enjoy my future posts.
It’s a bit difficult to decide the voice for each one…but it falls into place somehow…
I’m signing up here and well done for starting this. I very interested in what happened during Partition and the mess the Brits created. Sickens me how our Govt. swaggers around the world saying “Hey, look what we had in the days of Empire.” The stories of ordinary people are always the real stories. I shall set aside some time and read through properly.
Can I make a suggestion ? I’d really like to read these through properly in order so can you put up a sidebar with the posts in date order? then I wouldn’t have to start at the bottom and work up. Anyway, just suggestin’ an’ all. 🙂
Thanks for the suggestion and for signing up Alan…!
Guess I didn’t tinker around with my widgets when I was experimenting with themes, so didn’t realize the last theme only had footer options, and no sidebar! Had to change it immediately and put all the stuff on the side. Am appalled I didn’t do so earlier, but I guess that’s bound to happen with 3 different blogs 😛
Hope you enjoy the stories. 🙂
hey hi again munira,
you know i first came to this blog of urs, i mean i was searching about 51st dai so i got the link for ur blog. Read couple of posts mummy’s quran was very emotional and inspiring. Then after couple of days i was searching this blog i stepped on the other blog of urs where i left comment, didnt knew u both are same….
Hey good luck…
Yep, one and the same! It’s interesting to me to hear how people come across my blog and stick around to browse through my posts, and I’m very glad you did 🙂
Right. I’m caught up. Just read them all in one go. Wonderful history of your family and a picture of developing Pakistan. Some of the BBC vids are a bit cringing though, aren’t they ? Thankfully they don’t talk or patronise like that anymore. 🙂 Well done.
Yess!! 😀
You gladden my heart Al. Thank you for reading, and for being interested enough to click on those videos 🙂
Sometimes I wonder if we’d have been better off a colony….after all, the infrastructure the British built in the godforsaken land that came to be my country, still grace our landscape. And I don’t know what good can possibly come out of self-serving politicians and military dictators……but let’s not go there…
Far from cringing (perhaps I’m very thick-skinned!) I LOVED coming across those videos, as they gave me such a vivid picture of what the places that are so familiar to me now, looked like in those days,, what people wore, hairdos, etc. Fascinating.
Got here through Shimla Callimaufry (just like I came to Karachi through Shimla, back in 1947). Hope to read something interesting. Culture, History and Anthropology are my interests. Congratulations on embarking on this blog.
Thank you for getting here (Geetali’s blog is lovely, isn’t it?) and I hope you keep dropping by…..and thank you for the wish! Need to post something new here….soon.
Munira… a friend found your blog and when I started reading some of your posts… I was… sucked in! I am bohra too, my parents grew up in India.. mainly Gujarat and Mumbai, but some bits and pieces from your posts remind me of what mum and dad talk about too. Especially the roadside food vendors with the ‘bor’ and kacchii keri etc. Your blog is such a pleasure to read and some bits brought tears to my eyes… come to think of it, I hardly know my parents! I mean… I know them, but I don’t KNOW them. It’s like I’m missing out on this huge chunk of my life…
How lovely that you connected to my blog Sabera, thank you for your comment!
I hear you when you say you don’t know your parents. It’s all about ‘listening’ to them though.
Hope you get a chance to do that one of these days 🙂
Your blog looks very yummy and I’m looking forward to reading you too 🙂