Making Light of Things…

Today has been a fairly relaxing day. The weather is changing here, slowly but surely the temperature is rising. Although fortunately the mosquitoes have launched a full-scale invasion as yet, and the ceiling fan has not been needed as yet. Every day the citizens of this country go without electricity for between 3 and 10 hours (depending on which part of the country you live in). Needless to say, this is at best, an inconvenience, and at worst, a serious health risk, but the resilience shown by the people here to deal with this daily occurrence is nothing short of admirable. Many Pakistanis simply take the opportunity to sleep, others take a walk outside in the fresh air, and nearly every mobile phone purchased in Pakistan comes equipped with a torch for those times when you can’t find the door handle. One interesting thing is that if, for example, the light goes off at 7pm it always comes back at exactly 8pm. Within what many might describe as a rather chaotic situation, there is a great degree of precision! At least I can plan my napping routine around it with confidence…

Edward Mortimer is spending 10 months in Pakistan studying the Urdu language. Here he recollects his first visit to the commercial capital, the megacity of Karachi.

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