Bahawalpur – Youngster Life

Drining alcohol from the same glass is sign of brotherhood

It was a coincidence for me to meet Amir, this young guy from Bahawalpur, who invited me to his house in his hometown. I was waiting for ticket in Multan to go to Bahawalpur by bus (60 Rs, 1.5 hours). He, a tall, dark, fit young guy with soldier-like-body offered me to sit next to him, and then he also offered me to go to his house to accommodate me.

His house is located near Gulberg Road just next to the Model Town. The houses in this complex look like of the same styles, little blocks with small yards. All with the same stone colour, very simple with agricultural atmosphere. Actually he didnt bring me to his house, he brought me to the building next to his house, which was occupied by his uncle and nephew. It seems that he didnt want to meet me with his mother, that he never ever invited me to go to his own house. He kept coming all the time, bringing the food (only rice as I told him I ate only rice, and out of my expectation, he made rice specially for me), the cold drinks (the best life saver in boiling Pakistan), and chatting.

The room was simple, with a TV, two beds and a charpoy, and a cooling fan. The bathroom and toilet were separated, outside the building. There were another rooms linked, one of them with a refrigerator inside. The family had quite a background, with his father working in a government office nearby inside the complex, and it can be considered as guarantee for a well-to-do family in this small town.

Later he invited his other cousin and friend: Kaka and Khasif, to take me around the city. We rode a motocycle, for people on one. And the driver: three of them interchangeably, drove like a mad man. Overspeeding, underspeeding, zigzagging, it was enough to make me closer to God. I was told that they also did one-wheeling, that is running motocycle with only one wheel touching the ground, vertically. Luckily they didnt do at that time.

The gang watch football match together

I like Amir, he was not type of hypocrite man: kept talking about religion but with bad habits. He admitted all of his habits and likings without embarassment, or covering by his religion. He likes sex. He has girlfriend and had done many times with her. The girlfriend was from other city, Faisalabad. He had been to Heera Mandi, the redlight district of Lahore, but he told me he didnt do anything there. And boys? He also likes them too. He had a habit of talking with each sentence added by “matlab”, “matlab” (meaning, meaning), sounds that every sentence of him was very difficult for the listeners so that a further explanation was needed. But later on, I found his other favorite word, “bahinchot!” (sister fucker) which he added to almost all words.

These three friends brought me to Dubai Mahal, the palace of Emir of Dubai here in Bahawalpur. The palace is actually closed to publics, but one of his friends was security guard there, so we got a glimpse. I was sure the Dubai Emir was not inside the palace these days, as Bahawalpur and other parts of Pakistan were burning, boiling hot. The palace had several high domes on some corners. It was dusk anyway, so I didnt see a lot.

They also brought me to glimpse the railway station, the bazaar, the hospital (where they almost ran against a man with their zigzagging driving), football match in the stadium (between NBP and other team, both Pakistanis). This time they had got a second motorcycle, borrowed from someone in the city. Their friend link is quite expanded. I sat behind Amir. He had a habit to tease the girls (not seen oftenly, and almost all with purdah), rang the bell to the girl to got attention, and driving crazily next to them so they were scared. In this country, where almost all women were wearing hejab and purdah, and rarely got out, this kind of woman watching and teasing might be a great fun for guys like Amir. I told him that in our country, we tend to respect girls in Muslim dress that we dont even stare to them.
“But if we do so, then we cant play with anybody,” said him in Urdu.

The Nawab of Bahawalpur left European-style historical buildings

Punjab is the most fertile province of Pakistan. The name of Punjab refers to five main rivers flowing through this province

He likes chewing pan, which made his teeth red coloured. After eating pan, one had to spit for many times the blood-like liquid from their mouth. In Indonesia we also had “sirih”, but it was not considered “cool” to chew it. But for Amir, he couldnt live without pan, and cant be separated from it.

The second night was drinking night. The drink, they call as “sharbat” (syrop) was actually the white wine made by the Christian community nearby. The Christians made the alcohol, the Muslims drink it. It cost 100 Rs for a plastic. These boys with some other friends drank together in Kaka’s room, separated from other rooms in his house. Actually Kaka was worrying his father very much. When someone knocked the door, they suddenly hid everything of their party, turned off the music (they played Zarra Jhoom Jhoom, a Bollywood favorite), and behad like quite children.

How did they have the enjoyment?
They mixed the wine with ice in a big pot, shaked it, then distribut it into a glass. They then drink it turn by turn, sharing the same glass, as the prove of friendship. They also mixed the wine with Coca Cola, to give more flavor. After taking a sip, they also took the “namkin” or “nimko”, a snack from Sub-continent, to netralize the alcohol. They kissed the glass one by one by their lips before the wine to be drinked by a guy. It looked like a friendship ritual.

Amir took a pan after drinking the wine, as pan was his favorite mouth filler. And it was disaster. Pan doesnt cooperate with the fine in his stomach. The stomach exploded. He vomited. He hardly walked, and he had to be transported back by a motocycle after hours of vomiting and “achar” chewing.