red, green, yellow lights

As Karachiites, born and bred in this exuberant energetic city, we have fallen madly in love with Karachi a million times over. That time we first saw sunset at the beach with college buddies-the ride back home at 2am when the city is still alive and kicking-early morning breakfast at funland-and so many more unique experiences which we have grown to adore passionately. Admittedly there are days when our city looks a little rough and a little scratched, like a tough cat after a fight, and those are the times when the blind devotion takes us past the flaws and keeps our love alive.

Today however was not one of those days. Today was one of those days when we felt so proud that our heart was going to burst with joy. Today we wanted all the out-of-city people to take a drive down sea view, just walk on zamzama and feel the magic. A happy cloudy sky bathed the city in lovely ambient light and for once even the catcalls and horny men did not force us back indoors. Vibrantly festive with leftover christmas lights Karachi was like a beautiful painting, very realistic and therefore even more powerful.

We sat at espresso drinking our cappuccinos, mochas, and hot chocolates, watching old friends drift in and out, enjoying the flow of ex-karachiites ecstatic to be back, and we realized how lucky we were to be a part of such a tour de force. As a friend who had recently moved to Islamabad, and was back for a visit remarked, finally she felt young, alive, and not an old jaded aunty.