Tasteless mangoes

By Dr. Muhammad Hafizullah

“The taste is not the same!” I told myself. They were ripe, wore tempting yellow colour and looked great otherwise but did not taste right! I am a great fan of Sindhri mangoes, in fact I look forward to summer because of mangoes. I and my son have a special session of mangoes after every meal.

But somehow or the other, the mangoes did not taste the same! They lost their taste, and smell too and I was bitterly disappointed! But perhaps the blame should have not been on the poor mangoes, every single fruit has been deprived of taste and smell!

It's just like our lives that have been purloined of peace, tranquility and security.

More than external the internal milieu has changed! The fault neither lies with the taste buds nor with the fruits, the internal self has changed and the capability to appreciate the fine subtleties has withered away with the tides of time!    

The other day while climbing stairs in a building, I found myself very curious of the bag being carried by the person ahead of me.

* * *

I found myself staring at the brief case carried by a gentleman.

I could not help myself stopping by and literally peeping into an empty box lying in the corridor. Large drums now invite more suspicion than left overs.

We have stopped looking at the faces and started concentrating on what people are carrying.

Our index of suspicion has sky rocketed and even benign little things that were ignored in the past now attract a lot of attention.

Heart takes a thump when a car screeches to a stop close by! Fists clench on the steering, when someone parks the car in the next lane waiting on a red light signal, and turns around to peep into the privacy of the vehicle.

Breathing becomes faster when a car overtakes in undue urgency and red tail lights announce the deceleration of motion.

Nowadays, all the requests for lift are simply ignored; who knows what turns out of an act of graciousness. 

The wait on red light has become a test of nerves and one feels exposed to unknown hazards.

Many people prefer not to take to steering, unless absolutely necessary!

Shopping has become a nerve-wrecking experience! Every five minutes the mobile rings and someone on the other end enquires about the safety - or more aptly confirming that one continues to breath and heart continues to beat.

With innumerable bomb blasts shocking the city and the country, the risk of yet another one remains an imminent possibility! 

Panic strikes on finding an empty box or an unattended bag. Suspicion overpowers when someone behaves a little oddly.

Awe overtakes when someone shouts inappropriately.

Everyone starts running, if a couple of persons move suspiciously or start running.

Now most women whose favourite pastime used to be shopping prefer to stay at home! 

Visiting a four star hotel has become a nightmare! Proving the identity, opening the trunk of car and then submission to the rude searching hands of the security has become the unfortunate norm. Walking around the lobby under the watchful eyes of the security and being monitored by the countless hidden cameras gives an eerie feeling. 

Visiting citadels of power makes one feel very uncomfortable.

Even passing by a military institution passes a cold shrill in the spine. Many of us take long detours to avoid the proximity an official building. Entering a cantonment has become an uphill task and requires presentation of a pedigree certificate backed by DNA test.

Even the thought of dropping or picking up someone from an airport is distressing and demands re-consideration many times.

Gone are the days when air travel used to be a sign of respect and comfort.

Travelling by air has become a stressful experience. Entering the airport in itself is a painful experience as if one is entering a military installation. Searches, followed by many more manual searches, are real tests of patience.

Any announcement regarding delay of flight is received with a lot of distrust and looked at from different angles.

Pilot's in-flight information is now listened to very carefully.

Any unfortunate delay in landing is not received with patience and usually invites many queries.

All of us live in an era of disbelief and suspicion and things are viewed out of context.

Marriages could have never been cheaper! Less than half of invited guests, now attend a marriage. Every marriage card is scrutinised for details. Emphasis is on the location. By and large people tend to avoid large functions. Most prefer to avoid attending a function in which a so called VIP is likely to participate. Gatherings in hotels are avoided. 

Special instructions are issued to the drivers and course of actions are charted out for an unforeseen emergency.

Only one person volunteers to sacrifice, as a representative of the family, to attend a function. Special security measures are adopted and those organising marriages charge separately and heavily for such services.

There has been more emphasis on the security plans than on bands invited or music played.

Very shortly we shall be seeing cards of marriage announcing catering by so and so and more importantly security by so and so.

We live in strange times! Unthinkable and unimaginable things have become the norm of the day. Though the whole world has changed, yet the changes - or more aptly 'security restrictions' are imposed more fervently and without much homework in Pakistan. In Pakistan, then we are the most unfortunate victims of both insecurity and uncertainty.

We are subjected to unusual and many a time unnecessary restrictions without any premonition. Gone are the days when one would invite someone for a cup of tea to Marco Polo restaurant, as there is no PC and more importantly no wish to go there or more aptly go anywhere!