I LIVE in Hyderabad, a small city of the Sindh province. The wind here blows in all directions simultaneously, making your hair unkempt. Since these days almost everyone you see on TV has shaggy hair as if they were struck by a tornado, it doesn’t seem to be that much of an issue.
Nowadays the wind has either gone on a strike or somewhere else. It’s so hot in the city that I can feel my eyes burning and blood boiling. You may have no idea how hot even the tap water is in the morning. You can’t decide whether to brush your teeth first or to wash your face. And to make the matter worse, you get regular power shutdowns.
The other day, I applied oil to my hair. It may sound preposterous but I could see smoke coming out of my hair. If somebody put besan on my head, it would have turned into a big lump of pakora. No exaggerations here.
One day, a few friends of mine were staying over at my place. I was glad I was not alone and had a company to suffer with me. But soon they fell asleep ... like a bunch of babies. I was also sleepy, but the heat was overwhelming, it just wouldn’t let me doze off. I was so desperate to fall asleep, I could kill or get killed for the purpose.
My friends were fast asleep. I drank as much of water as I could to keep myself cool; but soon I was deprived of that precious commodity as well. There was no light and the fridge wasn’t working.
Loadshedding is not only annoying because of the cruel weather conditions, but also because it can cause injury to you. When the electricity goes off at night, I regularly bump into walls and doors, and before I get relief from the previous injury, I bump into something else.
Thank God, we have a generator to soothe us a bit, but just imagine how much petrol it must consume if it has to work for almost a whole day.
Coming back to the issue, when I couldn’t get cold water, we began receiving a supply of contaminated water. This may bring back memories of the ignorance of the authorities because of whom many lives were lost a few months ago. Here, it may be mentioned that not everyone can afford mineral water.
When it gets too hot to handle in the city, I close my eyes and let my imagination take me to a place far away from the heat. That keeps my mind off the torrid situation I am in, though only for a while.
And just for record, the power went off twice while I was writing this article.
I LIVE in Hyderabad, a small city of the Sindh province. The wind here blows in all directions simultaneously, making your hair unkempt. Since these days almost everyone you see on TV has shaggy hair as if they were struck by a tornado, it doesn’t seem to be that much of an issue.
