Moon Market in Lahore’s Allama Iqbal Town is the hub of youth hostels, and all the trimmings that come with it.

You have tech shops selling an assortment of mobile accessories and softwares, 24/7 juice bars and snack stalls selling piping-hot instant meals, and chai restaurants that stay open night-long, where the younger lot hangs out with friends for gup-shup over bottomless chainaks of chai, and endless cups of tea.

And where you have chai, how can there not be freshly made crispy parathas. And if they are stuffed with a filling of your choice, even better!

The Moon Market food street has it all, and then some. Be it the early morning hours for a filling breakfast, the busy lunch time or the evening hangout for dinner or after-dinner chai shots, Moon Market is famous for catering to every foodie’s needs on a student budget. But wait, there’s more!

The crispy-hot stuffed paratha at the Moon Market food street in Lahore’s Allama Iqbal Town comes with its own saucy side of filmstar and stage sensation Nargis gazing down from her beauty salon billboard

For the uninitiated, there was a time in the not-too-distant past when filmstar Nargis had a larger-than-life image in the cultural scene of Lahore, with her gyrating dance moves in commercial stage shows and Punjabi films, capturing the wildest fancy (and fantasy) of every front-bench cinegoer and making her the subject of everything from wild catcalls to wolf howls and shrill whistles.

But all that was before her retirement from showbiz and stepping away from the limelight. Now, she enjoys dolling up brides from her first-floor salon in the main Moon Market food street, with big Panaflex billboards flashing her glam-doll images from her heyday.

But it seems trouble and controversy still seek her out, even after stepping back from the public eye, and she continues to be the subject of countless debates and discussions over endless cups of tea. Intrigued, I asked the parathay-wala if he has ever seen Nargis in person, to which his rather prompt reply was: “Nargis baji khud tau nahin aatien, lekin hamaray parathay aur chai unkay beauty parlour par zaroor jatay hain [Nargis baji doesn’t come to us herself, but she orders tea and parathas from our stall all the time].”

I can only imagine what that’s like and, for once, would kill to be in the delivery boy’s shoes while delivering an order of stuffed parathas and chai to the bevy of beautiful ladies at Nargis Beauty Salon. Oh, to watch in wide-eyed and gaping-mouth amazement as the queen bee, that is Nargis herself in all her heavenly regalia, chomps down on the piping-hot crispy parathas! Bon appétit indeed.

The writer is a member of staff.
X: @faisal_quraishi

Published in Dawn, EOS, March 3rd, 2024