Two Days in Dream...

Two days in dream

We parked our car and knocked at a door. My host dad said that it would be the right home and my host mom shook head in a way saying “I guess”. A young man opened the door and said welcome and hi in a known way. We hugged and went inside. He seemed unknown known person to me. Although I did not know him, but felt him as a close family member. Then he introduced his wife and she seemed pretty familiar too although she was not.

He was the person whom I had texting contact with and he was an Ismaili Muslim, so he had asked me to go to Jamat Khana (place of worship) in Milwaukee. This was the reason we were there in Madison at their house. The floor was carpeted and there were some pillows by the wall and it was totally like home. After we drank juice Fazal said that dinner is about to ready. My host parents were thinking that he was talking to me because they were not informed in formal way that they will take dinner there like in American way but they didn’t know that they were in a Pakistani house and our culture has more informalities than formalities. They were happy to see when dinner was served in a different way. We all sat on the floor and there was some Pakistani food to eat. We discussed politics and culture during dinner. Then my parents were about to leave that he said that he was making tea according to the all time tradition of northern part of Pakistan.

After my parents left, we started talking in Urdu and many times I talked in English un voluntarily. Then we started our journey towards Milwaukee and it was awesome to listen to Urdu music in car and hear all of the people in the car humming with it. Fazal drove the car in kind of Pakistani way which made me laugh inside. Then we reached Jamat khana and we were welcomed by YA ALI MADAD. There were people from Pakistan, India and Africa but were like a family and I felt if I found something I had lost and put my head on the floor and rebuilt the contact which was broken for 3 months. I murmured and had a good talk to Allah. Then I met with many new people and I also translated the Qasida from Persian to English. I wished it could happen every day but then I remembered that I was just dreaming and every dream doesn’t happen in real life. Then around 11 pm we left and around 1, I went to bed and it was strange to sleep in dream. 

Next day I woke up quite early and watched television and to my surprise there was a documentary which was in Urdu too. I didn’t know how things were happening in dream. Then later Fazel took me to a short tour of Madison and then we went to meet some other exchange college students from Pakistan and it was so sweet when they were giving us something to drink by force by the unique culture where even if you say NO it would mean YES . It was so great to discuss the aim of exchange programs and the political situation of Pakistan with grown and experienced minds. Then after we went to some markets and just looked over things and I felt really at home when Fazal was really asking me if I wanted something and he would ask me to try different things but I didn’t get any thing.

Then we went to his house and took lunch. It was pretty late and again it was some food from Pakistan. I wished I could actually get that food in my real life like I get in dream. Later that evening we went to jamat khana with some other family from Pakistan and it was the same scene as it was the day before. I felt kind of happy and sad at the same time when I tried to talk to a young boy Ali in the other family and he had great English but couldn’t speak Urdu. Then again we said our prayer and I was thinking in dream that it might take long time to come again to Jamat Khana again, so I remained on floor with my forehead touching the ground and totally concentrating on something unknown. It was so great to leave the world for a while but I was not that happy because many things happen in dreams. Then the leader announced that there would be a dinner and celebration for our spiritual leader, Shah Karim Al Hussaini,The Aga Khan’s birthday. So again I got a chance to eat Pakistani food sitting on the floor and fingers wet by the oil in Biryani and then took some desert. After that talked to many people and they were really happy to have me there and the prayer leader joked that I should complain about my host family and get my family changed to Milwaukee so that they can have me there everyday. I laughed on it and so did he in a way that showed that never take it serious, we don’t really want you. Then the celebration started and it was so great to see flowers of diversity in a single garden, different in colors but giving the very same scent. Everyone’s face was shining with smile, it was of course not American smile where you do it for formality. It was something different, something rising from your inside and blossoming after reaching your face. I have been watching Indian dance from my childhood but I had never thought that one day I will be standing with some Indian people getting ready to be started as soon as the tape would start throwing sound waves into our ears and making our feet and body move in accordance. We danced for more than 30 minutes for a Hindi song with sticks in hand, doing cress cross and several different things. At the beginning I was like a wild bird feeding with hens but after 10 minutes I got what they were doing. After 30 minutes they were mostly tired and started leaving the field of dance, so it was time to show the no tiring and sweet culture of Northern Pakistan. Fazel and I started dancing in our way. People were so impressed that they joined us and it was so awesome. We almost danced for an hour and sweat was making my face moist and I was feeling like in swimming pool. After we had danced to a time when the tape recorder was tired, we stopped and took some rest. Again danced for some modern Indian songs and finally it was time to say good bye to a family of spiritual bonds. Every one was saying that they enjoyed our dancing and with Shukria “Thanks” we left Jammat Khaana.  I called my host parents to pick me up so that I can be in my bed before the dream is over. They were watching the Madrigal which I missed to see that day because I was busy in dream.

As soon as we reached their home and the other family who was with us forced me to go with them to their house,again a glance at our culture. I couldn’t go because my parents were about to reach. Then in a short while my parents came to pick me and I said Khuda Hafiiz and Ya Ali Madad “good bye” to Fazal and his wife and when I said thank you, his wife said “there is no need to say thanks”. This was the last thing I remember from my dream and they also invited me back any time to their home. Then I reached home, back into western life. I went to bed because I was so tired. Next day when woke up in morning I saw that it was Sunday and all happened was not a dream but real thing. This is how culture travels and preserved in other countries. This gave me a good break from the western culture and it was great that my parents saw a living culture which I couldn’t explain by words. I can just summarize this weekend in an old Chitrali saying “the people you have relation with are important even if they are living in a cave”.