The Unbearable Lightness of Being Pakistani
Chapter 19 of “Hold On’’: Anarkali Bazar 2008
(N.B. I’m writing a novel, a chapter a week, here on Medium. Find out why I write here, start from Chapter 1 here, and always feel free to give me feedback in the comments. I write here for the community.)
Sana Khan was looking at Milan Kundera’s book in Anarkali’s old bookshop on a Sunday. As she leafed through the pages, a guy stepped into the shop and approached the vendor. He looked around and asked the vendor if he had found Milan’s book, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Sana looked up at him and at the same time, the vendor pointed towards Sana holding the book in question. The guy asked Sana if she had decided to buy the book otherwise he would buy it. Sana nodded yes. He then requested Sana if he could just see and read it for a few minutes sitting here while she looked around for other books in the street. Sana was amazed to see his passion for Milan. She answered, ‘’I am Sana and I’m studying at GC. What’s your name?”
He said, “I am Sanwal and I am an economist working for the Government of Punjab”. It was quite surprising for Sana that economists also read fiction.
Sana’s impression of economists was shaped by reading a novel, “The invisible heart, An economic romance”. Mainly this novel was a conversation between an English high school teacher and an economics high school teacher. It was an interesting observation about how both saw and interpreted the world around them.
“What’s so special about this book by the Czech writer? Im, Im, you know just curious why you were looking for this book. I have read him and I like him.” Sana asked Sanwal.
Sanwal just coughed and paused for a second and then said, “I like, like, how he narrates and explores complex philosophical topics seamlessly with deeply personal and emotional stories. His work is very moving and enlightening at the same time.”
Sana really liked Sanwal’s passion for Milan. She then gave the book to Sanwal and told him that she was here for another hour or so with her friends looking for other books and then they would have tea. She would get the book back from him at the same stall in an hour. Sana left. Sanwal looked at Sana more closely while she was saying all this and he found a beautiful blossoming woman with wide eyes and a round face. Sanwal thanked her and smiled.
After joining GC, this had been a ritual for Sana and her friends to visit old book stalls in Anarkali which sprouted every Sunday. Some of them visited their hometowns on weekends and then the other friends generally missed them, if they stayed back in the hostel. But it was a different joy when all four of them were in the hostel on any weekend. It made their Sunday beautiful by strolling along the old books stalls in Anarkali Bazar, near Punjab University’s old Campus. They had spent countless hours picking up new and exciting books and leafing through their pages, trying to determine which ones to buy. The prices of the books were quite reasonable as compared to bookstores in Lahore.
Sana Khan was from Peshawar. She was now in her final year of Master's in English Literature. She had read and heard so many stories from her English teacher at Jinnah College Peshawar who studied at Government College Lahore. At that time, she was completing her intermediate. Sana then decided to study English Literature at GC Lahore. She started mentioning to her parents that if she got admission to GC she would move to Lahore after her undergrad. Sana’s parents were professors at colleges in Peshawar and had studied Physics together at Quaid-Azam University Islamabad and that’s where they met each other many years ago. Sana’s parents never told more details to their kids about their relationship during university. But the kids often tried to find out details. Their mom just snubbed them and told them it just happened and it wasn’t planned. Sana’s parents allowed her to go to GC because they thought it would give her a good exposure to the world and allow her to develop her personality and skills. Though Sana always wanted to come back to Peshawar and her dream job was to teach at Jinnah College Peshawar where she could then tell her stories to her students the way she had heard from her teacher.
Sana came back to the same stall with her friends and Sanwal was still reading the same book. Sana then asked him that she had to leave now. Sana told him that he could borrow the book after she had read it. She asked him if they could exchange cell phones to coordinate later. It was quite a surprise for Sanwal because women generally never shared their cell phone numbers with random men. Sanwal felt that it was the connection of Milan Kundera that made it possible. Indeed Sanwal was right!
