i miss you

I got my pakistani drama taste from my nani. She and I used to spend hours watching dramas together. I remember, I was in the sixth grade and PTV used to show all these long plays by Anwer Maqsood, Bano Qudsia and Ashfaq Ahmed and I used to be up watching them because we used to sleep together. I don’t think I quite understood the adult themes and subjects but I was interested. Often I used to get scolded by my mum for watching them because she thought the influence on my innocent mind wouldn’t be very appropriate.
Nano today I watch dramas happliy because of you. It is you who put the taste of good literature into my head, fancy poetry and classical music. You used to explain the meaning of intellectual themes behind Anwer Maqsood’s plays. You would tell me not to read manto and ismat chughtai and when I told you I did, you seemed happy. It was like you wanted me to rebel and read so I would agree with you.
You interpreted Ghalib’s ghazals for me when a class assignment required me to do so. You taught me how to recite and understand. You were proud of me, I know you were. Your love for Noman Ijaz and Baber as brilliant actors always baffled me.
I still remember your shocked face when I recited the entire gar mujhe yakeen ho by faiz ahmed faiz, you couldn’t believe it. Nano, remember you used to call and say ‘ hira! Come early tonight, we’ll watch that long play, its by umera ahmed’.
The discussion that we had about dastak na do, one of your favourite books. Infact, it was you used to narrate umera ahmed’s stories to me and get me interested to the point of actually reading the book myself. I remember nano. I remember all of this, your passion and craving for literature. Your favourite ghazal was aaj janay ki zid na karo, you loved listening to it..