Mohammad S Khan

Professor Michal Eskayo

ESL 100

November 11, 2018

Lost in Translation Essay Draft 3

                                                        My Night Life in Karachi

            I am far away from Karachi, but still I can smell its presence.   Karachi offers an interesting and diverse night life scene that has many activities and experiences. Karachi has a large a selection of bars, cafes, amusement parks, restaurants and clubs, so whatever the type of venue people are looking for, you will find something to suit your taste. A few years ago, when I went to Karachi with my family, I saved all the good memories of the people, friends, food and the night life of Karachi. The things that I still miss here are my friends, street food and relatives of Karachi

            Firstly, I experienced the best night life in Karachi with friends. We used to gather around at tea cafes and enjoy our meal or tea while playing board games or cards and provide good company to each other. In addition, I used to live in an apartment in Karachi and I still miss my neighbor’s friends as well. Every night when we were all tired from work, we all gathered at a community park and shared our whole day with each other. Last week, I called one of my friends and we talked continuously for three hours and discussed all our previous moments that we had together in Karachi. Once a month we also used to visit clubs for social gathering. Apart from Karachi, I also have friends in Chicago, but I have limited friends here. They live far away from my residence, and it is very difficult for me to hang out with them every night or go to dinner every week. I remember I had great moments for example, one of my college mates arranged a birthday party for me at her home.

            In addition, I still miss the night street food of Karachi because I tried so many places in Chicago, but still I can’t find the true taste of Karachi’s street food.  To enjoy the perfect moment of street food in Karachi night was best. Every Saturday night my father used to take my mother, my brothers and me to the Burns Road. It is the famous for street food place in Karachi. The specialty of this place is that the food is prepared in front of the famous chiefs. I love to eat together especially with family because it can be the best moment for me to express my love for my family. In Chicago, I went to Devon, which is known as the Indo-Pak area because you can find any Pakistani and Indian restaurant easily over there. When I went to Devon with my parents to eat Pakistani cuisine at restaurant for the first time, I did not like it because my tongue was not ready to accept the taste of that food. In Karachi, the street food was very spicy, and I like spicy food.  Furthermore, when I used to go on vacation or any kind of road trip. During the journey, when we saw any place of street food, we stopped our vehicles over and eat the food with all relatives and capture the moment by clicking selfies to make it memorable. I also had a road trip in Chicago too. I went to Indiana from Chicago with my parents at night to visit my aunt and during the trip we stopped at Starbucks to have a coffee, but Karachi road trip was matchless.

            Finally, I also miss my relatives because the evening celebration Eid night celebrations were memorable with them. I live here in Chicago with my family, and all my relatives live in Karachi. Each year Muslims celebrate two Eids which are a gift from God. The first is to celebrate in the year is “Eid-ul-fitr”. In this Eid, Muslims mostly share sweets, wear traditional clothes and visit relatives. When I was in Karachi, I remembered that my parents used to gathered around at my grandmother’s home and my relatives also came over. Altogether, ate food, shared sweets and my elders used to give money to young ones which is known as ‘Eidi”. It was very exciting moment especially for me because I was the one who pinched my cousins that I received more money than my cousins and they all argue with each other over money. Moreover, the second Eid is “Eid-ul-Azha”. In this Eid Muslims sacrifice sheep, goat, cow or camel in the name of God, share meat with people and prepare BBQ. I was the person who always waited for this Eid because I would get a chance to prepare BBQ with my uncle at night. I was the only person at the young age who used to help the elders with the cutting and cleaning of animals. I used to help my uncle grill or bake BBQ at night and serve it with my relatives. We all ate it together near the bonfire. These moments that I had it in Karachi are unique, and I still miss it here in Chicago. Eid is very boring in Chicago for Muslims because mostly Muslims of Chicago have their relatives in their home country. In Chicago, I used to go any BBQ restaurant with my friends or family to spend a good quality time with each other.

            These things I still miss in Chicago because I am far away from Karachi, but still these elements run in my veins. There are also luxurious places over here. However, vision of Karachi is still in my head. My tongue is still searching for that taste of food that I had it in Karachi. My eyes are waiting for my relatives, and my body is looking for that excitement that I had it back there. Whenever, I visit Karachi again I will rewind all these memories.