My City's Soul.

For the past few days, my nani's been recovering from surgery in an ancient hospital in Saddar. This had made frequent trips to the heart of Karachi quite necessary, and in the midst of these trips, I have rediscovered my city. I have rediscovered the joy of fresco key dahi bhaley and burns road ki rabri, the vulgar billboards of bambino cinema and awe-inspiring architecture of the Jinnah courts and the various decrepit little buildings dotting the side of each road. I have been reacquainted with the paradox of a country where sex is taboo, but the china health centre, in the homeopathic alley, proudly proclaims to specialize in sex problems. I have seen a small, dimly lit, path weave it's way roughly and haphazardly through a gap between 3 buildings and for a second felt it equivalent to the alleyways of Nice. Ridiculous? Maybe. But in the past 3 days I have felt Karachi's soul and amidst the water shortages, electricity shortages and crater filled roads, it has rekindled the love I feel for this city by the sea. It has made me realize how no matter where I've been or where I've lived or where I may yet go, I always have and always will return. How I belong to this city and how it belongs to me. It's my home, but more importantly, it's my identity, for I....am a Karachiite.