Letter from the Guest Editor
Ume Aiman Tariq
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I came up with the idea of doing a Retro Summer issue a year ago. At the time, I was contemplative and nostalgic about the summer experiences that I had growing up in Pakistan. We slept in until noon and usually skipped breakfast for brunch. Our afternoons would be spent playing badminton, table tennis, or ludo with my siblings while we waited impatiently for our father to come home. My father, a banker, owned an arcade that he managed part-time. After work, he’d ditch his car for his blue Vespa and take me and my brother to the arcade that he managed and owned part-time.
Since I was no more than 7 years old at the time, and tiny, I would stand in the little space in front of the Vespa, and my brother sat in the back seat. Standing in the front was the best. My father’s body would shield me from the piercing light of the afternoon sun. The rushing wind through my hair kept me cool through the journey. It felt like I was leaving the whole world behind as the Vespa whooshed through the busy roads.
As soon as we’d get to the shop, I’d play Tekken 3 while my brother helped my father close the register. Since the arcade was in the Qissa Khwani Bazaar (the storytelling market), the fun would start after we’d closed shop. It was always hard selecting what kind of snack I wanted. From BBQ skewered Beef Tikka with fresh naan and mint chutney, to Doodh Soda, to Falooda; there were too many things to choose from. I remember paying frequent visits to my father’s friend’s sandwich shop that sold Anda Shami Burger with Fanta. It never failed to hit the spot.
On our way home, my father would always buy fresh lady-of-the-night strings for all the ladies of the house. We’d wear them on our wrists until it was time for bed. At bedtime, we’d hang the strings from the window AC unit that would fill our room with their faint scent. The scent would linger in the house and on our wrists even through the next day.
My father sold his arcade when I was a teenager. It is now a tailor shop. The Bazaar and the food shops still exist and are always a stop for all of us siblings whenever we visit home. After I grew up, all of us siblings moved to three different continents. We now fondly look back at these memories and reminisce about how it all used to be.
For me and for all of us, summer makes the most beautiful memories. The submissions for this issue proved it. For me, summer has always been both the beginning and the ending of something new and something old. We’ve been either in love or heartbroken or lonely or lonesome in the summer. We all grew and became something more in the summer. As I end this summer on a high note, I can’t wait to see what the next summer has in store for me.
In the meantime, Happy Reading, everyone!
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