A VILLAGE BARBER
Life in a city is busy and active. Hardly any one gives importance to Such persons as the postman and the barber. It is not so in a village. There, leaving aside the landlord, the barber is the most important person. A village has a small population1 where nearly all know one another and barbers, being very few, are known to everybody. |
| Village barber |
But a village barber is distinguished not because he is well known but because he performs certain functions that are considered important in village life. He is, no doubt, a professional who knows his trade very well. Villagers come to him to have their hair cut and their beards shaved. But getting one s hair dressed by him is no dull affair.
He is a good conversationist. He knows how he amuses his customers with jokes maxims and anecdotes He is well aware of the incidents happening in his and the neighbouring villages. The causes of domestic quarrels and disputes between the villagers are not hidden from him. He usually sits in the village centre, Daira, where men of all types gather and express their opinions, discuss matters, and exchange gossips.
Thus he knows almost every thing one can think of about the village and its people. He can be rightly called the village-encyclopaedia. Usually, he is the unofficial surgeon and physician of the village. He is not necessarily a quackn though very often he is. But the surprising thing is that the villagers have full faith in him. He is considered to be an expert at setting the broken bones, and his famous ointment for boils and wounds is said to be extremely effective.
He knows something about herbs and he uses his limited knowledge wisely At times, his little learning may prove dangerous. He plays a prominent part on ceremonial occasions. On the occasion' of a marriage, he has complete charge of cooking business. If he is a good cock and there is no reason why he shouid not be, he receives a handsome payment for his services.
The rites of circumcising newly born boy are performed by him Sometimes, he himself starts the process that culminates in marriage ceremonies. He has accurate information about the marriageable youths of the village and acts as a match-maker If his suggested matches are accepted by the parties, he is sure to get a good reward. The duties and performance of a village barber make him indispensable for the villagers. Every village needs his services. He humours every one and is liked by all.
A VISIT TO A BIG CITY
Last winter we, a group of ten students, went to Karachi. Our college had arranged this tour. Our Professor, Mr. Nacem Hassan, was incharge of the party. All of us had looked forward to this tour. We had not seen Karachi, but had heard from people that it was a wonderful city. |
| Karachi(sea view) |
In particular we were very eager to see the ocean. It was the 25th of December when we left Lahore by train. The journey was long The winter was more severe than usual. But we were happy, and the long, slow journey did not dampen our high spirits. Next day we reached Karachi late in the afternoon.
We went straight to the Boy Scouts Hostel on the New Queens Road where we had arranged to stay. On our way to the hostel we had our first view of Karachi.
The very first thing we noticed was that the roads were very wide. The traffic was , much greater than that we had seen in Lahore.
The number of cars we saw on the roads indicated the prosperity of the city. The buildings were really palatial. On reaching the Hostel we felt tired. We decided to spend, the evening quietly in our rooms. Next day, early in the morning, we began our tour of the city. First of all we went to the mazar of our beloved leader, Quaid-i-Azam, to pay our homage.
After offering fatcha we went to the house where Quid-i- Azam; was born .It was an old three-storied building. The room where our leader was born was on the first floor. Some of the furniture and clothes of-Quhid-i- Azain were on show in the room. After this we went to Cliften Beach, the most popular picnic resort in Karachi. .There we saw the sea for the first time.
A great expanse of water was before us. It stretched as far as the eye could see. We went into the sea for a swim. Our Professor was all the time advising us to go very far in the sea. After the swim, we had tea in a restaurant on it's beach. It was now time for lunch So we returned to the city. After taking a lunch we felt rather tired and decided to rest for a couple of hours. In the evening we went out and roamed in the bazars till late in the night.Karachi is a big city. The bazars and roads were full of people.
Every one seemed to be in a hurry, The big hotels of Karachi were splendid buildings. They were richly decorated .Very brightly lift and filled with the sounds of music and laughter. Ncxt day we visited Karachi port and Maiiora Island The naval authorities very kindly allowed us to visit the PNS Jehilum .The officers and men of the ship were very courteous. They slaved us all over the slup and explained everything we wanted to learn.In the evening, we went to see the airport.
The first item on our programme for the next day was a visit to the State Bank. It was a magnificent building.It was even stories high .We were very much impressed by its roof,garden and tastefully decorated conference hall and library. The rest of the day we spent in visiting the National Museum and the Karachi Zoo. It was our last day in Karachi.arachi, but had heard from people that it was a wonderful city.
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