A Walk Through the City

Sometimes, all it takes is a walk through the city to understand what we've become, and what we still long to be.

- Aisha Hasnain

I'm in the Goni Khan market. Around me, old beggars sit by the road, but one elderly man stands out.

He isn't asking for alms. Instead, he’s trying to earn a living, selling cheap carry bags for Rs 10 or 20. He wears them on his arms like bangles, walking silently among the crowd. Muzamilah is with me. We take a narrow lane that loops us back to the main road.

We see another elderly man in a pheran. His right hand is held out like a beggar’s, palm facing upward. But his left arm stays tucked inside his cloak.

Then I notice his left hand emerging from the collar of his pheran, holding a smartphone to his ear as he speaks to someone. The scene feels both familiar and surreal: an image of poverty and technology layered together.

Near Dal Lake, a bold sign reads: Wine Shop. However you look at it—through a religious lens, a moral one, or even a scientific one—alcohol does more harm than good.