Tails & Tales of Nehr-e-Khayyam … Episode 1

Sunday, September 22, 2019 Heba Moeen 1 Comments

 

 

A scenic place which doesn’t ask Pakistanis for a passport

 

The cool breeze swept through the flame of the forest trees and the leaves rustled in harmony, painting a vivid reflection in the glistening canal water. The water level had risen because of Cyclone Vayu, unleashing itself in the Arabian Sea and so the mermaids complained ... 

As I sat on the bench placed along the banks of Nehr-e-Khayyam, I sipped my coffee in this pleasant monsoon weather, quite overwhelmed by an aura of introspection; the squirrels scurried up and down the dense tree cover. Within minutes, a pandemonium of parakeets came flying to munch the succulent fruits, abundantly growing around. “What a scenic vacation spot,” I thought out loud … a cruise of Chinese tourists (oh well … as CPEC’ed as we are) went past. As ebullient as they appeared, they kept waving with delight, seemingly quite happy with their apparent choice of this vacation destination.

Nehr-e-Khayyam being previously inhabited by stray dogs (called dipped doggies) now had a spot reserved for these old residents as they splish-splashed with glee, swimming and playing fetch with … well, the tourists who had spent months to get the Pakistani visa (okay whatever …) to come to this place to begin with. You know all this biometrics nonsense, travel insurance, x-rays of all 206 bones and what not … it hasn't been easy getting the visa, only a few fortunate ones came!

Someone just pulled out a trout from the crystal clear water (I know it’s a fresh water fish … can’t Nehr-e-Khayyam have fresh water???!! Don’t judge ok.) … one of the dogs pounced in to ease the misery of the fish fighting for life in air … more remains to be told about this serene place …

Haters will say it's a gutter.