Letter to the Olympian

Dear Mr. Rodriquez,

      I fell honored as I am writing this letter to you today. Whenever I saw you playing Table Tennis smashing the ping pong all over the table, I envied you very much as l have a passion for the sport too.

     I am from Pakistan and the fat is really in the fire here. No mega sports event has been taking place here in the wake of terrorist activities in our country. People are reluctant to come out and encourage the domestic sports events due to the terror prevailing in the society. In this scenario, I am more than ever longing for an exciting sports event to happen. London Olympics 2012 are nearing and I am already geared up in advance. I am pretty much sure that you would be practicing day in and day out with all your paraphernalia for the mega event too.

     Olympics is a platform which boasts of a multitude of sports, cultures and talent. People from all over the world watch the event closely and enjoy it. Those who attend in person present a beautiful view with people from different nationalities flocked together. But the special feature which I like very much is that nobody feels left out or bored as he finds a sport of his liking. Hockey, Badminton, Basketball, Fencing, Poll Vault, Skiing, Athletics and now Squash too. Then again, Pakistan would have somewhere to represent herself too.  It would help the country to come out of dejection and isolation, offering some cheerful moments to the fans back home.

     I hope everything goes perfectly well until then. Wish you good health and good practice ahead of the big challenge.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Martin.

Lahori Food

Food......Sub-Continent Food....Pakistani Food.....Lahori Food.

      “Jinnay Lahore nae Vakhia o Jamia ee nae”. This phrase has been echoing around the area and everybody must have listened to it at least dozens of time . The reason behind it seems evident: the attraction the city of Lahore presents to the indigenes as well as the nonnatives. And its very main feature is the delicious Lahori Cuisine alluring people of all ages and tastes. In fact, Lahore is a city with an extremely rich food culture.  The essence of attraction of people to Lahori Food lies in its taste, variety and also the large number of restaurants and hash houses offering the food at competitively cheaper rates.

       The main characteristic of Lahori Food is its delicious taste. There is a wide range of dishes according to the taste and liking of every person. If someone likes moderately spicy food, then he should have a try at Biryani, Hareesa and Daal Gosht. Conversely if the inclination is towards the spicy elements of cuisine, then Nihari, Haleem, Gosht Karahi and Siri Paye are up to the mark. Liked alike by everybody here, even the foreigners coming to Lahore are not an exception to the captivating and enticing taste of Lahori Food. They too want to relish the great taste and experience the course after course of mouth watering delicacies.

      The variety which Lahori Food offers is very wide ranging and according to the predilection of every individual. Sometimes in a restaurant, a person gets bamboozled to choose from the large number of dishes available. The variety in taste lies from extremely spicy to very little spicy and extremely sweet to extremely salty. Even if to start from the breakfast, the choice becomes difficult in the presence of Halwa Puri, Channay, Kulchay, Kachori, Maghaz, Pathoray, Paye and Lassi. And the variety in lunch and dinner is exceptionally gargantuan. MurghCholay, TakaTak, Nihari, GurdayKapooray, Seekhi Kabab, MurghMusallam, ZafraniMutton, Mutanjan and LahoriChargha are the specialties ascribed to the Lahori culture. Scrumptious and mouth watering Fried Machli is another forte of Lahore whose sale reaches its vertex with the approaching winter season. The beverages taken alongside food include Lassi; both sweet and salty, Gannay ka Rus, NimbuPani and Qehva. The sweet dishes after proper meal are very famous and include Kheer, Zarda, Rabri, Firni, Falooda, Halwa, GulabJaman, Shahi Tukray, Rasmalai, Baklawa and many others. But if a person is filled up to the brim and is longing for some light snacks, he is not disappointed there too. Samosas, FruitChaat, ChannaChaat, DahiBhallay, BhailPuri and GolGappas are at his beck and call to satisfy his appetite. 

       People have with them a very wide ambit of restaurants and eateries to choose from and enjoy the Lahori Food. The archetypal traditional touch is found in the road side restaurants and Dhabas inside the walled city. Phajja inside Texali Gate is considered an authority in preparing delicious, sticky Siri Paye which are famous through out Pakistan and are oft-quoted in this regard. The food street in Gwalmandi is a hub of all such kind of restaurants and a paradise of the customers where they can find food according to their varying tastes. Lines of shops on both the sides of road become overcrowded at certain times so much so that they have to put up with the customers at their room access. Kebabs are famous of Bhayya of Model Town, Muhammadi Nihari House is renowned for Nihari, Siddiq and Sardar for Fried Machli and Goga and Aashiq for Channay and Haleem. M.M. Alam Road has recently emerged with many new restaurants including Bundu Khan, Salt n’ Pepper, Village, Namak Mandi and Bar.B.Q. Tonight.

    There are some unfortunate people who in spite of living in Lahore for ages have never had the privilege to savor the Lahori Food. This is in fact, a part of our cultural heritage and we should be the ones to promote and experience it. At least once trimonthly, an excursion to these places should be made. That’s for dang sure that the taste, variety and vast choice of restaurants would not leave a person wandering or disappointed.