It was not a chilly night or a warm Summer Sunday, It was not during the monsoon rains or the majestic autumn with its multiple shades of scarlet and rust. “Sept” is a prefix in Latin, meaning “seventh”, but even then it is the ninth month of the calendar. Maybe this is one of the many reasons why I am so out-of-order. Third September Nineteen Ninety Eight, the day when I opened my eyes at exactly 9:25 pm. I guess that is the reason I like nights more than I like days.
“The two most important days in your life are the day when you are born and the day when you find out why.”-Mark Twain.
Luckily, I've witnessed the former, but unfortunately I'm still waiting for the later. To understand a person it is necessary that you
understand his/her origins. Being a member of a Syed household, there are a
million things I should take pride in.
Let’s talk about the unfathomably large paternal side first. My father, Syed Salman Jaffer Jafferi was born somewhere in the district of Utraula, India to Mr. and Mrs. Hassan Jaffer Jafferi. My grandmother, Noor Jehan being extraordinarily beautiful and cheery celebrated the birth with an evergreen enthusiasm.
Being the first son of a ‘muhajir’ family it was almost impossible for him to marry my mother at a young age.
The family migrated to Pakistan in 1962 where in 1996 in Karachi he married my forever-lovely, poised and graceful mother. The elegance fused with my father’s craziness and hence, I, a beautiful mess was born.
Let’s talk about the unfathomably large paternal side first. My father, Syed Salman Jaffer Jafferi was born somewhere in the district of Utraula, India to Mr. and Mrs. Hassan Jaffer Jafferi. My grandmother, Noor Jehan being extraordinarily beautiful and cheery celebrated the birth with an evergreen enthusiasm.
Being the first son of a ‘muhajir’ family it was almost impossible for him to marry my mother at a young age.
The family migrated to Pakistan in 1962 where in 1996 in Karachi he married my forever-lovely, poised and graceful mother. The elegance fused with my father’s craziness and hence, I, a beautiful mess was born.
A few months before I actually arrived in this world, my
father got sick with Hepatitis B and after I was born my mother was prescribed
bed-rest for a few months. So basically, I started wrecking havoc since the very
start. We lived in a joint family for the first few months because both my
parents were unwell and before my first birthday we shifted our adobe to
somewhere near the maternal side of the family. Now having witnessed the
atrocities of the in-laws like every other South Asian woman my mother was
considerably happy.
My distaff side of the family is no less attractive itself.
My mother ranks second in terms of age among her nine siblings and first in
terms of the level of maturity.
When my maternal grandfather, my eternal source of inspiration left his house in Jamshoro to permanently shift to the City of Lights, the family found it hard to get financially stable at a fast rate. Then comes the vital role of my mother, being the sole bread-earner for nine continuous years.
When my maternal grandfather, my eternal source of inspiration left his house in Jamshoro to permanently shift to the City of Lights, the family found it hard to get financially stable at a fast rate. Then comes the vital role of my mother, being the sole bread-earner for nine continuous years.
I was the first newborn after years of wait for both sides of
the family. I was a blessing for my parents and a source of extreme joy and
celebration for my family. Salman’s daughter got so famous that people flew in
from England to argue over her name. Both sides claiming authority over the child,
subsiding the parents themselves reached common ground after much argument and
decided to name me Syeda Areeba Fatima Jaffer Jafferi. (Hence the extremely
lengthy and royal name.)
My mother because of my grandfather is an extremely
intellectual person. A seeker of knowledge, a fanatic for art and literature, a
fan of astrology, cosmology, astrophysics, zodiac and symbology. Her interest
in politics is never-ending. I inherited all of that from her. Whereas on the
other hand my father is a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky party animal, I got that
side of my personality from my father. He believes in living and living to the fullest and so do I, probably that's the reason why we are so close.
I remained the centre of attention of my parents and the
entire family for two years. But then we shifted our house again and Falak, my
younger sister came into being, and so did the attention. Mother narrates that
I couldn't understand Falak’s existence at first and took her as my favourite toy after that it wasn't until she was two and I was four that I understood the
concept of having a sister. Then in 2004 the final edition in the family
arrived, my only brother, Raza. The family was complete, and now the fun began.
I broke my collarbone when I attempted a fake suicide after I saw a Hollywood flick and jumped from the bed. A few years later my brother got his veins ruptured by shards of glass. My sister got admitted into the hospital due to multiple childhood issues. I was the child mostly cared for, because firstly I was the eldest and secondly I didn't like to stay well for long. One after another diseases and viruses attacked me making me a vulnerable little weakling. As mother puts it, there was not a single pediatrician left in the city who hasn't shaken his head in dismay after examining me. Flu, Cough, Cold, Myopia, Measles, you name it and I had it.
I broke my collarbone when I attempted a fake suicide after I saw a Hollywood flick and jumped from the bed. A few years later my brother got his veins ruptured by shards of glass. My sister got admitted into the hospital due to multiple childhood issues. I was the child mostly cared for, because firstly I was the eldest and secondly I didn't like to stay well for long. One after another diseases and viruses attacked me making me a vulnerable little weakling. As mother puts it, there was not a single pediatrician left in the city who hasn't shaken his head in dismay after examining me. Flu, Cough, Cold, Myopia, Measles, you name it and I had it.
On the other hand my brother had a higher content of hemoglobin in his blood and was allergic to protein. The reason we call him Iron Man. It
was not until he turned six and I turned eleven that we learned to live in a
way which was less disturbing for my parents.
I got spectacles due to endless hours I devoted to reading novels
hence it was not a surprise for my mother when at the age of eleven I perfectly
understood the technological concepts of Dan Brown’s novels.
In 2010, we went on a Pakistan Tour, Hyderabad,
Multan,Sialkot, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Murree, Naran, Kaghan, Shugran,
Mansehra, Abottabad. This was a life-changing experience for me. The plight of
the people I saw there, the harshness of the terrain, the lack of resources,
the beauty of nature and the differences in ethnicity and how the
Punjabi-Muhajir factor plays a major role in a Pakistani’s life, changed me as
whole. It broadened my perspectives and then I decided to write a novel on my
mother’s eventful life. Two chapters done I contacted AuthorHouse Publishing,
UK. It was not until they called my mother that I realized that they were
serious and I was not. The editor and publishing assistant, Gleane Burke loved
the idea of a thirteen year old Pakistani girl writing about her mother’s life.
The story of the novel as well as the person it featured, intrigued him to a
huge extent. But unfortunately mother had other ideas in mind.
As months passed I developed a deeper interest in symbology
and according to a Natal Chart I figured that my personality resembled to that
of a weeping willow tree.
“You poor weeping willow
Where have your friends gone?
It seems at this point of time everyone’s moving on.”
-Anna Marcello.
I further read that a willow tree symbolizes grief, majesty,
magnificence, essence of love and is associated with all that is feminine. It speaks
of emotions, intuition, dreaming and ambitions, so does my zodiac sign Virgo.
But I am an extremely odd person; I adopt certain characteristics
but not all. It’s a strange thought but
when you enter this world you cry and everyone else celebrates and when you
leave this world you are the one smiling leaving everyone else in tears. Just like that I am a walking talking
contradiction. I've always loved to defy, rebel and prove myself dauntless. South
Asian Literature, Religious and Political discussions have always grabbed my
attention. The reason why I attended my first Model United Nation in
2013, after which I developed in myself a great sense of devotion to Public
Speaking. Being one of the kids whose names most people in school know, I have
many friends as well as enemies. I cherish both. But there are certain friends
I am sure will never cease to exist. I am luckily the sort of person who can
fit in all sorts of gatherings and unluckily the sort of person who would argue
with even thin air. I hate to be defeated; I hate to be proved wrong. ‘Hate’ is
a very strong word, precisely the reason I used that.
I have always wanted to have an academically sound record
hence I try getting most As. Mostly I succeed in getting that despite my vociferous social life. But I never stop
trying until procrastination takes over. Balancing the bustling social life,
ECAs, studies and health has been a lot difficult for me to than other teenagers. But the main hindrance is the fact that I cannot live by rules, I
can’t be defined or tamed.
Before I finish my twenty-seven-thousand three hundred and seventy one days I’d like to discuss the two men who have inspired me the most. My father, Salman Jaffer and maternal grandfather Syed Ahmed Zaidi. In a world where people are hungry for power, greedy for money and lustful for luxuries these two are extremely extraordinary men and have helped me shape my personality more than anyone else in the walk of life.
Before I finish my twenty-seven-thousand three hundred and seventy one days I’d like to discuss the two men who have inspired me the most. My father, Salman Jaffer and maternal grandfather Syed Ahmed Zaidi. In a world where people are hungry for power, greedy for money and lustful for luxuries these two are extremely extraordinary men and have helped me shape my personality more than anyone else in the walk of life.
The remarkable thing is that it is the crowded life that is
most easily remembered, a life full of turns, achievements, disappointments,
surprises and crisis is a life full of landmarks. The empty life has even its
few details blurred and cannot be remembered with certainty. When in future I
will write down my life I want every page to contain something no one has ever
heard about.
Now let’s end this account with a very famous saying of Henry Kissinger,
“I am being frank about myself in this book. I tell of my first mistake on page 850.”
