Church Street 18 and 19چرچ اسٹریٹ ۱۸ اور ۱۹

When I was little in Qayumabad, we used to play in the streets and alleys all the time. Back then, girls also used to play outside in the streets. Like, we had so many games with different names like ‘Oonch Neech ka Pahaar’, ‘Baraf Pani’ (freeze tag), and many other local games. Girls used to play freely in the streets, they even used to play cricket, but now things are not like that anymore. Nowadays, if girls around twelve or thirteen years old play outside, people start talking and saying things like, ‘She’s standing outside,’ or ‘She’s playing with boys.’

Back in our times, we used to play in the narrow lanes too, which people called the small alleys. Our house had two doors, one opened onto the main street and the other opened into the small alley behind the house. Those smaller alleys were actually very clean, there wasn’t any garbage there. Nobody would casually throw trash around because garbage collectors used to come regularly, and people paid them for cleaning. Even if there wasn’t a proper system at some point, people would still dispose of waste properly near the stormwater drain(Nadi).

Women used to sit together in the alleys, and we children would sit with our mothers or with the mothers of our friends and neighbors. Especially in those days, many women had traditional clay ovens (tandoors) in the small alleys where they baked loaves (roti) together. There was a lot of unity and togetherness back then. People had more time. They would sit together, gossip, laugh, and spend time with each other. But now, after all these years, when I look at the environment of Qayumabad, I often ask people myself: ‘Why was it so much better before?’ Earlier, the streets were wider and the atmosphere felt open and peaceful. Now, wherever you go, all that is left is chaos, carts standing everywhere, rickshaws parked, cars blocking roads, waste everywhere etc. The lanes have become so narrow. Beggars are sitting everywhere too. It’s hard to even explain properly.

Of course, people are trying to earn a living. They start small businesses in tiny spaces and occupy whatever little area they can. We can’t really blame them for trying to survive.

I’ll also tell you this about Qayumabad: in earlier times, weddings used to happen inside the streets themselves. The lanes were wide and beautifully decorated when the wedding processions arrived. Those weddings were so lively. But now, weddings no longer happen in the streets because the lanes have become too cramped, and that spirit of togetherness no longer exists. Nowadays, people prefer wedding halls and say things like, ‘Don’t invite this person, don’t invite that person.’

Back then, even though relatives were fewer, neighbors felt like family. When weddings happened in the streets, the whole neighborhood participated. Bands would play loudly, and even if the wedding was two streets away, the joy spread everywhere. When the wedding procession passed through our street toward the bride’s house, people would throw coins and money from the balconies. Us children, would run to catch them. In those days, there were two-rupee notes, five-rupee notes, even ten-rupee notes, and we used to excitedly pick them up right there in the street. There used to be so much liveliness in those days.

We also used to go to church together. Everyone would call out to each other, saying, ‘Come on, it’s almost six o’clock, let’s all go to church together.’ The church bell would ring like ‘tan tan tan’ and all our friends from St. Francis School would gather together. Someone would say, ‘Come at this time, let’s go together.’ It used to be such a beautiful and joyful time.