Picnic.
Unexpectedly the London’s weather was very nice today. It’s quite rare in London that you have sunshine for two days and it doesn’t rain. Everybody knows that London’s weather is called gray weather, as weather was nice and it was bank holiday as well in London. Atta Sakhi was sitting on black leather sofa; he jumped when he heard weather forecasts. He just came back from work. He took off his socks and inserted them in his shoes. Stinky smell of his socks was entering in his nose. The reason of these stinky socks was that they weren’t washed since long. It was his believe that if I will wash my socks, I will have to put them in washing machine and washing machine consumes electricity. If I will use washing machine to wash them than electricity bill be higher. It will consume water as well and one has to pay water bill as well. To wash clothes you need washing powder and nobody was allowed to put washing powder in machine without his permission. They had special kind of spoon to put washing powder in machine and the advantage of that spoon was that one can’t waste washing powder. Atta Sakhi was the master of all misers. It has been forty years that he was living in London. He had two houses which were called according to Pakistani Londoners’ language “Freehold”. Which means their mortgage was paid. He already estimated their price as well. According to Pakistani currency the resale value of these two houses was fifteen crores (150 million rupees). Other than these houses he has many shops on rent in London than he was owner of a lot of property in Pakistan. If you start counting his wealth, you will be shocked that it’s enough for seven generations but he used to feel a lot of pleasure to be a kind of miser. He used to get pension from two different places. He used to get social security by some trick. Apart from all this he was working at some shop illegally without paying tax. He used to earn nearly 1500 to 2000 thousand pounds per month. He was in love with money more than his life. He never felt whiff and stink of his socks. He used to feel perfume of saving from his socks instead of stink. Like the pleasant smell of pounds. He used to take shower once a weak like this he used to save water, soup, geezer and the electricity. For him it was unbearable wastage of electricity. I started telling you something else instead of Atta Sahki’s story. He jumped from his sofa because he had one day off. After watching and hearing weather forecast he was delighted because they showed tomorrow there will be sunny for whole day. Weather was nice today and it’s was bank holiday as well but he went to work to earn double payment. As he was sitting on sofa, he said from there to his wife, “Begum tomorrow we are going for picnic”.
Begum got shocked that her husband is talking about spending money. He continued conversation with his wife, “After having my dinner I will go to my special petrol pump. At that petrol pump they don’t add anything in it. They have pure petrol and they are five pence cheaper than market”.
His wife responded him from the kitchen “But that petrol pump is thirty five kilometres far away from here. You will consume petrol as well”.
He said, “It doesn’t matter, if you use pure petrol it’s good for car’s life”.
Begum asked him further, “What’s so special in that petrol pump”.
So he said, “Begum, from there, parliament members filled their cars’ tanks, so there is no chance of impure petrol”.
“But in London who does these kind of things, nobody mix anything”, his wife asked him curiously.
Sakhi sahib said in way that he wanted to convince her, “They do this kind of thing everywhere, London isn’t special”.
After this, dining table was being decorated with dinner. Sakhi sahib washed his hands slightly and started eating. When he saw coca cola on dining table he shouted at his wife, “Why you needed to buy this expansive coca cola. This 2 litre coca cola costs 1 and ½ pound. I told you many times you should always buy cheap coca cola. Its 2 litres cola costs seventeen pence. Now there is special offer on that it cost thirteen pence”.
Begum said, “I have been to that shop but shopkeeper told me. We ordered one container but we sold it quickly”.
“You must have taken out from store; we have some bottles in store”.
“That’s no good. I saw sugar at the base of the bottle and black water was floating on the top”.
“Begum you are still stupid, you can shake it and drink it. These things, if you don’t open them they don’t get expire. Oh I forgot to ask you, where are Hatim and Batin, I don’t see them”.
“They are gone for Isha (the last prayer of the day) prayer”.
“When they will have their dinner”?
“They were telling me that they will eat donner kebab or fish and chips from city centre”.
“Begum I told you many times, always care about these things. It’s wastage of money. Everything is available at home, flour, and sugar even coca cola”.
“O! Leave this topic, one shouldn’t be that avarice”.
“Begum you don’t know, if someone spend money like this, Qaroun (Qaroun was an ancient king. he was very wealthy man) wealth will be finished”.
“You always scold your children, they are married now”.
“Anyway when they come, kindly tell them that tomorrow we are going for picnic”.
Sakhi sahib had his dinner quickly and went outside to have a look of his car’s condition.
Suddenly his ears heard a loud voice of his wife, “There is phone call for you”.
He responded her from outside, “Tell him that I am not at home”.
“It’s your elder brother’s call”.
Sakhi sahib came back home swiftly and hold the receiver and started talking. This was his bad habit that when someone used to call him, he used to talk for hours because he knew that he isn’t the one who will pay the bill. Finally he finished his conversation and placed back the receiver on the cradle and said, “It’s amazing tomorrow bhai Jan (elder brother) is going for picnic with his kids. He especially phoned me to tell this. And listen they are making smosay pakoray and chapattis. You make something as well. I mean prathay, add something with them. Make some finger chips and shami kebabs. We must have enough food for lunch and remember one thing on the way back we will be hungry so the left over we will eat as supper cum dinner. You know that food stuff is very expansive at picnic spots. Remember to take a big box of two litre bottles of water. Keep in mind to take some small empty bottles of water. It’s difficult to carry big bottles of water everywhere. I must go now. When Batin and Hatim come kindly tell them to be ready for picnic. Don’t forget to tell them they must wear such kind of clothes which one doesn’t need to iron. As you know electric iron consumes a lot of electricity. Electric meter runs very fast. It will effect on electricity bill as well”.
“Will you go or you will keep giving me instructions”.
“Okay my darling I am leaving, before you used to die to talk with me and now you want to get rid of me”
“It was different before”.
“And now”.
“Now khuda hafiz”.
After this he closed the door.
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Early in the morning in Atta Sakhi kitchen’s, light was on. Few things were ready for the picnic and rest of the things, his wife was preparing. Atta Sakhi went to the shop to buy cheap coca cola but that shop wasn’t open and container didn’t arrive yet. Sakhi sahib waited for four hour and then he got coca cola he wanted. It was 10 “O” clock in the morning. Everyone was waiting for him like his wife, sons, daughter in laws and their kids. They heard the voice, Sakhi sahib switched off his car’s engine. As he came everyone started putting food stuff in the car. When they left home it was 11 “O” clock. Until yet nobody knew that where they were going. When they left home Sakhi sahib told everyone that we are going to Brighton. He told everyone that he knows such a road they won’t need to pay road tax. It’s a long route but we will save road tax for four cars which is forty pounds. So you will have to follow me the road I will use. To go to London one needs one hour but the route which he used it was very long and there was a lot of traffic. So when they arrived at Brighton it was 3 “O” clock. When they reached Brighton everyone’s condition was very bad because of tiredness. Now Sakhi sahib raised another problem. He told everyone that he knows one place there is free parking. So everyone restarted his car and they started searching free parking. After one and a half hour they found free parking. Now they had to walk up to beach. It was nearly two kilometre walk. Everyone was loaded with mineral water bottles, pakoray, smosay, whatever food stuff they had. They had mats and cheap coca cola as well. At last they arrived at beach after one hour tiring walk. They extended mats and decorated food stuff on it like cheap coca cola, chapattis, prathay, smosay and pakoray. The prathay and chapattis became wet because they were in hotpot. Finger chips, shami kebabs, pakoray and samosay were not in eatable condition. Coca cola became shakar cola (it’s drink which made of raw sugar). Everyone was badly hungry so they ate what they had. They finished everything. When they had their lunch, Atta Sakhi announced that the cars are very far so it will take too long to go to cars. So we should leave now. Unwillingly they accepted what he said. They threw plastic bottles and papers and wastage in dustbin and folded the mat, their whole caravan started walking towards’ their cars. As they arrived close to their cars they thanked God because it took them one and half to came back. So they started their cars and took their way towards home. When they arrived home it were 11 “O” clock of night. Batin and Hatim took their way to their home with their families and Atta Sahki’s brother went to his home with his family.
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