JADOO ZINDABAD!!!

I had several mutual friends with Jadoo at Facebook form a long period of time but we never really added each other. I didn't know him much but all I can sense from his statues or comments posted here and there at Facebook told me that he's a very respectful human with liberal and secular approach towards life. He will never rub his religiosity into people's face while having a discussion and will always draws analogy from humanism. Whenever, there will be any incident of discrimination or violence, against any one, from any one, he will always be there, unapologetically voicing his thoughts against it.

Though that wasn't enough to impress me because I know and have seen many online activists who talk and talk, accuse every one under the sun and will use all the possible 'shoulds' in the world just to show how much they care for issues and people, but sadly only online. Because when it's about getting together and working for it, they will have some personal commitment or professional liability to fulfill but will promise to come back with unlimited zeal, once again only online.

So, I thought he's one from that bunch of 'online activists,' but I was mistaken. As we become friends online, I came to know that's it's not like that. Being raised in a conservative and traditional family, and the way he has taken a shift from the tradition perspective calls for an everyday battle. He haven't told me so but I am assuming that his family might have been giving him a tough time, because that's what happened with me and it's still going own.

In Pakistan, people with secular and humanist mind set have to start waging battles from their own homes before going out and speak what is right at human level, instead of following any religious, cultural or social standards.
The way he denied to sign the document for his passport renewal, which was declaring Ahmedi community non-Muslims and the arguments he had with a renowned bookstore of Pakistan to remove anti-Ahmedi community books from their shelves is pretty amazing.
So, having such a strong and humanist ideological approach, we really get along with each other. Moreover, having an actually mature and sophisticated taste in music and art, made him even a more appropriate person to hangout with.

Another thing which I want to mention is that he neither tried to convert or discriminate me when I came out to him. The respect and the impeccable understanding he bestowed upon me was beyond my expectation. Though he was curious about the dynamics of gay sub-culture, and I instantly gave him a crash course in it as well as in Punjabi language and turned every stone up to ruin his sophisticated Urdu, which I was unable to do so far, but as they say, you never know.

So, I have been looking forward to meet him on my Karachi visit but when most of my so called 'friends' got issues and denied to see me, I started thinking that now he wouldn't be meeting me also. I was wondering that my own community members denied to see me than how can he would be comfortable in meeting me. And I mentioned that to him but he didn’t change his mind. I even tried to explain that I am out to many people and a LGBTQI activist who might earn him a bad name, so he should consider about his repute but he gave me shut up call and planned to meet me.

We met at dinner time and first thing I noticed was that he looked much younger than his profile photo and then I hugged him. He was wearing a black polo t-shirt and blue jeans and I asked him, "Do you know what you are wearing?"
And he replied in his dignified typical Karachi style Urdu, "Matlub"?
"I have heard that there's a gay group in Karachi meeting regularly at Farrer Hall and when one is going there first time, he has to wear black t-shirt and blue jeans as a dress code."

And I started laughing and poor Jaddo joined me with his embarrassed laughs.
We went to a fancy restaurant at Zamzama Boulevard. It was a tiny yet comfortable restaurant and we started off with a potato soup. I never liked soups but he insisted and I thinking of trying some Karachi stuff complied and amazingly I found that potato soup really yummy. After that I asked him to order something having rice and white sauce in it. It has always been very hard for me to order anything, so every time I go out to eat something, my friends order for me, after I tell them what I want in general, like rice, chicken, pasta, etc. It was a yummy food indeed. Really yummy. We talked about our mutual friends at Facebook, about life, activism and life in general. I also registered my protest to him that since my arrival at Karachi, I hadn't seen any handsome guy which is highly objectionable. To which he started laughing and said, "Acha! aisa hai."

Then we went for dessert and I ordered a cone of some weird flavor, which I have never had in Lahore before. Then we roamed around here a there while talking and talking and he dropped me at my rest house. He also gave a wonderful book along with a magazine I asked him once and I was so much amazed about that. I never mentioned that magazine again to him and it wasn't on my mind when I reached Karachi, even when I was going to meet him, but he was so thoughtful that he brought it anyway. It was a really nice hangout which rejuvenated me out of all my day long, tiring work.
Next day, we once gain met and this time we went for a desi food and had some yummy chicken gravy at Boat Basin, while sitting on traditional takhts. It was Sindh's culture day as well and people were celebrating it on the road, while dancing on Sindhi tunes, in ajjraks. It was nice to see all this cultural exhibitionism while having food. It was also a really nice hang out yet again.

Jadoo's hospitality, respect and understanding are worth mentioning. My trip to Karachi wouldn't have been so much fun without him. And it's also an honor to meet an individual of such a pure heart and transparent personality who is though grounded in his culture and traditions yet so much reasonable and humane in his approach that one keeps on wondering how he got that balance. His tolerance and forbearance are the most shinning characteristics of his personality I wish that if we can have many more people like Jadoo, then Pakistan will become a progressive and tolerant society, which willn't marginalize any Christian, Shiite or Ahmadi Muslim, under privileged class or queer. A big hug for Jadoo.

Photo Courtesy: Google