What to buy when you leave Cairo…
What to buy when you leave Cairo…
Many of my very good friends would soon be leaving Cairo… Amit and Pradeep, Arushi… to name a few… But then it is not directed towards them… if they read it and do the needful, it's purely incidental.
Some would say… buy a pyramid replica, some would say buy a Pharaoh replica, some will vouch for a Sheesha… all of this and more represent the marvelous variety that this fascinating country offers. And I will recommend almost all of them. I have bought Pyramids, Papyrus, Crystals, and whatever Khan e Khalili had to offer… but more than all of them put together, there is one thing that reminds me of the magic of Egypt.
The voice of Umm Kulthoum, the nightingale of Egypt.
I have heard it many a times, every day and many a times in a day… on the roads of Egypt, in the rickety taxis of Egypt, in the lazy coffee houses and almost everywhere. It’s the voice of Egypt… nothing comes close.
Today out of Nostalgia I heard a cassette of hers… closed my eyes, I was transferred to the streets of Cairo, driving around in a Taxi driven by a bearded driver… zipping through the Kasr al-Aini Bridge, Corniche, Zamalek, Midan Tehrir… everywhere… the dream was soothing and relaxing… the voice made me feel that I carry a part of Egypt with me, yet… and till this immortal voice remains with me… this part of Egypt will always remain with me…
The Pyramids will break down and so would the Pharaohs, Crystals will shatter and Papyrus will get old and worn… but this voice will remain as fresh, as innocent, as sensitive and as nostalgic… and beckon me back to Cairo…to Egypt…and somewhere in the oasis of Dakhla, I will sit down with this voice and remember the old days, beautiful days spent in this country. Yes I will come back.
Then… there would be no Rajesh, no Amit, no Pradeep, no Arushi, no Brahma, no Paritosh, no Juno… but this voice would remind me about all of them…
And then I would see the smiling faces of Wael, Ibrahim, Ahmed and Mohammed and Nasrallah… Mubarak or no Mubarak, Egypt would remain Egypt till this voice hums in the heart of millions over there.
This voice means so many things to me… and if one has to buy one thing…. Buy a cassette of this voice.
Many of my very good friends would soon be leaving Cairo… Amit and Pradeep, Arushi… to name a few… But then it is not directed towards them… if they read it and do the needful, it's purely incidental.
Some would say… buy a pyramid replica, some would say buy a Pharaoh replica, some will vouch for a Sheesha… all of this and more represent the marvelous variety that this fascinating country offers. And I will recommend almost all of them. I have bought Pyramids, Papyrus, Crystals, and whatever Khan e Khalili had to offer… but more than all of them put together, there is one thing that reminds me of the magic of Egypt.
The voice of Umm Kulthoum, the nightingale of Egypt.
I have heard it many a times, every day and many a times in a day… on the roads of Egypt, in the rickety taxis of Egypt, in the lazy coffee houses and almost everywhere. It’s the voice of Egypt… nothing comes close.
Today out of Nostalgia I heard a cassette of hers… closed my eyes, I was transferred to the streets of Cairo, driving around in a Taxi driven by a bearded driver… zipping through the Kasr al-Aini Bridge, Corniche, Zamalek, Midan Tehrir… everywhere… the dream was soothing and relaxing… the voice made me feel that I carry a part of Egypt with me, yet… and till this immortal voice remains with me… this part of Egypt will always remain with me…
The Pyramids will break down and so would the Pharaohs, Crystals will shatter and Papyrus will get old and worn… but this voice will remain as fresh, as innocent, as sensitive and as nostalgic… and beckon me back to Cairo…to Egypt…and somewhere in the oasis of Dakhla, I will sit down with this voice and remember the old days, beautiful days spent in this country. Yes I will come back.
Then… there would be no Rajesh, no Amit, no Pradeep, no Arushi, no Brahma, no Paritosh, no Juno… but this voice would remind me about all of them…
And then I would see the smiling faces of Wael, Ibrahim, Ahmed and Mohammed and Nasrallah… Mubarak or no Mubarak, Egypt would remain Egypt till this voice hums in the heart of millions over there.
This voice means so many things to me… and if one has to buy one thing…. Buy a cassette of this voice.
1 comment:
I would definitely ask a copy of this cassette when we meet...
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