Birthday Bouquet

Week 46	November 10, 2014	November 16, 2014

1.     Preamble:

The month of November (High: 25 C ; Low: 10 C; Humidity: 29%) heralds as usual the arrival of winter. It coincidentally is also the month, which brings forward maximum number of family birthdays, prompting us to celebrate them as we do going through the memory lane, remembering and reminiscing about the celebrants besides also their current status. This week we will be celebrating the birthdays respectively of our daughter in-law Tania Hasan Iqbal (13 November) and One of our grand daughters Rehma Omar Iqbal (15 November). In the last week, we will celebrate the birthday of our son Saad Iqbal (28 November).

With the advent of winter the oranges on our farm have started yellowing before they turn orange .  Last week we talked about Mandarins (Early Fruiter) which are now fully mature for consumption. This week we will talk about other oranges, which are in the process of changing colour.

Before we introduce our Birthday Celebrants, it might not be out of place to talk about some of the winter vegetables that have almost suddenly sprung up at our farm. 

2.     Yellowing of Oranges:

We talked about oranges when they were green and still growing in size. During the previous week we showed pictures of oranging of Mandarins/Tangerines. This week we will include pictures of yellowing of Oranges. It is necessary to provide an update on them as they acquire the size and colour. Here, we will look at the sweet oranges (Mussambi) and small size red blood oranges. The orange trees are so heavily loaded that their branches laden with fruit lie prostrate on the ground.

3.     Winter Vegetables:

Starting last week, we are having an early crop of such winter veggies as Spinach, Fenugreek, Turnip and Radishes (white and red). These should be followed by Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brussls Sprout and Broccoli next month in-shaa Allah.

4.     Family Events:

4.1.  Tania's Birthday (13 November):

It is close to 16 years when Tania came into our lives. These 16 years were glittering years of happiness for us all but more so for Hasan, our eldest son to whom she wedded. Both of them were blessed with two lovely daughters Eemaan and Avizheh in due course, filling theirs as well as, our lives with joyous contentment.

Tania and family live in Lahore, where she teaches  at the Lahore School of Economics (LSE). Like Hasan, she too is a MBA from IBA, Karachi. Alongside teaching, she is also working at the same institution for a DPhil degree. Presently, Tania besides being a loving daughter in-law, a caring wife to Hasan and often a pampering mother to Eemaan and Avizheh is a conscientious teacher, a devotedly aspiring professor and a great caretaker of households: hers, her parents and ourselves even if it means inquiring about our well being all the while when we happen to be travelling. She is the darling of a sister in-law to our sons: Omar, Saad and Taha and their wives Sadaf, Sahar and Shaema. I can not possibly go into details but she has been very considerate on many a counts. Starting very early in the morning, she would ready the girls for school, prepare breakfast and then drive them to their schools before leaving for LSE often for a full day of lecturing students and herself attending MPhil classes followed by collecting the girls from school. Her preoccupation with the girls and her own house chores is a never ending saga which continues till late in the night. In spite of all this she is a never complaining model of a modern Pakistani woman, the parallel of which is almost impossible to find even in the developed world. I often wonder: Is Tania a machine or a Jinn? This, of course I say more out of compliment, love and appreciation than comparing her with a lifeless existence or a supernatural entity.

Tania is God gifted. She is charming and very caring indeed. Knowing fully well how busy and preoccupied she always is, we plan our visits to them very carefully but whenever we do, she is constantly worrying and on the tenterhooks about our comfort at the level of nothing less than a five star quality. We are more than aware that she is always the chief executioner of any plans and arrangements that are made relating to their holiday trips abroad or regular Umra sojourns that the family so richly deserves. Only last year she took the family to Europe going to places like Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Thanks to the modern gadgetary of instant transmission of pictures, we remained with them wherever they went. In this way we are permanently with them and can't remain without saying how wonderful this life is with them, for which we are ever so grateful to Allah Subhanahu.

Happy birthday and many happy returns of the day Tania! Thankyou for making our family ever so happy and smiling. We bow our heads in the realm of Allah Allmighty for His blessing in your shape. May you always be happy and may you achieve all your goals and ambitions in flying colours.

4.2.  Rehma's Birtday (15 November):

Rehma is the second daughter of our second son Omar and second daughter in-law Sadaf. She was born in 2008 at Lahore when Omar was posted at Chunian Cantt. She will be six years old on November 15. She is plump and petit baby of a girl. We've not seen her childhood but huggingly adore her all the same and why not for her instant Dada and Dadi. Most of her childhood was spent at Shorekot, where Omar was posted as Squadren Leader at the Rafiqui Airbase. She is smiling and laughing when she is in good mood but when she is not, you may have to tempt her with toffee and chocolate, which would allow her to giggle and laugh again. She now goes to PAF School at Faisal Airbase, Karachi to which Omar has now moved. Rehma is smart and intelligent and is doing well in her studies. Occasionally, she would talk to us on phone and make us very happy. It is ironical that being away, we can't make her as happy specially on her birthday, which she so richly deserves but we sure would make up for that when we get together again insha Allah.

Happy birthday Rehma. We are sure, Ammi has prepared a nice yummy cake for your birthday. Have a nice and enjoyable day with your Abbu, Ammi, Hamza, Hiba and little Yahya.