Captains Log: Star Date Supplemental

The ‘Twilight Zone’ was on of my favourite NTM (yes, this harks back to the days before cable) programmes. People caught in limbo in a nasty phase of their lives (horror, mystery, murder inclusive… GST + cover charges – go figure!!!) And it was sold to susceptible viewers (myself) as prime time entertainment.

Now it scared the socks off me, but watch it, I did.

The TV was in ami baba’s room and ami, dog-tired from a day of many responsibilities would be sound asleep. Baba (I get this from him) and I would watch it together. Every Thursday at 11.30 pm.
Back then Friday and Sunday used to be holidays at the Convent. Aitchison had Fridays and Saturdays off, but we had to go in on Saturdays to take another holiday the next day. But someone said the “nuns do it better” and so we stuck to the nuns. One time the governor died on a Saturday… maybe it was a nun, I forget… but we got three days off together. Never was I so happy about someone dying. The weekend must have been spent in trivial pursuits, but I still relish the memory of that serendipitous weekend.

Okay, so the Twilight Zone. Yes, so I watched it with Baba every Thursday with ami grunting a disapproving sleepy “Uh Hun” from under her pillow (she always slept with a pillow on her head back then) on the scary ‘thud thud’ parts.

Now I am the eldest in a family of three. The other two are boys. As a self respecting tom boy, with a reputation for being the toughest girl on the ‘daid einth ki masjid’ there was no way I could show fear.

Baba would never have said anything to the contrary but back then the walls had eyes and ears.

So the best way to manifest fear in a respectable manner was to take up baba’s request to press his feet. That way even if I wasn’t pressing him, I’d be holding on to his foot and when scared could just put it down to actually doing what I was supposed to do. i.e. press him.

For the record I don’t remember any episode of the series. But I remember ami, baba and me by the opaque light of the 29” Sony Wega.

It was a good life.

Comments

Azam said…
ambreen sister,
its fills my heart with joy to see you bloggin...
i must confess that i am leaving the in depth reading to another time as i have a 'culture' (something i am cleary deficient in) paper due...
take care and keep em coming...

best wishes
6:05 PM
Azam said…
'nuns do it better'
mother terressa and sister cross would not approve...
be as it may...
it 'was' a good life?
am i dead? im still around, bub!!
and i love it when people die and we get unexpected but appreciated holidays...
heres to long weekends!!!
11:35 PM
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