The day starts close to dawn, a trip to the market, a bike ride to LUMS. By the time the customers start walking into the store - for breakfast, or an early lunch - it's midway through the day, but the smile doesn't reflect that. "Every customer is special, everyone must be talked to", the mantra goes through his head, "Orders can be caught up with later. Who's that new kid walking in the door? Never seen him before! Salam boss, freshie ho?"
You would think, in all this talking, that he would mention his life, but he doesn't. That's because during the day, he's one of the students, not a worker in LUMS who has to go back to a life where he can barely support his family, but someone who relates to the average person in front of him. And for these students, that's who he is. The happy guy at the counter...
Panorama of GIKI
Shot taken in April 2009 when we got special permi...
English: Close up view of Agha Hassan Abedi Audito..."Raju this, Raju that"...the litany never stops. But some things make it worth the while. The students treating him like he's part of the gang. Being at the front line, watching it all happen. Joining in the revelry as the LUMS teams beat GIKI again. All this makes it worth it.
It's hard sometimes. Watching all the kids go about their life without a care. A four year
education guaranteed by their parent's bank accounts. But if he tries hard enough, he can be just like them, share a few laughs with the popular kids, eat the same food they eat, feel like he belongs.
But there's stubborn spirit in him, the one that tells him to not care about authority and do things his way, there are wistful looks at the new watches and mobiles everyone's sporting nowadays, the side glance at that hot...