The Atif riots

So I slept most of Sunday, owing to my late night. Meanwhile, the kites were out in full force. Basant had been banned because people were getting killed by the sharp kite wire- it was slitting their throats as the drove past. In total 13 people died during Basant for this and other related kite deaths. Strange. I awoke to go with my campers Sa'ad and Jason to a concert for Basant. At the concert, Atif Aslam was playing. He is my favorite Pakistani rocker, he is cool.

The concert was a logistical nightmare. Way too many people came. There were families and kids sitting in the front rows. Meanwhile the young guys packed in close. Security was trying to keep everyone seated but the guys wanted to get up to dance. Security and the crowds were tussling as the security was waving canes and batons. It was getting ugly. The singers were trying to keep the crowd calm. People would sit down, only to get back up. There were a few scuffles between the security and the crowd, and it was getting a little ugly. Meanwhile a comedian troop came out. Apparently midgets are funny in every culture. There was even a Pakistani version of Kramer. The concert was getting more out of control. My camper Sa'ad was gettng pissed at the guys who kept bumping into us when they got up, and started screaming at them. I had to restrain him, and try to chill him out. As things got worse, his father took a cane from one of the security guards and tried to create a little order. Eventuually we moved, but things kept getting worse. Eventually a real melee broke out, and I saw chairs being thrown. The army showed its teeth and things calmed back down, but not before there was a fight on stage between the show organizers.

Finally, after all the chaos, Atif came on. He played not more than two songs, when Sa'ad's family thought we should go because they were worried about the situation. So we waited and waded through all the chaos, only to leave 2 songs into the act we came to see. Too bad, but one of the more bizare concert experiences. After we went to Sa'ad's cousins for a huge lavish bbq.

That night I stayed with my camper Jason Dias (Yes, he is Pakistani- a Christian). The next morning I caught a bus to Rawalpindi. The bus process was weird. Daewoo runs a private bus service. The seats are all reserved, but 15 minutes before the bus if the seats haven't been claimed, you can buy a ticket. They give you a number and you wait. My number got called and I got my ticket. I am now in Rawalpindi, on my way to Islamabad which is 10 km away.