Afghanistan's Gem Hunters | Afghan Scene Magazine - Asia-Africa ...

it allAfghan Scene December 2009 it allAfghan Scene December 2009with a sense of confidence, young men andwomen moved quickly in novel innovativedirections with fresh enthusiasm.Suddenly we had a choice of Afghan, Italian,German, French and Chinese cuisine, servedwith superb Czech beer, or, if you preferred,Afghan wine from a newly opened Italianwinery. Restaurant interiors were tastefullydecorated to match the provenance of theirmenus. A posh establishment using Afghanarchitectural designs and specializing inregional Afghan dishes was especially popularamong young Afghan couples. The pianist atthe Nuristani cocktail lounge drew many loyalcustomers. There were snack and pizza bars,ice-cream parlors, a jazz club, bars, cabarets,tennis, golf and riding clubs, a ski lodge and abowling alley. At a dimly-lit nightclub wherethe walls were hung with scarlet and goldbrocade, couples twisted happily to the latestwestern hits; elsewhere one sat on Afghancarpets and supped on Afghan delicacieswhile Kabul’s stellar musicians played in thebackground.Kabul’s nightlife continued brisk late into theevening.Swelling the patrons of these entertainmentswere swarms of tourists, until then a rarity.Waves of hippies stocking up on Afghanistan’smuch prized marijuana went on east in searchof gurus in Nepal and Goa, passing carloads ofPakistanis coming west to enjoy Kabul’s fineweather, its shops crammed with luxury importsfrom all over the world, a shopping paradise,and - not least - lengthy showings of filmsfrom India. By 1969, of the more than 63,000tourists recorded, 26,000 came from Pakistan.Hotels were soon built to cater to these tourists.A luxury hilltop hotel offered spectacularviews from its elegant fifth-floor restaurant;its terrace swimming pool was graced byKabul’s social elites attired in bikinis.The bikini-clad Afghan ladies wereadmittedly an exception. Most families stillpreferred to relax at day-long picnics ingardens dotted around the city, outings whichhighlight all our memories. Nevertheless, bythe early 70s families from the burgeoningmiddle class began to hold weddings inmodest downtown hotels at which menand women mixed freely, dancing to livebands late into the night. Elsewhere womenwere highly visible. They worked in everyoffice and in numbers of factories, filled theclassrooms at Kabul University, and schoolgirls crowded the sidewalks as schoolsfor girls expanded. Scores of fashionableboutiques and hair styling salons ownedand operated by women opened throughoutShahr-i-Naw’s residential section.Women were prominent speakers atcountless week-long international seminarscelebrating the anniversaries of famous poets,writers and thinkers. Periodic art exhibitionsand poetry readings were always wellattended,as were the daring productionsput on at the Kabul Theatre. Desire Underthe Elms held the city enthralled for weeks.At Afghan Films, actresses gave powerfulperformances in productions ranging fromhistorical spectaculars to tragedies withgripping social statements.It is thus possible to look back at all thiswestern modernity and think of Kabul as avibrant city full of fun, forgetting that therewas a darker side. While some familiesBAKSHEESH: An old school traffic policemen in the days before ubiquitous bribes34Afghan Scene December 2009www.afghanscene.comwww.afghanscene.comAfghan Scene December 200935