IIS Alumni Newsletter 2014

Cultural Connections
HUMANS OF MALL ROAD
by
Ambreen Barwani (STEP 2012)
Zara Mohammad (STEP 2014)
Let me tell you a tale about humans of Mall Road
It’s bright vibrant and full of colours
But it’s a bit grim too
As the sun seeped through the yellow leaves
We saw a few kids collecting wood
Nooria was one of them and she worked hard for
her livelihood
She looked kind of cool
But she didn’t go to school
Next we met Shainoor and Ali Raza
They made popcorn, with some twist and maza
They worked hard every day
But why they didn’t go to school, they didn’t say
Walking along this busy road
We met an old man, wise and bold
Mohammad Rafiq was his name
He sat on a chair with a stick in his hand
Those beautiful blue eyes
Which didn’t belong to this land
In this cold weather
When people shivered
A hot cup of green tea
Is what Abdul Waris served
Then we spotted a corner shop at the end of the street
Where antiques, handicrafts and jewelry were sold by
Haseeb
He was 21yrs old; and determined to leave his job to
study abroad
In the midst of this busy street
We spotted Khursheed
He had something to offer
Pink fluffy clouds of sweet
Ali, Ahmed, Zain and Fatima
Hanging alongside each other against the wall
Crafted with wood, they swayed in the air
Because they weren’t humans at all