ا
alif
And when they visit, where will you put them?
ب
beh
Bahut means many in Urdu.
پ
peh
Pareshan means worry.
ت
teh
Two of you will have to sleep in the lounge.
ٹ
tteh
Ten of you will be in a photo,
ث
seh
smiling by the Tower of London.
ج
jeem
Jegga means place and space.
چ
che
Chamcha means spoon and flatterer.
ح
heh
Hosting means keeping the house
خ
kheh
khamoosh while they stay. Quiet,
د
dal
don’t talk about anything controversial.
ڈ
ddal
Don’t think they will budge; they know you will
ذ
zal
zigzag, tethered to the diaspora.
ر
reh
Roll out the red carpet for your guests.
ز
zeh
Zinda means living, zindagi means life.
س
seen
Say we go to the mosque at Eid.
ش
sheen
Show them your school certificates.
ص
suad
Surrender the more comfortable sofa.
ض
zuad
Zaroor, of course, is your answer
ط
toy
to their requests. You want them to leave
ظ
zoy
with no upset to report to the wider family.
ع
ain
An epigraph for the visit might be:
غ
ghain
Ghazal for an in-law. Or,
ف
feh
Family means poorly matched.
ق
caaf
Can we all squeeze into a car,
ک
kaaf
keep to each other’s laps?
گ
gaaf
Gari is car, ghar is house, but don’t mention
ل
laam
land or who stole what back home.
م
meem
Mohabbat means love, mehnat is hard work.
ن
noon
No conversation is as precarious,
و
vow
verbatim, as it is with relatives.
ه
choti heh
How late they go to bed. How gently you tread,
ھ
do chasmi heh
heaving expectation.
ی
yeh
You must visit us next time. Inshallah.
When we see you then, no English, only Urdu.
