The attendant at the local dry cleaning shop reviewed my clothes that I had given to him, and then dragged a receipt pad towards him. Filling in the details of my clothes, he asked me what my name was.
You see, that’s the hardest part. Whenever I am asked to state my name so that it could be scribbled down on the top of a receipt, I usually end up stating it twice, thrice, or even — what comes after thrice, by the way? — and then ultimately spelling it. Some cheerful fellows chuckle when they finally get it right. Some seem apologetic. Some frown when they have to cross their previous understanding of my name. And some shake their heads in disappointment as if trying to tell me that I could pronounce my own name better. Yesterday, however, I was slightly surprised when that dry cleaning shop attendant listened to my name just once, nodded his comprehension by repeating it and appending a sahab to it, and then wrote it down.
It was just some moments later that I was staring at that receipt, trying hard to find my name on it.
Now, dear readers, I invite you all to click on the image below and enjoy the calligraphic fluency of that shop attendant…
I am sure you’ll be able to find more amusing things too (for example, the “highly detailed” description of my clothes, or the terms at the bottom), but for me, this remains as a monumental piece of paper with a highly unique rendering of my name.
Aur rahay naam Allah ka…
27 comments
hani
May 8, 2007 at 7:54 pm
I can’t even see a saahib written over there, is this the full receipt, or did you intentionally tear out the name of theo cleaners?
Cause if you intentionally did it, and wanted to hide it, you left the address on it!
Aysh
May 13, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I see a ‘Manariz Sa’ab’ and never did I know that your name was Manariz and that Sahab had an ‘ain’ in it!
Btw, what’s an ‘auchtionor sale’?
And… Jahan Khaleen wahan safaii??!!!
If any defect if found in the clothes. It can be washed!!
LOL! this is really a reciept to value, Saadat. You should start a collection right away!
Saadat
May 14, 2007 at 9:25 am
Hani: Nope, I didn’t intentionally tore the top of the receipt off; the attendant tore it off from the pad like that. And that’s not the complete address, I did blur a part of it.
Ayesha: At least you can see a Manariz Sa’ab. And actually, that was “auction or sale”, but they decided to omit the space and introduce an ‘h’ instead. Nifty, right? The Jahan Qaleen Wahan Safaii is perhaps the business motto of the dry cleaners, who knows
And yes, I am thinking of starting a collection soon… maybe that would introduce a new category for the blog as well!
No One
May 15, 2007 at 4:07 am
Interesting
tahh
aapi
May 16, 2007 at 5:28 pm
the name looks like SAADIQ to me =D
knicq
May 20, 2007 at 3:02 am
“Dying work is done entirely at customer’s risk” Now I know what it means when they talk about taking someone to the drycleaners!
Its strange, but at first sight your name reads like Naaqis Khizar, which is something one might want to call Jalali Baba!
And MAN I love the jahan Qaleen wahan safai wala motto! Doesn’t get more original and abstract than that!
aapi
May 21, 2007 at 10:06 am
lolz@NAAQIS KHIZAR
awesome=D
Karl
May 24, 2007 at 5:07 pm
lolzzzzz, hey bytheway there r some better laundries as well with some educated attendent :pppp, dun ask me 4 examples cuz u’ll be highly dissappointed cuz i perosnally know none of them but wo kehtay hain na k dhoondnay say to khuda bhi mil jata hai
Aysh
Jun 2, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Asak,
Hey Saadat, I have restricted by blog to invited users only. Then it occured to me that blocking certain people would mean rudeness towards my friends. I mean… I still need to invite …er…. everyone… so what address do I invite you on. Send me a line on my email address as to what email address I invite. You see, you’ll have to log in on it, i think. Haan yeh bhi sonchney waali baat hai ke there usually isn’t much to read on my blog but… yeh aur baat hai.:)
And yes… it is time for you to update. Thank you.
aapi
Jun 8, 2007 at 2:44 pm
hayloo
Happy Burday Saadat!
=D
May this 8th June be a memorable day for years to come(No,I don’t mean the excitement of exams)
paki
Jun 9, 2007 at 7:18 pm
lol very funny
Saadat
Jun 11, 2007 at 4:17 pm
No One: Yep!
Aapi: Hein? Saadiq?
Bhaijan: I love that motto too. It’s just so… profound. And Naqis Khizar. Ah, well. Let me know though: if Jalali Baba doesn’t object, then who am I to do so?
Aapi: Hansiyay, hansiyay!
Karl: Man, good to see you after such a long time (which reminds me that I still have to visit your blog *hides*). And why don’t you come to Islamabad, we can both search for those dry cleaners.
Aysh: Yep, I know, it’s time to update. I am working on it!
Aapi: Thank you very much!
Paki: Okay, was that sarcastic? If not, then thanks!
Najam Sikander Awan
Jun 12, 2007 at 5:38 am
sorry mai thora late ho gia . “Jhaan qaleen wahan safaiii” and bill shows one shalwar,shirt and one more item saadat app kai kapray kia qaleen ki shop sai dry clean hotay if yes tu bahi diet ka socho ek he adnan sami kafi hai.
Such mai its really funny jahan qaleen wahan safaii aur bill mai shalwar qamees yeah kia gol maal hai????
Saadat
Jun 18, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Najam Sikander Awan: Hahaha! Meray bhai, aainda ehtiyaat karon ga, yaani iss qisam kay mottos ko bhi edit kar dya karon ga. Mujhay maalom nahin tha kay aap baal ki khaal utarnay lag jao gay!
GH
Jun 19, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Saadat is not a difficult name to write or pronounce. One of our colleague’s name is saadat and sara din office main Saadat sahib , saadat sahib hoti rahti hay! I was reading your tag post. I also used to watch NTM’s 7 pm cartoon show. I wasn’t a big fan of thunder cats, but used to impatiently wait for camp candy and sometimes ninja turtles too. And Daak time – i used to watch that just becuase of vivacious Nadia Khan
GH
Jun 19, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Ps: shaytaan bachaa – you know (winks)
Asma
Jun 20, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Lolz saa’dat … seems like Manaraqs to me
with the name as simple as mine … the other day my tailor was writing asma as اسمھا
Saadat
Jun 20, 2007 at 7:39 pm
GH: Saadat isn’t a difficult name to pronounce, I agree, but to those who know it already. Otherwise, I have been listening to and seeing the distortions of my name my whole life! And yep, Camp Candy was one of my favourites too, and Ninja Turtles are still my favourites; they rock! What’s so vivacious about Nadia Khan, by the way?
Asma: Manaraqs. Nice. Though اسمھا is nicer!
unaiza nasim
Jun 26, 2007 at 6:23 am
hey sahab:-) did I reda someone wishing u a birthday???
HAppy birthday and many many happy returns of teh day!
Saadat
Jun 26, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Unaiza: Thank you very much!
Najam Sikander Awan
Jun 27, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Asalam o alikum sadi
salam dua kai baad urz hai kai kesc ki mherbani aur apnay cable net provider ki zabardast service ki waja sai ajj 6 din baad dial up sai online hoon blog dekha with a password protected post bahi mere hotmail ka password dala gmail ka dala yahoo ka pass dala saray password dalay akhir post ko view kesay kuroon !!MERA PASSWORD KYA HAI!!!!
bataoo mujh ko where is technical support. Aur baal ki khaal nikalna mera haq hai kiyoon kai kurnay kai liyeah kuch aur nahi aub jaldi sai mujh ko password email kur do mera to view that post bye bye
Regards
Najam
Najam Sikander Awan
Jun 27, 2007 at 7:34 pm
At last after 6 reconnections my comment posted successfully.
Es kai liyeah mai shukrya ada kurna chaoon ga …….. (Sensor) (Sensor)
Saadat
Jun 29, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Najam Sikander Awan: Bhai sahab, itni aasani say tau password nahin milay ga. Keep trying!
Najam Sikander Awan
Jul 2, 2007 at 7:43 pm
chaloo set hai yaar mat doooo.
xill-e-ilahi
Jul 3, 2007 at 6:54 am
i cannot for the life of me figure out what he try to wrote. looks like siddarth sub to me. as someone who usually gets his name spelled with a redundant s at the end to make a complete “ass”. i know where you’re coming from.
xill-e-ilahi
Jul 15, 2007 at 11:54 am
you’ve been tagged!
knicq
Aug 3, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Salam Chotey Bhai – one post since May 08 and that too is password protected
Wassup dude?