One of my most mind-blowing, notorious, and out-of-the-norm experiences in life was "Bagi Lounge."
A few years back, I was introduced to a group of mature Pakistani people who were highly professional, widely read, and successful. These were unsatisfied souls with their inner selves due to conflicting religious beliefs or were exhausted from their responsibilities. They were not sure about the whole 'gorakh dhandha' of this 'chutiya fucking life' (as said by my favorite, Dr. Rehman and founder of the club). Either they were burned from failed relationships or were unhappy in their present relationships. They were too liberal to move into the conservative Pakistani community. The idea was from the famous novel, "The DaVinci Code." They have rented a huge furnished house in one of the quiet suburbs of the town.
Each member has a key to the house. They contributed more or less equal money to run the club regularly. Whoever and whenever one feels down can relax at the house named "Bagi Lounge." They were one of the most nonjudgmental people I have ever come across. At that time, there were about 25 people, including men and women. Sometimes, you will find no one there, and sometimes, there will be 10 to 12 people at one given time. They will sit, joke, or share their writings and frustrations. A lot of food, alcohol, cigarette, dirty jokes, and porn was the norm. You can say whatever you want. You can cry or laugh as you desire or hang out just doing nothing. Sometimes, I drove there at 2 in the morning. I regularly found Dr. Aseer alone with a glass of whisky and reading his poetry (BTW, no one was allowed to drive under the influence). At noon, I found Nomana (A Real Estate tycoon in the city) dancing to the song "Raqs zanjeer pahen ker bhi Kiya jata hai." Arguments broke out on the political ground a couple of times, and a couple of people left, but overall, it was a smooth affair. They never did anything ever illegal or even unethical. My biggest surprise was meeting a clergyperson from a mosque who was unhappy with his childhood religious beliefs. There was one brother and sister and one husband and wife. One interesting character was a professional athlete who always talked about building muscles and its direct relationship to the man-woman relationship's durability. Due to the high level of addictive intellectual conversations and sarcastic touches, I developed profound friendships with many people there, particularly with one married woman, nicknamed Uzzi, who had a Master's in English literature but was now a housewife. We almost slept together, but at the last moment, we were saved by her emergency move to another city for family reasons.
After a few months, as I was getting tired of the group and thinking of leaving, we learned that Professor (in education) Noorani had a massive traffic accident. She has just gone through a very dirty divorce and was left responsible for raising three daughters. She was in the hospital (and later in Rehab.) and was devastated by the loss of income and support. I was amazed that everyone pulled together and helped her in every way to get back to everyday life. Later on, one day, I expressed to Dr. Aseer my appreciation of the group for whatever everybody did for Dr. Noorani. He said: "Agar tum ne Victor Hugo ka novel 'HunchBack of Notre DaM' parha hota, to jaante ke, asal rishte khoon ke nahi magar woh hote hain jo diloN se bante hain." It took a long time for me to learn that lesson.
After a few months, I quietly left the key to the house on the table and left the lounge. I never inquired back; no one told me anything, as talking publicly about the lounge was forbidden.
I sometimes miss and crave my beautiful time at "Bagi Lounge."
