Same Gate, Different Priorities
“ Same gate, different priorities—kindness is daily, competence is non-negotiable. ” When we were kids our compound felt like one big family. Rows of identical town-houses circled a shared courtyard, and every wedding, funeral, even a neighbour’s exam results made the rounds before lunch. We grew up knowing who Auntie Fatima’s brother was, which guard’s daughter was learning piano, and when the street vendor would bring mangoes from Multan, the winter peanut, gajak, kulfi and many more fun behind each memory. The security guards were polite, always with a “salaam” and a joke, and years passed without a single break-in. The workers who swept the lanes and tended the garden came from Punjab, Khyber, Sindh, Baluchistan and Kshmir—our little Pakistan in miniature. When the area got famous, a flashier compound went up a few streets away: sleeker gates, a gym, a pool, price tags we couldn’t imagine. People from across the country moved in for the cachet, but none of us...