I woke up to some breakfast with friends. After that I worked on my blog and started to break down a sequence from my film to create a new draft of storyboards. When working on the blog, it is a strange feeling to read about where I was two months ago. The snail’s pace of progress, the challenges of every tiny effort are still painful and weigh on me. I am thankful to be far past them, but it is sobering to be reminded of how much fortitude it takes to continue.In the evening, I went to Pak Tea House with some friends. We had some chai and snacks before heading to a weekly literary reading at Aiwan-e-Iqbal, located behind the Alhamra Arts Council. We were early, so I walked around the gallery. There are a lot of beautiful paintings. Many are by Aslam Kamal, a painter and calligraphy artist whose book I have enjoyed. It was really interesting to see how he played with figures and text, as well as using decorative shapes and motifs to create forms.After looking at the gallery, we walked downstairs to one of the conference rooms and waited. People trickled in. Many were keeping up on some local election results that were due to come in. Apparently this weekly literary meeting has gone uninterrupted for some 76 years. Though it seemed that punctuality was not something that had been sustained.On the roster for the evening was a ghazal (poetic form), a literary critique and short story. Each piece was followed by an open discussion on the merits and flaws of the piece, while the writer had to remain silent and the critiques were directed at the chairperson.It was a good discussion and I enjoyed being there to get some nourishment for my brain. The pieces were less inspiring than the fact that this meeting exists. Afterwards we grabbed some egg kababs and naan and watched the motorcycle processions cheering political parties, before we head home.