akistan, a land of fiery summers that bloom with mangoes and laughter, melts into winters weaving fairytales of snow in Murree’s icy embrace. It dances to the rhythm of four distinct seasons, each a testament to its breathtaking duality.

Summer, touching fiery extremes, bursts with the joyous chaos of kids playing gully cricket awaiting gola ganda runs. Spring arrives with a sense of freedom fused with fragrant flower festivals. Autumn arrives, families huddling by crackling bonfires as qawwali melodies warm the soul. Even winters, though cloaked in smog’s shadow, can’t steal our zealous spirit. Children build snowmen, and homes continue to simmer with gajar ka halwa and kheer’s warmth and whispered stories.

But wait, there’s another season to talk about. Hold onto your hearts, folks, because it’s a technicolour blast called the shaadi season. It’s a season where the aunties twirl in silk saris and gregarious ghagras, their eyes sparkling with gossip (and maybe a secret dance move); and the uncles break into social debates amid bhangra breaks, their feet drumming a joyful rhythm that defies the daily grind. Homes become bustling festivals of their own, kitchens overflowing with the magic of smoking-hot biryani. Laughter explodes like fireworks, painting the night sky with a thousand glittering stars.

Yes, it’s exhilarating, a sensory overload of fun and beauty. But even the best parties can leave you drained. Winter weddings, coinciding with the seasonal holidays, are like family feasts gone wild. Everyone’s on a holiday break, escaping corporate cages and student stress, but those hectic five-day shaadi schedules can steal your ‘me time.’ It’s like Pakistan’s duality: winter biting after summer’s heat. Exhilaration coexists with exhaustion. Even the most vibrant season needs a breather.

Breathe in the elaichi mist wafting from your Kashmiri chai, and let it soothe your spirit. Bite into a crispy samosa, its savoury filling bursting like fireworks on your tongue. Celebrate the milestones woven into this tapestry of weddings relishing the poorly coordinated silly dances, the aunts’ infectious giggles and the uncles’ impromptu bhangra eruptions.

Winter weddings, coinciding with the holidays, are like family feasts gone wild. Everyone’s on a break, but those hectic five-day shaadi schedules can steal your ‘me time.’ It’s like Pakistan’s duality: winter biting after summer’s heat. Exhilaration coexists with exhaustion. Even the most vibrant season needs a breather.

Most importantly, don’t forget that the grandest celebration is the one unfolding within you. Cheers to the battles won, the tears shed, the lessons learnt. This year, etched in lines on your palm and wisdom in your eyes, is yours to cherish. You navigated its labyrinths, a little battered, perhaps, but breathtakingly triumphant. This fifth season, this symphony of silk and song, is as much yours as anyone’s. Let it wash over you, recharge your soul.

Also, take refuge in stolen moments of solitude. Slip away with a book; seek solace in the quiet hum of conversations on balconies, where lives intertwine like the melodies of your favourite qawwali.

For even the most vibrant of seasons needs a pause, a breath between beats. Don’t let the whirlwind wear you down. Instead, let it energise you and rekindle the spark of joy that burns brightest in the quiet corners of your soul. Remember, you are the author of your own fairytale, the star of your own movie masterpiece. So, dance when the dhol beats, laugh when the jokes fly, but also, carve out pockets of peace, moments of self-care, for amidst the joyous chaos, it is you, my friend, who deserves the greatest applause.

So, here’s to you, the survivor, the celebrator of your own story. May this shaadi season, and every season that follows, be a testament to your strength, your resilience and your unwavering ability to find joy in the ordinary and the extraordinary, and in the quiet spaces between them.

The writer is a cognitive engineer and a passionate storyteller. She can be reached at ridakamalghani@gmail.com