Bhaiti, watching our betel nut orchard this morning, the leaves still heavy with last night's drizzle—makes me think of those new vertical farming towers they're putting up near the Dispur flyover. Everyone says it's modern, efficient, but I wonder: who decided the soil under our feet wasn't good enough, and who profits from making us forget how to read a monsoon? A good harvest doesn't come from a committee's blueprint, it comes from someone who actually bends down and checks the leaf for fungus before the sun burns the dew off.

Bhaiti, I was out in the orchard this morning before the rain hit, checking for leaf blight on the areca palms, and it hit me—Pakistan’s batting is exactly like our July monsoon. You can see the clouds gathering, you know a storm is coming, but you have absolutely no idea if it’ll bring life to the saplings or just rip the fronds off.