“The journey took 7 days and 7 nights. It was ’79, and traveling by sea was the only way to perform Haj. At that time, the trip used to be three months long, unlike the 40 days it takes now. Which is why we reached in the month of Sha’baan, a few days before Ramadan. We were staying in Medina, and in the time preceding Haj, we made trips to Mecca during Ramadan for Umrah. The summer heat was oppressive, and I don’t think air-conditioning had been installed at the Masjid al-Haram then. To cool down, we used to lie down in the shade of the courtyard, draping ourselves in a wet dupatta, which dried in minutes — “pattay ki tarah sookha“. During one of those trips, we had run out of water and Ammi started feeling uncomfortable. Around the courtyard, there were stairs at various points leading down to basements where water from the Zamzam spring could be filled. Some women were drenching themselves in the spring water, practically taking a bath. That was the first time I was ever alone in a public place, and thinking of it, even today I can’t imagine how I managed to bring back water from there all by myself.”