Aman ki Asha -II

Its 2.30pm. I had to leave for Sharjah at 3.30pm, I was in my hotel room when somebody comes to call me saying the car in waiting and I am late.
There’s still time how can I be late??? Without wasting a moment I jump out of the chair pick up my goggles, fastened my waist pouch and leave the room.

A white SUV, land Cruiser is waiting and the driver had a frown on his spectacled face because I was late. I say sorry and settle myself in the front seat next to the driver. I usually prefer to sit next to the driver since I get the best view of the surroundings. The driver was fast, very fast but here it is safe because one is assured that no cow or dog or man will cross the road out of the blue. 90-100 kms an hour is normal. Also the roads are made that way and the traffic is disciplined and I was enjoying the speedy drive!

One could feel the blazing heat outside. Nobody could dare to drive without an AC. One side is the desert and the other side a busy highway
The waft of the AC in our car was too cold and a slight shiver ran through me. The driver sensed it and adjusted the temperature. This gesture made me feel comfortable. Yesterday’s experience with the Pakistani was fresh in my mind and I was a bit skeptical.

This time the driver started the conversation.
D : Kaha ke ho madam?? (Where are you from???)
Me : India.
D : India mein kaha?? (Where in India??)
Me : Pune. Mumbai ke paas (Close to Bombay.)
D : Pune janta hoon. (ya know Pune)
Pause.
His Hindi was rich. Different. The one you hear when Gulzar speaks sprinkled with Urdu words.
Me : Aap kaha ke ho??? (Where are you from??)
D : Kashmir.
Me : Kashmir!!!!
D : (coolly)…yes Kashmir.
Me : You from my country.
He only nodded.

I composed my self and was feeling simply relaxed by now.
Crossed a small eatery, which advertised camel biryani, camel burger, camel kebabs etc. Is it true?? Camel – can somebody eat it???
Out of curiosity I asked the driver
Me : Kohi camel khate hai?? (Does anybody ever eat a camel??)
D : ya. They eat here.
Me : aap bhi?? (Even you??)
D : nahi mein nahi khata. (no I don’t eat)
Me : What do you eat here??
D : regular Indian food.

Wondered what could a man coming from Kashmir - the most beautiful part of the world- eat in this desert??

I was transported years back when I taught a Kashmiri student, he was two an a half years old then, his favorite dish was Gucchi Mattar which he got once a while in his tiffin. I used to laugh at the very name. Later came to know that it’s a dish made from Lotus stem or root and also very expensive

Me : Aap Gucchi Mattar miss nahi karte?? (Don’t you miss gucchi Mattar)?
Driver surprised….
D : You know gucchi Mattar ???When I go to Kashmir I have.

I was nearing my destination and asked him his name.
Me : aap ka naam?? (What’s your name??)
D : Parvez.
Me : Oh!! Nice name!!

I had reached the destination and left this car. I had to be here for 4-5 hours.
The hours flew by. It was 8.30pm. The crowds were rushing back to which ever transport they could get.

The desert looked beautiful and the cold winds played its role. Its not easy to walk in the desert. Our feet go deep in the sand and it becomes difficult to wade through it. The moon looked so beautiful. The expanse of the desert and the stretch of the sky raced for miles and miles together. Wondered do they really meet at the horizon????

It was late and puzzled as how I would reach my hotel in Dubai from these deserts in Sharjah.
When suddenly I heard someone calling, “Madam, Madam our car is parked here we go together, it’s my responsibility till I drop you back to your hotel”

Parvez!!!

God sent I thought and got in the SUV once again.

The conversation strikes again from where we had left.

Me : Which place in Kashmir are you from??
Parvez : Doda
Oh I tell myself…Doda very much a part of our troubled valley!!!!

Me : What do you like here??
Parvez : It gives me bread and butter.
Me : How many years you are here??
Parvez : 12 years
Me : Long time. Do you go home to Kashmir??
Parvez : yes!! 2 months in a year.
Me : How beautiful is Kashmir??? (though a stupid question)
Parvez : Lots. Very beautiful. Still a Paradise on earth if all the violence is cut out.
Me : Who all stay here??
Parvez : Everybody!! Wife, kids, parents, brothers, sisters all.
Me : All here?? Who stays in Kashmir then??
Parvez : Nobody. We got house a big house, somebody takes care. Like a caretaker you see.
Me : hmm…..

(We now leave the desert and touch the city. The roads are glitzy the place spews riches, loads and loads of it. It doesn’t lack anything for the ones who can afford it. The moon following us. The moon has its own elegance. The road is adorned with a necklace of streetlights but cannot shadow the moon. All cars speeding. I want a picture but slowing the car could be an impossible task, I reach for my camera…Parvez slows down the car before I saying anything and I get the picture I want but am not happy with it . Anyway!!!

The rhythm in our conversation is not disturbed…

Parvez : I got everybody here a few years back. Life was getting bad there. Never knew from where a bomb could blast. I came here and one by one shifted everybody to Dubai.
Me : Are the neighbors there (Pakistanis) really bad.
Parvez : Wont say all, but the ripped valley is the proof, ya they are.
Me : hmm……
Parvez : but my neighbor here is a Pakistani. His family helps my family when we need help. We both know from what circumstances we have come here. He has his story to tell and I have mine. But at the end of the day it’s a bare minimum decent living that we look forward to. At least we come home without a bloodstain here. This country gives me that. Our women are safe here, our children go to school here, and at least they don’t have images, which we still carry when we went to school in Kashmir.

Me : Do you like India??
Parvez : I am an Indian and I am extremely proud of it.
Me : And you kids??
Parvez : We have trained them to like India though we stay here. They are taught we are Indians first and are here only for work.
Me : will you come back to India??
Parvez : NO
Me : Why???
Parvez : I’ll be shortly going for the same job to London. Our family will migrate from here. Don’t misunderstand madam.
We love our country a lot, but the current circumstances don’t allow us to. We have lot of memories and the soil beckons us. The aroma of the soil lingers withs us all the time.
When we travel to Kashmir we fly Indian Airlines only – reason??? The moment the airhostess gets water we drink as if our throats were parched and yes - they are - we have missed the water of our motherland. It tastes different; it has the sweetest taste, which we long for. This country gives us everything but……..
Me : but……
Parvez : Surely something is missing. Madam you touched the chord, which pains the most.

Parvez’s wounds were still not healed and how would they???

I could see the hotel from a distance now….

Still many things were to be said, to be heard…………..
There was silence for a while but I could hear all his unsaid words..

Time to part…my heart was heavy.
We shook hands and bid good-bye, never to see this handsome man with emotional scars again.

His parting left something with me….

In my room.

My mind clutters with thoughts

Blast in Pune before I left…?

Shahrukh Khans statement about how good our neighbors are and their presence in IPL….?

2 Sikhs beheaded in Peshawar for refusing to convert to Islam…?

Yesterday’s encounter with a Pakistani driver – his struggle for a living…?

Today Parvez – and his story – a story for survival…?

All this just happening within our country and just across our border

Who is the safest???
?
?
?

Angle changed and the kaleidoscope gave a different picture....

Today's newspapers flashed - Government spends 5 crores on Kasab’s security.


Aman ki Asha – Can somebody please explain????