This week’s Saturday Centus reminded me of a story my mom told me just a few years ago. It was a story of when she was a young, nervous Indian bride living with her husband in Dubai, away from her family. Read on…it’s a true story.
She carefully broke the egg into the pan. Oh no! The yolk had broken again. She slapped her forehead. Her husband of one month was particular about his eggs. “If the yolk’s broken, the egg aint any good,” he says. She quickly dumped it in the bin and had the next one in the pan. Chssszzzzz- it fried quite nicely. She proudly looked at the sunny side up. “Is it ready honey,” he peeped into the kitchen. “Just bringing it,” she smiled sweetly. And as she took it out of the pan- plop- the yellow liquid oozed out
Bomb blasts in Mumbai: 17 dead 131 injured, 23 serious.
I was at a parlor when the story broke. And my beautician was a Mumbaikar. She went pale when I told her what had happened. She immediately tried to call her husband, daughters and siblings living in Mumbai. But obviously phone lines were jammed. When I left the parlor about an hour later, she still hadn't been able to talk to her family.
The next day it was crazy in our office. We were trying to get witness accounts, get our facts right, update our information as new facts and figures came out. Total mayhem. The TV was blaring away in the newsroom. One reporter was standing in front of the hospital and interviewing victims' relatives. As I watched them, I realized that whenever an accident takes place or a disaster happens, we always identify it in numbers- 17 killed and 131 injured. No one really talks about 50 people who may have lost their livelihood because of the 17 people killed. No one really talks about those who are among the 131 injured, who will never be able to be the same again. These individual stories are what makes a tragedy so tragic.
One of the interviewed relatives had lost his brother who runs a shop in Zaveri Bazaar. He had just stepped out for a walk. What will happen to the shop? What will happen to the people who work in the shop? How long will it take for the shop to recover from its damages? No one knows.
Another person had lost his son who had been married only for two months. What will happen to his wife? Will she ever remarry or will she stay a widow in honor of the husband whom she hadn’t even known properly? What if she is pregnant by now? The child will never experience the warmth of a father’s love
I remember an Indian movie which told the story of a guy who earned a meager income but dreamed of sending his daughter to medical school. He worked hard to manage the fees of the good school his daughter went to. And then he gets injured. The girl quits her studies and starts working in a factory near her house. The man spends the whole day in bed, unable to do any work and being extremely frustrated at his inability. The girl then gets an offer from the factory’s owner, to go work in his factory abroad where she can earn better. Her family agrees and off she goes. From there she sends a wheelchair for her father and some money for the family. Its all hunky dory until the end of the movie when we get to know that she is actually working as a sex worker. Such a tragic yet realistic story. So many women are tricked like this by scheming people who understand their dire circumstances.
Nothing has been achieved by this bombing. Nothing has ever been achieved by any acts of terror. Yet they continue- in the name of religion, in the name of clans, in the name of countries, and in whatever possible names one can think of. When will they stop?
This weekend, I went away for a much-needed break to Fujairah. We stayed at the Hilton resort and got a good dose of sun, sand and beach. Mehreen was absolutely thrilled.
We checked in on Friday afternoon, roamed around for a bit and just relaxed. On Saturday morning, after Arfaz and Mehreen had spent a long time in the pool, I was taking her out to dry, when a Nepali lifeguard came and said “Hi Mehreen, did you enjoy your swim?” She gave him her usual grin- showing all her 6 and a half teeth. When we went down for breakfast, she was driving me insane. So I gave her a spoon to play with. 5 minutes later, the Filipino waitress walked to her and said “Hello Mehreen, here is a smaller spoon for you to play with.” I couldn’t help smiling. After breakfast, as we sat in the lobby playing with her, the Russian receptionist came up to us and said “Hi Mehreen, did you have a good night’s sleep?” I was starting to feel like I was with a celebrity now. Later, when we were just lazing about on the bed in our room with her somersaulting all over us, there was a knock. It was the Indian housekeeping lady. “I just came to say hi to Mehreen,” she said.
I found it so amusing that all the people who had asked her name, actually remembered it and even said hi to her. My child is not very people-friendly. She doesn’t let anyone carry her. Yet, so many people meet and remember her- regardless of the gender, nationality, age, etc. In a world where everyone struggles to highlight their differences, where wars are fought to seperate country from country, people from people and gender from gender, this comes as a welcome change to me. Everyone inherently loves children and their innocence. Everyone loves their naughty giggles. Everyone loves the fleeting moment of happiness that they bring to our lives.
This is not the first time I have felt this. When I went to Turkey, we met people from all over the world- from Russia, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Britain, etc. They all spoke to Mehreen in their own languages, cooed and fussed over her and she being the total diva just enjoyed it.
But of course, just because children are so cute, nothing will change. Wars will still be fought. People will still kill each other over their minor differences. But the world does seem a tad bit nicer knowing that there are still people who love an appreciate children and their innocence. This post is especially dedicated to all those little ones without whom our lives would be so bland. would like to quote Rabindranath Tagore “Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of humanity”
