Sunday, December 7, 2008

My Messiah; My Guardian Angel

I wanted to share one of the best experiences of the Hyderabadi tehzeeb/ culture I've had from people who belong to 'the other community'.

I still remember the day I was lost and kept driving in the inner lanes and dusty gallis around Tolichowki and Film Nagar without knowing the way to my home. I lost track of time; it was getting dark. I must have been driving for the past 2 hours, searching for the right galli that takes me to the main road. I was almost in tears.

And then comes my Messiah, a handsome Muslim engineer-architect on his bike. I guess he had seen me looking worried and exhausted, slowing down my vehicle to ask people for directions. "Ma'am where exactly do you have to go?" he asked me. My first instinct was to mistrust. But I felt safe inside my cherry red Maruti 800. And I told him where I've to go. He just said, "Please follow me". I followed - but not blindly, not without suspicion, and definitely not before rolling up my windows completely!

After many windings and unwindings of the dusty gallis, there I was on the main road of Tolichowki. I was so lost, so confused and so tired that I had absolutely no sense of direction nor the ability to recognize the area we were in. I just gave a blank look and said, "I still don't know where I'm". He smiled ever so gently, pointed his right hand to the building a little ahead and said, "that's your apartment complex ma'am".

Guilt more than gratitude rushed through my veins. I had this strong desire to say 'I'm sorry I didn't trust you.' But I just managed a feeble 'Thanks a lot for your help.' My guardian angel smiled again, took out his visiting card and said, "If you still feel lost, or need help, please don't hesitate to call me. I stay close-by." And with that, he left.

That day I've learned an extremely valuable lesson in life! Never mistrust a person based on his community, appearance or clothes.

1 comment:

Passion Paprika said...

I love the post Shanti, so true, we've become so used to something because of our environment and influence, we forget to appreciate mankind for all its goodness. We sometimes forget to see a warm woman behind the burkah or a kind man behind the beard.

Again love the post :)