That night
It was my wedding anniversary day. As usual my dad was the first to call me to wish. Even though he lived on the other side of the Arabian Sea he never fails to call me on such occasions.
I was in the office when my cell phone rang with the melodious music, that I had recorded.
He says 'Salaam alaikum, happy wedding anniversary, Ahsana'(that’s how he used to call me).
I reply 'thank you abba, Thanks'. His voice was clear & crisp. How could anyone at that moment have any inkling of the things that are going to unfold on the evening of that day?
Here in Ruwais oil refinery, Abudhabi things seem to be normal, my colleagues joking around while they work, weather hot & humid.
Later in the evening , I played Tennis as that was the routine & after sumptuous dinner I retired to bed & soon went into deep slumber.
I was in deep sleep when I was rudely awakened by the ringing of my cell phone.
I always dreaded calls at midnights. Somehow a tension envelops me when the phone rings during the eerie nights. This time was no different either. My hands stumbled to pick up the phone, which I keep within reach near the night lamp when I lay in the bed.
My heart missed a few beats & then raced to a frantic speed;
a definite thought something is not ok.
I slowly recollect & say ‘hello hello’.
A voice not familiar to me says, 'I am calling from Palayamkottai , NGO colony'. At that moment I knew well this is it. My hands start to shiver & I mumble,' yes ,tell me'.
He says, 'your dad is in serious condition'.
I reach to the bed lamp to switch it on & was shouting ‘WHAT’ ‘WHAT’ when I heard someone prodding that man ‘Tell, Tell’ & then he goes on, 'your father died'.
I failed to react, no words, my lips shudder & he goes on & on telling me, he is trying to contact every one whose names are mentioned in the diary that my father has neatly jotted down. He ended with, 'come as early as possible', I will call again to find out 'when you are coming, so we can arrange for last rites accordingly'.
I was dumbfounded, didn’t know what to do, I cupped my face with both my hands & stared into oblivion. Nothing, nothing at all. A torrent of grief soon engulfed me & tears slowly overfilled my eyes & ran down my cheeks.
These were the words that blurted out of my lips at that moment,'Allah ya Allah ya Allah'
The phone rang again & with my sweaty hands picked it up & said Hello, hello………
I was in the office when my cell phone rang with the melodious music, that I had recorded.
He says 'Salaam alaikum, happy wedding anniversary, Ahsana'(that’s how he used to call me).
I reply 'thank you abba, Thanks'. His voice was clear & crisp. How could anyone at that moment have any inkling of the things that are going to unfold on the evening of that day?
Here in Ruwais oil refinery, Abudhabi things seem to be normal, my colleagues joking around while they work, weather hot & humid.
Later in the evening , I played Tennis as that was the routine & after sumptuous dinner I retired to bed & soon went into deep slumber.
I was in deep sleep when I was rudely awakened by the ringing of my cell phone.
I always dreaded calls at midnights. Somehow a tension envelops me when the phone rings during the eerie nights. This time was no different either. My hands stumbled to pick up the phone, which I keep within reach near the night lamp when I lay in the bed.
My heart missed a few beats & then raced to a frantic speed;
a definite thought something is not ok.
I slowly recollect & say ‘hello hello’.
A voice not familiar to me says, 'I am calling from Palayamkottai , NGO colony'. At that moment I knew well this is it. My hands start to shiver & I mumble,' yes ,tell me'.
He says, 'your dad is in serious condition'.
I reach to the bed lamp to switch it on & was shouting ‘WHAT’ ‘WHAT’ when I heard someone prodding that man ‘Tell, Tell’ & then he goes on, 'your father died'.
I failed to react, no words, my lips shudder & he goes on & on telling me, he is trying to contact every one whose names are mentioned in the diary that my father has neatly jotted down. He ended with, 'come as early as possible', I will call again to find out 'when you are coming, so we can arrange for last rites accordingly'.
I was dumbfounded, didn’t know what to do, I cupped my face with both my hands & stared into oblivion. Nothing, nothing at all. A torrent of grief soon engulfed me & tears slowly overfilled my eyes & ran down my cheeks.
These were the words that blurted out of my lips at that moment,'Allah ya Allah ya Allah'
The phone rang again & with my sweaty hands picked it up & said Hello, hello………
posted by AHSAN GHORI @ 8:27 AM
1 Comments:
At 11:07 PM,
susan said…
There have been times when the outside world seems to crazy for me to understand, times when only peace is found by closeing my eyes and asking God to hold me. Even the names of God can confort me, whether Allah, or Yahweh, it makes no differance.
I have a tape of the call to prayer. I have not a clue to the words other than Allah. I am blessed to recognize the name, not recognize it in my head, but my heart. The vail of thought and words fall away to peace.
You have helped me remember that when I wake-up in the morning, and through out my waking hours; if I look for the good in others and myself, I'll find it, because it's always there. Thank you.
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