Even during tough time, we should believe that there are good souls in the society. The 'Beautiful Indian Flowers' represent such good people.
Beautiful Indian Flowers
Being a Database Administrator, working in shifts has been part of life for me. Just like many other things, ‘working in shifts’ has its own advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is that you get a pickup and drop off cab between home and office. I was pretty settled working at one of the largest Indian IT companies based in Noida for the last 2 years. Commuting from my residence in Rohini, New Delhi to my office in Noida was not an issue because of the cab facility. But life rarely leaves you without challenges. The new CEO of my company felt that lots of money could be saved by a small change in the cab policy. We got an update that a free cab will be provided from 1st of August 2016 for a distance up to 25 KMs only. I was one of the unlucky employees whose residence was more than 25 KMs away from the office. So, I was left with the option to either change homes or accept a monthly deduction of Rs 5000 from my ‘reasonably good’ salary. For the first 3 months, female employees were exempted from this policy. So, my wife, Sunita, who worked as a Project Manager at the same office, was not immediately getting affected. But it was very likely that she too would face the same issue after 3 months.
After a week’s deliberations and analysis, we shifted to Noida. We started living in a 2 BHK Flat in Sector-37, Noida. From many angles, it was a very attractive location. But just on the 5th day, I got the 1st ‘taste’ of living in UP. A sudden electricity fluctuation damaged our refrigerator. This made us realise the importance of a refrigerator for our home. Working in a private company always means that the employee may suddenly get too much work assigned to him or her. We have experienced this many a times. So, to manage our kitchen smoothly along with our office work, we used the refrigerator to its full capacity. We purchase vegetable and fruits for 3-4 days on Saturdays and Wednesdays. We use lots of frozen vegetables and snack items. All these items are kept in the refrigerator. Bread, cheese, butter, cheese spread and milk are also kept there. Whenever, Sunita or I have spare time at home, we prepare a few additional curries and store them in the refrigerator. Thus, it was very important for us that the refrigerator became functional at the earliest. I was too new in this locality to know any mechanic. So, on my wife’s repeated encouragement, I went to my nearest neighbour. The nameplate read: Ahmad’s cottage. Hesitantly, I rang the call bell. First, a boy, about 10 years of age, came on the door, enquired about me, requested me to wait and went inside without opening the door. After about 2 minutes, a middle-aged bearded man came on the door. After clarifying that I was his new neighbour, he came out. After the formal introduction, he enquired about the purpose of my visit. By now, I was feeling frustrated from this ‘cold’ response. But after learning about my problem, his response was completely changed. He called me inside his house, made me comfortable in his living room and requested his wife to prepare tea for us. In the meanwhile, he called a mechanic from his mobile and requested him to help me on an urgent basis. He also gave me a contacts list of dependable mechanics, plumbers, electricians etc. We shared our phone numbers and he offered to help me as and when needed. He also gave me some tips about house security and encouraged me to shift the perishable items from my refrigerator to his refrigerator for the time being. I left Ahmad’s house feeling lucky to have such a nice and helpful neighbour.
From that day, he became my regular support in the new locality. Our families started having regular interactions. Soon, it became clear to me that Ahmad enjoyed helping people. It was his passion to help people. He would actively participate in meetings of the Residents Welfare Association (RWA), always giving useful suggestions and ideas. He used to regularly get involved in the kids’ sports and games, ensuring that they get maximum opportunity to play with minimum damages to windowpanes. It was due to his efforts that the kids preferred sports such as basketball, volleyball and badminton over cricket and football. Whenever any issue such as overflowing of sewer, garbage not being picked up on a regular basis etc. started affecting us, he would be among the persons who would take initiatives to contact the authority. He was a preferred arbitrator in sorting out disputes among the neighbours. In conversations with my relatives and colleagues, I started citing his name as an example of a good neighbour.
But one ‘unfriendly reaction’ of Ahmad changed everything suddenly. After the recent ‘surgical strike by the Indian government against the biggest enemy of our country’, an impromptu celebration started in our locality around 9:30 PM on 30th September. Almost all the neighbours were in the streets talking and expressing happiness, crackers were being fired and sweets being distributed. Someone brought a drum also. It appeared that Diwali was being celebrated a few weeks in advance. Surprisingly, Ahmad and his family were not there. But soon the reason for their absence became clear as they reached there in a taxi. On enquiry, I learnt that his wife had got a deep cut in her right palm while using the grinder and they ended up spending about 3 hours and 8500 rupees at a nearby hospital. Some people, who were unaware of these details, asked Ahmad to join the celebration. Ahmad tried to ignore their request and walked towards his house. Such a response appeared incorrect to them and they insisted that Ahmad should join the celebration. Lack of a positive response from Ahmad resulted in some misunderstandings. Someone even commented angrily: ‘Leave him. He will not join us. India has caused harm to one of his beloved countries. How can he celebrate this?’ Ahmad responded angrily: ‘I love India more than many of you. But that doesn’t mean that I must celebrate such actions? How can we celebrate this? Doesn’t history of the world teach us that destructive actions lead to more destructive actions and losses? Tell me how this is going to help the common people of India.’ There was a pin drop silence for a while. Ahmad resumed: ‘Believe me. This strike will only lead to increase in the arms race between the two neighbours. Both the poor countries will reduce expenses on vital sectors such as education, health and housing so that more budget can be allocated for purchase of defence equipment and fighter planes….’. But the people were not in a mood to ‘enjoy’ these lectures. So, those statements didn’t make any sense to the people. That only made the people enraged. Many of the neighbours felt that they clearly knew the hidden truth about Ahmad and his family, now. They were not loyal citizens of India. Their patriotism was highly questionable.
Next day, a few ‘secret’ meetings took place. Some local politicians also addressed these meetings. We noticed presence of many new people in the neighbourhood that day. By 3:00 PM, all of us were informed that a ‘unanimous’ decision had been taken to impose ‘all round boycott’ of Ahmad’s family. I had been living in this locality for only 2 months. So, I was too new to suggest even a slight change in that decision. The boycott was really comprehensive. The newspaper vendor stopped delivering newspapers and journals to Ahmad. The garbage collector stopped taking garbage from their house. Our kids stopped playing with his kids. The local shopkeeper denied selling even milk and bread to them. The house maid stopped working in that house. The cable TV connection to Ahmad’s house was disconnected by the evening. The tutor returned the fee and refused to teach Ahmad’s kids. He gave the excuse that he would be busy with preparations for some upcoming exams. Even the rickshaw pullers and auto drivers started avoiding them. The nearby hospital, where Ahmad’s wife was getting treatment for her right palm, declined to offer any further treatment because some NGOs have threatened to impose heavy penalty on that hospital. After that, she needed to visit a clinic at a distance of 7 KMs every 3rd day for the treatment. That was too challenging for her. Moreover, some of the tests and x-rays were re-done as the previous hospital refused to share full details of the same. New information about Ahmad’s family was being discovered and shared almost every day on the WhatsApp. Much of the information clearly conflicted with the view we had formed about them in the last 2 months, but lots of people believed them to be true and did not hesitate in forwarding those messages to others.
Ahmad had been such a helpful neighbour to me that I was feeling very sad for him. I always felt that we were being unjust to Ahmad. Whether I was at office or at home, I kept thinking about their pain and sufferings. On the 8th day of the boycott, I gathered some courage and shared my feelings with Sunita. We were in the kitchen. While I was chopping vegetables, she was busy preparing evening snacks and tea.
“I think that people in the neighborhood are being unfair to Ahmad. In the 2-months interaction with them, we haven’t noticed anything unusual to have a doubt in them,” I started.
“I agree with you. But he should have joined the celebration. He committed a blunder…,” Sunita responded calmly.
That was a discouraging response.
Still, I continued to defend Ahmad: “Perhaps, he was tired and disturbed due to his wife’s medical emergency. I clearly remember that he did not say anything against India. In fact, the statements made by him clearly points to the fact that he cares for the real development of India which lies in India’s progress in education, health, housing etc….”
Seems that I got too carried away to ignore the initial hint given by Sunita. Sensing that I might start an initiative towards ‘ending Ahmad’s boycott’, she became serious and cautioned me: “Shankar, if you care for us, you will not interact with anyone on this issue. People are deeply hurt. They are extremely angry with Ahmad and his family. Everybody in those meetings agreed that Ahmad was wrong and deserved a boycott. Do not think that you are wiser than all of them. Just stop trying to defend a person with questionable patriotism. You are not going to share your ‘intellectual’ views and opinions with even a single person outside the house….”
But I was not willing to give up. So, I decided to send 2000 rupees for a poor student in my village and seek God’s help. Next morning, I was one of the first persons to enter the nearby Sanaatan Dharm temple. I prayed for Ahmad and his family. I prayed for increase in God’s mercy, kindness and help towards them. I was quite emotional sitting in the temple and stayed there for pretty long.
There were just a handful of people in the temple at that time. So, Panditji (the priest) wasn’t busy. He noticed me. He walked towards me and asked: “Hope that all is well at your home. You appear to be very worried. What is the matter?”
Sunita’s words were still fresh in my mind. In order to avoid sharing my actual worry, I responded: “Yes, yes. All is fine at my home. I had some spare time, so thought to spend it in the serene and peaceful environment here.”
Panditji is an experienced person. Perhaps, my words were not convincing enough. He responded in a confident voice: “I can clearly read that you are faced with some tension and worry. It is perfectly fine if you do not want to share it with me. But it is my responsibility to offer my help and support to you.”
His words put me in a difficult spot. Sunita’s words of warnings were stopping me from sharing my worries. But at the same time, it appeared that God wanted to help me through Panditji. While I was contemplating, Panditji patted on my back and encouraged me saying: “You can have full trust in me. I have been a priest in this temple for more than 20 years. People have shared with me many extremely personal problems and details. And believe me, I am saying this in presence of the God that I haven’t shared any such information even with my wife, not to talk of anybody else.”
Finally, I gathered the courage and shared my worry with Panditji. His response was both surprising and soothing.
He said: “I fully agree with you. There is no justification for a boycott. I know Ahmad and his family quite well. They are some of the most helpful persons of this locality. I personally know more than a dozen instances where he has helped people with his own money. Even if, we agree that Ahmad committed some mistake, his mistakes are not serious and can be easily forgiven…”
I was just too surprised to know that one more person was against the boycott. After a small pause, Panditji resumed: “Perhaps, you haven’t heard about the incident which took place at Ashoka Public School on Tuesday.”
Sensing that I was eager to know about the incident, he asked me to sit comfortably and began: “You know my son, Ramesh. He and Ahmad’s daughter, Sara, are in the same class. They often sit on the same bench. Sara is a very good student. She often helps Ramesh in studies. On Tuesday, some students asked him to stop sitting with Sara because of the boycott. Ramesh is my son and he knows what is correct and what is wrong. He simply disagreed with them. This lead to heated arguments and some students threatened Ramesh. He got afraid and informed Miss Rita, his class teacher, about the issue. As it appeared a security issue, she took it seriously and reported the matter with the Head of the Senior Wing and the Principal.”
“A special Assembly was held in the school next day. Both Head of the Senior Wing and the Principal address the students. They reminded the students that school is a place of learning and education. Cooperation and collaboration are important to ensure a good environment for learning. So, there is just no place for things like boycott in the school.” Punditji also told me that a message has been sent to all parents to ensure that their wards refrain from any sort of boycott inside the school premises.
I prayed once again and also requested Punditji to say special prayers for Ahmad and his family. He smiled and patted on my back. I was feeling better as I knew that I was not alone. I came out of the temple, with the hope for help from the Most Powerful.
Next day, Ahmad was going to Delhi in his Alto car. When he took a left turn at the Rajnigandha Square, there was a ‘new looking’ white Mercedes just ahead of him. There is a bus stop also near that turn and often people, waiting for the buses, stand on the road. Often, half of the road is occupied by them. This makes it very challenging for the vehicles which need to take a left turn there. Perhaps, driver of Mercedes was not used to such challenges and he suddenly decreased the speed. That was just too unexpected for Ahmad as his Alto was just behind the Mercedes. Despite best of his efforts, he ended up damaging Left Side Mirror of the car. Being a man of principles, he did not try to run away. Also having the 3rd party insurance gave him some confidence. So, he stopped his car and came out to interact with driver of the Mercedes. His name was Manoj.
“I am sorry for this mistake. But, do not worry. I have 3rd party insurance. So you can claim the damage from my insurance company. Let me call the police as we will need FIR document to claim the insurance. In the meanwhile, I will share my insurance details with you,” Ahmad told Manoj.
But Manoj did not like this idea. After keeping silent for a while, he suggested: “I do not want to get into the matters of insurance etc. There are many car workshops at a distance of about 1 kilometre from here. I know that some of the shops keep duplicate parts for high-end cars. Hopefully, we can get the side mirror replaced there at a reasonable cost.”
So, Manoj preferred duplicate parts for new Mercedes when he could get original parts without expense from his pocket. After analysing this for a while, Ahmad concluded that Manoj is just a driver and he doesn’t want the owner to know about this. But Ahmad is a very honest person and he didn’t want the owner to be cheated. So, he cooked a story to convince Manoj to go for the ‘claim from insurance’ option. He moved around the Mercedes for a while as if he was trying to recall something and said in friendly and confident tone: “It seems that I have seen this car in the parking of Col Rakesh. Actually, I have been personal tutor for his daughter. Though I never got a chance to sit in this car, but I clearly remember that I have seen this car parked in front of his house.”
Though Ahmad was telling lies, its impact on Manoj and Arnab, the other person accompanying him, was totally unexpected. Their facial expressions changed a lot as they appeared confused and shocked. But they tried to play brave, and interrupted Ahmad angrily: “How many times should I explain to you that we do not want to get into insurance claim and all. You have just two options: Come with us to the workshop and pay for fixing the mirror or your car will be kept there until you pay for the mirror.”
Before Ahmad could say anything, Arnab hurriedly entered Ahmad’s Alto and started the car. Ahmad was left with no option. So, they drove to the workshop. While sitting in his car, Ahmad was trying to understand how Arnab started his car as the keys were in Ahmad’s pocket? Ahmad got suspicious that maybe Manoj and Arnab were car thieves. While the mechanic worked at fixing the mirror, Ahmad analysed the possibility of that being a fact. The more he analysed details of his interactions with them, the more his suspicion become stronger. Without letting his suspicion be known to anyone there, he came away from the shop on the pretext of the need to withdraw money from a nearby ATM. Then he informed the police and a few media persons. Within 1 hour, Manoj and Arnab, members of one of the most notorious gang of car thieves, were arrested. The white Mercedes belonged to Harvinder Singh. Their arrest lead to recovery of 35 high-end stolen cars and SUVs.
As expected, the police honoured Ahmad with certificates and awards. Some of the car owners visited Ahmad’s house to express gratitude and respect. Some of the media also highlighted this achievement with Ahmad’s photo. With this change in the situation, the ‘boycott of Ahmad’s family’ just vanished as there was no scope for it to continue.
Within a few days, it became clear that many people were not happy with the ‘decision for boycott’. Some of the neighbours visited Ahmad’s cottage to say sorry and explain that they participated in the boycott due to fear from leaders of some organisations. Local RWA (Residents Welfare Association) expressed appreciation for Ahmad’s remarkable achievement. The RWA requested the residents to avoid involving local politicians and NGOs in the issues of their locality. An Emergency Issues Committee was formed and its contact details were widely circulated with the request to report all urgent matters to them.
Next morning, Sunita and I went to the temple to offer thanks to God. Punditji greeted us and expressed happiness over the outcome. He told me that God’s help has come so fast only because of true prayers of some honest soul. I couldn’t control my tears. Both Punditji and I agreed to Sunita’s suggestion that something should be done to avoid such blunder in future. We contacted Principal Saheb to seek his advices.
That evening we met at Principal Saheb’s house. Professor Kailash, Colonel Rakesh and Principal Saheb’s wife, Doctor Saadhvi, also attended the meeting. Doctor Saadhvi gave a brilliant idea that we should set up a Forum to encourage better cooperation and understanding among people of the locality. This idea got a whole hearted support. After that, most of our discussions were focused on the proposed Forum and the prerequisites for establishing it. Soon, we realised that one meeting was not enough to decide on matters such as finalising forum’s name, members and posts in the forum, its aims and objectives, Fund Plan for the Forum etc. So, each of us took responsibility to work on one of these matters. After that, we decided schedule and venue of the next meeting and dispersed with lots of optimism and hopes.
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I have had Indian friends and colleagues of Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Zoroastrian heritage for many years since the 1960s. But it was only yesterday, when I finally saw the movie, very appropriate for your story, Gandhi. It was amazing the tolerance and compassion of the people who followed Gandhi to a resolution of the problem of British rule.
From this incredible story I can see that that compassion continues to this day. Ahmad is truly a remarkable man full of courage and compassion for others. You are very fortunate to know him and to have him as a neighbor.
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