Saturday, April 3, 2010

"Our Father in Heaven..."

On 31st March, suddenly I had to visit National Institute of Rural Development(NIRD), Hyderabad.Since it was financial year ending, my visit was crucial for my organisation.On 30th evening only I decided due to a sudden development.When I told one of my colleagues about my plan to visit Hyderabad,he asked me to postpone because of the curfew imposed due to communal disturbances.I explained him the importance of my visit but still he insisted not to proceed.When he found me adamant,he asked how I would move from Hyderabad Airport to NIRD.I replied that there is no curfew in that area and so I would take a taxi from the Airport.He then gave me the phone number of a driver who took him to NIRD few months before when he visited Hyderabad.I called the driver and asked him to be at the airport around 7 30 AM of next day.Next day when I landed at Hyderabad, I found the driver waiting for me with my name written in a placard..I asked him his name and he told Rahim. Once I reached NIRD,I became too busy with my work.An employee of NIRD called Srinivasan was attached with me by NIRD to sort out the problem. Around 2 PM Srinivasan took me to the NIRD guest house for lunch.I started having lunch but suddenly Srinivasan vanished.After few minutes I found him bringing Rahim Bhai for lunch.Then only i remembered about Rahim bhai and felt ashamed that I forgot about his lunch because there was curfew and he cannot have lunch outside.Srinivasan and Rahim bhai were sitting in a nearby table and had lunch happily chatting about some telugu movie.I asked them whether they know each other earlier, I was told no.

Around 5PM my work got over I started to airport.I was thirsty and asked Rahim Bhai whether drinking water was there in the car but he was not able to find.As my trip to Hyderabad was suddenly planned,i forgot to take sufficient cash and since I had debit card and credit card I was not worried.Around 200 rupees was there in my wallet.I asked Rahim Bhai to stop near a ATM.Most of the ATMs were closed and finally when when i found an ATM , it was closed due to insufficient cash.Seeing my worried look Rahim bhai asked me the reason.I told that I did not have sufficient cash to pay his taxi bill.He asked me not to worry and pay him next time when I visit Hyderabad.I told that I didn't have plans to visit Hyderabad in near future and asked him his bank account number so that I could transfer fund to his account.He laughed and told why should a poor person like him have bank account and told me to pay the taxi bill whenever I return next time to Hyderabad and asked me not to worry even if my future visit is after one year.Suddenly he stopped the car and asked me to wait for few minutes and went to a nearby shop.I thought he went for smoking or to get pan.After few minutes he came back with a mineral water bottle and a frooti packet.As i earlier told him that i was thirsty he bought these thinking that I was not even having a single penny.I was moved by his attitude and paid him the money for water bottle and frooti.Luckily there was a ATM near the airport and so I could pay him the taxi bill.I bid farewell to my new friend Rahim Bhai and boarded the aircraft.

On my return journey I was reading a news item which stated that many poor labourers had lost their daily wages due to curfew and curfew may be imposed to new areas of the city the following day . I was worried that my friend Rahim Bhai would loose his daily earning.Why such communal fights happen in a country where around 40 crore people depend on their daily wages. Anyone who has read The Holy Bible or The Holy Quran would agree with me that thousands of years before the birth of Christ(BC), a patriarch named Abraham lived and he had two sons named Isaac and Ismail.Descendants of Isaac are Jews and descendants of Ismail are Muslims.Both religions agree on this.Jews worship God of Abraham and Muslims also worship God of Abraham.This is an undisputed fact accepted by both the religions. Jews were waiting for God to send Messiah.Whoever believed Jesus Christ as the Messiah became Christians.Jews who did not accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah are waiting for his arrival.According to Christianity,Jesus is the Messiah and he is the son of God.All Christians worship God of Abraham and his son Jesus Christ.So it is a crystal clear fact that Muslims,Jews and Christians worship only God of Abraham.Barring few most of the Historians are of the view that Aryans migrated from central Asia and share common ancestors with Jews.The sacraments of Jews and Hindus are very much similar.So when every religion is worshipping the same God why there are Crusades, Jihads and Hindu militia in which thousands of innocents are killed.Our Father in Heaven will definitely disallow in Heaven, the clerics and politicians of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism who use religion to unleash violence.On the other hand there are people like Srinivasan who take care of the Hunger of a Muslim and people like Rahim Bhai who is very generous towards a Christian, ironically when their relatives are fighting with the people of other religion just few kilo metres away in Hyderabad.

11 comments:

  1. Ilangovan BalakrishnanApril 3, 2010 at 10:54 AM

    Wonderful & undisputable write up. It really touched my heart...Nice to know that your thinking goes beyond incidents. You should write more and more such issues Israel...I feel lucky being in touch...

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  2. Read your blog and it really touched me when you narrated how a Hindu cared for a Muslim and a Muslim for a Christian. I just wonder what these people are made of, who are behind such communal violence.

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  3. Thankyou Ilango Boss.This incident happened and actually Rahim Bhai's action made me to think.So credit to Rahim bhai.

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  4. Very beautiful narration, Israel. This is what you would call "Agape Love", which is in other words selfless love.

    All religious fanatics should take lessons from people like Rahim Bhai.

    Also, he may not be educated, and certainly would not have attended any fancy training program...but he showed what real "customer service" was!!!!

    If you have read Subroto Bagchi's book, 'The professional', you would call Rahim Bhai a "True Professional".

    Thanks for sharing this experience!!!!

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  5. Very very informative.You write heavy concepts in a very light manner.Keep writing.

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  6. I like you casual style when you write about "heavy" topics. A quality that I wish could inherit. Keep writing.

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  7. While the theists are busy searching for God, atheists busy denying God and agnostics going about their work, all of us seem to fail to take a moment's break and notice some of the Gods that have descended and live/walk among us. Very sensitive and sensible write.

    As for Israel, i see a writer-in-the-near-future in the making. Changing the first word of your blog to a more structured meaning would be a good first step to take. Scribblings they are'nt for sure.

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  8. Thank you Samuel for your very kind words.

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  9. Amalan I agree that theists are busy searching for God and athesits busy denying God, we dont notice the Gods who live with us.Well said.

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  10. This might seem weird but while reading i involunterly was staring at the word ABRAHAM and suddenly struk with a thought...just replace the first letter A in the last...we get BRAHAMA...Hindu God of creation.Well...though discussion of religions is totally a different topic. i really pity the people who fight....kill....and die in the name of religion because they are actually brainwashed to do so by the ppl who have a totally different political motive behind all this. There is nothing holy in war,then y do ppl call it holy war? I live in a muslim dominant area,where u can find a beautiful church and a lakshmi temple in the same lane.We hav a common ground where the namaz,sermons and homas are performed
    during our respective festivals and not a single conflict anytime.What ppl want is to live peacefuly with their loved ones,nobody wants to fight in the name of religion. But will the religious leaders understand this?well...if and when they
    understand this, the world will be no less than heaven.

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  11. Brahma and Abraham, very innovative thinking.

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