It’s been almost a month since
I’ve landed in Qatar. A change in culture, climate and people around me has
been diverting, but yet difficult from all that I miss from back home. Even
though miles apart, all my loved ones have tried their best to not make me feel
the difference as much as they can. The thing about missing someone is that it
gets easier every day, because even though you are one day further from the
last time you saw them, you are one day closer to the next time you will.
At the same time, one gets to
learn many a new thing in such an experience. Speaking of experiences, the
other day on my way back from work I decided to get down on the way to have my
dinner as it got late due to overtime work handed over to me. I got down to
have a slice of pizza, letting go off the company car on its way so that I
could calmly have my dinner and walk to my stay without having to rush about
it.
The pizza having found its way
down right to my tummy washed down by some Coke, I decided to leave for my
place. As the pizza was nowhere close to what we get back in India,
disheartened but uncomplaining because I was too hungry and tired to do so, I
walked over to a store nearby to get a bottle of Barbican and some milk. Having
got what I wanted, I stepped out of the store right into the midst of the
weekend crowd. Weekends here are like political protests or dharnas like in India where everybody is
right on the streets and yelling their throats out (just their way of having a
conversation with their fellows). Not my cup of tea.
I looked for an escape route to
my right and I see a route with less people. Not much of a choice after all as
it was more like switching from China to India. Wading through the crowd, I
spotted a man around 20-30 meters away standing on top of a slightly higher
platform holding his mobile out with his left hand as if he was taking a
selfie.
An African in a beanie taking a
selfie in the midst of everybody in the planet. I was like, Heights of Self
Obsession!
As I walked slowly I noticed him
shaking his right hands as well while still holding the phone out with his
left. A selfie video?? That’s even funnier, because at this point almost
everybody behind and around this guy were staring at him. I for a moment had a
feeling that this guy was tipsy high and acting weird shaking his right hand
looking at his phone. The more closer I got to him I avoided direct eye contact
because I felt that would be weird for the both of us. As I reached right next
to him, I noticed that this guy wasn’t drunk. He was sober as anyone on the
planet could be, and only his hand movement from distance appeared to be like
that of a drunkard.
As I passed him, I turned my head
around to see what he actually was doing. I noticed that on his mobile screen,
a person on Skype was communicating back at him in sign language. I felt so
embarrassed to have assumed what this person was or what he was doing and for
some reason I felt very emotional too.
All that went through my mind was
how hard he was trying to make his near ones close even though life was much
less easier for him. I was so happy that technology has brought us to such
level that even the challenged ones can use it to their needs. Distance or
missing someone will always be there. But trying to stay close is what matters.
It’s not so tough too. You just need to try.
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