Page 18 - Eloquence 2017

RETURN GIFT

TM. Shoaib Sultan

My Office is on the top floor of a Skyscraper in Countless people work under the sun, on con-
Bahrain. Whenever summer arrives, my sun- struction sites, on roads, in small suffocated
facing room starts becoming really hot and my shops and elsewhere- most of whom can’t even
fingers keep reaching the A.C. remote and I afford a fan in their own abodes or now allowed.
keep monitoring my air conditioner temperature. At the same time, many of us remain too en-
It was just the beginning of summer which was grossed in the rat race for designer clothes and
slowly raising the mercury of the island, one day accessories. The severity of the weather affects
while closing the blinds in order to shut out the all of us. While most of us are able to find solu-
harsh sun, I glanced on the adjacent plot where tions, countless people suffer through these
construction of a new building had just started. harsh six to eight long months of an unforgiving
There were 30 to 40 people who used to work weather.
continuously everyday under the sun, sometimes Sometimes we get so absorbed in our own prob-
the heat is so much into their physical vessel lems, we forget to pause and look around. We
that evaporation of their bodily water could be forget to look outside our air conditioned car.
easily accessible from the beads of sweat from Let’s rejoice and be thankful for the countless
their eyebrows. I unintentionally started noticing blessings we have today. But can we pause!
them and became aware about their routine. And let our compassion rule over our mad rat
Sometimes, I noticed that they are taking a race in life? You might have to cut down on one
break with some food which is not at all hygienic of your luxuries to meet somebody else’s basic
according to my perception. There is always a needs or with little care you may have to cut out
shortage of water, accessibility for washroom nothing you might have already been blessed
usage also seemed to me as a huge problem, that you can help others without cutting down
working in odd hours and completely in an un any luxuries from your life to help someone smile
humanitarian world the only hope of ray they out there.
had ,was a wet cloth which they tied and kept Seasons comes and go, even the thought of
around their head & neck, shook hands with the compassion in our hearts may appear and disap-
due, hot, humid weather all around. I don’t know pear, but it’s just someone above our head who
if they have fun in their life there, but even if they may watch us that are we giving in return, what
had, it was not witnessed by me. My heart was we already have as blessings from the almighty.
filled by compassion for these laborers. Unknow- It will be just a little return to fellow humans
ingly my heart followed them and I started ob- which are also sons of same Almighty, so let’s
serving them every day, like a young heart in think about some ways to send return Gifts in
love which has no reason to what it does. whatever capacity we can from the gifts which as
On the other hand, when I observed my life, I am blessings is already be- stowed upon us by the
blessed enough to be able to work and sleep in Almighty.
an air conditioned room, yet I complain about the I remember the great lines from the renowned
weather more than them. I complain when I have Urdu poet Nida Fazli which says
to move out of an air-conditioned car to go to an “Apna Gham le kar kahin aur na jaya jaye, Ghar
air-conditioned mall or a restaurant. I complain me bikhri hui cheezo ko sajaya jaye. Ghar se
for those two minutes under the scorching sun. I masjid hai bahut door chalo yun kar le, Kisi rote
become impatient when the housemaid turns off hue bache ko Hasaya jaye.”
the air- conditioner at home for cleaning. While I Which means,
quickly turn on the AC as the job is done, she “Why we should carry our pain somewhere else,
sweats profusely and yet moves on with her job. We should rearrange our own scattered house.
I whine to my wife when my 21 months old’s per- the mosque is far from home, so let’s do this
sonal paddling pool is punctured, while many in Lets make a weeping child laugh.”
the city just looking for water to drink and finish Hope this will be, also accepted, as a compas-
their essential chores. sionate prayers and Return Gift !!!

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