KYA KAMAAL HAI

 




“Yes, and how many ears must one man have
before he can hear people cry?”

From Bob Dylan’s song – ‘Blowing in the Wind’


Our two-month summer programme just concluded, yesterday. We had decided to keep the certification ceremony simple; and, therefore, held it in our newly-renovated premises. Three of our young students were capturing the memories through their mobile cameras. Tanvir Shaikh, an aspiring pilot, was one of them. Around 1 noon, all of a sudden, Tanvir’s phone rang (as he hadn’t kept it on the silent mode)… The ringtone was a soothing azan (the Islamic call to prayer). Among the 25-plus members present in the room, he was the only Muslim. The haunting sound of azan had turned every head turn towards Tanvir… who sounded apologetic for not keeping his phone on the silent mode.

I, instantly, said to all, “It’s a beautiful call to prayer... Let’s be silent for a moment.” I let the azan play, as the Grace before meal……

The stillness in the room was very poignant… It didn’t really matter what that prayer meant, and whether the God was Allah, Ishwar of Jehova. In the stillness of our hearts, we forgot, for a while, to which religion we all belonged… There was no difference… We were all one… We were all able to appreciate the goodness in each other.

Then, what divides us? What makes us fight in the name of our religions --  Yes, in the name of our Gods?

I said ‘Gods’!!! While we all know, that there is only One!!!

It’s sad… Very disturbing…

To wind up, with my wife and son, I decided to watch the latest Hindi movie (written and directed by Imtiaz Ali) –- ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’.

It’s our son’s recommendation. The star cast included Naseeruddin Shah, Diljit Dosanjh and Rajat Kapoor. “You will love it,” was the only brief our son had given us… I wanted a break after two months of nonstop action.

It’s a late-night  show at PVR (Jio World Drive). By the time the film got over, it was 1.30 am…

Worth it? Loved it?

Well, we smiled, laughed, cried… and came out a lot moved, a lot helpless… The guilt was palpable… The stillness we had experienced when Tanvir’s mobile phone accidentally played the azan ringtone… “It’s a beautiful call to prayer,” I had asked everyone to be quiet, till it ended…

And, here, at 1.30 in the night, this haunting song -– ‘Kya Kamaal Hai’ -- by Diljit Dosanjh (Music by A. R. Rahman) came up on the screen… The movie was over… People were leaving… We sat back till the song ended…

And, even after the song ended… we still sat there, spellbound...






“You will love the movie”… Yes, this is the only brief, even I wish to give you. Please watch it…

 

GERLAD D’CUNHA

Pic.: www. telegraphinida.com

Video: Tips Official and A.R. Rahman

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