An unforgettable glimpse

Zia Darakshan

Two things in life are inevitable – birth and death. That means they are bound to happen. But when, where, how and in what circumstances, no one knows.  

It was a hot summer day, the night before last year’s Eid-ul-Fitr. People were busy in making purchases at prominent market places in the Srinagar city. The sight of a tremendous rush of people at bakery outlets was not unusual as it happens on the festive occasion of Eid.  After non-veg foodstuff, it’s the bakery without which Eid festivities are incomplete. Bakery shops are looted till the last cookie left in the display. I too joined the bandwagon rush of Eid and was busy in making some purchases at a bakery outlet in the Karan Nagar locality of Srinagar. This Eid shopping at the bakery outlet is an unforgettable moment for me in my lifetime for two reasons. One, the display of trust by the salesman of the bakery outlet. As I was busy in purchasing a few varieties of the bakery, my 5-year toddler cried for the biryani, which was decoratively displayed at the counter of the shop. As my child got cranky for the biryani, I was left with no choice than to leave all the work aside and buy him mouth-watering biryani. I was not carrying cash, so I insisted on paying through the card. However, I was told that the card machine was out of order due to some technical fault. So, I enquired if there was any ATM located nearby, the generous salesman of the shop asked me to drop the money the next day instead. I was awestruck by the trust he reposed in me. I asked him, what if I don’t turn up? He replied with the same poise, ‘still its not a problem’.Flabbergasted by his reply I left the shop without buying a bakery.Now happened the most tragic and unforgettable moment. As I stepped outside, I saw a black SUV on the other side of the road. The SUV looked familiar, as I watched closely I saw a glimpse of my mentor and friend sitting inside the vehicle. Before I could cross the road and greet him, a minibus all of a sudden came from nowhere and stood just in front of the SUV. The bus completely blocked the view of the other side of the road and the SUV was out of my sight. As the bus left, I tried to hurry to cross the road and catch hold of my mentor, I found the SUV missing, as it had left the spot.I was aghast over the insensitive bus driver who sheepishly managed to escape the traffic signal without any realization of the agony of passerbys. Anyways, I headed for the home. By late afternoon, I reached home and got busy with the domestic chores to get preparations done for the Eid. However, the generous bakery man and the inconsiderate bus driver were constantly on my mind. Before it was dusk, all the news channels were broadcasting news that brought every eye  to tears . Yes, it was the announcement of Shujaat Bukhari’s killing, who was murdered in broad daylight by unknown gunmen just near his office. It was a moment of shock and grief for the whole nation. The news tugged at my heart, stirring the memory of the death of my mentor. It was a glimpse of Shujaat Bukhara to whom I missed to meet because of the inconsiderate bus driver.Lament over the lost opportunity to see my mentor and friend for the last time still haunts me .It was something that the universe had already planned, however ,it dawned on me after the incident took place.  Its been one year since Shujaat left all of us in grief .Death is bound to happen but true when ,, where and how is definitely unpredictable. We are in complete oblivion about what is going to happen next moment. Its been a year now, I still feel myself just waiting for the minibus to leave and pave way for me to cross the road and bade goodbye to my friend for the last time. Truly, life is full of surprises and is unpredictable most of the time.May Allah grant peace to the noble soul. Ameen!