THE QUEST FOR AN HONEST ANSWER

The day before yesterday, i.e. 27th of July, 2022, could have ended as any other day, had I not hastily decided to go out with my college friend who accidentally happened to be from my hometown. As we decided over a phone call, I shunned my laziness, got ready, tied my shikha sutra (very thin pony tail), and with a few instruction along with a hundred rupee note, I was on my way to meet my friend. We had mutually decided a place to meet from where we were to be on our way to the lake nearby. I didn't need to wait for even a minute and an e-rickshaw arrived, which was heading into the direction I had to take. "Kahaan Jana hai? (Where do you want to go?"), he enquired. "Dharmshala underpass ke neeche"(Below the Dharmshala underpass), I replied. "Peechhe waali seat par baith jaaiye"(sit on the back seat), he respectfully said.  Must admit that UP government is doing excellent job by eliminating gasoline run taxi vehicles. There was only one passenger sitting in the rickshaw. Light blue full sleeve shirt, black formal pants, blackish formal shoes and a typical salesman bag was all he was about. Short height, something around 5'7", was his built, full of fat, so much so that it had reached his face, making him look like a fair skinned pig. As amusing as it might sound, I've never seen a man wearing a goggle over spectacles before this one. Anyway, the journey began, while I was unconcerned about everything except my destination and the cash I had in my pocket. Suddenly, the passenger asked the rickshaw driver, "Gayatri mantra jaante ho?" (Do you know Gayatri mantra?"). "Nahi" (No), was the driver's reply. My ears were attentive towards this conversation now. "Hmmm. Ya hayyu Ya Qayyum padh ke auto main baitha Karo. Isse bhi barkat hogi." (Hmmm. Chant Ya hayyu Ya Qayyum before you sit in your rickshaw. You'll have profits). My ears weren't ready for this unexpected turn of events. I now directly stared towards that passenger, right into his shrouded eyes. "Ji, thik" (yes, okay), the rickshaw driver replied in a nervous tone, and understandably so, as he couldn't afford hurting his economic interests by countering this advance. It was now very clear to me as to what was the religious affiliation of that fat pig. "Haan, Allah ke sau naam hote hain, ye dono bhi un main se hain. Isko padhna chahiye, iske liye pak saaf rahna padta hai" (Yes, Allah has 100 names, these two are among them too. You need to remain clean and pure for chanting them.), evidently the man did not stop his coercion attempts. The rickshaw driver remained silent to this. The passenger was about to say something more, but then he noticed my expressions and his lips were sealed. He then continued to talk about the family issues being faced by the driver and other trivial matters here and there, occasionally displaying sympathy and friendliness. It was clear from the conversation that the rickshaw driver had been serving this man since a while and the man was using the economic interests of the poor man to coerce him to convert, atleast that was his ulterior motive. My blood was boiling with anger which I subdued somehow. I knew the right way to channelise it. When I got off the rickshaw and paid the fare, I told the driver, "Auto shuru karne se pahle Ganesh ji ka naam liya karo, sab achcha chalega, aur Hanuman chalisa padh liya karo, bhoot aur rakshas door rahenge" (Chant the name of lord Ganesh before you start your rickshaw, your business will run well, and recite Hanuman chalisa, it will keep the ghosts and demons at bay).

I could see the sparkle in his eyes when he got to hear the words supporting his will to fight against the mentally tyranny and coercion. "Ji bilkul, hum vahi karte hain" (Yes absolutely, I actually do that), he replied in a cheerful tone. I looked at the pig, he understood what I told him silently, and I hope he understood his attempts were foiled, while the driver admitted his devotion to his gods. 

I was with my friend now, enjoyed the evening, the life went on. But I was left with a question. I don't know who should it be addressed to. 

Why???? Why?????? Why can't this "peaceful" community let others be? Why can't they just let others live with their beliefs? Why this consistent attempt to ensure that everyone who doesn't believe in my faith should do so, by hook or crook?

I've answers to these questions from their theology, but it's for many other Hindus who live in the so called Bhai Bhai utopia, to ask this question to themselves and look for answers and come out of this syndrome. 

This man, who evidently had a decent educational background, and a well to do economic level, had the same mindset as his puncture repairer co-religionists. This incident reminded me of a young teen named Abdul Ali, who was my classmate in tenth standard. His attempts to prove the superiority of his religion through his arguments, played role in dragging me out of the utopia and re-assess my views. For example, "The new testament is corrupted, and the old testament is rare to find now, so Qur'an is the only authentic divine book left now". Such were his attempts. All of this when he came from an economically well off family, with good educational level and studied in a convent school. 

THINK THINK THINK