Akshay Phadke

Drama

5.0  

Akshay Phadke

Drama

Noor-E-Khuda

Noor-E-Khuda

3 mins
676


I must have been doing about 70 miles an hour just to keep the sun out of my side of the window. I was making my way back to Pune from my base to meet my family to make up for the many times that I have not been around. I have to make up for a lot of other things but that’s for later. So about halfway across the midlands of India, I saw this couple on the side of the road. The man was standing in a white dhoti kurta and the woman in an old worn-out sari was sitting on her haunches, tired of waiting for a bus that wouldn’t stop for them. I crossed them and realized that I was to be their ride that hot afternoon. So I stopped, reversed and drove up in front of them. The man thought I was asking for directions and asked me in a rustic way if he could help. I asked him in my broken Marathi if I could take him where he wanted to go. He still didn’t understand since not many of me had stopped their speeding cars on old state highways for elderly couples waiting to go somewhere. But once I offered again his look changed and I could tell that I had done the right thing to stop for them. He was almost in tears as he knew that both of them were tired making their way just to reach the road head. I helped him with his seatbelt and made the lady comfortable in the rear. His wife of many years looked suspiciously at me once they had settled into the car. He assured her that I meant well and not to worry. Her husbands’ assurance meant a lot to her since she just wanted to be sure in this unsure world.


I asked him what he did and where was he going. He worked in the fields with his wife and they were going to meet their little girl who had just had a baby and was a mummy now. She was married to a mason in a town just short of Pune. I told him I was also going to meet my little girl and her mummy. He asked me what I did and I told him I flew airplanes. He smiled and said I drove like that too. So I eased off on the pedal and took it easy. They planned to stay there for a few days. I told him I was coming back in three days and I would gladly get them back. He thanked me for the offer but said he really didn’t know how many days they would be staying. I thought that it probably depended on his son-in-law and his moods. He had a small bundle of stuff tucked in between his feet and I could make out that these were probably clothes or some goodies for the daughter and her baby. I could tell from his talk that they had been meaning to visit their little girl for a while and somehow it had not been possible. Now they were finally on the road and inching closer. They had just one girl, no other kids.


Then it dawned on me as to why I had stopped and why this couple were in my car. Something so wonderful about little angels. He was going to meet him and I was going to meet mine. Funny how god manages traffic and carpools like-minded people. The next time you think you need to stop…stop. You could be playing a small part in God's huge conspiracy to make ends meet.


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