HOLY IDS & THEIR BENEFICIARIES

The two holy Ids that have passed us recently - Id-e-Milad and Id-e-Maulad - remind one of Mr Ismail Khan, who retired as a Chief Reviser of a leading English daily in New Delhi. He was unassuming and mild-mannered, unless pushed beyond endurance. He treated his juniors as his colleagues and chose his words carefully when pointing out their mistakes.
A devout Muslim, he never hesitated to participate in other religious festivals. He would walk home to Darya Ganj, near Jama Masjid, in Delhi, instead of hiring a vehicle and dress up as conservatively as he could. He never showed off. Originally from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), he left his homeland for secular India and married and settled here.
As is the wont with devout Muslims, he would buy a kid and raise the animal as his own child, showering love and affection on it till the Id-uz-Zuha (Bakrid) day, when it was destined to be sacrificed.
All his colleagues looked forward to the day when the holy sacrifice - well prepared with codiments and herbs - would arrive, packed in snow white sheets, along with the tandoori Khamiras and sweet Sheermals.
Unfortunately, most of us Indians are known to have long tongues, which makes us many enemies, most of the times unnecessarily. And, equally unfortunately, we are not thankful - or grateful.
The long tongues and ingratitude made Mr Khan stop his sacrifice sharing with his colleagues.
They said that he was sending the sacrifice to his superiors as a bribe to enhance his career.
That, in a nutshell, is the human nature for you.

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