A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE

It is already two months after my daughter and wife reminded me of returning to my homeland. Her contract period will end next month so I can have to speed up my procedures, to make them return safely to my homeland. There are so many formalities to complete to send them to the homeland.

The last two months in the office is very hectic for me. I was busy with month-end closure preparation and finally, it was finished. I am a bit free for fifteen days hereafter. I planned to go through the process so that I can send them to my hometown easily.

I was thinking about it, at the same time my mobile rang and it was from my uncle. He calls only in an emergency, or to ask for any requirement. I picked up the call," Hello, Uncle, how are you". He said he is fine, but I realized the pain in his sound. I asked, "Uncle, what is the matter, is everything fine over there? He said, your father is not feeling well, he got a heart attack, it is a mild attack, but the doctor said, to be careful.

The next attack will be, not so small. They both miss you and your family. I realized the pain in my nerves and heart. That is the very depictable situation I ever experienced in my life. I am filled with guilt that this is the time my family requires me but I cannot able to go. Finally, I decided to return to my hometown.

There is silence for sometimes, I forget that uncle is still on hold. I gathered courage and told him, that Uncle we are planning to return to India, in four months. My family and me missing everyone a lot. I am fed up with this life. He told, "It is a good decision my child, maybe dad's heart attack is they are missing you and children a lot. At least during his last time, you will accompany, him and he may live longer. We all are waiting for your return to my homeland.

The phone is cut. It is nearly ten years, and I am serving another nation, but it benefitted me a lot in my country. I earned well in these years. My family doesn't have problems with basic needs, but it aches that you do not belong to this country. I and my wife faced a lot of citizenship differences during these periods.

The citizen of Singapore always reminds us that we are Indians, we feel proud in the beginning, but slowly we understood that they are mocking us. We felt it was fine because they remind us that you are not among us. It was evening and the sun is going to set so that he can start a new day. Every NRI life is like a sun, you have to go down so that you can rise with new energy and brightness, they need Indians in all sectors, but they still consider you as an outsider. But we never consider foreigners as an outsider.

I take a walk outside my apartment and thought about the day I put my foot in the first country Qatar. It was a different experience for me. I still remembered the day when I boarded the airplane. I headed towards the platform where Qatar airways are parked, I was shocked to see the plane as huge as an elephant because I only saw planes flying above the sky.

I followed other passengers and headed toward the plane. I showed my tickets, and the air hostess headed me towards my seat, it was a huge cabin, because I booked a ticket for economics class. They told me to take my seat and switch off the mobile, and put my hand luggage in the cabin. I have done as they said. But I am still nervous, and I got the window seat.

After a while, a girl of nearly eighteen years came beside me, she came in hurriedly and sat on the seat beneath me. I understood that she is also nervous, her hands are shivering, I helped her to keep her luggage bag, in the cabin.

Before she kept the luggage, she had taken a book, I felt it will be some novel, but it is something else. Before I look into it, there is an announcement to put on the seat belt, I finally found the seat belt and put it on, but that girl is still searching for it, I have to show her, but before the air hostess helped her to put the seat belt.

She opened that book and started chanting something, I become curious about the thing she is reading, and after that, I saw that her face is fine and active, and she magically stop shivering, I gathered my confidence and asked her, what it that made you more comfortable? She turned to me shockingly and asked are you Indian. She was filled with happiness, and I told yes, I am Indian.

She told me that, it is nothing but a Hanuman Chalisa, which every Hindu chants when they feel nervous. It is the prayers of God that make you relieved from fear and nervousness. I smiled after hearing that, and her innocent gesture. She told me it will work, if you want to try then do it by yourself.

I tried to think of the thoughts in Quran, which state, "The solution to every problem in Sabra (Patience) and Iftikhar (Seeking Forgiveness). As she told it to work excellently and my nervousness is gone from my heart. I was told that until the take-off.

She is still chanting the words. It was mesmerizing and I felt the purity, of god's existence. Till that, I believe that God doesn't exist. After this I realize that there is an existence of power in the environment, it doesn't have any shape or size but it will exist in reality.

Thinking this I suddenly saw a mesmerizing scenario outside, the flight is taken off, and she stopped chanting and accompanied me to see the beautiful scenario outside. The clouds are like moving snow in the quilt of the black sky.

I was amazed to see the development of science and technology, it is a time when we never thought of using, a wheel as a mode of transport, and today humans can fly up above the sky. It is said Raavan is the first person to develop the mini model of the Airplane during the 5th century.

The huge buildings of Doha are like a matchbox for me. It is amazing. The girl beside me was also shocked to see the beautiful scenery outside. It is a different experience for me. The night sky is filled with stars and moons but still, I can't touch them.

 When I was a child, I felt that when I go up in the sky, I can touch the stars and moon with my hands. Now I understand it was just thinking. Stars and the moon are still far away in the galaxy. Well, I saw the girl is still watching out of the windows.

I can't stop my curiosity and finally asked her," Hello, it is your first time boarding the Airplane. She smiled and said, no but I always feel afraid while boarding the plane. I was shocked to hear that because during the 90s it is rare to see a girl going out alone. I was more interested in knowing about her. I asked her about, what she is doing.

She told me she is a reporter and she travels, sometimes gets the news, and also, she likes to explore new things like tombs, temples, and mosques, to get information about the secrets and publish articles on the bases of the investigation.

She asked about me, and I also told her, where I am going, and asked her about the book which she was reading, she told me it was a religious book called hanuman Chalisa, where the quotes of Hanuman also called Monkey God, this is his stories and the things he has done. He is the form of one of the Hindu gods.

She talked all about the adventures, and experiences she gathered, I understood that she was dedicated to her work, and she loved to share them all. Many religious things I don't understand anything but I listened to her and time passed fast.

We talked for a long and talked when we both got asleep, we, don't know. It was a very interesting trip for me. 8hrs 35 min passed very fast, it is not as comfortable to sleep in the seat but tiredness and continuous sitting made me exhausted and I slept well.

The announcement of the landing of the plane woke me up. I was amazed to see that I crossed seven seas within a few hours. I was shocked to see that my dreams started flying above the sky. I saw that girl is also awake and she had already taken her hand luggage.

I thanked her for giving me company throughout my journey. I like to talk to her. I approached her to ask her name but, before that, she told, me we are strangers, our journey is for short time, but is excellent. If we are fated to meet next time, we will know each other more. She bid farewell to me and I also forget to ask her name.

This is a new beginning for me, I both came out of the cabin and w3e followed the instructions and she also told me where to fetch my luggage bags, I landed in Qatar during the winter season, but nights are still cold. She was with me until I came out of the airport.

She went in another direction where someone is there to pick her up. She told me to exchange the Indian Rupees for Dirham at one of the counters and I have done that before I come out of the airport. I was at ease that she safely met with her colleagues, and I took a taxi from the airport. My Uncle gave me one of his friend's addresses and contact numbers, I called that person from the PCO outside the airport.

He is friendly and taught me the route to come I fetch a taxi from the airport and told the address to the driver and told him to take me to that address. Luckily, I know Urdu and the Arabic Language, and he understood and he has taken me to that place easily.

On the way I came across Bhuj Khalifa, I read it in the books but never imagined that I can able to see it. On the way, I came across many things which are amazing to me. The driver stopped the taxi in front of huge apartments, with luxurious facility and, and they are touching the sky. The person welcomed me and after dinner, I asked them about the hotels in the vicinity. They said it is not required.

They said they have one of the friend's apartments in the areas near to your office, they are not living there, you can take that house for time being. I asked about the rent, and they told me it is 25 dirhams, I said it is fine, I will afford it. I had to join the office by tomorrow, So I slept early and the night sky is the most beautiful thing in this world.

The night sky was juniper-purple. The sound of intoning bees filled the air. The stars were glowing like beacons for the lost souls of the world. A feathered medley echoed through the trees. The garlic smell of ramsons drifted through the air. The clouds were bracketed to the eternal, summer sky. It was like a dome of solar blue. The night sky silk soft. A broth of smells swirled around me. The food we ate was honeysuckle sweet.

I found not much difference in the living of the people. It was a different experience for me, I never felt that in my life I came across a very different experience. I just rewind the new experience and sleep came on the way. The waves of old memories came across in my minds. I was obsessed by those old memories andnot understood when I slept. It was llike a beautiful and unforgetful dreams.