A sneak into the life different from ours............BEHIND THE GREYS

BEHIND THE GREYS:

 

He is an old man. We call him Nana . He has a fringe of grey white hair around his balding head, and his back is slightly hunched. Mr. Yusuf Khan ( Nana ) is a very old man who is employed to provide us with security when the sky changes colour and the sun disappears below the western horizontal. A man who travelled eight decades to stand here as an old man, beaten and weakened.

A night before yesterday, when I was sitting in front of our hostel, he was edging his hands towards the flame of fire . The light of the flame illuminated his tired and wrinkled face . When he was describing his life, his voice was slow , the map of wrinkles on his face told us the incredible journey of his life. His forehead told us of worries past and present.

      He is a layman, having five children, four of whom are far away from his shed . One of them is a 40 year old woman who is mentally challenged and was not accepted by society. His wife, Mrs. Zahida Khan, suffered from a severe brain haemorrhage some 20 years ago and suffered lots of financial problems for her treatment. Now he is also suffering from old age weakness and knee disorders, and he has suggested a knee transplant, but he is living with his pain and sorrow and has long since forgotten what it felt like to have joints that freely moved without pain . Now he is in a wheelchair given to him by a charitable organisation. With each movement, he hears the creak of age in his bones . His aches are his constant companions, always with him .

After a long discussion about his hard work, we gifted him with some fruits, nuts, and snacks and told him to give them to "Nani."

At the end, I asked him soulfully again, "Nana, Ab aaram se sojayen," and I remember the smile on his face giving me a lot of satisfaction , but I know he has covered all his griefs with that smile.

 

 

 

Some times I think there are lots of people in the world like Nana; can't we do something for them to change their lives and make them as happy as we are every day? 

Alhamdulilah!

 

  Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him)

narrated that the Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “If a young man honours an elderly on account of his age, Allah appoints someone to honour him in his old age.”

 (Al-Tirmidhi).

 

 

                      Thank you.