Bakra
Qassab. That is how I am called. Tomorrow by this time, I will be just a name. This is what will remain of me. Or will it?
Me and nine other brothers reached the shore early this dusk. The shores that would absorb our blood and digest our bodies; the shores of the glamorous Mumbai. The land of the plenty and the rich.
As we disembarked and made our way, my destiny loomed ahead majestically. The building that would be my destiny. My Taj, my mausoleum.
Did I imagine I would breath my last in a land that is foreign yet no stranger? Did I imagine, that I would fulfill my purpose with such grandeur? No. I am glad I dint end up like my many other brothers who vanished without trace and glory.
I have come a long way from my home.The slopes of the hills, the green pastures, beaming sultry sun and the cloudless sky. How I raced across the meadows, hopped among the fields! That time when we locked horns for that bakri!!! All that wrestling, soil and hormones. They all seem aeon ago! Now, unfortunately I have grown up. Is just the enlargements of limbs and organs called growth? Now, what is the point of this contemplation?
One fateful day the choosing happened. I was among the elite few; the chosen ones. Back then, it was a matter of pride and jealousy. You just dont get picked up easily by the sodaagar. Particularly this one. How was I to know at that moment, that my destiny was erased and rewritten? Why did I consent to come here, you may ask. The pastures are greener and glitzy here. If I spill some blood here, that small square of dirt in my pen back home will get a little greener.
I should not be letting these thoughts take over me. I have come here to fulfill my purpose and so will I.
Now, let me live my life. I dont have much of it left.
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"..... Excellent choice, ma'm. It is one of the signature dishes of the Taj. Prepared with hand-picked Indian spices and with the best of the lamb from... Well, best of the lambs in the neighborhood. May I have your choice of the wine ma'm?"
Me and nine other brothers reached the shore early this dusk. The shores that would absorb our blood and digest our bodies; the shores of the glamorous Mumbai. The land of the plenty and the rich.
As we disembarked and made our way, my destiny loomed ahead majestically. The building that would be my destiny. My Taj, my mausoleum.
Did I imagine I would breath my last in a land that is foreign yet no stranger? Did I imagine, that I would fulfill my purpose with such grandeur? No. I am glad I dint end up like my many other brothers who vanished without trace and glory.
I have come a long way from my home.The slopes of the hills, the green pastures, beaming sultry sun and the cloudless sky. How I raced across the meadows, hopped among the fields! That time when we locked horns for that bakri!!! All that wrestling, soil and hormones. They all seem aeon ago! Now, unfortunately I have grown up. Is just the enlargements of limbs and organs called growth? Now, what is the point of this contemplation?
One fateful day the choosing happened. I was among the elite few; the chosen ones. Back then, it was a matter of pride and jealousy. You just dont get picked up easily by the sodaagar. Particularly this one. How was I to know at that moment, that my destiny was erased and rewritten? Why did I consent to come here, you may ask. The pastures are greener and glitzy here. If I spill some blood here, that small square of dirt in my pen back home will get a little greener.
I should not be letting these thoughts take over me. I have come here to fulfill my purpose and so will I.
Now, let me live my life. I dont have much of it left.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"..... Excellent choice, ma'm. It is one of the signature dishes of the Taj. Prepared with hand-picked Indian spices and with the best of the lamb from... Well, best of the lambs in the neighborhood. May I have your choice of the wine ma'm?"
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