To know Rabia, you'll have to read blog titled 'To blog or not to blog.' Look at the right side of this page and click on the afore-mentioned blog page, October entry.
Rabia was here for 3 months. She has her fields and animals to take care of. The temporary caretakers she had posted at her home to look after her home and agriculture have to go back to their homes. The speediest 3 months I have known.
The day she reached my house,3 months back, she handed me Rs 600/- and her pan card. She said she would buy a burkha with the money in Mumbai and put all her possessions in my faith. I wondered where we would get a burkha in this massive state-like-city. Especially since at that point of time being able to take 3 steps without getting breathless was by itself a challenge. I did not say anything to her, preferring to delay her disappointment.
The morning of her departure to Dehradun, 3 months later, I was startled out of an REM dream as my father panicked into my room without his usual knocks-on-the-door.
'Juri, Juri', he repeated till I opened my eyes, 'Rabia's train has already left', he panted.
I remained quiet for a few minutes, trying to digest this information. Wondered for a moment if my old man was turning senile. *guilty smiley*. Ma soon walked up the steps to my room, following the old man. I asked her what the time was.
'3.30 ,' she said.
It was 3.30 in the morning. I got upset that I was woken up from one of my rare 3.30 slumbers. I usually got up at 2.30 am because of steroid induced alertness. This night, for once, I had slept late and I was woken up from deep sleep. Grumble. I waited for the Pa's explanation, certain that he was confusing things. He explained that the ticket was for 12.05 am of the 30th Nov and any second after 12.00 midnight of 29th Nov would be 30th. So today being the 30th, the train had already left in the night. I reached for the laptop and the 3G dongle and confirmed my father's logic. I complained that since the train had already left, they might as well have woken me up at a more decent time in the morning. Every extra minute of sleep was now of more value to me than diamonds.
But my old geezers are among the smartest old guys I have seen. At 6 am, they were at the railway station and got tatkal tickets for Rabia's departure by 11.00 am. She was off as per our original schedule on the train even though technically there was a change in the date on the ticket. My folks dropped her at the station, settled her on her berth, got friendly with the co passengers and requested them to take care of Rabia. It was a day full of drama.
So why was Rabia going to Dehradun? Because she has two sons driving commercial vehicles in Dehradun. The younger one wants to get married to a girl he has fallen in love with and the girl's parents want to meet the boy's mother. So Rabia goes to Dehradun to meet her prospective buari and her family. She got her burkha in a stall in Haji Ali. It cost much more than the 600 rupees she had deposited in my possession, but since yours truly gifted it to her, it didn't matter. My folks gave her a Mumbai darshan and her greatest desires of seeing and stepping into the 'sagar', going to Haji Ali and getting a burkha were fulfilled. She also got a sweater as Dehradun is cold in December. Really cold, if you go by Wikipedia. It is more difficult to get a sweater in Mumbai than a burkha. We succeeded at the nth moment.
The burkha was really pretty. It was black with lovely embroidery down its front and on the sleeves. I'd like to wear one someday.
I liked what I read about Dehradun. It is the capital of Uttarakhand. Located in the Garhwal region, it is 236 km north of New Delhi and is one of the "Counter Magnets" of the National Capital Region (NCR) being developed as an alternative centre of growth to help ease the migration and population explosion in the Delhi metropolitan area. It is located in the Doon Valley on the foothills of the Himalayas nestled between two of India's mightiest rivers — the Ganges on the east and the Yamuna on the west. The city is famous for its picturesque landscape and slightly milder climate and provides a gateway to the surrounding region. Dehradun has some of the best educational institutes of the country and several tourist destinations in it's proximity including sanctuaries, hill stations and pilgrimage spots. Interestingly, Dehradun garners a good per capita income close to $2400 (Rs. 1,31,000 per 2012 figures; national average $800). It has strong historical links to the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Chinese traveler Huen Chang, Shri Ram Rai Ji, the eldest son of the Seventh Sikh Guru Har Rai Ji, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and was invaded by Mahmud of Ghazni during his campaigns into India followed by Taimooralang in 1368.
It is now the next destination on my wish-list. Rabia set the way.
