The Whispering Chinar by Ali Rohila

Author:Ali Rohila [Rohila, Ali]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789354925924
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Published: 2022-04-06T00:00:00+00:00

7

The Rebound

To Ali’s surprise, the froth had moved to the bottom of the mug. He wasn’t sure if the heat of Muscat had evaporated the coffee or if he had actually drunk it. If he had, then it must have taken him, given the size of the mug, at least half an hour. He looked at his watch; it was 5.30 p.m. There were two hours for the flight to land. He took a deep breath and looked around. The coffee shop was largely empty. In a corner, there was a young Omani boy earnestly vying to impress an older white lady. The boy, perhaps on a date with the first Caucasian he could get hold of—never mind her age—was talking enthusiastically, while the lady seemed to simper at his inexperience. Outside, under the green and yellow canopy, the al fresco sitting had attracted a couple of Omanis, who were acclimatized to the heat of Muscat.

As Ali’s gaze swept across the place and settled on the crimson colour of the setting sun, it seemed to merge with the serene waters of the Gulf of Oman. He wondered why human beings were still fascinated by these mechanical processes of nature. But, today, his mind was quickly drawn from this repetitive calamity to the impending flight. He wasn’t sure if he was taking the right step, and if so with what objective. For once, he wasn’t sure about his own expectation. What would happen by the end of these two weeks? Was he alone in extending this hospitality or had he been subtly compelled to do it?

Life had been rewarding for Ali at every step. He had come a long way—from the corridors of PAF Degree College, Peshawar, to the auditoriums of the engineering and business universities and now the seaside coffee shop in Muscat. It had been seven years since he had left PAF Degree College. Since then, the pace of existence had snatched away the old friendships. He had hardly been in touch with anyone, and no one had made the effort to get in touch with him. He would often reminisce about his old friends, especially Akbar, but the modern societal expectation of being contacted first always became the barrier.

It had been almost a year since Ali’s transfer to Muscat. It was a quiet town by Pakistani standards, located by the Red Sea, where people still found the time to balance business and pleasure. The lower number of inhabitants in contrast with the vast empty land offered greater possibilities of horizontal expansion. Ali strongly believed that the character of people changed once a city started expanding vertically. That is when the age-old traditions of hospitality and warmth got replaced without compunction. However, he was happy to be living here at a time when generosity and kindness were still prevalent.

After engineering, Ali had decided to switch his career to commerce, bidding goodbye to the horrors of mathematics. During all the years of studying the subject, he could never come to terms with the concept of deciphering nature with the science called mathematics.

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