Shah Rukh Khan

I refused an onsite(USA) opportunity last year because I wanted to be with my family as my mother and my brother were to perform the Haj pilgrimage. Five million people performing prayers at Kaaba, Mecca was unprecedented.

“Nothing to worry. It’s lot safer and organized these days. Just make sure you are always with Mom” I advised my brother. Even though I sounded confident I was feeling uneasy for Mom who was going away for the 40 day trial amidst half a crore people. Then I learnt about what she felt when I had left the country and lived on the other side of the globe for years.

“It’s all fine here. We have good accommodation. We are praying”, called my brother when they had reached Mecca. In the initial few days, my brother was all charged up. He did Umrah(prayer) for all of us. He pelted stones at Shaitaan at Mina. He went to Arafa and they had spent a night out praying.

“Wow! This place is so amazing! There are people from every other country, esp. Asians and Africans. Those black Africans are so huge you know; but they are harmless. These Turkish women are so strong. They climb the hills so easily. But only Indians and Pakistanis understand Hindi. Others don’t even know English. We mostly talk in sign language. I’m taking lots of photos here”, told my brother on the phone

“Here, the only thing we do is walk. On an average I walk 10 miles per day. When old people go to bed their feet shiver. But I’m making sure Mom isn’t walking much”. I hadn’t liked it much.

After few more days he called me again and said, “I have lost more than 5 kilos. We are away from the Indian camps. Here, we have only Bangladeshis who speak Bengali”

“We have all the facilities here. Mom often complains about her feet hurting. She doesn’t eat much either. Here, the problem is not of physical tiredness. The issue is of communication. We are unable to talk anything to anybody. Whatever we talk is over the phone. Even locals don’t know English. That’s the torture”, told my brother despondently.

“Shut up! This is the place of God. Don’t say like that. It will be lot comfortable once we go to Medina”, I overheard Mom disagreeing with him.

Couple of days later my aunt called me and asked me to call my brother at Mecca immediately.

For a moment I froze. I called his cell, “Hello”

“Hello, Sajid? Nothing major. She is fine.”

“What happened to Mom?”

There was a pause.

“Dehydration and fever. She wasn’t eating; she had stomach pain all of a sudden. Then the temperature rose high. Looking for a hospital”, said my brother meekly
I had never felt more worried ever before. I asked him to give the phone to Mom and I said, “Mom, the only treasure I have is you. Please take a flight immediately and come back. We will say ‘Sorry’ to God”

My eyes were moist.

“Nai Beta. Don’t say like that. It’s a sin. This is the land of my Prophet. I would be lucky if I get to die here” She said. That hurt me like hell. Faith can be such strong!

Before hanging the call, I had told my brother bitterly, “If something happens to her, I am not gonna leave you!”

Then I was so upset that I didn’t call them for next few days. I have no idea how challenging was that for my brother there. He had no one to talk to and no one to help them. But my aunt made sure she called Mom all the time and made her feel good.

Couple of weeks later they landed in Bangalore after completing the pilgrimage. I went and hugged Mom. She was fine and smiling. Then I summed up some courage and asked my brother, “What exactly happened after I hung up the phone that day when Mom was unwell?”

He said, “Oh… That’s pretty interesting. Let me tell you," He continued.

"Then a Malaysian couple came there. We wished each other. I asked, “English?’
The lady said, “No English. Malay. Malay”

“Oh! We Hindi!”

“Hindi?? India??”

“Yes. India”

“Shah Rukh Khan??”

Hearing this, I was pleasantly surprised.
I said enthusiastically, “Yes. Yes. Shah Rukh Khan!!”

“Kuch kuch hota hai??”

“Yes. Kuch kuch hota hai!!”

“Dil……to pagaal hai!?”

“Yes. Dil to Pagal hai!”

 We were so happy that we were smiling broadly at each other. Then suddenly a Pakistani Maulvi warned us, “Shhhhhh.. No movies talk here!”

They offered some sort of juice to Mom, helped me find a hospital and accompanied us till the hospital. Mom recovered fully in 2 days in the hospital”

As he said the above his eyes shone bright.

“God only could have saved us if those Malaysians weren’t there”, sighed my mother.

I then thought, how easily do we accuse the film stars to be selfish and showy but we hardly realize the love and harmony they spread across the world. It’s priceless. SRK surely does it I guess. Even the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, AR Rehman, Sachin Tendulkar transcend every barrier and unite people across the world. Their fans belong to different religions, countries and communities. Even though they speak different languages, they find the language of ‘love’ to communicate.

Earlier my mother didn't have any interest in the movies. Now she adores SRK :-)