I haven’t unlike many of our generation dreamt of luxury, of comfort or of owning Apple phones, omega watches, branded clothing, luxury cars, humongous bungalows. There is nothing wrong with it, it’s what makes us human. But I am certainly different and I’ll say it with full narcissistic pride of mine that I feel different, I don’t want any of these, I do not want luxurious comfort, I feel I am Allah’s special child. I want a bit of discomfort in all stages of my life except death. There I want a comfortable death and Hereafter.
But long before that, here in this vanishing absolutism, I want to see the creation of my lord, I want to travel all around the world, I want to witness the sky and deep within. Mujhe Apne mulk ke kone kone me jaana hai, har rang dhang seekhna, samajhna or jaanna hai, Goa ke dhang ho ya Ujjain ke rang. From the architecture of Hampi to root bridges of meghalaya. I want to witness the majesty of Himalayas from Kashmir to Arunachal , the magic of Kerala to the gift of Lakshdweep’s coral and Andamans beaches. I want to sleep in the golden arms of Thar and wake up in a moonlit night of the best of Rann. Mumbai ke marine se ladakh ke Hanle tak, banaras ke ghat se, Puducherry ke beach tak. Mujhe ye sab dekhna hai. Mujhe inhe jaanna hai. Mujhe inhe samajhna hai. And this is not the end, it’s just where I want to begin. I want to trace my roots to what today is believed to be among the oldest civilisation in the world. I want to visit Sheikh Qadir Jilani to whom I owe my name and blood.
I want to see that Baghdad, where it began. I want to see that Kufa where Prophet Abraham(pbuh) Played and Maula Ali(RA) ruled, I wish to see that Karbala where Imam hasan strengthened us all, showed us all the demands and faith of Islam for all eternity to come. I wish to see Africa from sinai to Morocco, the giza and the nile to congo. I wish to see where the adventures of Gandhi began, that South Africa. Iran me basa takht-e-sulemani dekhna hai, Afghano ka mazar-e-sharif bhi. Us khyber ko dekhna hai jo hind ka darwaza tha, Turkon ke turkey ko dekhna hai ,of whom even the the empire where sun refused to set was horrified I want to see the place that brought to us the might of ottomans. I want to learn about the tribes of Central Asia, mujhe Salahuddin Ayubi RA ki zameen ko dekhna hai, I want to learn at the cultural Centre of the world at Samarqand and Bukhara. I want to know what made Mongols, the deadliest of all. From the yellow river to the Amazing Angkor, the man made Singapore to the godly rooftop of world, the Tibetan plateau.
I wish to see what makes Petra a wonder, what is so colossal about the Colosseum of Rome, I wish to see the Pride of Paris to the Alps of Swiss. I want to see the place where born just not the dream but also the will to own the dream of having it all, I want to see Macedonia of Alexander the Great. I wish to travel from the base of Balkans to the Auroras of Nordics. Siberian Rail me baithna hai, have to walk in ukraine’s tunnel of love and climb up through the stairway of heaven in Iceland’s Reykjavik.
There is more, there is much more to have from Tokyo to Tashkent, Yellowstone to the Andes, Arctic to Antarctica. But in the end and before many ends or the beginning of ends, I wish to live in what is no less to me than the City of God, Jerusalem, every nook and corner where is blessed by Allah. Every inch of the city is as holy as another. To visit the cave of patriarchs and be blessed by the shadow of Aqsa and dive down in Sajdah if possible for hours. Mujhe Mecca or Madina me hamesha hamesha ke lie madhosh hona hai, I can’t even write about the feelings and things I wish to have in these two cities, maybe bury deep within every atom of learning and experience the place provide, cry endlessly, thank Almighty endlessly and maybe ask luxuries for hereafter in the end and some place to rest calmly in my small town Gaya as what else you need after all these experiences, but a place to live your nostalgia before you bid adieu.