Feature

An Incident In The East End Of London

KMR Hoque

It has been a long tiring day. Snippets of lectures floating through his mind, Riad stood at the bus stop opposite the Whitechapel Underground Station. He stood there taking in the aura of truly eastern culture as he waited for the bus. There were a line of shops, each offering different products ranging from clothes, accessories, mobile phones and home-ware to fresh vegetables! Some of the salesmen were in 'loongi's'. 'Whoa! That's more like it!' Riad thought to himself. He saw the bus arriving at a distance and was starting to feel a little reluctant about getting on it. After all…such is the environment in Chawkbazaar, where his Mom does the weekly shopping in Bangladesh. With some positive feedback and trying to maintain a cheery heart, he got on the bus.

It was around 7.00pm and the evening rush hour in London. The people seated in the bus were half awake, tired from the day's activities. The monotonous silence was broken around 7:30pm. Two middle-aged men boarded the bus sharing a joke. They laughed out loud while paying the bus fare. Lively, positive and with an I-am-the-boss attitude, the first one walked towards the empty seats at the back. The other followed with a sly smile. The first one stopped suddenly and tapped on a seated passengers' back. The passenger looked up, surprised and curious.

“Kemon achish Bhai…bhalo?” I-am-the-boss (IMTB) man says.

“Hain…bhalo!” the innocent passenger replied confused.

IMTB looks at his friend and laughs out loud. He took a seat at the back. His friend sat beside him. Riad was seated opposite them and observed everything.

A smug expression settled on IMTB's face, satisfied and accomplished as if saying to himself, “I have found a Bangladeshi out of nowhere and spoken to him like I know him. He responded with such confused courtesy…and I laughed it off!” Riad couldn't tolerate such breach of conduct. He had a gut feeling something was coming his way. This man did not suspect preparation from his next victim.

“Ay Cheley…time kee??” the man asks impatiently looking at Riad and pointing towards his wrist. His friend was enjoying the theatrics.

Riad sat motionless staring blankly at the passing traffic outside. The man repeated the words again. Riad continued to ignore. So he decided to nudge and proceed with his query.

“Its 7:30pm” answered Riad and then resumed his admiration of the traffic.

A few minutes later the man asks, “Where you from?”

Riad looks at him questioningly and responds “Who…me? Oh…India!”

(The following conversation takes place in Hindi)

The man looked a bit surprised but was determined to carry on the show. “Where in India?” he asks.

“I live in Delhi in a place called Ghandhi-nagar Residential Area.” Riad answered convincingly. He improvised and the outcome was worthy of an Oscar. Riad suppressed his emotions and kept a calm façade.

“What do you do?” was his next question.

“I study at Queen Mary and Westfield College. What do you do? By the way are you from Bangladesh?” Riad asks innocently.

“I study at Stepney Green College. Yes I am from Bangladesh.” He replied.

“I can tell from your accent.” Riad commented cheekily.

“Where do your parents live?” He asks with a weak smile like one made after receiving a punch in the stomach. His friend realizes it's their stop and gestures towards the door.

“They live in Dubai.” Riad answers.

“It was a pleasure talking to you. My name is Zakir. This is my stop.” The man says as he was moving towards the door.

“Theek achey Zakir bhai. Insha-Allah porey dekha hobey. Ami o khushi holam. Allahafiz.” Riad spoke with such composure and a sparkle of mischief in the eyes. Riad knew this was knock-out.

Zakir didn't realize initially. But then a sheet of shame spread across his face. His eyes dropped and his cheeks turned a strange blue color. Looking at the ground he turned away and got off the bus, perhaps feeling a bit relieved. There was an awkward silence between himself and his friend as they stood by the pavement. Comfortably seated and conscience at peace, Riad watched the traffic outside. The monotonous humm of the engine resumed. The bus began to move. Homebound.

Moral: It is not wise to underestimate strangers. Especially cheley's.