IFTAARI

Sitting inside Cafe Simla and sipping a cup of tea I was watching him. He was sitting with two Muslim employees of the cafe, who had apparently fasted for the whole day as this was the month of ramzan when almost every Muslim observes 'roza'  (fasting). It was evening and Iftaar time- the time of ending the fast, the 'roza'. There were bhajias, khajurs, (dates), and assorted fruits on the table. His one eye was on the foodstuff and the other  was on the wallclock,  there was still one minute to go but this one minute looked like one hour to him. He had apparently not eaten for the whole day and who would know him better then me ? He was a struggling actor, looking for bit roles in films and serials. He had come  to Mumbai with big dreams, dreams of ousting Shah Rukh Khan, because he always thought that he was a much much better actor than him. He used to come to me for work when I was an artiste coordinator. He was not good looking at all, a typical small town lad, with sunken cheeks and frail body. I always used to advise him to go back to his native place, but he would not listen because he wanted to persist his dream of ousting  Shah Rukh Khan. Anyways, here he was waiting for that one long minute to pass, and there were only few seconds left.  And as soon as the Iftaar was announced, he started gorging the bhajias etc as if he had not eaten for days together. He definitely must have not because he was out of work. While eating he noticed me, and waved out to me. I reciprocated. I had finished my tea and I paid the bill and left. On the way, I was thinking that though he was able to feed himself at the time of Iftaar, what about the morning? Does he join anybody for sehari ? Perhaps not because who would entertain him in the morning?  Perhaps his  'roza'( fasting ) was longer than any Muslim who observed 'rozas' during the month of ramzan.