The birds have stopped singing and music of the air is coming to my ears. The night is slowly and gradually engulfing the whole town. People have stopped thinking and are relaxing their minds after the full day work. I am trying to read a few pages from the book “The World is Flat”. For me reading a few pages from a book is a run-up to sleep. But this time the reading is so interesting that my heart says ‘continue’ and my eyes are giving full support in this adventure of reading.

While I was enjoying the reading there was some kind of sound as if someone was knocking our main door. I didn’t pay any attention as I was enthusiastic about the flat world and the opportunities therein lie for all of us. While leaving that sound aside I continued my reading. The topic began soothing my academic nerves and I was sipping the knowledge about ‘versatalists’ or what Thomas Friedman calls them ‘Swiss Army Knives’.

I paused for a few seconds to give some rest to my eyes. Suddenly a bird like sound passed through my ears. My ears woke up my mind and the bird like sound again struck me. What is this bird sound? I asked my self. The bird like sound was followed by some wooh wooh noise as if I was watching the scene of the Maoists calling their men in the jungle from ‘Tango Charlie’ Bollywood movie. My room is close to the street and any kind of noise at night can awaken me. I still ignored the noise and continued reading about ‘Swiss Army Knives’.

It was already 11:40 and now my eyes were not helping my mind. My head was becoming weighty and I was about to switch off the lights. Suddenly I thought somebody was throwing a little stone towards my room or is it a cat walking through a floor. I couldn’t make up my mind and rested for some time. What is it …….but it was something. The sounds and noises happened once more and now I was not sipping the knowledge. My heartbeat was running fast due to the fear engulfing my body. My mind stopped thinking about birds and cats. Some quick thoughts came to my mind and the right side of brain started realizing the relationship between books and facts. First my mind suddenly changed to my other book ‘Curfewed Night’ which was lying to my other side. I haven’t read that book but the title…………. Am I seeing the Curfewed Night or am I going through a curfew night? Am I reading about the swiss army knives or is it some other army knives knocking my door?  Now fear psychosis was overwhelming.All these thoughts were like ghosts hanging near me.

I dropped the idea of going to the bathroom as if I was reading the same line from ‘The Wretched of the earth’ that people in the colonies have to think thrice before going to the bathroom in the night. I wanted to come out of this fear psychosis and suddenly switched off my lights and began to sleep.   I couldn’t sleep for at least an hour thinking about those noises and sounds. I tried to forget about those sounds but the relation between books and facts didn’t allow me to sleep. Here every night is a curfew night. 

Mail at  shaboo.fayyaz @gmail.com

Lastupdate on : Sun, 18 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST