Jayanti M Dalal (Trans.  Rajshree Trivedi)

Buddha’s Tears

Begum Khalida woke up at sunrise. Her heart skipped a beat when she did not find  her husband Abu Mohammed in the bed. Hurriedly, she got up from the bed  and looked out of the window.  

The subtle  mountain range lay stretched out  far and wide till her vision could reach . She gazed fondly at the colorful flowers in the nearby valley, the green, tender grass grown around and the brooks that quietly flowed nearby. The gentle rays of the sun enhanced the beauty of the valley. This sight had always left her spellbound. Having remembered the almighty, she opened the door facing the outside compound and was shaken for a while to see her husband. He was imparting the customary war training to their two young sons Naseerkhan and Salim. Without uttering a word she entered the next room. Her beautiful daughter, Zubeida, was still fast asleep. Her skin, that had Afghan blood flowing beneath, glowed like the shine of the white marble. Khalida kissed her forehead and started stroking her hair. Suddenly, Zubeida opened her eyes. On seeing her mother, her face brightened up. She smiled. The dimples on her  cheeks added charm to her beauty.

“Salaam Aleakum”, Zubeida greeted her mother with a smile.

“Aleakum Salaam”,    Khalida  greeted her back . She came  closer to her and continued , “Why don`t you accept what  your father proposes?”`

“Ammijaan , you know very well that I love Al Yakub.  His involvement  with the Northern Alliance  with a view to  protect the innocent Afghans has actually won my heart. Yakub has become a part of my existence and now no force whatsoever, can separate us.”

“Why are you being so obstinate, my child? Your father, a die-hard,   Taliban militant will never approve of your decision.”

“Ammijaan,  I`d prefer death than  marry that  Commander-in-Chief from the Taliban.”

“You know how tyrannical and pitiless  your father is!  Going against his wishes will be nothing else but  inviting death.”

“`Who`s afraid of Death. If I am to marry somebody, it`s going to be none other than  Al Yakub.”

“As you wish, my child.  May Allah protect you!” Khalida sighed and got up.  She saw her husband, a staunch, fundamentalist  and both her sons entering the house.

               The Taliban had been issuing many  new fatwas since the day they took over the Afghan rule . The ancient great statue of Lord Buddha at Kandhar was desecrated. The women of Taliban were asked to quit their jobs and stay indoors.  Women were not allowed to leave their houses without a  burkha and  a male member from the household The Afghans were forced to suffer the atrocities committed by the Taliban group  and those who revolted had to lose their lives. Although the Taliban army  had been successful in overthrowing the Russian power they could not prove to be good administrators. Their brutalities shattered the lives of the peaceful Afghans who quietly suffered the pangs of poverty and endless violence resulting out of the continuous wars.

Time passed by. One day Abu Mohammed returned home early from his work. He seemed to be very impatient and angry.

“Where`s Zubeida?”, he screamed.  Begum Khalida sensed a fuming  rage in his voice.

“Please calm down. Why are you so angry?”

“Bring her immediately to me or else she has it.”

“She`s gone to the bazaar for shopping.”

“Don`t lie, Khalida. I`ve come to know where she is. She`s having fun with Yakub. Why did she leave the house in spite of my strict warning?”  Mohammed`s eyes were spitting fire as he spoke, “Why didn`t you stop her from committing such an immoral act?”  Having said this, he slid his gun across his shoulder and jumped into his jeep.

“You`ve returned home after two days. Please come in and spend some time at least ….”   Khalida implored but her words melted in the air as she sobbed heavily staring at the disappearing jeep.

“Oh God! Have mercy. Please protect my daughter……”, Khalida murmured. The same night Salim gave her the most horrifying news that shook her from within. Abu Mohammed had  found Zubeida with Al Yakub in one of the nearby caves and  shot  them dead right  there. When Abu Mohammed and Naseer returned home that night, they found the  house  in the spell  of gloomy darkness.

“Why did you do that to my innocent daughter?”, Khalida  broke down heavily.

“She betrayed  us all.  Why did she go to meet her  boy friend ? You knew very well I never liked  your  daughter`s debauchery.”

              After a few days, Abu Mohammed took Salim into confidence  and said, “Now that you`ve mastered the art of using  military weapons, why don`t you also follow the footsteps of  your elder brother Naseer. The Taliban is preparing a military legion.  Should I recommend  your name for  recruitment ?”

“Abbajaan, I wanted to share something with you?  I hate the Taliban activities of harassing  the innocent Afghans.”

“What do you mean? I have been one of the main chiefs  of the Taliban. Does it mean that  you  look down upon your father with hatred?”

Salim bowed his head and remained silent.   When Abu Mohammed did not get a reply from Salim, he lifted Salim`s chin to intimidate him but  saw a strange sternness in his eyes.

“Beware Salim, see that you too do not undergo the same fate as  your sister Zubeida did. Stay away from me”, saying that he  left the room angrily.

             The next day Begum Khalida talked  to her son Salim, “Both my sons- you and Naseerkhan  are my loved ones. Your father coaxed  Naseer to join the Taliban army but  I am happy that you showed a great  courage in fearlessly opposing your father.”

“Ammi, why is  the  human race so  blood thirsty? Why do human beings want to  annihilate one another ?  Why can`t the innocent Afghans live  a fearless and a peaceful life ?  The ruling Taliban  government has been issuing   fresh fatwas every new day and  terrorizing people . “Ammi, I shall strive hard  to restore the peace and harmony of this regions.”

“Take care, my son. Be cautious.  Your father is so ruthless that the minute he comes to know that you are involved with these activities, he will slaughter you.”  

“Ammi,  I trust  the almighty . He will protect me .No religion believes  in progressing  at the get cost of losing innocent lives.  I will join the Northern Front Alliance and try my best to  see that the people of this region enjoy  peace and  prosperity.”

“Bravo! My son. May God protect you.”

A month passed away. It was eleventh September. The whole world witnessed an unprecedented occurrence in the history of civilization .  America`s pride was hurt when the two tall towers of the World Trade Centre were  completely destroyed by two hijacked airplanes . The  Big Brother was shaken by this ghastly act. The terrorist attacks created a situation of great panic and disturbance. Osama Bin Laden seemed to be   responsible for this act. His supposed  hide out  in Afghanistan forced   America  to  declare   a  war  on Afghanistan. America moved   its navy, air and military troops to Afghanistan. The war policies were instantly framed and orders were issued to initiate   bombarding attacks.  Kandhar, Kabul, Jalalabad and many other places were already under the seize.  People started evacuating  these cities and migrated  to places  away from    the Afghan borders.

That day Abu Mohammed returned home with a grim  austerity on his face. He took a sip of water from the glass offered by Begum and said,

“Begum, we have been fighting at the battle front putting our lives in danger. We need to be  over cautious and vigilant there.  Naseerkhan has been rightly  following his father`s footsteps. He is giving a tough fight to the enemies.  I have returned home  to inform  you that the war will still continue for a long time.  Why don’t you and  Salim leave for Pakistan?”

“It isn`t possible. I have decided  not to leave this place and go  anywhere else. Life and death are in the hands of the almighty.”

“Where is Salim?”

“For past two days he has been fighting  for the Northern Alliance to support  the American army.”

Mohammed`s face turned  red.

“Will a son fight against his own father?”

“I tried a lot to stop him, pleaded to him  but he went away leaving me  all alone.”

“Khalida, the entire Afghanistan is deserted because of heavy bombarding. Why don`t you too leave the house and go away?”

“There are three families  in this colony who won`t leave their  houses and go away. We shall never go away from here.  Our house is quite safe  that way,  since it is  in the underground area  below the hills.”

“Then, in that case, I am leaving.”

“As you wish. Who am  I to stop you ? May God  protect you all……” Khalida moaned.

When Mohammed reached the safety bunker , the  heavy bombarding was still on. Many buildings were destroyed. Some of them were  on fire. The Taliban soldiers were   frequently changing their positions  to suit their strategies. It was just the previous day that one of  their  largest bunkers was destroyed.  Many soldiers had  been burnt to ashes. The war showed no signs of stopping.  Each day America and Britain were  persecuting the  Afghans  with more and more bomb attacks .  The Taliban government   could not succeed in reverting the bomb attacks. Although their  army was well equipped with the Russian make  Stringer missiles, huge tankers and the modern war equipments, their efforts proved to be futile. On the other hand, it  was becoming difficult to locate Osama Bin Laden`s whereabouts because he  had been changing  his hideouts.   The Northern Alliance soldiers were steadily  advancing towards  Kandhar and Kabul to capture him. As a consequence, the Taliban army was retreating. However, their retreat  counteracted with the killing of  their  own countrymen whom   they now  treated as adversaries. As a result,  the Afghans were  ruthlessly massacred in great numbers. 

            The Northern Alliance soldiers had arrived by now in Kandhar and opened fire.   The Bomber-B52 was incessantly lobbing out bombshells. Mohammed screamed,   “Beware! Naseer, this bombarding will destroy this tunnel any moment.”

Before Naseer could reply, there was a great explosion in the bunker turning   the ammunitions and the  human bodies  into ashes. Mohammed and Naseer were trapped inside. They lost their lives.  The Command Centre, troops and the ammunition were completely  destroyed.

            On hearing the tragic news, Begum Khalida broke down  into uncontrollable tears. She had always been a peace loving person.  She  had always hated the destructive efforts of the  Taliban army. The Northern Alliance was  successfully marching ahead and Salim was significantly  contributing to its success. 

            It was past midnight. The sky was fuming fireball  emissions. Salim  and his accomplice were steadily marching ahead with Klasnikov rifles in their hands. They were cautious at each new step. All of a sudden  a  heavy flash  of lightening  spread across the sky. Before they could decipher what it was there was a great explosion that broke  the deadly silence and  shook the  surrounding elements. Salim and his accomplice ran to save their lives but were soon separated. Amidst the firing, Salim saw the approaching danger . He ran to seek  shelter in one of the potholes  nearby that looked like a cave.

            The cave was totally dark from within. He stood there leaning against  a wall and remembering God  for a long period of time. Once again peace prevailed temporarily. A little later, the early twilight shone in and  gradually filled  the cave   with light. He looked around with his wandering eyes.    

He walked a couple of steps ahead. He realized he had entered a large cave. The  sight of the  desecrated  huge statue  in front of him   left him almost  agape. That  broken statue had protected him for the whole night. He looked thankfully at  the statue of Lord Buddha. He was alarmed. The statue of Lord Buddha was shedding tears. The next moment,   he heard  the loud, haunting sound echoing across the  cave.

“Oh! Fallible creatures. Instead of living in peace and harmony you all are shedding blood of the  innocent   people. The Almighty will never forgive you.   Not a single religious treatise advocates the belief in  human blood shed.  The Almighty has gifted you with a wonderful life so that you become the messengers of peace and humanity . May the lord show the right path to the brutal and the  violent   Taliban fundamentalists! Let the flames of terrorism be extinguished before they devour the world.” 

Salim could not hear any more sermons. He cast a quick glance at the statue of Lord Buddha and  came out of the cave. He was now  desperate to see his  mother.  He quickly fleed from the place risking his life to meet his mother.

            When Salim reached home, he saw his mother painfully sobbing. Before he could utter a word, she said, “Your brother Naseer and your father are dead”, And she aga broke into tears,

“Ammijaan, probably, I would not have also survived today but for ….”

“But for?”

“Last night, I sought refuge  in the arms of Lord Buddha and that’s why  I could safely  reach home  today. Tears flowed   down from the eyes of the gracious Lord Buddha and divine  voices emerged   as if  guiding   the  doomed  souls to the path of  enlightenment”

While Khalida was  listening to Salim`s narration, a thin sketch of  Lord Buddha`s statue   surfaced in her eyes and she   offered her silent  prayers to the Lord and said,

“Salim, before six months  it was  your Abbajaan who  had  raised the first hammer to destroy this great statue  of Lord Buddha. Isn`t it a paradox that the same statue saved you?  God has thus, balanced the equation of sins and virtues.”