"Aes te tcha Zaelim?" - Are we too, oppressors?

It is one of those rare Fridays when nothing bloody happened in Pakistan, only a few people died in Syria (not enough to get 'featured' in news) and none of the newspapers published anything about the continuing plight of the Rohingya!

Irfan and Faizan have just deboarded the school bus and are strolling back to their respective home a few metres away from the bus-stop! As they pass by the Martyr's graveyard;

Irfan: "How many graves are there in Shaheed Mazaar?".

Faizan: "I dont know but two graves are empty! We are getting late for Jumah Namaaz!"

Faizan: "We have a cricket match at 3 O'clock. I'll meet you after Namaaz. When do you complete it, ours gets completed by 2:30".

Irfan: "I'll be back from Imambara by then! I'll meet you at the ground!"

Nowhatta Greens Vs Rainawari Stars

Rainawari Stars win the toss and elect to bat first. They go on to score 134 for the loss of 5 wickets in 20 overs.

Nowhatta Greens need 135 to win. Faizan will write down the score on that SS Scorebook with his Reynoldspen. The batting order has already been written, on the scorebook. Mohammad Irfan will come in at No. 7 and Faizan Ali, being an allrounder, will follow in at No. 8. Faizan stations himself at the square leg position near the umpire and scribbles the runs on the scorebook. Irfan sits besides Faizan amid a lowly protest by the players of the Rainawari Stars  who insist that the Scorer  should sit there alone!

Five overs have passed and Rainawari Stars players ask for the scores. Faizan announces, "27 for 2"!

Faizan: "Do you know? It is Pulwama Chalo on Monday."

Irfan: "I know. These oppressors have killed another young man!"

Faizan: "Yem che saeeri Zaelim!" (They are all oppressors!)

Irfan: "Khudai karin Raham!" (May Allah have mercy!)

Faizan: "Irfan, Do you know? Pakistan won the T-20 match vs South Africa! Hafeez scored 92 runs before getting run-out!"

Irfan: "I dont get to watch cricket these days, at home. Abu always watches Geo News, Al Jazeera, Press TV. I couldn't even watch the WWE Royal Rumble on Thursday!"

Faizan: "Natte kus chu wutchaan. Be chus wutchaan score espncricinfo peath!" (You think i watched the whole match? I check the scores from Cricinfo only!)

Irfan: "So, you too are fed up with the news, like me? Somewhere, it is the genocide of one community and somewhere else, it is of the other!"

Faizan: "God knows what is in store. Every Friday we have to see news from Pakistan with ever increasing numbers of killings."

Irfan: "And then there is war in Syria as well. People are dying in thousands there!"

Faizan: "Preth kunni jai che sirf Musalmaan maraan! Khabar yem Zaelim koune maraan kanh?" (Everywhere it is Muslims who are getting killed. Why doesn't anyone among the oppressors die?)

Irfan: "Aes te tchi  naa Zaelim! Yemis ne insaan sund aar yeyi temis wanov zaelimie" (We are oppressors too! One who has no compassion for fellow human being IS an oppressor!)

Faizan: "Aes te tcha Zaelim?" (Are we too, oppressors?)

Down and Dusted - HOPE!

Irfan: "Faizan! We require 76 to win in just 10 overs. It is very difficult!"

Faizan: "Get your pads on. We just need to understand each other while batting and running between the wickets. See how we lost 2 quick wickets to run-outs only due misunderstanding."

Irfan: "You are right. We just need a partnership to win."

Faizan comes to the crease with Greens still needing 56 to win from 7 overs, with 6 wickets down. Armed with his BSM bat which he has bought last spring from Sangam, he walks upto Irfan at the non-strikers end and says, "We shall overcome. We just need a partnership! We just need to understand each other. We just need to tolerate the mistakes and correct each other in a sensible way!"

"After 19 overs, Nowhatta Greens are 128 for the loss of six wickets. Mohammad Irfan is on strike, playing on 29 and Faizan Ali is batting on 24", the scorer announces.

Irfan misses the first two balls and takes a single on the 3rd ball.

Faizan hits a six on the 4th ball and the Greens win, with Mohammad Irfan and Faizan Ali contributing 30 runs each.

Picture © Getty Images
P.S: Isn't a game of cricket a lesson for us. Isn't tolerance and mutual understanding need of the hour? Can't we just consider each other as humans, if not anything else? Or do we waste the whole life killing each other while as the enemies make partnerships to win over us!