Neighbour

Last Sunday it was bright and sunny. The extended Greek winter started fading that day and gave way to some sunshine and warmth in the weather.I was getting bored after having a self prepared sumptuous lunch. I watched TV for some time browsing thru the greek channels intermittently getting back to CNN, the only channel in a language that I understand.I asked my roommate who was lying on the single sofa beside the bigger one on which I was lying if he was interested in going out. It was a Sunday and he usually stayed home relaxing.After he denied, I assessed if I wanted to go alone without him. I looked out of our living room thru the large glass pane, the bright sunlight was alluring. I got into a jeans and a shirt, pulled a jacket over it, wore my shoes and waived before leaving for ….nowhere. I didn’t know where to go; I got out of the house just to enjoy the changed weather. It was really pleasant outside. I started walking towards the road that led to the main road that lead to Kiffisia, kiffisia is one of the main and large markets close to our place. The main road is a 15 min walk if you walk easily. On all weekdays, I walk with my room mate to one of the bus stop on that main road from where we take a bus to the office. There is in fact a bus stop which is really close to our house, barely a mins walk away. But only one bus 536 services that road and for the first few days we religiously waited for the bus till our patience gave way and we started walking to the bus stand from where we could take 2 buses to our office and numerous buses to kiffisia.As usual I reached the bus stop in 15 mins and started waiting for the bus. The bus came in another 10 mins and I boarded it. I looked around to find a seat but unfortunately there was none. I should have realized that by looking at the number of people who were standing. I went on one side and stood supporting myself on the side of the bus.At the next stop a guy boarded the bus, came towards me and stood beside me. His features proclaimed his oriental origin, specifically Indian, Pakistani or Bangladesi. Well I have never met any Indian in Greece except the one who work with me at FDI. He had an unkept hair covered with a lot of dandruff. I blessed him in my usual college style, not getting angry though. He asked me in Hindi if I was getting down at kiffisia. “I never take the bus, mera maalik mujhe hamesha apne saath car me le kar ke jaata hai per aaj uska bhai aaya hua hai Karachi se. Mujhe yahan aaye hue 3 mahine hi hue hain aur mujhe raaste itne ache se pata nahi”. I figured out that he must be a Pakistani, but obvious. The conversation went on and he enquired about my home country. I had neither thought about meeting a Pakistani anytime nor had I thought about the kind of behavior it would exude. We spoke normally as I would have with a compatriot. He gave me an insight of his country, asked me about my visa and other legal papers to stay in the country. He was working in Dubai and had come to Athens recently without a Visa, spent 2 months in jail after he was caught and was waiting to get some legal papers to stay in Athens. I was surprised at the ease with which he mentioned staying in a jail and then coming out. He spoke about attorneys and the government’s indifferent attitude towards law and order. He compared the situation with the one prevalent in his own country. After having traveled to various parts of the globe, I have realized that Mumbai is what people recognize India with. Talking about Mumbai is inevitable after India is mentioned. We spoke about Mumbai and the illustrious bollywood industry and then the conversation came down to Shahrukh Khan and Manisha koirala. He had seen them in Dubai once. He wanted to know how the other actors looked like in real life, though the question did not make much sense to me but I gave a brief explanation of the few stars I have seen.