Boarding had started but the plane was probably not yet ready, because we passengers were stuck in the narrow pathway and waiting to move on.
I made a comment to a young man next to me in Hindi, something like ‘lagta hai plane tayar nahin hai’.
“I don’t speak Hindi. I am from Tamil Nadu. We speak Tamil and English,” was his reply.
“Oh okay. Yes, I heard Tamilians don’t like Hindi. How did you manage in Delhi?”
“I have picked up some Hindi over time…”
Then I asked, “are you Hindu or Muslim?”
“Muslim.”
“Please don’t look down on Hindus,” I said.
“No. Never.”
“That’s good. I mentioned it because your Quran looks down on Hindus.”
“No, it doesn’t. There is nothing of this sort in the Quran.”
“I read big parts of it and there is plenty.”
“It is due to the translation. One must read the original…”
“Come on, languages can be translated. The translation cannot be so off the mark,” I tried to make light of it.
“Actually, I am an advaitin”, he surprised me now. “Have you heard of Sufism? I came to Delhi for a spiritual purpose – to visit the tomb of a Sufi Master.”
“Oh nice. I am also an Advaitin. Advaita comes from the Hindu tradition. I was so grateful that I have discovered this profound wisdom here in India. My first book I read was by Swami Vivekananda.”
“My forefathers were Hindus”, he said.
Now it was our turn to enter the plane and we separated…
