An incident occurred in a friend’s office lately,

It was a Friday,

People were asked to come dressed in traditional attire,

Happily, he took out a pathani suit,

Thinking how handsome he would appear to the world,

And there he was,

All decked up,

Feeling confident about the kind of persona he exuded,

Then came a reality check,

“Aren’t you joining us for the Friday prayers (namaaz)?”-asked a group of colleagues who were passing by on their way to a mosque for the Friday prayers.

“I think there is some confusion. I am a Hindu and I don’t know how to read namaaz“-he smiled back with utmost humility.

He understood that his attire was being mistaken as a form of religious identity.

How many times, it might have happened,

That we have preconceived notions about the people,

Be it on the basis of attire,

or

Be it the manner in which one speaks,

Our mind somehow tends to refuse to grow beyond these very biases and prejudices,

Which can have major consequences,

Of course, on this occasion, though,

It was taken in good regard by both the parties involved,

Yet,

I wonder, would it have been the same if the situation was not cordial,

What if, one were in the midst of riots,

Would it have got the same kind of response?

Humanity, being the core of what we all are,

I guess, it’s high time one tries to think over and above the notions,

Which seem to have found a place deep inside the very manner in which we think.

Source for the Image: https://twitter.com/samiriqbal_/status/1446445433547526152