Hate the sin, not the sinner!

It was the daily routine for Zoha. She used to complete her household chores and then get dressed quickly to come to the bus stop, take the bus to her workplace which was a 10 km journey by bus. For the last 2 years, she has been taking the same route. She was probably a devout muslim but did not wear a burkha. But occasionally, one could see her clutching a copy of the Quran along with other folders. She appeared neat and gave the impression of good upbringing. She used to be quiet during the journey, speaking to no one, doing nothing. She just used to stare emptily at the moving scenery from the windows. A stare that spoke about miseries plaguing her middle class existence. Nevertheless, you could see her prompt at the bus stop and the same bus each morning.

Suhail was a stark contrast. Probably a year elder to Zoha, he was an avid sportsperson and academically successful. He was a devout muslim and sported a beard that is characteristic of the men in his community. He was a Bohri and wore the cap occassionally. His office was only 2 blocks away from Zoha's. He had seen Zoha a couple of times on his bus to his office, but never exchanged any pleasantries. He was brought up in a traditional way and was taught to accord utmost respect to women. And it showed in his disposition. He seemed to be secretly happy about his existence and it showed in the way his eyes twinkled from behind the rimless spectacles.

Raghav dropped school after 5th grade. He was what society called a wastrel. He had his dealings with the shady undergroud. He had run errands for the local goon before. His father was a respectable man who served his life at the Post Office. He had forever borne a grudge against his father for having been too straightforward. His sister could have gotten a medical seat and become a doctor. She instead had to resign to studying a simple BSc course. His mother could have gotten her eyes operated at the right time and now she was completely blind. He told himself that he just wanted to make a lot of money, how he did it did not matter to him. And he had a big weakness - girls! He was arrested before on eve-teasing charges and left off with warnings or posting some small penalty amounts. But he continued his ways. With no regular income in the household, the pressure at home was mounting on him to find a regular job.

On that day, Zoha had boarded the bus at her bus stop and it was unusually crowded. After overhearing some conversations, she deducted that the earlier bus had broken down and so the crowd had piled onto this bus. She did not get to sit and was standing near a pole in the front of the bus, holding on to the rod above. Suhail had already got on to the bus. He was seated on an aisle seat, busy listening to some music on the walkman when his eyes wandered around and locked on Zoha. She looked pretty that day, he mused. Time passed by, a few stops went by as the bus trundled along its route. Somewhere, Raghav had got on to the bus. And as was his agenda, he used to scan the bus for a "prey". A girl whom he could choose and generally intimidate. He derived a lot of pleasure from it. That day, he saw Zoha and decided that she would be his prey for that day.

From the rear end, he pressed through the crowd trying to move ahead. Slowly, he was making progress. No one in the bus knew what was in his mind. Raghav was busy scheming his plot on how to intimidate this poor girl. In his frantic movements to get ahead, he stamped at the leg of an elderly gentleman seated behind Suhail. The man screamed aloud and the crowd around looked at the man and Raghav. Raghav apologised and looked ahead. Some of them murmured something and some just continued doing what they were doing. Suhail was somewhat angry and he was wondering what this man was trying to do getting ahead in this crowded bus. He continued listening to the music, but his mind was distracted. Zoha was still standing in the same place, lost in her own troubled world.

As Raghav neared Zoha, he could feel the blood running faster in his veins. His evil mind was scheming a million ideas per minute. He had already decided to position himself behind Zoha. Suhail was cautiously observing the man's moves. He was wondering why this man was moving up to the front where ladies are standing. And when he saw the man move right behind Zoha, he perked up a little. And then he saw it. The man was positioning himself pretty close to Zoha's behind. He was making small gyrations. Zoha looked at that man once and seemed to reposition herself. The man was taking delight in his actions. Suhail instantly knew what was going on. It happened to strangers all the time, but this time it was happening to a stranger he kind of knew. He felt a shot of anger rush through his body. He knew it was time for action. He was just thinking what he should do.

Raghav continued his brushes against this woman's behind. Zoha was not the one to shout back, so she continued to see if she could move ahead and get away from this torment. There was no space. Raghav was getting a small evil smile in his face. And if one could look, then there was a small mound below the belt. He was actually deriving a lot of pleasure at the expense of the lady's dignity. About 3-4 rows behind, Suhail decided it was enough. He got up and offered his seat to an elderly gentleman and then moved ahead cautiously. Up ahead, the torture continued. Zoha seemed to get tears in her eyes. She seemed to want to yell, but did not. Suhail was wondering why is she keeping quiet and accepting this torture from this jerk of a man. He was getting more angry now.

By now, Suhail was just beside Zoha and Raghav behind her. Suhail had made up his mind on how to deal with this idiot.

"Hi! How are you doing?"

Zoha was taken aback at a stranger greeting her. She looked at Suhail and wondered if she had met this stranger somewhere. Meanwhile, Raghav was wondering at what was happening and trying to look away and disassociate from the events that preceded. Suhail gave a wink to Zoha in a manner that Raghav could not spot it and thankfully, Zoha got the clue.

"Oh Hello. I am doing ok. Thanks. And how about you?"

Both Suhail and Zoha were thinking - "It is funny to act like you have known each other when infact you are absolute strangers!"

Raghav was beginning to feel like a cornered rat. In a swift move, he moved to a spot behind Suhail and was planning to move towards the back of the bus. Suhail indicated to Zoha that she can relax and turned towards his target. Raghav was not able to move to the back as easily as he had moved front. Everything seemed like an obstacle now. Suhail moved right behind Raghav and started brushing against Raghav's behind. Raghav sensed what was happening and tightened up. Suhail continued his treatment, his eyes gleaming with revenge. Raghav could not take it anymore.

Raghav turned around and faced Suhail and looked at him in his face.

"What do you think you are doing?" He asked. Suhail immediately responded... "How does it feel? Eh!?"... he said with a mischievous glint. Raghav was getting flustered.

"What feels like what? Do you know what you are doing? I will get you arrested for misconduct!" fired Raghav. Suhail was a picture of calmness. He told him "Now, do you know how it feels? With how many girls have you misbehaved like that? Huh? Do you want me to call my friend here and tell everyone what you did just now?"

Raghav was all red and flushed! He was cornered and he did not have a way. A middle aged woman looked from 2 seats ahead and shouted with new found confidence... "Such boys should be stripped in public and whipped! He did that to me about 2 weeks back." She burst out into tears. "How can he do that? Does he not have a mother? Does he not have a sister?" She was getting agitated.

By now, the entire bus was in a state of commotion. The conductor indicated to the driver to stop the bus by the roadside. The bus came to a stop. 2 more women, including Zoha, came forward and started scolding Raghav. Raghav was absolutely speechless. He did not know what to do. He could not even shout. He was the wrong one here. He was perspiring heavily. And suddenly found himself amidst all women. The men drew back and let him inside the women circle. They did not want to interfere with what the women wanted to do. They would be a spectator in this.

And then it started. A stinging slap to his right cheek. Raghav reeled backwards. And another woman reached out to grab his shirt. His shirt tore in the process, buttons flying out like darts. He fell to the floor of the bus on his bottom. And then came the slippers, of various sizes and shapes. After an assault of 10 minutes or so, the men intervened and asked the women to retract. A million curses would have been hurled at him in those 10 minutes. Raghav suddenly felt like going away to a place where there was none but him. His face was all black and blue. His shoulders and back ached. Blood was tricking from his nose, teeth and lips. His body ached badly. He felt remorseful, for the first time. He felt bad for what he had done. He began crying. And through his tears ... "Sorry my sisters! I realise my mistake now. Please forgive me. I will reform myself!" The women then dropped their slippers and went off. Here and there, there were curses uttered loud.

Raghav was allowed to alight the bus. Suhail also got down. He had a moral responsibility to complete. He took Raghav to the nearest doctor and got first aid administered. Raghav was looking at Suhail with questioning eyes. He wanted to ask - "First you got me nearly killed! And now, you are getting me first aid. Why?" Suhail seemed to read his mind and spoke "I only wanted to teach you a lesson. I do not know who you are or what you do. You did a wrong thing and I only showed you how wrong it was. I am sorry for what has happened because women got involved and I cannot control that. But I only hope that you learnt a lesson now. It is wrong to disrespect a woman like that. You need to show respect to every other human being. By being disrespectful to others, you are disrespecting yourself also. Never do that!"

Raghav finally spoke, through tears, "I know... Nobody in this world loves me, everybody hates me, nobody gives me any chance to do well in life, I am frustrated, I do not know where I am headed in life!" Suhail looked on. Raghav continued "I know I was wrong there. I will not do anything like this ever again." Suhail then said "People are not bad by themselves. It is their actions that make them bad. Hate the sin, not the sinner. I hated what you did. I do not have any hate for you. I want to see you do right things!" Raghav felt as if he met an embodiment of Godliness. He seemed to see some radiance behind Suhail. It was only the daylight, but Raghav was not in a state of normal perception.

Raghav resolved that day that it is upon him to correct his deeds and become a good man. He wanted to show people that he too can make a turnaround. And he did.

Suhail died in a freak road accident a few days later.

Zoha never saw Suhail again and kept wondering who that stranger was and why did he come on that day. She then resigned to a belief that Allah had sent her a farishtah that day.

** Disclaimer: All characters in the above story are purely fictional and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental and unintended. The author does not take the responsibility of any defamity that may arise from similar identities existing in real life.