tiger tiger burning bright...
You see if a Private Limited Company doesn’t have a secretary then each page of the memorandum of association needs to be stamped and signed by the CEO, which explained my presence at Lahore’s illustrious Bank Square at SMI Pvt. Ltd. I was waiting for the CEO to arrive and sign the godforsaken memorandum of association, which Mr. Zeeshan-ul-Hassan, the company yes man informed me would take another two hours at least. Clearly, I had some time to kill.
Yes, I know that studying for the GMAT would have been the right thing to do, in a manner of speaking but somehow the stars just weren’t aligned that way so I decided instead to go to the zoo. Why? Well, some time ago I was called a soulless banker and I hadn’t taken any measures to refute this. For all I knew, the statement was probably spot on. So there I was, trying to rationalize with myself. ‘surely, someone who likes animals must have a soul.’ Right?
Suited booted I paid the fifteen rupee ticket and stood at the square reading the bold text on the broad arrows indicating which animal was where. I definitely wanted to see the ‘rahino’ and was sorely tempted to see the latest attraction, ‘sea ottar’ but in all honesty I was most eager to see the ‘jungle cat’.
The Bengali tiger. Beautiful. Majestic. Pacing. Waiting. An intimate setting. Just me and him on this lazy Monday morning. I was playing the staring game. He was playing too. ‘Let me out of my cage and I’ll slash you to ribbons’ he peered me in the eyes. Our gazes locked with me trying to force a connection, some reaction. That’s when he roared. Loud and low pitched with widened eyes and muscles tense. I flinched. With only a few feet between us and a shoddy wire mesh to keep him from devouring me, I think anyone would.
I stayed a while, then set off. Back to work, back to the real world… or was I already in the real world and was going back to the jungle, I wondered?
I went back to the branch. Sent the account opening forms to Karachi. The branch manager said I had done well. A ten million deposit in a current account wasn’t easy to come by. I fake smiled. She fake smiled too. So did the team. The room was full of fake smiles. I felt so lousy.
At night I got home later than usual, the electricity was out again. Ami, Khala and Ami Jan were having candle lit tea and pastries. I was offered some. I politely declined. Went upstairs, put on my track pants and my sweat shirt.
I had seen my tiger that day, I wanted to run.
Music blares on wall mounted tv screens showing scantily clad Indians dancing to ‘shanu shanu’. I have my head down. What I wear in my neck bobs up and down with each stride. I kiss it and tuck it in the round collar, knowing that contentment is just two nafals away.
Yes, I know that studying for the GMAT would have been the right thing to do, in a manner of speaking but somehow the stars just weren’t aligned that way so I decided instead to go to the zoo. Why? Well, some time ago I was called a soulless banker and I hadn’t taken any measures to refute this. For all I knew, the statement was probably spot on. So there I was, trying to rationalize with myself. ‘surely, someone who likes animals must have a soul.’ Right?
Suited booted I paid the fifteen rupee ticket and stood at the square reading the bold text on the broad arrows indicating which animal was where. I definitely wanted to see the ‘rahino’ and was sorely tempted to see the latest attraction, ‘sea ottar’ but in all honesty I was most eager to see the ‘jungle cat’.
The Bengali tiger. Beautiful. Majestic. Pacing. Waiting. An intimate setting. Just me and him on this lazy Monday morning. I was playing the staring game. He was playing too. ‘Let me out of my cage and I’ll slash you to ribbons’ he peered me in the eyes. Our gazes locked with me trying to force a connection, some reaction. That’s when he roared. Loud and low pitched with widened eyes and muscles tense. I flinched. With only a few feet between us and a shoddy wire mesh to keep him from devouring me, I think anyone would.
I stayed a while, then set off. Back to work, back to the real world… or was I already in the real world and was going back to the jungle, I wondered?
I went back to the branch. Sent the account opening forms to Karachi. The branch manager said I had done well. A ten million deposit in a current account wasn’t easy to come by. I fake smiled. She fake smiled too. So did the team. The room was full of fake smiles. I felt so lousy.
At night I got home later than usual, the electricity was out again. Ami, Khala and Ami Jan were having candle lit tea and pastries. I was offered some. I politely declined. Went upstairs, put on my track pants and my sweat shirt.
I had seen my tiger that day, I wanted to run.
Music blares on wall mounted tv screens showing scantily clad Indians dancing to ‘shanu shanu’. I have my head down. What I wear in my neck bobs up and down with each stride. I kiss it and tuck it in the round collar, knowing that contentment is just two nafals away.
posted by Azam at 11:47 AM
1 Comments:
Although you went to the zoo coz you had time to kill, I usually go to the zoo because it has been too long since the time I did something simple. My best part is when everyone, despite the constant warning signs displayed by the authorities, feeds the animals anything they are eating. When will this nation learn!
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