A young man sits at the bus stop. He is wearing tracksuit pants and a long white kurta, tabligh jamaat style. He has a small cap on his head which is surrounded by a small turban. We'll call him T1.
Another tablighi chap comes to the bus stop and sits with him. This tablighi (let's call him T2) has a larger turban on. They exchange salams. T2 asks T1: "Where are you off to?", to which T1 responds: "I am going in the path of Allah for 3 days insh'Allah". T2 says "Mash'Allah. I'm going for 40 days".
Within minutes, a third tablighi chap ("T3") comes to the bus stop and sits with them. His turban is even larger, perhaps 80 cm in diameter. T2 and T1 look at him and his curiously large turban. T3 tells them: "I am going out in the path of Allah for 4 months, insh'Allah".
Then a 4th and final tablighi chap (T4) wearing a turban so big, he can hardly balance his head. A bit like the cat shown above. There isn't enough room for him to sit in the bus stop. He looks at the others and proclaims: "I am going in the path of Allah for a whole lifetime, insh'Allah".
The bus is running late. A naked Hindu sadhu (mystic) walks toward the bus stop. His hair is long and dishevelled, and he carries the trident of the Hindu god Shiva.
The 4 T's look at him in a confused manner. He proclaims: "Why are you looking at me so strangely? I am Swami Sivagurusitambhangrawalanihari, and I am going in Allah's path for 40 lifetimes!!"
Words © 2008 Irfan Yusuf
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