August 25, 2007

Amir woke up feeling very happy. His birthday had just passed and his friends and family had given him many presents. Best of all, his grandfather had given him five thousand rupees. His father had told him that he could do whatever he wished with his money and Amir knew what he desired. He had always wanted a complete cricket kit with gloves, pads, bat, and helmet and, of course, a shiny red ball. With this kit, he knew that he would be the envy of all the neighbourhood boys.

Cricket was Amir’s passion and he wanted to play for his country when he was older. His room was adorned with posters of cricketing giants like Imran Khan, Brian Lara, Sachin Tandulkar and his favourite Shahid Khan Afridi. He wanted to emulate these stars when he grew up and right now a good cricket kit would help him further his ambitions and fulfil his dreams. What runs he would score with his new bat, fours and sixes, half centuries and maybe 100s… the shiny red ball would race towards the boundary and he would raise his bat to acknowledge the applause of his team-mates and the crowds… what dreams!

Amir belonged to a well-to-do family. He was his parents’ only son but he was not a spoiled child. Early in the morning, right after breakfast, he asked his father’s permission to use the car. His father promised him that he would send the car back with the driver after he had reached the office. Amir got ready and went out in the garden to wait for the car to arrive.

Outside, he saw Tariq working in the garden. Tariq was the son of their gardener, Ali Akbar, and was usually relegated the job of a fielder whenever Amir played cricket with his friends. Ali Akbar had been unwell for some time and had not been coming to do his chores. Amir had heard his mother complain about Ali Akbar’s frequent absences to his father. Amir noticed that Tariq’s face was tear-stained as he silently weeded the grass. He went up to him and asked after his father’s health. Tariq told him that Ali was very ill and urgently needed medical attention. They had no money to pay for the hospital bills and he had been discharged without proper treatment. Tariq feared for his father’s life but no one was ready to help them as they had already borrowed a lot of money. Tariq had left his school to fulfil his father’s duties but the future looked very bleak for the family.

Amir listened silently. He and Tariq were of the same age, but how different their circumstances were. He looked at the wallet containing all his savings. “This money could save someone’s life,” he thought. “But you wanted to buy that kit,” a small voice said inside his mind. “You have been saving for quite a long time and your grandfather’s gift enables you to buy it now. If you give away the money you won’t be able to buy that kit for a very long time,” the voice persisted. Amir felt torn but another look at Tariq’s face confirmed his decision to help Ali. He wordlessly handed his wallet to Tariq who accepted it silently. Amir went back inside and spent the rest of his day in his room, a little sad and disappointed but knowing that he had done the right thing.

A few days later, when Amir was going outside to play, he saw Tariq. Before he could say a word, Tariq came over to him. “Your money saved my father’s life, Amir,” he said, with tears rolling down his brown cheeks. “We took him to the hospital and the doctor said we were just in time. He is fine now. I can never thank you enough,” he said. “You saved his life, Amir,” Tariq kept on repeating.

Suddenly, Amir felt that he had just hit the biggest six of his life — a more powerful sixer than the one hit by Shahid Afridi. He felt the shiny red ball rise high up in the sky and sail towards the boundary and all the people in the stadium rising to applaud and acknowledge his selflessness and sacrifice. He hugged Tariq and with his arms around Tariq’s shoulder, he went out to play cricket with his old taped ball.