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1996 Hajj

Hajj – Day 06

i slept well yesterday ignoring the fact that i woke up thrice and then it took me minimum 45 minutes to go to sleep again. but it turned out well and i completed my rest. i was wokened by bhaijan and it was 4 by my watch. the sun still hadn’t risen. we went and took ablution. then came back and prayed fajr. that over we concentrated towards our nutrition. we ate and then started to pick up little rocks called kankaaryaan to throw them at the satan monuments. we will have to go back to Mina for that. i collected 105 and bhaijan collected 106. thus a grand total of 111. it is 49 per head. we are me, bhaijan, sunny, and mumma so 49×4 =196. bhaijan and sunny have gone to the washroom and still haven’t come back. we distributed lassi and cucumbers to people. everybody, well not everybody, took them happily. right now it is 6:10 and the ladies are taking breakfast. then we’ll go to Mina. this is our last day in Ihram. bhaijan and sunny came back at 6:15. crowds and crowds of pilgrims are constantly on the move. i can assure you that there is no other place on this whole world where 2 million people move from one valley to another place and then to another valley and back. just imagine, how many tires there are in Makkah alone right now… the litres of petrol, etc. etc.

breakfast over, i and bhaijan also slept. aarshi uncle and saeed were already sleeping. i woke up at 10:30. then we started packing. then we got in the car, on the roof. the others wre below. only me and bhaijan were above. we were going pretty fast. we reached Mina and there we found ourselves in a traffic jam. the driver is very stubborn. all of us have to shout at him. he always thinks he himself is the only person who is not crazy. we made him get out of Mina. naseer uncle told me and bhaijan to come down. i don’t wanna come down from this roof. but we did. we directed saeed with shouts and orders and we found ourselves on the highway. as there was no one on the roof except certain provisions, he was driving pretty fast when suddenly we heard a bang and away went the carpet, the mat, the large spoon, the small pot, the large pot, and the buckets. we immediately sverwed to the right. then i and naseer uncle hurried to get the things back. the others travelled and made a U-turn and came back. i collected all the things and again me, bhaijan, and naseer uncle sat on top.

we reached azziziah and parked the car. then we took 9 stones each and climbed the mountain. there were stairs of course. we took two free bottles of water. we had divided into small groups. me, sunny, bhaijan, aarshi uncle. mumma, nasreen aunti. aasma aunti, faiza aunti. shahana aani, naseer uncle. rubi aunti, mohammed, hammad, sameera. maid, saeed. we met mumma and nasreen aunti when they were trying to catch a bottle from the man in the truck who was distributing it in the crowd. they missed it and it crashed on the ground and spread everywhere. i immediately offered my bottle. then we kept going towards the jamaraat (the satan pillars). we tried to go from the bridge but the police didn’t allow it. here and there people were having their heads shaved. we reached the “La Grande Jamara” and threw the stones. three of mine missed. bhaijan missed only one, sunny two, nasreen aunti two. nasreen aunti also threw with such little pressure that they hit the head of some people.

well, we came back and took many bags of ice cubes and bottles of water. we actually took five bags. filled all the coolers and the iceboxes but still half of one bag was full. we then boarded the van and headed home. we threw cubes of ice to other men sitting on the roofs. went through five tunnels. you don’t hear the noise of the huge fans when you are directly beneath them. the driver reached home after 45 minutes. then we went to the barbers shop. naseer, aarshi, and saeed uncle are now bald. we three had kassar and not halaq so we just have short hair now. bhaijan felt a bit wobbly. the barbers were good natured and become friends. all but the three of us were gone to buy the slaughter sheeps. we thus started on goot. it was a long way. we had only to walk a few more minutes when naseer uncle came in his car and told us to sit. we did and he took us back to the barber because aarshi uncle had to cut his hair.

we had lunch, then i bathed, changed clothes, and went outside to see two sheep tied together, one dying, three heads of sheep with their feet and one head of a camel with its legs. i then came back and slept. woke up at 1130 and completed the remaining part of The Crooked House by Agatha Christie. it was, obviously, very good. following are the characters; Charles Hayward (our hero), Sophia Leonides (our heroine), Aristide Leonide (grandfather of Sophia), Philip Leonide (father of Sophia), Magda Leonide (mother of Sophia), Roger Leonide (brother of Philip), Clemency Leonide (wife of Roger), Edith Elfrida de Haviland (Sister of Aristide), Taverner (Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard), Brenda Leonide (second wife of Aristide), Lawrence Brown (tutor), Eustace (brother of Sophia), Josephine (sister of Sophia), Nannie (nannie), and Mr. Hayward (Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard)

“The Lenoides were just one big happy family, living contentedly in a large house in Swinlydean. It was not until the death of Aristide that they discovered that one member of the family was a murderer. Instead of his regular injection of insulin, Aristide had been given eserine, and whoever substitued this deadly poison had not even bothered to get rid of the incriminating evidence. Either the culprit was very stupid — or possibly very clever. Charles Hayward, son of Assistant Commisioner of Scotland Yard, was about to marry Sophia Leonide. So he had a vested interest in solving, as quickly as possible, the sinister mystery of the ‘Crooked Home'”

would you believe it, a child of 12, jospehine, did it. she killed Aristide and Nannie with eserine and digitalin respectively.

we had to go to Mina today at 8:30 but nobody did because everyone was sleeping. however, we read that going to Mina was sunnat and not Farz or Wajib. well its 2:06 right now and i am going to sleep. tomorrow we will hit Big, Medium, and Small jamaraa. day after tomorrow, only the small one, and then haj complete. bye.

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