Lost by comparison

Hameed was glad when he finally got transferred to his home town. He had spent nearly ten years away from home, working in three different towns. He worked around three years in each place. Those ten years he spent yearning for his hometown where he had spent his childhood. After completing his college education he got a job in a company that had branches in many cities including his own. But they had vacancy only in a sequestered little village far away. "In a year or two, there will be a vacancy in a branch in or around your city" said one of his friends, "then you can get transferred here and stay here till you retire". Hameed agreed and accepted the job. Within a year he married and settled in a cozy little house of the cozy little seaside village.

It was a pleasant place. Abundant rainfall resulting in abundant vegetation. He was surprised to see grass and shrubs growing everywhere, on every inch of open space. Open space inside and outside the compound wall of every house, on the compound walls, between bricks of unplastered walls, rooftops and in every place where people didn't walk on or did not cover with stone or tar. The villagers spent a lot of time removing the unwanted grass, without complaining. It was their way of life. The village remained absolutely clean. Extreme humidity turned dead leaves to mud in no time. Hameed would spend long time walking around the clean vacant roads after his office hours. At home he and his wife would talk make plans regarding how they would live after getting transferred to their hometown. Sometimes Hameed would remember the time he spent with his friends when he was in school or college.

After spending more than two years in the village, Hameed started getting frustrated. "What if there is no vacancy in my city office for next five years?" He thought. His wife agreed. "We must look for other opportunities", she said. Soon the company offered promotion to Hameed which he gladly accepted. With promotion Hameed was transferred to another town. He spent a few years there with his family. But he always recalled the days he spent in his city when he was a child. Unlike this new industrial town, his childhood city had a long history. In his old city there was a fort near a small lake and the city had grown around it. Hameed liked to read the history of his city concerning the fort. There were a few books in the city library that gave some facts about the wars fought to capture the fort.

On one side Hameed's desire to go to his city grew and on other side the demands of his family grew. Education of his children required a good deal of money. "We must save to buy our own home" his wife would say. But he didn't want his children to make adjustments. He had to maintain a standard of living. Hameed worked hard and managed to get another promotion. His salary increased substantially. He didn't mind getting transferred to a third city, still away from home. In this big city, there were tall buildings, amusement parks, large restaurants and everything glittered. Yet Hameed longed for his own city. "There are quite a few houses built many generations ago in our city!" he would tell his new friends. The old style architecture was very attractive for him. "Those are huge stone houses", he would say looking at the congested apartment he lived in. Though the house of his parents was of moderate size he hated paying huge rent for the pigeonhole he was living in now. Once every year, for a few days he went to visit his parents with his family. His desire to go back to his city grew.

In ten years, he had earned a good name in his company. He was in good books of his superiors. "Good,  Hameed. And what are your expectations from the company?" He was asked during the interview for his next promotion. He immediately demanded a transfer to his old city. The interviewers smiled.

Hameed was ecstatic when he reached his old city. He had rented a house close to his office.

Next few days he visited his parents and some relatives who lived nearby. His friends had got jobs in different cities so he could not meet any of them. Yet he visited the houses of their parents. Even those short visits made him nostalgic.

"We must make better arrangements for water storage", his wife said on the following Saturday. There was scarcity of water in the city. Things had changed in past few years. Population has grown exponentially. The lake water was not enough. The pipeline that brought water from the far away dam needed frequent repairs. When Hameed spoke to the people in the neighborhood, they said that the water level in their wells was extremely low. He hadn't noticed this problem during his annual visits to his parents'. Or maybe he didn't give it importance at that time. "This happens during this time of the year", his friends comforted him, "things will improve in two or three months". Hameed clenched his teeth. He was sceptical about the change and made peace with the water scarcity.

On Monday, as he walked towards his office, he noticed heaps of dried leaves on the sides of the road. At one or two places waste water had accumulated and the leaves were rotting in it, giving out foul smell. Crows were sitting around the ditches. Hameed hated the sight. City Corporation was not prompt.

Next day when Hameed drove to the market, he noticed little heaps of garbage at many places on the sides of the road. Whenever strong wind blew, the dried leaves and discarded carry bags would spread on the road. He cursed the public who did not complain to the city administration. He parked his car and sat thinking. Things were same during his childhood. He was noticing them after he had seen better conditions in the village. And he had not cared about cleanliness in other two cities because they were not his cities.

Hameed got out of his car and stepped in the strong sunshine. The heat reminded him of the old roadside trees which were now cut down to broaden the road. New trees were planted at places, but they would take time to grow, that is, if they survived.

Next Saturday Hameed thought about places where he and his friends played and rode their bicycles. So on Sunday morning he walked out to see those places. Huge stone houses stood intact (one of those belonged to a corporator). But there was no vegetation in their yards. Ground was dry and dust would float high when the wind blew. Everyone was preserving water during this time of the year. He felt dejected. He wanted to talk about all this but there were no friends next to him today. It was impossible to explain the situation to them on phone. His wife wouldn't understand the changes because she came from another city and didn't know the previous condition of the city.

Friendless, he walked alone in the hot sun for a long while. Then he felt tired and dehydrated and turned to go home. On his way back, he wondered if it would have been better if he had not lived in other places. "Then I would not have compared..."

What had changed? Apart from absence of his friends and the seemingly passing problem of water, everything seemed to be the same. The fort, the lake, the old houses, and the library... Those were the things he most often remembered, and they remained unchanged.

Yet, now he hated his lovely city.