Page 7 - Pakistan Link - April 26, 2019

OPINION APRIL 26, 2019 – PAKISTAN LINK – P7

n By Dr Akbar Ahmed The River Spirit of the Cam Then came another remarkable moment.
American University Gratefully, Zeenat gave Darren $200 as a re-
Washington, DC ward. Yet, Darren, a young man working on
the boats was reluctant to take the money and
n the town of Francis Bacon, Isaac New- insisted it was too much. He said he was doing
ton, and Stephen Hawking, there dwell what he did not for the money. I invited him
Istrange spirits, and there are strange to my Journey into Europe book launch at the
happenings, that science cannot fully ex- Woolf Institute the next day, which is why we
plain. were in Cambridge.
On May 16, Zeenat When we went the next morning to again
and I arrived in Cambridge thank Darren and asked for him at the tourism
in a state of total exhaus- office where he worked, his colleagues were
tion, having not slept for excited, saying, “That’s the young boy who
almost two days. Our flight earned $200 last night.” He was not present,
to London had been de- but they all seemed to know him. It seemed
layed some four hours in Darren had become an overnight hero. Just as
Washington, DC due to thunderstorms. After the flight of the cell phone defied the laws of
a seemingly endless journey across the Atlan- gravity, the quiet courage, unassuming cour-
tic and up from London, we settled in our ho- tesy, and chivalry of the young man defied the
tel room, unpacked, and went to enjoy a walk general stereotype of a selfish and materialistic
along the river Cam, one of my favorite places age. In any case, I wondered how many people
in the whole world. would have stood chest high in a freezing river
As I savored the beauty of the backs, the at dusk to assist complete strangers.
grandeur of the colleges, and the grace of the In the meantime, I was being traumatized
swans gliding by, I told Zeenat I would like to by the idea of my entire secretariat being lost at
take a picture of her against this background. one go at the start of a long, grueling, difficult,
While she stood for the photograph on the was murky and the sun was fast setting. She one point he thought he had found it but felt and complicated journey which would take
gravel path alongside the river, the peaceful struggled to peer in, even parting the waters the phone slip from under his feet and feared me to several continents over three months.
moment took a dramatic turn. Without warn- with her hands, but to no avail. Rather than it had been taken further downstream by the Who would win I wondered – the river spirit
ing, my iPhone slipped from my hands and despair, Zeenat showed the stuff the Swati or the human spirit? Deep inside, I knew, at
fell vertically onto the gravel, about three feet people are made of and refused to give up. She Just as the flight of the cell the end, somehow, all would be well. When
from a sharp ledge descending into the river went looking for help nearby where punts and phone defied the laws of gravity, Zeenat excitedly gave the phone to me, there
itself. Not content to remain in place where boats were on hire for visitors. This is when was jubilation as the people who had been
it fell, the phone then shot back up in the air she came upon a young Englishman named the quiet courage, unassuming watching cheered. They could not believe what
about two feet and, as if pulled by a river spirit, Darren Matthews. courtesy, and chivalry of the they saw next. The phone was working exactly
turned at a 90-degree angle and flew over the In this moment of distress, Zeenat young man defied the general as it was before being taken by the river. As a
ledge into the deep, dark waters of the Cam. asked Darren to help. Without hesitation, he precaution, Zeenat opened the phone to dry
The idea of the laws of gravity and the image dropped everything and came to our rescue. stereotype of a selfish and out the inside and took it to the Apple Store
of the apple falling on Newton’s head flashed Darren first brought along a net and lying flat materialistic age. In any case, the next day. But sure enough, Apple’s tech-
before my eyes. on his stomach moved it up and down in the I wondered how many people nicians confirmed the phone was in perfect
The Cam is not a very deep river as such spot where we thought the phone had fallen. working order.
– maybe four or five feet deep where we were Alas, this was unsuccessful. He then put his would have stood chest high in In the end, Zeenat’s determination and
standing – but it was late in the evening, the hand deep into the river with the same results. a freezing river at dusk to assist the chivalry of the young Englishman had
water was freezing, and the wind was chilled. After about 30 minutes of ineffectual attempts complete strangers defeated the river spirit of Cambridge. As for
The quiet, tranquil evening had taken on a to locate the phone, Darren took off his shirt Apple, they should be rightly proud of their
foreboding note. and shoes and jumped into the river. The wa- iPhone 7 and its ability to fully withstand be-
Zeenat, ever determined to solve a chal- ter came up to his upper chest. He then be- current. Then, miraculously, he felt the phone ing sunk at the bottom of the Cam for almost
lenge at hand, commenced a battle to recover gan to stomp his feet on the riverbed in the once again. But this time, he was able to pull it two hours.
the phone in spite of the fact that the water hope of making contact with the phone. At out of the river and present it to Zeenat. CAM, P24

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