The day began with a journey from Jamia to Delhi Gate, where I walked toward the I.U.M.L. office with Mubashir guiding the way. He spoke with passion about history, heritage, and food, not only introducing me to the people around us but also introducing me as though weaving me into that heritage.
As we were leaving, Mubashir suddenly said: “Let’s go back—you should talk to those students visiting North India.”
I resisted: “No way!” But somehow, the sense of presence demanded attendance.
Inside, I listened.
The first speaker spoke of history and heritage as experience.
The second dwelt on today’s polarisation and its reasons.
The third ended with statistics, academic insights, and leadership.
But to me, it all felt like fragments, none piercing deep enough to stir “I must do something.” My mind kept weaving a story to connect their dots.
Then suddenly—my turn. At first, I declined sitting in the front. Later, I was called again. Nervous, yes, but I opened with a dua: asking to be among the leaders of the pious. Briefly I introduced myself, closed it, and thought: “I could have spoken better.”
Yet, afterward, students came, asking questions. Connection began—not through a grand speech, but through presence and dialogue. These stages, I realized, aren’t for performance but for quiet transfers of wisdom.
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