قندیل ہدایت — Page 388
388 of 1460 Chapter One Srinagar, Kashmir, India, 2012 The onset of winter in idyllic Kashmir meant that the days were gradually getting shorter۔Even though it was only three in the afternoon, it felt like nightfall۔Icy winter winds, having wafted through the numerous apple and cherry orchards of the area, sent a spicy and refreshing aromatic chill to the man's nostrils۔The leather jacket and lambswool pullover underneath it were his only comfort as he knelt to pray at the tomb۔Father Vincent Sinclair rubbed his hands together to keep warm as he took in the sight of the four glass walls, within which lay the wooden sarcophagus۔The occupant of the tomb, however, resided in an inaccessible crypt below۔Standing in front of a Muslim cemetery, the tomb was located within an ordinary and unassuming structure with whitewashed walls and simple wooden fixtures۔Vincent's blond hair, blue eyes, together with his athletic build and pale skin clearly marked him out as separate and distinct from the locals۔The goatee and rimless spectacles completed the slightly academic look۔The sign outside informed visitors that the Rozabal tomb in the Kanyar district of old Srinagar contained the body of a person named Yuz Asaf۔Local land records acknowledged the existence of the tomb from A۔D۔112 onwards۔1 The word 'Rozabal', derived from the Kashmiri term Rauza-Bal, meant 'Tomb of the Prophet'۔According to Muslim custom, the gravestone had been placed along the north-south axis۔However, a small opening to the true burial chamber beneath revealed that the sarcophagus of Yuz Asaf lay along the east-west axis as per Jewish custom۔Nothing else was out of the ordinary here--except for the carved imprint of a pair of feet near the sarcophagus۔The feet were normal human feet--normal, barring the fact that they bore marks on them; marks that coincided with the puncture wounds inflicted in crucifixion۔Crucifixion had never been practised in Asia, so it was quite obvious that the resident of the tomb had undergone this ordeal in some other, distant land۔Mecca, Saudi Arabia, 2012 The thousands of male pilgrims to Mecca during the Islamic month of Dhu-al-Hijjah were dressed identically in Ihram--a simple white, unhemmed cloth۔It was impossible to distinguish one pilgrim from another in the white sea of humanity۔After all, this was Haj, and all of Allah's followers were meant to be equal before Him۔Some, however, were more equal than the others۔The simple face and ordinary features did not reveal the secret depths of this particular pilgrim as he performed the Tawaf--circling the holy Kaaba--swiftly, four times, and then another three times at an unhurried pace۔This was Ghalib's second visit to the Kaaba۔A week ago he had already been through the entire routine once۔After completing the Umrah, Ghalib had stopped to drink water from the sacred well of Zamzam۔He had then travelled to Medina to visit the mosque of the Prophet before performing the final three acts of Haj--journeying 2