It is in the evening, to be exact, at 5:30 pm. Zahir, a talented scholar at the University of Tehran, has just alighted from the Tehran Metro. A hundred yards away from the station is his apartment. He walks, slowly, carefully, as if he is timing and counting the steps to his place. Along the way, he is greeted by scenes of beautifully tended lawns and flower gardens smiling at him. He doesn’t see all of that today. His mind is deeply immersed in thoughts and flashbacks.
He remembers the graduation is two weeks away. The Civil Engineering department at the College of Engineering had not released his examination results. He had been hopeful that he would complete his Master of Science in Civil Engineering and graduate before the end of the year. His PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) scholarship was supposed to start in the second month of the new year, but it required that he complete the master's program first. If he doesn’t, he risks losing the paid scholarship for his PhD and will not get a permanent position as a faculty member in this prestigious College of Engineering. It had been his dream, he hoped to change the world through technical education, as he worked on the side building his dream construction company.
He has consistently excelled in his studies and his graduate assistantship job at the faculty. His breakthrough research on robotics for construction had been published in top scientific journals in the world and earned him a ton of respect and admiration from the global community. He had struggled through tough economic times, having to work hard to support his mother and siblings’ education and take care of himself and his graduate studies. But one examiner had been reluctant to finish examining and scoring his research thesis. Out of malice or what? He didn’t have the answer for that.
Exactly a year ago, he had been stranded on the northern coast of the Chabahar Bay, in the Makran coastal region. His car had broken down and took longer to fix. He was coming from a traditional celebration for his friend’s wedding. He remembers the warm reception, the excellent hospitality, and the good memories shared with the people there.
They had spent much of their time together at the university during their undergraduate days. Both were smart, principled, and determined to excel in their studies. After the university, Zahir had kept selling to his friend the idea of starting a construction company together. He was very confident in their abilities and how their skills and talents would complement each other in running the business. However, his friend kept on deferring the idea, choosing to work with other people instead. He reasoned to Zahir that they were both starting and didn’t have the resources to compete with the well-established firms. Zahir felt betrayed because he could see his friend forming business alliances with his competitors after giving him excuses for their plans.
Now, after the wedding, their contact has reduced. Zahir had just moved to Tehran to pursue his master's degree, and it seemed like he was starting all over from scratch. Distant friends, a new city, and a barely profitable business. But he owes it to himself that he must become successful no matter the odds stacked against him (at least according to his definition of success).
He places his laptop on the table in the living room, tucks the backpack away, and opens “Bale”, a popular local messaging app, on his smartphone. On the group chat are photos of Amina, a research assistant at the department, and her colleagues at the popular restaurant celebrating her birthday. They were loose, reckless, and seemed to enjoy every moment of the celebration. Zahir had been invited but decided to respectfully decline. His schedule was tight. He preferred his usual bike ride across the estates and late evening coding sessions. He was building a web app for connecting buyers, sellers, and delivery specialists across the city.
Three months ago, was his birthday. No birthday wishes, not even from anyone close to him. No one remembers the date. He attended to his work and made sure that he didn’t announce to anyone or give anyone a hint that it was his birthday. So, the day passed by slowly, like a river flowing along the valley, gracefully separating two giant mountains. This day marked the beginning of a new age. Zahir had turned 30. Old enough to know time waits for no one, yet young enough to still fit in the youth bracket. He questioned life, career progress, the businesses he was building, friendships, and many other things. It was clear that some of these meanings had to be redefined.
He puts the phone away and heads to the kitchen. He draws water from the taps, fills the electric kettle halfway, plugs it in power, and waits. His favourite blue mug is ready with a spoonful of coffee waiting. He pours the hot water in and mixes. He makes his favourite black coffee with this remarkably simple process and sits down at his desk. It is time to put in the work for his late evening self-development programme. He opens the laptop, fires up the Visual Studio App, and starts typing as he scrolls through pages and pages of Ruby on Rails documentation and guides.
0 Comments