Never Judge A Book By Its Cover: I Did And Got This Unique Punishment
This is a personal story about the time I judged someone and got punished for it.
We've all heard the saying "don't judge a book by its cover." And yet, we do it all the time. We judge people by their looks, their clothes, their car, their house. We make assumptions based on these things and we oftentimes don't even realize we're doing it.
I'll admit, I'm unwittingly guilty of this. I judged a person based on his appearance and I was wrong about him and it led to a very unique punishment.
In 2000, I was employed by National Insecticide Company. One morning a old man walked into the office. He was wearing pretty casual traditional Pathani clothing, slippers and was holding a folded polythene bag. It seemed to be labor. He said he was coming in to meet the regional manager.
I told him that the manager will arrive shortly. And, I began working while that man sat on the floor leaning against the wall next to the door. The moment our regional manager walked into the office, he was horrified to discover the old man sitting on the floor. He took the man to his chamber with great respect after glaring at me with great rage.
That old man was a landowner. He had many fruit orchards over a long area in Gulistan region of Balochistan. I was very embarrassed, so the man lightened the mood and invited me to visit Gulistan.
A few days later the Regional Manager told me that I had to go on a two-day visit to Gulistan with the Field Officer.
I was quite happy as I love travelling and visiting new places.
About 8 to 10 km from the Afghan-Pakistan border, this town is famous for its fresh fruits. Gulistan consists of many tribes like Achakzai, Kakar, Tarin and Syed.
My Story
We started our journey from Quetta to Gulistan in Potohar Jeep and after about 2 hours drive we reached a market in Gulistan.
In the market we met the same old man who came to our office. After travelling since morning, now I felt the need to go to the toilet. I found out that there are no toilets in the market. Well, after meeting with our various dealers, we arrived at this old man's residence.
It was no ordinary house, it looked like a fort when the car entered through the big door. People here are very hospitable. We ate on the ground with a lot of people (Male Family Members) and drank the special drink in a big glass after the meal. It was night and now my patience was over, I asked where is the toilet and found that there was no toilet. There, people go to the fields in times of need. The old man said that you can urinate anywhere except where the grapes vine is planted because the vine is burnt by the acidity of the urine. It was all new to me, I was really in bad situation and I started trying to sleep anxiously, my sleeping bed they had placed under a mulberry tree. At night, when everyone was asleep, I went to the fields and unwillingly relieved myself.
Next morning they brought me a glass of milk and a mulberry, I was very worried and it was very difficult for me to stay there even for a minute without toilet. Seeing my problem, this man called my manager and laughingly said that I think this punishment is enough for Shahzad. And then I realized that this visit was actually my punishment.
The Greatest Punishment for City Dwellers: To Be Took To Villages Where There Are No Toilets
City dwellers are used to a certain level of comfort and convenience. Almost all of us used to having toilets that flush. We are not used to having to squat over a hole in the ground and hope that the water they splash on ourselves will be enough to clean off the stink.
Village life is hard. There are no toilets, no running water, and no electricity. It's a far cry from the comforts of city living, and it's definitely not for everyone.
Some people might see being taken to a village as a punishment. But for others, it could be seen as an opportunity to experience something different and learn about another way of life.
It was a lesson that I learned the hard way, but it's one that I'll never forget.
The old man said goodbye, inviting us to come again and assuring us that he would have the toilet built by the time we visited again 🤣.
***Disclaimer*** As I mentioned in my intro, from the last 2 decades I have been active on social media, google mapping and reviews, youtube and thatsup. I will share my own past interesting content from these channels, but all my upcoming content I will share on hive.blog first.