A land of happy people
Denmark
The fourth part
Copenhagen’s Belly
Tariq Mirza, Sydney
As soon as the plane stopped, the passengers got up. Soon we were part of the hustle and bustle inside Copenhagen Airport. There were separate immigration counters for European and non-European travelers. When my number came, the immigration officer asked only one question
How many days do you plan to stay in Europe?
Two weeks I gave a short answer. He stamped the passport and handed the passport to me, saying “Welcome to Denmark.” I put my luggage on the trolley and walked out of the President’s door. The relatives and friends of the passengers were standing in a semi-circle.
His eyes were fixed on the door. I stopped in the middle of the circle and ran in search of Ramzan Rafiq, who came back unscathed because he did not see any familiar face. I never met Ramzan Rafiq.
What about Ramzan Rafiq? I had no old friends in these four countries. It was just a literary affair. Let it be said that the love and hospitality of these companions was such that for the next twenty days they enjoyed the company of many friends. However, these series of loves are not one-sided. It is a two-way process of sharing and embracing love. We also endeavor to extend a heartfelt hospitality to any person who has visited Australia in the field of science and literature. Thus these lamps of love continue to spread light from country to country.
Taking advantage of Ramzan Rafiq’s absence, I came out for the trolley. In fact, after a long flight, the demand for cigarettes was growing. Leaving the gate, I looked around for a place to smoke, but saw no sign.
However, seeing several women and men smoking outside the gate, I breathed a sigh of relief and lit a cigarette and joined their party.
There were cigarette butts scattered on the floor which made me even more satisfied. This satisfaction was due to the fact that Denmark is not a country like Japan, Australia and New Zealand where smoking is forbidden. Where there are reserved places for smoking in the corner.
Standing in such places, smokers feel that they are doing this secretly like fasting people during the month of Ramadan. Apart from these special places, no one smokes or throws cigarette butts on the ground. After eating in a restaurant or party hall, smoking has to go so far that food and drink are digested.
Thus in these countries the world of cleanliness is such that it is almost impossible to throw anything on the ground. Now the cleanliness and delicate temperament is not good enough to keep the garbage in your pocket.
When my Japanese friend Nasir Nakagawa came to Australia for tourism, he had a leather bag in his pocket. There was no cash or valuables in the bag. Instead, they would smoke cigarettes, put their ashes and debris in it, close the bag and put it in their pockets.
I used to look at his pocket again and again to make sure that no smoke came out of it but the Japanese had made such a firm arrangement that nothing like that happened. By the way, whether it is Australia or Japan, there is a lot of cleanliness in these countries, but they are deprived of the freedom that we Pakistanis have. Nor can they open a fountain of betel packs from a moving vehicle. Nor can we throw out Maltese shells like us.
You can’t spit everywhere and if the bladder is overflowing, you can’t lighten the weight by facing a wall. How helpless these poor people live.
After quitting smoking, I was walking towards the waiting room when Ramzan Rafiq was seen coming from that direction. Well, we recognized each other by looking at Facebook and WhatsApp.
Ramzan Rafiq met me warmly. He apologized for being late and took the trolley from my hand. The personality of this young man with thick mustache, smiling eyes and sharp features was very captivating.
Ramzan Rafique is a graduate in agriculture. But he moved to Denmark, where he became involved in business, and now owns a restaurant.
He has a deep passion for poetry and literature. Writes very interesting blogs. As a whole, they are sensitive, loving, and literary. He is the living soul of “Bailey” who is continuing his literary activities in Denmark.
Read This Article In Urdu Also
https://shanurdu.com/copenhagen-ka-beli/
