RIYADH, 28 August 2006 — You might have seen films or flipped through comic strips about the adventures of Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan could communicate with animals but not with humans after having lived with apes and other denizens of the forest.
Muhammad Iqbal, an Indian expatriate, too could not communicate with humans after tending camels for 13 years in the desert of Al-Summan in the Thumama district near Riyadh. Then, following a chance encounter with his own compatriot, he slowly regained his voice and his memory. He then realized, “I have only milk to live on and no money.” And thereby hangs a tale.
Iqbal, who hails from a district in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, came to Riyadh in 1993 to work as a camel herd for his Saudi sponsor. Soon he was packed off to Al-Summan, where he tended camels and drank their milk. He was practically cut off from human contact. His exposure to camels enabled him to communicate with those animals, responding to their likes and dislikes, and carry on a symbiotic living. He had also become a denizen of the desert.
His only human interface during this period was his sponsor who would come periodically to check on his camels. The only handout Iqbal would receive on such visits were packets of bread and some tomatoes.
Although he had forgotten his own language, his ability to think remained intact. The packet of “qubuz” and tomatoes reminded him that he had not received his salary for all these years. He also realized that he had a family back home, but had no money to support them.
His inner voice told him that he should chuck his job and fight for his dues pending for over a decade. As Iqbal started his long march in the desert to meet his sponsor, he got lost in the wilderness and fell exhausted. It was then that a good samaritan spotted him.
A Sudanese truck driver passing by noticed a man lying in the desert. He picked up Iqbal and brought him to some Indian workers manning a gas station near Janadriya. When Iqbal regained consciousness, the workers from the south Indian state of Kerala realized that he could not speak. Finally, one of them approached Pradeep, a member of Keli, a social service organization from Kerala. Together with the help of his colleagues, Siddique and Nasser, they buckled down to the task of re-educating Iqbal in his mother tongue. With patience and perseverance, they managed to help Iqbal articulate in Urdu.
Speaking to Arab News, Pradeep said he contacted his own sponsor and briefed him about Iqbal’s plight. “With the help of the police, we were able to track down Iqbal’s sponsor. After listening to all his woes, his sponsor paid all the outstanding dues amounting to SR60,000. My sponsor also gave Iqbal SR800 out of sympathy,” Pradeep said, adding that the Indian Embassy also came forward to arrange for his journey back home.
Although the story ended happily for Iqbal, for the trio it left a bad taste in their mouth. The camel shepherd returned to India without even thanking the good samaritans. Could it be that he again lost his voice — this time due to excitement?
