Otoyomegatari - Vol. 12 Ch. 82 - The Pilgrim Returns

[monozuki]

When the old man (the pilgrim) cried seeing his photograph, that was honestly the first time I teared up reading otoyomegatari. Somehow that bit really just got to me.


@SotiCoto : from your comments I see you tent to assume (for whatever reason) that your opinion is the best opinion or, indeed, fact. A.. 'retarded little trip' for one person can be the life-fulfilling achievement for another. I don't really care about the pilgrimage one way or another, to each his own, but the lack of respect for other life outlooks (or even understanding that there can be any, just as valid as your own) is kinda jarring, enough even to overcome my laziness to write this.

 

[sf7pakistan]

I almost broke when the wife came running then broke down, still holding the man's hand. I live in Southeast Asia, my mom said before commercial planes, people went for hajj by ship. A two-way return trip including hajj took around a year. My grandmother was asked to sign a letter of consent/permission before voyage that if my grandfather were to die along the way, he will be buried wherever he was (some bodies were sunk tho, I heard).

I remember father telling me that it took my grandfather a year or so from when he left to come back from Hajj. It's a massive undertaking even now with all the comforts but I can't imagine the patience, commitment and faith one would need to complete Hajj. Mind you my grandfather went sometime in the late 40s to early 50s probably by walking, hitchhiking, by ship and God knows what else.

I can't even begin to imagine how hard it'd be back in the 1800s with the distance and the dangers involved. Now wonder the people who come back are so revered not only because they were able to bear the difficulties of the travel but because for so many, despite their greatest desire to do Hajj, the closest they could come to it was to ask for the prayer of someone who was going to it or had come back from it.

No wonder the old man cried at the photograph, that thing is a forevermore proof of his life and his desire to undertake Hajj. This was easily one of the best and most impactful things I've seen in manga. Instantly made me tear up and think of my grandfather and God-willing the time I'd be able to do it hopefully​

 

[sf7pakistan]

I wonder what was inside the thought of the old man when he saw his photograph with his family? Did it hit him that he finally reunited with his family, as he, for the first time, could see it from a third-person perspective? Did he just realized how old he actually looked like, that reminds him how long he had lived and the remaining time he might have? Either way, his tears is quite contagious. Great chapter, every chapter.

I think it was a mix of it all. His life, his family, his achievements, his Hajj, all of it set in stone. Tangible and touchable, there for all to see

 

[friendly]

Seeing yourself clearly for the first time... what a cap to a pilgrimage. Also what faith our girl had to support him without knowing entirely why he's here! I have to applaud Mr. Smith- recording as much as he is outside of purely linguistic data shows the mark of a smart man to me. You need so much context, you know? All of it, all of it is so precious.