13. Summary

The lesson 'A Visit to Cambridge' narrates the real-life experience of the author Firdaus Kanga, where he meets the greatest Astrophysicist and cosmologist of all time Stephen Hawking. The author is on a visit to Cambridge, where he walks across the campus and the guide reminds him of Hawking. He makes a call and schedules an appointment for half an hour. When he meets Hawking, he is amazed by his charisma. There is a connection between the two men that they were both disabled. The author is guilty of stressing Hawking out, as he had to search for the buttons in his speech generating machine every time he wants to convey something. He asks what Hawking feels about people thinking that disabled people are always unhappy, to which he replies that he finds it amusing when people patronise him. Hawking has the best smile when he sarcastically comments that the author is annoying him. Kanga understands that people tend to glorify the sufferings of disabled people. He also learns that one's intellectual is more important than one's body. When he is about to leave, Hawking offers him tea and shows him around the garden. Kanga feels that this is one of the important days in his life and that he would strive to be like Hawking.