28. Trip to Pak + Haj-II
Postal services between India and Pakistan had resumed and so had tourism.
When I wrote a letter of mourning to Bhabhi, she replied with her wish that I
should visit them saying that even though your brother is no more there, I am
here to welcome you. When Bhaiyya was alive, I wished so fervently to visit
them but the distance between the two countries further complicated by tensions
and wars, dampened the courage to go there. Although the centre of my
attraction was not there anymore, I still could not refuse Bhabhi’s emotional
request to visit there at least once. Sohail’s sister Naseema had never met
Talat and her children so all four of them also were willing to go along.
I asked Bhabhi if anything specific she wanted me to bring along. She
suggested to get a few banarsi sari as her son Shaheen’s marriage was almost
fixed and expected shortly. As we got the visa, all the children came to meet
me before the departure. We boarded the train to Lahore from Delhi. As we
somehow managed to clear the customs, At Lahore railway station a relative of
Sohail had come to receive us who took us to his residence for stay overnight.
Lahore is an ancient city with the monuments and culture inherited from the
Moghul era. We took a good look around the city. Also went to the tomb of Great
poet and philosopher Allama Mohammad Iqbal which was rather disappointing. It
was the day of some local Punjabi festival there and all around the tomb,
Bhangra dancing and drum beating was going on. My impression of the city was
that the overall condition was not fascinating.
We moved on for Karachi the next day by train. That was a journey far from
comfortable. The compartment was awful with narrow wooden seats
without any cushion. It was a long journey and somehow the night was
spent. While we were sitting on the lower seats, Khalid was made to sleep on
the upper birth. Other Peshawari passengers with us somehow saw that Khalid was
falling from the upper birth and was strong enough to catch him midway with
both hands, else it could have proved disastrous. At the
Karachi station, Jamal, Bhabhi, Shahid and Jamal were there to receive.
Sohail’s sister and brother-in law Mujtaba Rizwi had also come.
Bhaiyya during his lifetime had purchased two adjacent flats for his two
sons which jointly was pretty spacious. Didn't really have as many occupants to
match. Even Shaheen at that point of time was posted in some other city. In his
absence Shaheen had requested Jamal to stay there. In course of
conversation, Bhabhi revealed that Jamal has done so much for them which we
would not even expect from our own child. Jawaid was an adopted child as
Shaheen was born to them long after their marriage. The parents, however, never
differentiated between the two.
Bhabhi’s “samdhiyana” was next door only. These people were also
immigrants from India and the wife was from Madras. The third daughter of the
total 9 children was going to be married to Shaheen. The girl seemed to be
efficient and nice natured. Talat also came after some time. She had brought a
ring for the girl and I had taken a red banarsi sari for her. The entire family
was extremely hard working. Their father was in job in some oil
company elsewhere and used to visit them frequently.
I tried to intimate all my long lost relatives so that I could meet them
all. Asim eventually came under pressure from Chand. We had met him in the Haj
a few years ago. He kept sitting silently devoid of any kind of emotion. His
mother and three sisters were very much alive then but it seemed that he has
erased every memory of the past. Whenever I asked him something, the answer was
in mono-syllables. He just had a cup of tea there but kept smoking all the
time. He never even asked about Talat leave alone about Sohail. I had seen him
a changed person when he had returned from Germany. Now it seemed he
had disconnected himself from everyone. How a person, who earlier
used to be so informal, unreserved and jovial to the extreme, could
get transformed to this extent. He said he will come back
again and left.
Amongst the relatives the first one to come and meet was Baccho Mamoo. He
had married at a late age in UP and mostly lived there before migrating to
Pakistan. Here he had come very close to Bhaiyya. As long as he was with us,
kept chatting about Bhaiyya and Doctor Saheb saying the latter was like a kid
to him. He remained a frequent visitor as long as I was there, even though his
residence was located at a good distance.
A number of close relatives like Mumani Amman (my in-law), Najma, Naseema
were still not contacted and many days passed by just like that. I was getting
panicky with the thought of returning to India without even meeting
them. Whenever I took this up with Bhabhi, she would suggest
that when Shaheen will be back he will drive us to meet them. When I suggested
to hire a taxi, she was rather terse to retort that if we move around in taxi
there will not be much left for the daily bread.
Somehow I managed to meet most of the relatives one after another. Then
came the feast time as everyone was inviting us over dinner and thereafter not
a single evening was spent at home. Asim also invited and came over to pick us
up that evening. Though Bhabhi was also invited she didn’t go and I was the
lone guest.
Asim came over to pick me and was driving himself. Reminisces flashed
through my mind when I was newly married and all of us were going in a car.
When it became difficult for everyone to fit in, I took Asim in my
lap. We used to then chat till very late at night and the days were
spent playing carom and cards together. How things had changed for him.
He lived in luxury. I sat there in the drawing room and he brought the
pictures he had clicked with his camera when all of us were living together. He
had a passion for photography. The Khansama had then announced dinner. The
dining table was full of exotic Indian dishes but I saw Asim just having the
salad. He showed me the entire house and I must admit I had never seen anything
so luxurious earlier. As we came back to the drawing room, he put on a record
of old song and watched the evening news on TV. After the news was over I asked
him to get me dropped back.
The driver was there but he chose to drive me back home, himself. He kept
driving in absolute silence. I was lost in my own thoughts on the rear seat of
the car. I released he had not addressed me as Bhabhi at all. He had dedicated
himself in accumulation of wealth and that alone seemed to be the
objective of his life. May be he thought wealth could get him everything else.
But I could not find him either healthy or happy. He looked older for his age
with that wrinkled face and had no proximity with joy and happiness. Possibly
he was able to get some kind of ego satisfaction with all the bank balance and
his lifestyle and all the properties he had accumulated.
I really wept through this part of the writing, as I realize that the same
opulence, eventually became the cause of his early death. Most certainly he
felt hurt the cause of which I could never fathom, but sure enough something
was eating him up.
Masood Bhai who is my first cousin and also the brother of my brother in
law, was a frequent visitor. He also invited for dinner but I requested him to
show me the historical monuments instead, which he readily agreed for. With his
younger son Mahmood, the three of us roamed around the city. Quaide
Adam’s tomb was the first place we visited. It was a beautiful piece of
architecture and we offered fateha there. Next to the monument is the magnificent
mosque made by Shah Fahad. Unlike the conventional mosques we are familiar
with, this one was like a huge hall and the tomb like roof was studded with
glass pieces. As we were moving around there, it was time for
the maghrib Namaaz. Two my astonishment, there were just
a handful of guys who came to offer the Namaaz. I was told it was the peak
business time in the adjoining market area. I recalled the famous couplet
Masjid to bana lee pal bhar men imaan ki haraarat walon ne
Man apna purana paapi that barson me namaazi ban na saka
It was more than a month now in Karachi when we got a communication from
Reyaz that both of them had got a job in Iran and are going to leave shortly.
His programme was to stay at Nasreen’s place and he asked me to come back to
Delhi and meet there itself. My problem was that Sohail was not yet ready for
the return journey and wished to stay for some more time. I was
reluctant to travel by train all on my own. A viable option for me was to fly
back to Delhi but no one was there to organize all that. Asim told me that as
per the rules I had to go back the same rout as I had come. I got real worried.
Eventually Jamal came to my rescue and managed the plane tickets for me.
Whole lot of gifts and presents started pouring in as the time of
departure came closer. I had told Bhabhi not to get Sari for me from there as
out there it was not as good as Indian. The market was full of imported goods
there even as India had not opened up till then. Chand’s wife gave a nice large
water thermo flask which is still with me. A day before the departure, in his
usual manner Asim came and said he may not be available the next day. With my
own money I bought nice blanket for Mumani Amman (his mother) that I
thought to give her saying Asim had sent it for her and he was asking about her
welfare.
The flight to Delhi reached there at 8 in the night of January chill.
Reyaz and Ejaz had come to receive. This was my first flight experience
of life. We all went to Nasreen’s place. I observed that their heart
was big so it didn’t matter if the house was not so spacious. Ejaz who was
studying there in Delhi had also come over. Next day evening Reyaz, Mona and
the family left for Iran. Eager to see Republic day celebrations in
Delhi I extended my stay there for a few days. Aqueel also turned up there
around the same time. Nargis Bua was there for the cooking as well as looked
after their son Adil. Monnawar's hospitality and humility was remarkable as he
would take care of everyone’s need with a genuine smile.
There house was located at a very convenient location within walking
distance of the main Karolbagh Market. We could go to the market walking and
came back on horse driven tonga loaded with purchases. Those were the days when
things were still not so expensive. Eventually Ejaz got the train
tickets and I reached Patna back home.
It was over five years since my first Haj After the first time
the deep rooted desire always remained to repeat the feat in a more appropriate
manner, as during my first visit, I felt I was enormously ignorant of many
aspects of the great pilgrimage. Mohammad Rafi the renowned singer
had recorded a song after he himself came back from the Haj . I had that
cassette and one day having vivid description of various phases of the rituals.
I was suddenly overwhelmed and went in a kind of trance and my eyes got closed
and I could see myself travelling in a bus taking the passengers from Mecca to
Madina. When I opened the eyes and realized where I was, I just
wished it could have proved to be true.
A few days thereafter, Reyaz Bhai came and informed me that he was going
for Haj Badal (in lieu of someone) this year again. Instantly I told him that I
would also like to go. Hassu was also ready immediately. Sayyada Aapa who had
missed it on the first occasion was also willing to go this time.
Reyaz Bhai was not a “mahram “ for me but these two ladies made it easy for me,
like the first time. The same Moallim Haider Sheikh was contacted who was on
the first occasion was only a young boy. Our departure time was
informed to be at the end of the month of Eid as per the lottery system that
was there. I stitched a Shalwar Kameez for myself to wear after returning from
the Haj as my Amman used to wear. This time we made sure not to carry
any material for self cooking which was more of a burden going by the
experience of the previous visit. Ejaz and Aqueel went to Bombay to see us off.
I had arranged for adequate money this time and it was still not so expensive
to complete the Haj by way of ship.
While the original idea was to be more involved in the spiritual aspect of
the Haj, the excitement and pleasure that was experienced the first time was
somehow missing. When we reached Patna, All my daughters were there. Nikhat had
come with Tanvir who had completed one year.
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Chapter
INDEX.------------------------------------
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