Pleasure and charm of conversation
      For, let me tell you, Socrates, that the more the pleasures of the body
      fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm of conversation.

      Common complaints of age
      Men of my age flock together, we are birds of a feather, as the old
      proverb says; and at our meetings the tale of my acquaintance commonly is
      -- I cannot eat, I cannot drink; the pleasures of youth and love are fled
      away. There was a good time once, but now that is gone, and life is no
      longer life.

      Some complain of the slights which are put upon them by relations, and
      they will tell you sadly of how many evils their old age is the cause.

      But to me, Socrates, these complainers seem to blame that which is not
      really in fault. For, if old age were the cause, I too being old, and
      every other old man, would have felt as they do. But this is not my own
      experience, nor that of others whom I have known.

      When passions are gone
      For old age has a great sense of calm and freedom when the passions relax
      their hold, then we are freed from the grasp of not one mad master only
      but of many. The truth is, Socrates, that these regrets and also the
      complaints about relations, are to be atrributed to the same cause, which
      is not old age, but men's characters and tempers. For he who is of a calm
      and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is
      of an opposite disposition, youth and age are equally a burden.

      No laughing matter: Tales of Underworld
      When a man thinks himself to be near death, fears and cares enter into his
      mind which he never had before. The tales of a world below, and the
      punishment which is exacted there of deeds done here, were once a laughing
      matter to him, but now he is tormented with the thought th

      An adamantine faith
      A man must take with him into the world below an adamantine faith in truth
      and right, that there too he may be undazzled by the desire of wealth or
      the other allurements of evil, lest coming upon tyrannies and similar
      villainies, he do irremediable wrongs to others and suffer yet worse
      himself. But let him know how to choose the mean and avoid the extremes on
      either side, as far as possble, not only in this life but in all that
      which is to come.

      For this is the way of happiness.

      -- Republic X, Choosing our next life

Chak 19 GD Haripur , Pakistan

I was just 8 when in 1947 I with my parents had to leave our village Chak 19 GD Haripur in Okara , Pakistan.I lost everything including my friends and my colourful ‘lattoos'(spinning tops).This resentment at being thrown out was suppressed  because of struggles which like other refugees we had to undergo.Fortunately I was able to get good education .Sometimes I think that my displacement  was responsible was  for my increased awareness (among other factors) which made my higher education possible.Later in life, I  had opportunities to interact with Pakistanis in various countries of the world  and earlier resentment gave way to a desire to revisit my village or at least  to know the present state of my village,my school and my house there.

I knew the name of the village and that it was near Okara.I did not know how distant it was from Okara.I surfed the internet repeatedly and the only reference I could get was that it had a voter booth in its Govt. primary School Chak 19 GD.No reference to Haripur.I was hooked on to get some picture of the village.I searched Haripur but the most known Haripur in Pakistan  is elsewhere.Then it occurred to me that these chaks got established in the wake of irrigation canals in Okara.Then I searched irrigation canals in Okara .I was lucky.In the details of one of these channels there was a list of populated places in the vicinity.One of these places was Haripur.On clicking Haripur I could see Google satellite picture of the village.I could recognise the pond and the school and my house.What a great achievement  and tribute to technology!I was greatly excited and a desire to talk to somebody in the village gripped me.I thought for many days to achieve this possible goal.

I came across a website Yahoo Answers where you can ask questions and give answers.I asked appropriate questions and one Punjab da Jat gave me a mobile number where I could make enquiries.With great excitement I made a call and a kind old wise man answered.He told me about himself and that he was asked by a relation to answer my questions regarding my village.He was in an adjoining village.He invited me to go ,stay with them.They would make me comfortable.Since then I have phoned him six times but my search to talk to a phone in my village could not be satisfied through this wise old man for whom I have developed great admiration.

.

I have a great regard for school teachers.In villages.they are the most informed people and ahead of other residents.I took a print of the satellite picture of the village and posted with it a letter to the Headmaster of the village.I did not know his name but after ten days a blank call was received.I immediately phoned him and we made a conversation very satisfying to me and I am sure to him.He verified that it was indeed  the village I was looking for.He told me about himself,his family etc in the manner of a forthright Punjabi.I could hear children talking in the background and told him that I would call him in the evening.(The thought of sending toffees to these 170 children crossed my mind.)This I did and he told me more about the village and about his brother who is to get married on Aug 24.Congratulations.Asaf Ali,  B.A., 30, Headmaster of my chak indeed impressed me.I told him that I am also a teacher and despatched to him by post a  photo of the main building of IIT Delhi.He phoned to say he received it and said he liked it.

A strong outcome of my quest for my village is the reinforcement of my belief that people on both sides of the line by Radcliff (May curse be on him!) are similar and everything should be done to satisfy their desire to enjoy their common cuture together.This belief of mine was further strengthened by my visit to the Fazilka border (recently on Aug 15) where people from the two sides of the border did their best to communicate  in the no man land.As a modern unbiased man, I believe this communication can be further encouraged..

At the border we must employ technology to enable people to communicate in dignity and enjoyment.Social interaction at the border can be televised live.In fact this offers a great opportunity waiting to be exploited by a dedicated channel.I mentioned this to the Indian DIG Border Security Force Mr. Sharma but then his chief concern is security.Others should come forward for other interests.He said this much and justifiably so.

Both countries have made   progress since independence.For many reasons India has advanced more in Technical Education.There is a talk of our setting up IIT like institutions in Middle East and Singapore.Why not in Pakistan ?Advances in Technology are promoted by international interaction.India has gained by international  interaction .And Pakistan also will.

My old friend Dr. Bhupinder  Ex Professor IIT Roorkee learns that Guru Nanak Trust in Pakistan (or such other organisation) is in a position to arrange land in Pakistan for an international university.India should help taking of course Pakistani sensitivities into account.

People have talked of people to people interaction.All people are  only grown (or overgrown) children. Asaf Ali Headmaster of my village in Pakistan would, I guess, like to interact with similar school here in Indian Panjab..Schools (and therefore children) in Indian Panjab and Pakistani Punjab must interact naturally .Then Radcliff  (or whatever his name) would  become irrelevant. Walls WILL come down.I would  then be happier..

I have talked above of my efforts to locate my village. I learnt from my further research that the kind person who referred me to the helpful mobile had in fact descended in some way from Maharaja Ranjit Singh.The Maharaja had married into the family which organised and commanded Nakai Misl.They were Jat Sikhs one of whom somewhere along the line had converted to Islam (thanks to the charms of a Muslim beauty ).This Nakai family gave a chief minister to Pakistani Punjab in realatively recent times.The Maharaja and the chief minister obviously  had some common genes.Some present Nakais are members of National and Provincial Assemblies.The governing experience it seems lasts quite a while.Even a nonbloodline Gandhi would testify to that.

A sojourn in areas near my chak (yes, MY chak) should delight any intelligent tourist.The spirit of Heer and Ranjha should be alive.A German NGO is exporting locally made beautiful dolls.And there is Harappa! You can get a taxi from Okara to Chak 19 in two hundred rupees.Take me with you.I promise you a plot eminently suited for a Bollywood thriller.The local Raberas and Pirs will provide inexpensive but genuine and credible character actors.Any one?

Life around Chak 19 GD  Haripur

In the forties the village Chak 19 GD Haripur was small.So is it today.It had then one primary school for boys.Now it has one for girls too.The population was about 1300.Now it is 1493.

Mrs. Thatcher used to talk of spheres of influence.Mrs. Indira Gandhi said she was sick of the talk of spheres of influence.Chak 19 GD was in Roberas’ sphere of influence.So is it now.’  â€˜Rob’ in Panjabi means lording over.The surname Robera probably comes from there.

In 1947 Robera family was probably the only one having spring driven gramophone( with a large horn) in the village.But they allowed all children to enjoy it whenever it was on.

I was in this chak till 1947 when I left for new India at age 8.I remember an irrigation minor near the village newly dug up.On the bank of this minor was a young man singing ‘dhola’with his lathi stuck up between his armpits and arms.To me the scene represented gay abandon.

I started my schooling in 1944 in Chak 36/2L.I used to get ‘one dawanni’ every day as my pocket money.This was a generous amount for a school boy those days and I could buy a good amount of ‘gur tangar’ which I could then share with my class mates.This tangar bribe was responsible for my love for school.

Chak 19 GD was a sleepy village .School was just an open shed .Pupils sat on a ‘tat’and wrote on ‘takhtis’ and slates.Now it has two rooms for five classes.Some classes have to be held under the trees .When it rains school has to be closed.There is a kacha compound wall.

In 1947 there was no boundary wall( there is a kacha wall now).After the school hours the space was used by naughty boys to sunbathe lying on their backs with their eyes towards the sky.

In the centre of the village there was a well which acted as a source of water supply for the village though some houses had hand operated pumps.You could see small insects called kooras in the well water.Well was also used as every body’s refrigerator.One could throw melons into the well for cooling  and could retrieve these when desire to eat them came.’Lal dawai’ (potassium permanganate) was generously thrown into the well.This must have made the well water a little less unhealthy.

This well is now no more.However , for me it represented a historical place where residents of the village and surrounding villages collected in September 1947 for their travel to Okara on their way to new India in their search for safety.

There was a sikh doctor who catered to the whole village.He would put drops into my unwilling eyes during months of  every summer.If these drops did not cure, there was a more effectve method.You could draw straw from seven different straw huts and create a rolled device out of these.A bucket of water was put in front of you,and you were supposed to look into the bucket water intensely.A knowledgable man of the village will then set fire to the straw roll and move the burning device around the head of the afflicted person.The patient concentrated on the reflection of fire in the bucket.The root cause of the disease would then  fall into the bucket and the eye would be cured.Believing is seeing.

A miniscule wooden lathe like device was used to make ‘lattoos’ by the village carpenyer.If you were fond of colour, he would use the lathe to rub the colour into the lattoo.The lattoo would then become very attractive to the children.There would be lattoo spinning competitions.One whose lattoo spun the longest would be hero of the moment.

You did not need soap to wash clothes.A blackish powdry material called khar found in some fields could be used to boil clothes with.Abundant amount of water in the ‘khalas’ around the village left with no need to wash  at home.Toilet facilities were open and just outside the village.Some areas had ‘kallar’ the salt coming out of soil.This has largely disappeared following years of canal irrigation.

The buffaloes enjoyed their bath in the villge pond which still exists.

The nearest big village is 24/GD , 3 km away.I was born there in 1939 in ‘ patwar khana’ which is now used by the village for general purposes, the patwari having moved to the city  ten years back.

Lohri was marked by children requesting ‘rewaries’ by singing ‘ Dulle ne dhee viyaee…..’.Requests were met generously.Children would go house to house and collected a good deal.There was a Halloween kind of ring to it like ‘trick or treat’.

You never saw a mechanically driven vehicle in the village except once when a small bus showed up.It has a gas furnace at the back with a hand driven fan.I wondered as to what was under the bonnet and requested the driver to show me.He shooed me away.One old man then advised him to accommodate my request.I was impressed at the thought that it did not contain any thing animal like and could still move.

The school had one shed and a large open dusty place where naughty boys  after school hours.sunbathed’.

Tonga driver Chopra was popular because he provided ready transport .He was often heard reprimanding his son for not looking after his horse.

Bullock cart without bullocks provided see saw facilities for children.Children mounted the back tilting the cart.They would then jump off taking the cart to its previous position.Cursing adults could only postpone this prank for a short time.This was a common sport for children in 48/GD.In this village there was a protest fast in August 1947 against non –creation of Khalistan.A young boy had become a policeman and every body in the village was afraid of him.

Dogs did not bite but the locally made shoes did at least for the first fortnight.Generous supplies of mustard oil in the shoe did not seem to help.New shoes if used would injure the feet.They were then discarded to let the feet heat.By that time children would outgrow the shoes.Then new measurements and new shoes after new measurements.The cycle continued.The village cobbler was a pemanent fixture of the village because of his lack of skill in taking measurements.

They said there was an English man living a short distance from 19 GD.I insisted on seeing this being.My father took me on horse back to his house but that morning he was not there.I did not know if he knew Punjabi but I was preparing to ask him whether his shoes pinched and who made his shoes and why he lived  outside the village.

There was a tall young boy very well developed but with a pinched head.He was called a 'chooha'(a rat).It seems many such rats existed in various places.This boy later disappeared from the village.Perhaps such a group came and took him away.There must have been a central place organized for such people.

Neem and keekar twigs were used as tooth brush cum paste for men.Bark of a tree was used as 'datun' for women whose teeth then sparkled.

Chak 19 GD was a peaceful place till violence erupted in 1947 forcing Hindus to flee.

Professor R N Dogra and IIT Delhi

Professor R N Dogra was the first Director of IIT Delhi and therefore had a lot of influence on the development of 

the institute.He came as Principal of the College of Engineering and Technology which had procured aid from 

the British Government.This college was elevated to the status of Indian Institute of Technology and Professor

 Dogra continued to be its head as the newly appointed Director.

Professor Dogra was a tall man in more ways than one.He was not an educationist to start with but

surprisingly this did not stand in the way of his contribution because he was a fast learner.He was

 basically a building engineer and  switched to educational administration late in his career.He was

 in Chandigarh Capital Project in nineteen fifties when he was appointed Principal of Panjab

 Engineering College Chandigarh.He continued to be Principal after his promotion as Chief Engineer

Capital Project till 1961 when he moved to Delhi College of Engineering.The college became

IIT Delhi in 1963.Plain Mr. Dogra then became Professor Dogra.

Mr. Dogra's taking on the title of professor was the subject of comment in early years when

one of the professors asked him publicly  as to when he had delivered a lecture in a class as

 professor.His lack of experience in education sometimes went to extremes when for example

 he did not provide for a good library .However, it must be said to his credit that he learnt very

 fast and made up for his lapse by having a separate adequate library building when

 he was chairman of the institute after his retirement as Director.

Mr. Dogra had studied in Imperial College London.This helped him deal with British

Professors who came to IIT Delhi in early years as part of the aid programme.He showed

due courtesy to the British and ended all correspondence to them with 'thanking you for

 the help'.However he took a strong position when it was necessary.

Once an Indian young lecturer applied for leave for his own wedding but his British Head of

 Department would not sanction it saying that weddings should be held only in vacations.

On being approached Mr. Dogra advised the young lecturer to go ahead and marry.For once

 the Britisher must have realized the due importance of local customs which he was fond of

criticising.But he was an exception .Most Britishers were examples of gentlemanliness .Most

notable was a Scotsman, Mr. Russel who would go to great lengths to help students to

fabricate in the Workshop of which he was incharge.

Mr. Dogra put all his energy and time to the development of the institue.Once a

hostel warden wrote a note to him regarding a difficulty he was experiencing in his

 hostel.Within minutes of his return from Calcutta he knocked at the door of the

warden who was pleasantly shocked.

No detail was too small for him to ignore.He would lay down curves of the roads within

the institute .He brought the first peacocks to the institute.The birds still roam the

more open parts of the institute and are a delight to all.Nobody harms them and they

 are not afraid of humans.This is as should be.

One of the Englishmen who dominantly influenced the development of IIT Delhi was

 Professor Sparkes of Imperial College.He would visit IIT Delhi occasionally and address

students and faculty.Very friendly, his laughter would reverberate .Such lectures brought

  the spirit of well known British  institutes and universities to Delhi and through

 it to many places in India.

A facility named after Mr. Dogra ,the Dogra Hall, for Convocation and other such functions

 had a bitter beginning.The budgets of various academic departments were cut to make way

 for cost of the hall.The faculty detested this but in hind sight the decision seems to have

 been right if one considers the role the hall has played over years.

Mr. Dogra did things in an unhurried manner.He said one has enough time if one did not

 do things which donot matter.

Mr. Dogra's dress and mannerisms were English.In England of course he had a

suit,a coat,umbrella , hat and newspaper Once while in Chandigarh he was visited 

 in his office by a rather influencial man.He was kept waiting as was the norm with

 Mr. Dogra.He must have experienced efficiency and the right atmosphere this way.

Rubbed, the visitor complained to Punjab Chief Minister the hard Partap Singh Kairon 

who asked Mr. Dogra to see him after a week.Mr. Dogra had enough time to get stitched an

 appropriate khadi white bandgala suit.Preparation was the characteristic one could

 learn from Mr. Dogra.Kairon must have found Mr. Dogra different from the 'angrez'

 he expected to see.Preparation.

'We have no children of our own.We get a lot of satisfaction from the children who

study here.'said Mrs Dogra once.Talented, Mrs dogra , at rather higher age.once

 acted brilliantly as Heer in a play opposite a young 'Ranjha' at All India Arts and Crafts

Theatre.Impressive.Kanta,as a young girl was enamoured of 'Raji' and could not bear

 to marry any body else despite medical and age difference considerations.

Talking of IIT Delhi, there was another professor.Well known , people all over India knew him.

He would be examiner in many engineering colleges in theory and practicals.In some of these

 places he would be present virtually.Simpleton, he would go to the hostel and order the cook

directly .Warden and all others would be surprised and inconvenienced.But it did not bother him.

He was a kind man and specialised in employing unemployables.

This kind professor was made Acting Director because of his seniority.He had students' welfare

uppermost in mind.The semester tests were to start next day.He would ask every passing

student whether they were ready for the examination.Students would reply as a matter of

routine that they were ready.There was no precedent of postponement for lack of

preparation.This went on till the professor met a student who was not prepared.The

 kind professor said he could postpone if many students were not prepared.The smart

 students saw the point and as the darkness fell,there was a large procession of students

carrying lanterns and asking for postponement.The professor was a kind man and wanted

to postpone but he was only an acting director.He thought it was wise to call a meeting

of the Senate and get the guidance of the academic body.He called an emergency meeting

 of the senate which left the decision to him.But he wanted somebody else to take a decision.

He phoned the Chairman of Board of Governors to decide and cited the emergency due to students

 gheroing (not really)  and waiting for the decision.The chairman was surprised and said that he himself

 should decide.The professor however extended the meeting of the senate which went on till early

 hours of the next morning when students got fed up and hungry and left for their hostels to eat.They were too

tired to come for exams any way.

This professor was a kind man and had a kinder man to help print question papers for the dept.

(Now there is a better system).Kind people donot want good students to get poor marks.

The Board soon thought this professor was not solving problems which started from his

 kindness and thought he sholud get some rest after his heroic efforts to solve problem of test

 postponement. He took leave and on return found another man sitting in his chair.

He could not decide what to do in this case and other cases.

 He never married.It is a very big decision.all experts advise caution.

The next director polished the technique of decision taking.Dont create problems like the kind

 professor.Dont take decisions.Two thirds of the issues will get solved automatically with time

which can be utilized by drinking and smoking.He can give attention to the few which cannot

go away.He was so sucessful as director that he had two terms.

His regime was followed by that of a professor from a famous university.He was a well known

engineer and consultant.He was very punctual in coming and going.If you saw him with your

problem,he would argue from your point of view.This would disarm you completely.He would

be happy to take a decision in your favour.However,as you left his office,you and your problem

 would have been out of his mind.Later people learnt to take a written application with

 them.He would be happy to write 'agreed' on it.His office will them come with this paper

 and point out difficulty in implementation.The Director then readily added  'not' before

agreed.He could get out out later if necessary by making it 'why not agreed'.He had no

 problems.In the extreme case he would ask the Deputy Director to take a decision,

which he(the latter) would be happy to take.

Then came a Director from Private Sector.He was not used to delays common in the Govt systems.

there was resentment at this in administrative and engineering departments but the academics welcomed this.

He had great memory for names and would remember anybody whom he saw.'Innovation' was what he expected

from everybody including clerks who were surprised at this expectation from them.He was a hard and long worker

and this  must have taken its toll because too much coffee ETC cant be good for long.But he did introduce innovations.

Aso there was a Director who did not believe in writing and would not really believe in replying to written notes.

He considered his verbal talks enough and most of the time people were supposed to act on what he wanted.

Resposibility is of those who sign.He must have given incentives for people to sign and take resposibility.He introduced

new signages including 'honesty is the best policy'.He looked to be a man in hurry.He applied methods of business and

tried to save money from hospital expenses.You could go to approved hospitals but would not be reimbursed all expenses.

Even expenses on tests would not be reimbursed fully-only 75 percent.No doctor's fees.People did not understand why.

The system continues.

Bright people, these.Directors,Actors,Director Actors.Wait for Actor Directors.

My Yatra to Fazilka..

In yatras one is supposed to come back to where one started from .Mine was different.It started from my chak 19 GD Haripur,Okara, Pakistan and ended at Fazilka, with no possibility of return.

Barely eleven years after the attached photograph radiating a happy mix of Sikhs and Muslims of the same family was taken in 1936,areas declared as Pakistan (for Muslims)saw unprecedented violence in 1947.Hindu breasts became trophies to Muslim knives.Erstwhile Hindu and Musim friends of years became instant enemies.Easily identifiable sikhs became automatic targets.Prime Minister Nehru wept in Amritsar,And we had only one Gandhi justifiably busy elsewhere to save Muslims.
Sustained British Govt. policy of DIVIDE and RULE had yielded its tsunami like results (It is sad that the people and their Govts are many times so different) .It would impact Indo-Pak relations for decades.
It is no cold comfort that there was violence in other areas too!
In my chak 19,Zaildar Chaudhry Bahadur Khan Dogar (?) herded all the Hindus into a mosque and converted them instantly to Islam.The story of areas around was no different.Human beings were being cut up like cows and goats.There were opportunities galore for settling old scores.The memory of small old arguments was enough to justify imposition of summary justice leading to punishment which courts award to 'rarest of the rare' crimes- death.
In these circumstances death was staring all Hindus of the village in the face.Conversion was no guaranttee for safety.It was felt by new power centres that we had not become genuine Muslims and were to be treated as kafirs any way!
The eight year old me did not understand.My school teacher Pir Mohammed had not returned after summer vacation.Resuming of classes was out of the question.

Two men of the village, Karam Chand Chillana and Lal Chand Pujara ,decided to go to the nearby big town Okara(8 km) to plead for some security.They left on horse back and kept reciting Muslim kalmas within the hearing distance of any human being they encountered.They rightly assumed that they would be spared as long as they were not ordered to undress and be discovered without the cut obligatory for a Muslim.
These two men went to the house of a Muslim friend in Okara but were very kindly asked to leave.He feared inimical reaction from his Muslim friends.This was not a happy time even for the right thinking Muslims.Devil had taken hold of most trusting but ignorant population.These two adventurers then hid in some unlikely place and planned their next moves.

For three days they knocked many door unsuccessfully.They then found out that Army had plans to escort Hindus to the new India according to a time table.They pleaded with men incharge that they must rescue chak 19 GD otherwise they will be left with nobody in the village to rescue.Eventually as a life saving concession it was granted that the Army would route a truck through the village and the rest would have to be taken care of by the two applicants.Same evening a military truck drove through the village and information was spread that Army had arrived and would shoot anything that moved.Some fled to the fields, others hid in their houses.Karam Chand and Lal Chand were now seen as venomous enemies of the local Muslims.Their belief that the Hindus were deceitful was confirmed! Hindus unleashed their animals (to allow them to go to graze and drink water on their own ) and collected in the village centre with roasted gram to sustain themselves.Messages were somehow sent to neighbouring villages that they should collect in chak 19 from where they would move to Okara next morning.They did this on cycles,horses,bullock carts and on foot pouring into chak 19 through the night.
Next mornig they started for Okara giving a last look to their houses.Since my house was located on the street we were moving on, I could see through the big open door the cows and buffaloes moving about as if confused.
In Okara we stayed in one of the vacant houses.We could take hold of anything, any article we wanted.Nobody had any use for any article.

Then on Setember 3,1947 we started in a kafla for new India.I made sure my school bag and wooden takhti was with me.Later school bag would become an obstruction to existence by its weight and would be thrown away.

The road was divided into three lanes.One for pedestrians,the second for private vehicles and the third for the escorting Army.
As people moved some of those on foot started failing.The old and the very young started giving up.Army trucks would pick them up and leave them far ahead of the main stream of kafla.This had to be done again and again.Many times there would be a scramble to get into trucks and army men would beat people into order.

Our share cropper Narain Singh was driving our bullock cart with his and our articles.Children among us were put on the cart by turns.
Next day people started collapsing.

We also had a horse which carried my dadi (grand mother) and some children in turn.We had gram some of it roasted.It sustained the horse and us but it soon was finished.The horse carried on but the bullocks collapsed.Our luggage on the cart vanished.One of the children was lost but later found.All food and water was now consumed and up. Wells near the kafla were no use.They were known to be poisoned.
Travellers were reduced in strength which ebbed to the minimum.Army trucks would take some who could not move.There were scrambles to get into the Army trucks and Army used sticks to drive away aspirants for lifts.Many fell with exhaustion.I was numb.Dont remember so much.Those with dal and atta would sit on the side of the road,would cook,eat and rest before resuming the journey.

On September 4, my father could not move and collapsed obviously due to tiredness and lack of nuitrition.He wanted to be left there to die.Then my mother saw a woman on the road side cooking,asked for a chapati and was give dal and one chapati both.My father took it, was revived ready to walk again.
Occasionally Army would open fire.I dont know how many people died or were walked upon and injured.

On 5th September kafla reached Head Suleimanki.I remember crossing a bridge walking.On crossing the bridge we found a lot of volunteers waiting to help.This was India we had
struggled extremely hard to reach.Any time I think of this moment, I cry, though it was years ago.
Next I remember is being in a dharamsala in Fazilka , the border town of India.I have gratefully written on the spirit of this town .

My father sold the horse for a hundred rupees.He was very fond of this horse and had great understanding with it.They both understood each other.This was a horse which avoided harming children in its way.My mother used to say it was not a horse but a human being.My father did not want to part with it but he had nothing else to fall back upon.A horse can kickstart life.
This is what an eight year old could remember of his one way yatra to Fazilka.This was travel from Hell to Heaven.At least this is what we felt at that time.
But struggle was to be expected to develop new roots.
This would take years.

I must add that my bitterness at being thrown out of my home in 1947 has given way to my refound liking for the people of chak 19 GD Haripur.They were like any other people,
victims of history which had to run its course (even mixed Sikh and Muslim family in the photo had to split in 1947!).I have spent a year trying to establish a contact with present teachers of my old school in this village.I phone these teachers and write to them (my knowledge of Urdu and some Persian and Arabic helps).They read these letters to the children there.
I have written elsewhere on  how I established contact with my old village after 60 years.

 We should be  working hard to establish friendships across the two Punjabs ( there are numerous similarities between the two) and I hope that this article  would also lead to a better understanding so that religion becomes a source of joy and not of suffering.Let 1947 not be allowed to repeat. Let relations existing in 1936 (see the photo) be restored.This is possible!And I am committed to working for this.

 The Spirit of Fazilka

If you have lived in Fazilka and then lived in other places,you tend to compare and only then realize that Fazilka has a distinct spirit.The overall impression is that there is a kind of harmony and integration of people.As in other towns , Fazilka has its own rich and poor,its own educated and uneducated,its own sophisticated and unsophiticated , but the distinction is that in Fazilka your group is not isolated from other groups.In the rich there is no special odour of richness.If there is any unlikely arrogance,it must be too deep to be seen or felt.Similarly the rural hinterland of Fazilka is in intimate and constant contact with the town and its people.

Another hallmark of the town is an intense desire to get education.I recently met a retired person of the town studying for a higher degree.He does not need it but he will still have it for his own satisfaction.And there have been always countless young people constantly improving their qualifications.

May be because of its proximity to the Pakistan border Fazilka young men have always had fascination to get into the Army.The two Dhawan brothers who retired as Lt. Generals are only two outstanding examples.The younger Dhawan was two years junior to me in school and used to spend some time me asking questions. 

Some names come to mind.Of course they will be different according to who remembers.I remember L. Sunam Rai ,the Gandhian idealist who would try to speak to the people into discipiline to promote cleanliness (not a hall mark of Fazilka inspite of the current efforts of Fazilka Graduates Association).I remember the more practical Congressman L. Nand Lal Soni who in earlier days helped Hindus in Okara to shift to India in 1947.They walked to Fazilka in a kafla starting Septembe 3 and reaching Fazilka on Sept 5,1947.In fact these refugees have been responsible for some present day characteristics of Fazilka.

I remember politician Hare Kishen Surjeet impressing the people with his oratory from the clock tower.He recited examples of his persecution by the Govt.Even as a school boy I could see that examples were always the same.Now I realize that revising lessons always helps in classrooms or outside.Surjeet later was known as king maker because of the way he influenced the appointment of two prime ministers. 

I remember Headmaster M R Chopra of Govt High School who inspite of being in the Govt was able to spruce up the place.Teacher Harcharan Singh who made learning Hygiene & Physiology effortless because of his examples from real life.Master Ashwini Kumar whose handsome physical presence and oratory impressed me.I recently noticed that the Hons. Board of the fifties which had Harpreet Singh (now Prof in USA) on it as having demolished previous records including mine, was nowhere to be seen.Fazilka has a history but a sense of history ,well, is a different matter.Are Bhupinder and Navdeep listening?Bhupinder son of Sardar Thakar Singh was my classmate in school who preferred learning by writing .No wonder he wrote a poster on Enviroment for Pakistan and pushed it through the border on 2008 independence day through Sadki post.His height attracted the attention of Pakistani commander who then asked for it.  I remember athlete Nathaniel walking in from his village on Bikaner Road side.Advocate Roshan Lal Verma used to have walks with me occasionally. 

I remember Om Parkash Tarana who in his school days wrote afsanas in Urdu .These were published in Beeswin Sadi.I wonder where he is now.

I remember advocate Gokal Chand who spoke so kindly to school boys.His son Advocate Umesh looks after the Fazilka graduates Association and is responsible for many improvements.Smart advocate Nand Lal Dhingra 's son Ashwini was my classmate.Once I went to his his house.The senior Dhingra brought a large jug of milk.I thought it was my duty to finish it single handedly.Sorry.

I remember Ram Lal Angi who rose because of his extremely hard work.He was another student of mine.

While talking of sons of Fazilka, I have not ignored the daughters.I shall give an example to keep my narrative short.Once I was responsible for inviting eminent persons to speak to IIT Delhi students.I invited Jagdish Dhingra, a very successful engineer entrepreneur.He is only 4 years younger to me but carries the burden of having been briefly taught by me.He obliged.His lecture was indeed impressive and students wanted to know the secret of his success.Before I let him answer,I said the secret was that he married a girl from my town.As you can guess all the young men wanted the name of this town and its location.Neither I nor Dhingra told them the name lest Fazilka is bereft of all the girls.Be grateful, young men of Fazilka!

I remember Dr. Brij Lal (father of my classmate Vinod) who was the first MBBS doctor in town and his compounder Lakhu Ram who later set up his independent practice.He worked hard to send his brother out to Vienna for specialisation in Opthalmology.Then there was Dr. Sadhu Ram the popular doctor and Dr. Mohan Singh the effective doctor.Dr. Mohan Singh's children are doing him great honour.

I remember another clever man who wanted to play on the generosity of God.He was getting on years.He made a plan for working another ten years which he thought he would survive.Then he would start a charity and God does not like killing good people .Therefore he hoped to continue for very long.Unfortunately he issued a false certificate to a person who had applied for insurance and was caught.He was a  God fearing person and died of fear of prosecution soon after. 

Fazilka has grown over years.Now it needs more organisation than ever before.

I remember gratefully the volunteers of Fazilka who received and helped us at Suleimanki on arrival from Pakistan in September 1947 after days of walking.

I might end this narrative by citing an example of thoughtfulness of Fazilka people.An old couple from the town went to the hills on a trip.Unfortunately the man died in the hill village and the villagers were thinking of buying supplies required for his last rites.The wife then told them that they always travelled with these supplies which were then used.Then after two more days the wife died and the villagers knew where to look.A great couple indeed!

Researching the name of this thoughtful couple should be a rewarding exercise.

(Since this article was written Uttara, another Fazilka girl , sister of Jagdish Dhingra’s  wife Shashi , one of the  daughters of well known advocate Daya krishan Chawla wrote saying she enjoyed reading the article. Obviously I did not know the right girls of my time! Retd Col Sodhi whose grandfather was a magisterate in Fazilka phoned to say that this article had revived his interest iin living in Fazilka and he might rebuy one of the five houses his grand father had built for his 5 sons.)

Fazilka Bane Ga Pakistan

(Fazilka Okara Sisterhood Program)

Sometime back a few people raised a slogan 'Kashmir bane ga akistan'.I was at once pleased.For one, India is a practising democracy.(Try raising such a slogan in a neighboring country!)Secondly,this represented a legitimate desire to be with people on the other side of the line to share life.I extrapolated and felt that if the whole of India ban jaye Pakistan there should be no problem.We separated , we can rejoin.When I say 'Fazilka bane ga Pakistan' it is in that kind of context.It means I shall have access to to areas where my ancestors spent their lives.Places like Okara,Sahiwal,Bhojian,Nanakpur,Chaks 19/GD,48/GD,24/GD,36/2L,Haveli Lakha,Kamalia,Samundri are mentioned in my father's short autobiography.So, Chak,Haveli and Bangla will all be ours lock,stock and barrel.(But think why we diivided our old India in the first place.)

Recently I saw a video on life in rural Punjab.I thought it was a film on life in Moolianwali village of Fazilka.Only after my friend in the next seat mentioned Pakistan did I realize that it was about a Pakistani village.Whether Fazilka bane Pakistan or Okara bane India, the fact remains that we are the same people.Bane ya na bane, we should be able to enjoy our shared culture.The whole of India can become Pakistan if it helps.Once a Pakistani friend suggested that that India should declare itself an Islamic Republic .It would then be leader of the Islamic world .Its oil problem would be solved (oil wells come up only in Muslim countries).And what is most important for this friend, he will have easy access to his old Kot Kapura!Such human yearning can be understood.In fact this keeps humans human.

I have a plan for sisterhood of places.Chak 19 GD Haripur and Moolianwali (both mine) can be sister villages,Okara & Fazilka can be sister towns.Ferozepur Sahiwal can be another twin.One can work out arrangements so that there are regular contacts between sisters.Then only Fazilka bane ga Pakistan.Europe has achieved this kind of relationship.Why cant we?We must do this or we will be forced to do this for our very survival.

At the Fazilka border people from the two sides are not allowed to meet.They only shout pleasantries  from a distance.This is not human dignity!Nobody can deny the security issues but are they unsurmountable?

I am in contact with some people in my old village in Pakistan. I phone or write to them though military rule was not designed to encourage freedom of expression!Thank God, Man Mohan Singh is not a general.

It must be admitted that folks back (old) home in Haripur recognise and appreciate the progress India has made in Agriculture.Being in small rural communities they probably do not recognise the role of education in all this.Our agricultural universities have impacted real life.Agricultural engineering has contributed a lot and our progress in technical education is admired in the region.Education does help.

Some Govts of underdeveloped countries realized the value of education.Iraq spent large chunks of its oil money on education of its boys and girls.Once political problems are over,Iraq will rise.In its recent history religion did not dominate.It was a secular country,unusual in the region.It had no weapons of mass destruction.People were hardworking and nobody starved.Girls' education was encouraged.

Libya also spent a large fortune on education but its people would rather enjoy its large oil wealth.Work was largely left to the foreigners.There was a time when persuading a postoffice clerk to sell a stamp was arduous.'Tomorrow' was the word most often heard.There is story of a Pakistani who went to a postoffice on four consecutive days to be told every time to come 'tomorrow'.When he went back on the fifth day, he was duly reprimanded .'You come every day.Am I meant only for you?'And the enduring leader spoke for hours on the radio.I think the country changed when the Americans dropped a real bomb on the tent of the leader who fed fantasies to himself and his people.He built houses for his people and himself lived in only a tent.But what a tent!

The sisterhood program referred to above offers one way of developing international understanding.In case of the two Punjabs,the goodwill already exists.It only needs to be revived.Sing Heer and you are there!

There are websites like www.sister-cities.org which can guide us to international sistercity programs and practices.They only need to be modified to fit our context.

Let us initiate Fazilka Okara Sisterhood Program.It is bound to expand over time to cove more areas.

The author may be contacted at

chak19@rediffmail.com

Fazilka to Fazilka
(5 years yatra from Fazilka)

We arrived in Fazilka in September 1947 from Okara in a kafla as refugees in free India.After a few days it was announced that the river was in spate and that we should move to a safe place.For us safety meant moving on.We got into a goods train and reached Ferozepur.

In Ferozepur we met a lot of relations , associates and family friends who all were in the same boat.Some of us found a vacant small house near a railway crossing and started living there.Some elders knew how to make ‘chooran’ which was then packed in newspaper cuttings and sold by our children near by at the railway crossing.That was our first earning in independent India.

One day a sikh whose family was finished by muslims back in Okara got hold of a muslim and cut him up in pieces in the same way as he had seen his family being cut up.My dadi (my father’s mother) who had never seen or heard such a thing was shocked,collapsed and died.She was cremated without much ceremony with Govt. help.

Crowds of refugees and chaos and lack of sanitation led to cholera .People died in large numbers.My father’s cousin Hardyal could not be saved .My sister also developed cholera but somehow survived.

We were now 50 relatives and friends and had the security of numbers.It was felt that cholera would overtake us unless we moved away.’Moving away’ got developed as a way of avoiding suffering.All the fifty boarded a crowded train going somewhere.Nobody bought a ticket .Some of the people were on the roof.

Next we found ourselves in a mosque in Abdullapur.Some rich person distributed atta and dal  , working out requirement per family as per subsistence  requirement.Wood was picked up from the street and food was cooked.

My father contacted district administration and got a job of a patwari (a revenue official) in a place miles away.Some body gave him some money to reach the place.We hired tongas and a lot us boarded them.It seems tonga people did not know that the place,’ khidrabad’ was farther than they thought and horses had to rest on the way.But we did reach Khidrabad.

At khidrabad we were given a house vacated by a muslim who had left for Pakistan.It seems he traded in glass chimneys for lanterns because there were sacks full of them lying around in the house.There were no clothes but there was no shortage of wood to burn as it was a rural area.In any case we had our own house though it had to be crowded. My father had a job and a salary though it was inadequate for a large number of people for whom he had taken responsibllity.Fortunately it was not a severe winter winter  .

My father started going to his villages of work of revenue records.What was being sown, who was cultivating,collection of revenue , red cross work, reporting of small time crime etc.Finally he had come to have some identity.Food ceased to be a problem.In small villages even now people proudly and generously share what they have.

We discovered that Khidrabad had a vacant big house.Locals called it a  castle.We ventured to enter though locals had warned us it was haunted.It had a large number of dark rooms containing a large number of quilts .Finally we had something useful for the coming winter.We removed the covers of these quilts and made dresses from these.I had to wear a shirt made of strange colour and was the butt of humour when I went to the school for admission to the fourth class.But my experience had toughened me.Being fond of school which I had missed for a long time now, I reported to school for admission day after arrival in Khidrabad.There was a tat to sit for pupils and nobody had arrived yet.I sat on the tat nearest to the teacher’s chair.Soon the pupils arrived and one of them asked me to vacate the place I was sitting at for him.Having become belligrant after being thrown out of my comfortable life in Pakistan , I refused and asked why I should vacate.The student told me that he was monitor of the class.I asked him why he was monitor and who had appointed him.He had been unchallenged senior of the primary school  because of his being monitor of the  4^th class, the highest,he was shocked.He challenged me to a fight but I suggested that we wait for the teacher to arrive.The teacher was very angry with me but I asked him why he was a monitor.He told me he got the best marks .I said I had just come for admission but I was prepared to be compared to him by a test.Being the only school of the place admission was a foregone conclusion.The teacher was surprised  but  gave a test to both of us in arithmetic.The monitor got 49 and I got 50 out of 50.I was made a monitor.For the first time since early September I had my own  way in something.

Slowly some people accompanying my father got homes in the village , got some work and did not need my father’s patronage.But my two mamas , my massi ,my nani  were with us.My mamas were married but were separated from their wives during the upheaval of partition.Fortunately the wives joined and some kind of normalcy returned to  lives.My mamas set up a shop in the village and had some of their own money..

Soon my nani died  of cholera.She did not get much medical help , their being no doctor to our knowledge in the village.

A ministry of Rehabilitation had been set up by the central Govt to help refugees and plan their rehabilitation.States had their own departments for this.The Punjab Govt decided that those who were in district Sahiwal in Pakistan would be resettled in Ferozepur district.Under this scheme my father was transferred to Dharamkot , a village  near Moga.He was given charge of a few small villages around.So after a few months of stay in Khidrabad we again moved .I had to get admission to fourth class again, my third school in class four.

I was happy in Dharam kot school.I happened to get a good friend , Shyam who before my arrival used to stand first in the class.After my joining he and I used to divide the honour between us two.Shyam is now in in USA having retired from his reputable medical practice.I have stayed in his house in Phoenix and together have wondered at our journey in life from an obscure village to the richest place on earth.

I appeared in an examination for scholarship after class 4 and was selected for this Govt scholarship of four rupees a month.When the letter awarding scholarship arrived  from district administration, I had no body to read the communication in English and when I found somebody to do it, he wanted me to be grateful for life as if he had awarded me the scholarship.

We moved to a senior school A D High school in class 5 where again I got a scholarship of six rupees a month after class eight.In class nine my father was again transferred to Abohar closer to the place where we were supposed to get agricultural land in lieu of our agricultural land left behind in Pakistan.In Abohar I joined a big Municipal school.I did not really enjoy my stay there.The teacher there used to ask students to dust his chair with their shirt sleeves ! After a short stay still in 9^th class we moved again to Fazilka to be close to village Nukerian where we were allotted agricultural land.It took us five years to go to Fazilka from Fazilka.This can be called a real yatra.During this period I had studied in three different schools for class 4 and class 9.I donot remember my friends in Khidrabad but I continue to be in occasional touch with classmates in Dharamkot,Abohar and Fazilka.      
 

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