Azhar Kidvai (3)

While my father was in the UK he became an Atheist. This remained for a long time and I really can't remember seeing him offering prayers (other than Eed Prayers) for many years. However, rather early, he had a heart attack. Friends and relatives, plus the environment he lived in, told him that it was his lack of belief in Allah that had led to this health problem. Slowly he became a stronger and stronger Muslim. His Library had more Religious Books, Hadeeses, and biographies of famous Muslims. However, he also continued to buy Western Books and they included numerous subjects. More on that in my next blogpost.

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Abi was strongly opposed to the Brits ruling India and wanted them to leave. He spoke about it to his friends and even wrote Qit'as about their bringing of famine to Bengal. Here is one that I remember:

  

تن پر نہیں ہے چتھڑا، چولھے ہیں گھر میں ٹھنڈے

رکھتے ہیں پھر بھی اونچے ہم دوسروں کے جھنڈے

مرغی کی خاصیت ہے ہندوستانیوں میں

 خود کھا رہے ہیں کوڑا اور دے رہے ہیں انڈے

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While being anti-Brits ruling India, he was a well-known honest Doctor. So it was during WW2 that Abi was called by the British Army to be among the Doctors who were sent everywhere to look after injured soldiers. This was in late 1943. My father said he'd like to take my mother and me along wherever he was posted … and the Army accepted that.

Jhansi - October 1944

 We moved everywhere, some for a short period and a few places for a longer time. I remember many of Abi's friends whom we encountered during those days. Some from old times in a place where they lived; some from the Army that became close friends. Zakkan (Zakaullah Khan) Chacha, Gazdar Chacha, Khan Chacha, Badshah Chacha (who died in Karachi very early. He had lived with us, after coming from India, and stayed with us almost a whole year); Sari Bhai (a nephew of Khan Chacha) used to bring Bananas for me often.

Shafiq-ur-Rahman - everyone's favorite humorous writer - was an Assistant to Abi. In his book (لہریں) you can see a bit of Abi … 

Uncle Shafiq, as I understood from my mother (Ummi is what I called her) when I started reading his books, fell in love with various nurses. He gave a nurse an engagement ring and when the affair didn't last long, he'd take the ring back and give it to Ummi to keep until his next affair which -he said- would be final. But that never happened :)

Of course there was also my absolute favorite: Gupta Cha whom you can read about in my older blogposts*. In  one of mymeetings with him (I was 4 at that time), Abi had not returned from work. I thought I should entertain Gupta Chacha while he waited. So I opened the Gramophone and asked him if he wanted to hear Bachoñ kay Gānay or Ba∂oñ kay Gānay. He asked me what they were and I said the Bacha vala was Talat Mahmood and the Ba∂ā vala were Umkarnath Thakur This is what happens when you hear nothing but music when Abi is home. (By the way TM was my father's first cousin and grew up in my Dadi's house.)

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The thing that I remember most about WW2 was that often the Abi went to treat an injured person, he'd take me along. I was always dressed in the Army Suit you see above on those trips. I saw some really badly injured persons and lots of blood. Occasionally Abi would take a blood sample and go the clinic room and put it in a container and make it go around. Once in a while he'd let me make the gadget around too. So my interest in Medicine probably grew out of this 'toyishness'. Sadly, that never really happened for a reason … 

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*Gupta Cha + our move from India

Bloggerhttp://kidvai.blogspot.com › 2008/10India 3: An uncanny tale ... (Part 1 — The Rather Long Preamble)

http://kidvai.blogspot.com › 2008/10India 4: An uncanny tale ... (Part 2 — The Conclusion)

http://kidvai.blogspot.com/2008/12/india-5-uncanny-tale-prologue.html