We have received beautiful memories letter from "Sheikh Muhammad Sarwar" who is a Jalandhari but had to leave his ancestral place during horrible time of partition. He has compiled his memories in a very touching letter to us. These letters not only contain his memories, These also contain a very important piece of Jalandhar history. The good times. bad times, changed times. Please help by posting comments below or emailing admin@jalandhari.com if you can add or help him in any other ways. We will be posting these memories in few parts. Here is 4th part:
Maternal grandfather/mother:
Grandfather: Badruddin (living in basti danishmandan, in a mohallah opposite of so called dewan khana. He loved art and published a book called “Guldasta-i-Badr” giving flower art for pillow covers, shalwar, kameez, table cover etc. etc. He was a construction contractor and supervised also the art work of a small tomb in basti danishmandan – Mian Sahib ka mazaar which had two graves; one of the muslim saint and the other of a thief who climbed up to steal a golden moon from top of the tomb and became blind; released it; got eyesight back; gripped it again to take off; gone blind; finally left it there and got his eye sight; and became a deciple of the saint.
He had also a cow in the house.
Grand maternal mother: Bakhtawar. House-wife. Died in old age. Lived good life.
Their sons: Ishaq, Shafi, Imdad .
Ishaq – (did carpentry, engraving, iching, floral artwork) Was married
to a daughter of a relative family (who were living at Noor Mahal and had a house in basti danishmandan also). Her name was Hassan Bibi; she died later and uncle was married to another women and settled at Faisalabad.
Shafi – doing construction work; later became a contractor; was married to elder daughter of a relative; she died soon, and married the younger sister.
Imdad worked in a Factory, as pattern maker and later founded his own works Imdad Tanning Machinery at Baghbanpura, Lahore.
Their daughters : Hussain bibi (my mother); Irshad married to Yaqub in basti shaikh; Fazl bibi (Fazli) married to Iqbal in basti Shaikh.
Places, events and moments in my childhood memory
There were basties (12) and kote’s in Jalandhar. Name of our Basti was/is Danishmandan. There were other basties; like, Shaikh/Shaikh Darwesh, Guzan, Nau, Mithu Sahib, Baba Khel, and others I was not familiar with.
Basti Danishmandan
My family had been living in this wonderful basti composed of various communities. They had their own worshipping places. It was populated on both sides of a main bazaar about one mile in length running wavery; with a small mosque near adda of tonga (horse-driven carriages); on this location, there was a post office and a flour mill/ ginning mill. In the middle of length of this bazaar was central mosque. Close by living were Feroze Khan, Mushtaq Khan, Ilyas Khan: and on the other end was another small mosque.
On the corner of our street an off-shoot of main bazaar, was a fresh sweets shop, little down the street, was a blacksmith (Sardar ji’s shop) doing cattle nailing; besides other works, they were living in a sub-street along side of his shop. Going further in that street, lived Hindu community. If I remember correctly, I heard there lived Mr. Bedi, who worked in movies? Further down the main street, there was a water well and a sub-street going into Kacchi Abaadi. If we go farther in our street, in front was an open space, on right was a water pond and up there close by was walled graveyard. Turning to left on our street at about 100 yards was our mohallah and our house was on the corner of this street taking another left turn to come to another open space.
Believe there was an open space left in all Busties/streets for any festivities, marriage parties, guests seating, cooking party meals, qawalies, etc.
On this open lot Meals for parties were cooked in Daigs (big size brass cooking pots) and served to the guests fresh. Perhaps there were no catering contractors. Old ones used to take charge of each Daig and young ones standing in line from daig to the guests delivered meals hand to hand and as such, returning empty meal dishes to the daig-caretaker. This return trip of dishes/ bowls was so swift that it looked like running a conveyor. Then this group of distributors and servers would take meal after serving all guests – I heard good meal was left and saved behind in daigs.
It was totally safe environment all around. I walked alone to my school; Sanatan Dharam in basti Nau (nayee basti) via basti Guzan. I walked alone to Basti Shaikh where headmaster (sorry, forgot his name) of our school lived and offered free help in math and English during summer vacation. Sorry, I forgot his name. Thanks to him and his family who let us share their vacation/leisure time.
Basti Nau (nayee basti)
This was property of Maharaja of Kapurthala, and was adjacent to Basti Guzan. It was under the administrative rules and regulations of the Maharaja. As I heard at that time, these two areas (Basti Nau and Basti Guzan) were like two different states. Any criminal or any other persons, who would step over into Basti Nau for protection, could not be chased and arrested by the administration of Basti Guzan. One would go through proper permission from Maharaja’s administration.
I studied up to 8th grade in Sanatan Dharm school (Basti Nau), sponsored and funded by Tikka sahib, I think, who was a retired judge. He had a chain of these schools (that I heard). At times, school children were lined up by the entrance of a room where mitha’es (sweets) were baked fresh and distributed to students. Students would enter one by one; take sweets and exit from the other door. It used to happen two three times a year. As I remember, it was to celebrate a birth or child in Tikka sahib’s family, etc.
Some students living in villages used to study Urdu/ Hindi in their local village school and then come to this school to do their English 7th and 8th grade.
Along with good teaching practices, there used to be one 30 minutes period called “chup dharan” – Khamosh rehna (quiet time). A teacher would come into the class room and sit Calm Quiet for 30 minutes. We were told this was to recover energy lost. Sounded good! Why not this is practiced now, when we definitely need it in this stressful time!
I remember students used to play drama and all students were invited to watch. There was physical exercise every day. Urdu was also taught and there was no compulsion to take Hindi courses.
I remember a newsbreak spread in school – an airplane crashed near school on road from Jalandhar city to Basti Sheikh Darwesh. Students gathered there and there were some parts/ debris spread in the fields (khait or farmland) and some were seen on trees and the body was stuck up in the tree.
Basti Guzan
Don’t remember much of it, except that there was bakery in the main chowk/crossing (at the entrance of a bazaar) where my father used to buy “araroot” biscuits very nice, soft. This word “araroot” rested in my memory until I looked at its meanings, and found it’s a type of special flour for baking biscuits. This shop was on the right while going towards Basti Nau. Standing at same position, on my left, was another bazaar. There was another sweets shop; fresh sweets; Jalebies (dark golden swirly sweet); and the shopkeeper’s son (Yesh Pal?) was my classmate.
Basti Mithu Sahib
Couple of our relatives lived there; I guess one was a map-tracer, the other was Mohammad Islam (later worked as office superintendent in PWD office in Lahore) to whom elder sister of my father (Zainab) was married.
There were other families doing beef business. I think that was the only place/basti from where beef was supplied.
Basti Baba Khel
I think Islamia High School was located in this basti, where I took admission in ninth grade but soon we had to migrate to Pakistan. A bazaar from basti Guzan was leading to this Basti and Basti Mithu Sahib. But we the student from basti danishmandan walked through field – a short cut – to the school – in chilling winter, in scorching heat. However, my mother used to give a-carry-out for lunch – a thick sweet crispy biscuit like Paratha which I used to eat it on my way to school, every morning; perhaps feeling hungry during walk. Took usual school tuck-shop stuff at lunch time.
MY EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Thal Development Authority, Pakistan
Pak Industrial & Trading Corporation, Pakistan
Guy F. Atkinson (Mangla Dam Contractors), Pakistan
IMPREGILO, Milan (Tarbela Dam Contractors), Pakistan
Tamimi-Fouad-Atkinson-Grove, Saudi Arabia
GE (USA) in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan
Wordprocessing, USA
Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, USA
EDUCATION
BA
Diploma in Bookkeeping and Accountancy
Certificate in Commerce and Secretarial Practice
Diploma in Mercantile Law and Secretarial Practice
Business Management, University of California.
I owe many thanks to my wife Sarfraz Anjum who encouraged and supported me to take up more and more education and skills.
On 20 January 2008, the time and livelihood by God was over and she had to go back. May God keep her in peace in her permanent abode! Aameen
HOBBIES
Gain more knowledge and skills for job to support my family.
Badminton.
Playing with children for paper-craft and other experimental, educational exercises.
Planting vegetables and flowers.
GENERAL Pardah/haya
Observation of pardah/haya is mandatory for men and women.
WOMEN
Muslim women used to wear a one-piece burqa (usually made of white cloth) from head to leg-foot joint (takhna). A space about 2” wide and 5” long was cut and woven like mesh in burqa, below the forehead to see through by women.
Hindu women had Saries wrapped around and a large part of it spread over the head to shoulder.
Sikh women had Dupata/large scarf covering back, head and front of their bodies.
MEN in these communities had their own head covers; Muslims topi/head hat while or red roomi topi, hindus white cloth caps; sicks turbans/pagries.
Marriage parties
I will talk about muslim community. Bridegroom will ride a horse with a sub-bridegroom (called shawala) while guests will walk along – if bride’s house was far away; all will travel by tonga (horse-driven carriages).
All the gifts; jewelry; dresses; given by parents of both sides and friends were shown one by one from a conspicuous place so that all guest, who wish to, could see.
The music bands would travel with the baraat/marriage party all the if this was in the close vicinity. If it was far away; then the bridegroom’s will hire the band in the area of bride’s house; to lead them to her house.
Salami, a monetary gift, was given by guests to the bride and bridegroom – by some in a closed envelope; while others openly. A person would sit and write on a paper how much each person was giving so that later they could reciprocate. Myths
People used to put a black goat head or spread different dals; split beans; in the chowks; street crossings; thinking that would avoid bad luck and keep away troubles.
Some small denomination coins were thrown out, every few minutes, in the air, over the bride and bridegroom, as a Sadqa – an offering to avoid difficulties for the couple. It was difficult for local and outsiders to pick up these coins from under the foots and from dust, so they made coins traps with two large sticks 4-5 feet apart connected with a sheet of hard cloth. As soon as coins were thrown, they would open and spread these traps under the coins falling down and thus more coins were caught.