A friend ship that was forged on the first day of college and lasted a lifetime, braving the trials and tribulations thrown its way by partition but stood the test of time are only words that describe the bond between Pran Nevile and Saeed Ahmed Khan. Pran Nevile the great Indian writer and S.A. Khan my late maternal grandfather met and became friends in Government College Lahore in 1937 and remained so until my nana died in Nov 2000. When they met in 1997 nearly fifty years after their last meeting it felt as if they had never been apart. Pran uncle mentions the details of his meeting in the revised edition of his book Lahore, A Sentimental Journey, published by Oxford Books accompanied by photos of his reunion. For those who will not be able to read the book here goes: Pran uncle had always wanted to write a book about his memories of Lahore and whenever he visited Pakistan, he always bypassed Lahore, instead went to Karachi so that his memories of the city he remembered remained untainted for the time he could write a book on it. In the late 1980s he heard from somewhere that his friend, my grandfather had died so this spurred him to write Lahore, A Sentimental Journey, which he dedicated to his late friend (nana). But as luck would have it was not my grandfather who had died but his younger brother. After the book got published Pran uncle visited Lahore and asked an old friend that he wanted to meet Saeeds family; still thinking that his friend was no more. The mutual friend located nana and informed him that his old friend was coming to meet him in a few minutes. Pran uncle couldn’t contain his excitement; the friendship eventually culminating in an epic reunion. He presented nana with a copy of his book but not before tearing the dedication page. This episode has been immortalized in the recent edition of this book, published by Oxford University Press.We had heard a lot about Pran uncle from nana when he used to come and stay with us in
Rawalpindi but never had the honor of meeting him. He was a respected writer and we just derived pleasure from the fact that he was nanas best friend.
On Saturday 14th of March my younger sister suddenly announced that Pran uncle is in Islamabad for the Sufi Conference arranged by Pakistan Academy of Letters and we are going to meet him at his hotel. Unfortunately I had university so I asked my sisters to invite him for dinner at our place. They met and invited him and he very kindly agreed to come over the next day by missing the afternoon session of the conference. It was a very happy evening that we enjoyed in his company because of his affable and charming personality. He exuded such warmth and love feeling overjoyed to be in the company of his late friends offspring talking of his past with fervor. Hearing him air his views on just about every topic under the sun made the evening a very entertaining one and how time flew.
Overjoyed that we were at his coming over we made a foolish faux pax that day: forgetting his religious belief we made haleem, egg sandwiches, chicken bread but thank god the dahi baras and samosas saved the day. But he being the perfect gentleman did not make this mistake obvious. The evening ended on a high note and we promised to keep in touch by the age old method of letters because he does not like the idea of email. He told us how he and nana exchanged letters until his death; letters he has saved till today. Remembering his friend he recalled how nana had planned a trip to Delhi with another friend but sadly death did not give him a chance.
One remark he made about Pakistani women being more liberated than their Indian counterparts quoting Asma Jahangir and Madeeha Gauhar (whom he holds in high regard) was very encouraging. Sitting across him I kept thinking that if the common people of these two countries can sit and converse with each other without drawing swords how come issues at the government level remain unresolved. The great divide created a wide chasm between families, friends and relatives which people try to cross whenever the borders and communication lines are opened. I have met many people in Pakistan who yearn to see the land of their birth which they had to leave because of partition and it is now part of India; just like Pran Neville who yearned for Lahore.
Reaching an agreement acceptable to both sides can take decades but at least the people on both sides of the LOC make efforts to keep the lines of communication open. Even after the death of his friend Pran uncle has tried to keep in touch with us and his birthplace; not categorizing us as Pakistanis (fingers crossed the enemies) but part of Saeed, his friend.
The question that arises now in spite of cross-border relationships between friends and families, is it a bridgeable divide--- when we are locked in battle on so many fronts?
(Publication Date: 16TH June 2010
Publication Name: The News)
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