Reminiscence of Memories - Biography of a Person I Know

Kabir remembers running down the roads of Peshawar chasing his friends, wearing pure white shirt, pant, socks and shoes on his return from school. Growing up in Peshawar during the 1930’s and 1940’s was extremely difficult because of the unrest and communal differences. Though Kabir was too young to understand the situation, it did affect his life to a great extent since all his friends were Pathan’s and they grew apart because of their parents. The situation created miscommunications between the Hindu’s and Muslim’s and this changed Kabir’s perception of the entire world greatly, which he only realized much later in life.

Kabir was the third son to be born in the family and he has 4 younger siblings as well. Kabir’s family lived a house in the center of Peshawar; his father was a lawyer and worked at Peshawar Court and his wife stayed home and took care of the children and household chores. Kabir has memories of the stains on his brick walled house, running up the stairs to the terrace and the mesh doors banging every time someone entered or left the house. The colony Kabir stayed in was peaceful and beautiful, everyone knew each other and he remembers spending days and nights at his friend’s place. Living there, in those days was more like living in a community rather than a family. He misses the ‘soda’ and ‘chaat’ that were available in the evenings on the stalls and how he and his friends would eat and then play catch or hide and seek around the colony.

Kabir has extremely pleasant memories of his childhood, he was extremely good at making friends; it was something that he had taken from his father. In school he made friends with the sport teacher and he would borrow the volleyball to play later in the day with his friends. Though he would make an effort tot play he was never interested in playing, his reason to get the ball was only to satisfy his friends. After school they would all walk home together, making fun of each other, enjoying the freedom after the boring routine of school.

The environment of Peshawar was extremely threatening and uninviting during Kabir’s childhood, he did not understand when he was young but as he got older he started wondering and questioning his parents. His siblings were also dealing with similar issues and were equally curious as him. It was in 1950 that his father decided to move to India and start life anew.

The world was falling apart for a 12 year old. Kabir struggled to keep up with his siblings and parents as they all hurried through the streets towards a new life. His pure white shirt now with sweat-stains and his white tennis sneakers dirty and wet for he stepped in a puddle of water while struggling to keep the bag on his shoulders. Kabir’s father finally managed to flag a cab that agreed to take them to the Peshawar Airport and eventually Delhi, India.

Kabir was taken aback when he set foot in Delhi, the capital of a newly Independent India. Delhi was extremely politically vulnerable then and therefore very unsupportive of refugees from Pakistan, so they all decided to move to Bombay.

Kabir’s life completely changed after settling down in Bombay, he lost interest in education and worked to earn and support his family. At first he worked under others but soon managed to start his own printing press with his father’s help. The printing press took all his time and effort to run and manage; he worked harder each day and made enough money to survive each month. His ambitions were only to earn enough to be able to live a relaxed life and in the process he lost his youth to the printing press.

The family separated; brothers went off to different cities to work, all the siblings got married and relocated finding their own families. After a few years Kabir was the only one who stayed back, he took care of his now old parents and replaced his printing press business with pharmaceutical drug factories. He was satisfied with his life and work; he was still as welcoming and open to friendships as he was when young and always had people over at his house. Kabir’s personality had not changed at all; it was only his opinions and perceptions that changed due to experiences from childhood.

Living a retired and relaxed life in Ambernath, a small town in the outskirts of Bombay, Kabir looks back and wonders what a journey it has been and what is coming next. A life full of adventure coming to an end, Kabir sits on his chair out in the deck and stares at the world going by and wonders where he is going to leave for next.