Our Wise Old Neighbour from Iran

By Sidrah Gufran Roghay

If you have been a part of the department of mass communication then it is impossible to miss the merry go lucky owner of the busiest corner of the building, with his twinkling eyes and charcoal curls that he sometimes ties in a pony tail. One of the earliest persons to come to the department, way before the office staff and at times the sweepers and known for his sing-song  "Kya Lain Gay Aap". Students love him for his honesty, wit, and sagacity that several years of studies cannot buy.

As a first year when I was new to the department I was impressed by the way he would always dust his shoes before he entered, pick up dustbins that lay fallen down and give free advice to passing students. There is a whole corner of his canteen dedicated to personal belongings of students, for he is trusted by many.

Many a times he would talk to me about how media through sensationalization was depriving our nation of hope. For a man who had hardly received any formal education I found his arguments solid, having weight.

Wanting to know more about his life I decided to have a heart to heart with this lovely man, our Abdul Bhai. I know he belongs to Iran since he is always talking me into lending him my little Alto to visit Iran. I must add at times I am tempted to do so. Often he tells me about the adventures of the journey. "We sit in a four-wheeler, which charges twelve hundred per person. It takes about eleven people at a time. Once we reach the border we drive very fast, for if an official catches us we're in for deep trouble. Once inside Iran, no one stops you."

He tells me he was born in a small village Niqoor, in the Balochistan province of Iran. Since there hadn't been any rain in the area for several years and he largely cultivated for a living, he along with his family decided to migrate to Karachi.

And when was that? Well this was one hard question for him. Bad with his dates he twitches his little button nose, and reminisces the past. "I witnessed the 65 war in Karachi, so it must have been somewhere around 1958", he recalls. Barefooted and empty pocketed then, he started his schooling in a government school in Shantinagar, where he had hardly completed grade nine when he traveled back to Iran to work as a cook's right hand on a small fishing ship.

Fate brought him back to Karachi. Its funny how he remember dates according to the political situation in Pakistan. "I came back when Bhutto Sahib was hanged, in search of a better job prospect."

After staying in Pipri for three years where he earned a living through dispatching sacks of rice, he came back to Karachi. This was when he finally entered Karachi University in 1982. He started working in the Central Cafeteria. He talks about the good old times when the campus was a vast desert full of thorny bushes, wild animals, and few departments. My favourite story is the one about the  deadly snake; he calls it an annaconda, which took lives of many dogs (and not humans). This he recounts is the sole reason for the decline of dogs in Karachi University.

After another couple of years his roots called him back and he returned to Iran.

His journey too and fro from Iran is a regular part of his life, and narrating each trip will simply bore my dear readers, so I fast forward it to the time when he entered the department of Mass Communication. "I came here three years back. Khursheed Sahib brought me here. He's the clean shaved fair guy who sits in the office." He secretly confides to me that he thinks he is very handsome."

I count back to his date of birth, which was roughly in the mid fifties, and I realize he must be a man in his mid or even late fifties. His short, petite body, brisk gait and happy face largely minus these years from his face. So what is the secret behind your fitness? He breaks into his well known chuckle and remarks "meri khushi meri sehat ka raz hai." He never gets angry he tells me. "I never shout at my children, and I hate people who beat up their children."

And what is it that you like about Karachi University? He laughs then stays quiet for a very long time, and then shares his wise owl wisdom with me. "Theres nothing I like or dislike about the university." Difficult to comprehend I decide to leave this matter to the reader's comprehension, and with this wise note I sign off. This was my interpretation of the life of Abdul Bhai, our well loved canteen wala from the country next door!