Maham Choudhry
15110160

My Nana, the Lawyer He asks me my name. I tell him. It’s not as if he forgets, it is just that he never bothered to remember. Committing the names of his nine children’s offspring is understandably a tedious task.
“Tell me about Sirhind, nana,” I ask.
He smiles, a maze of crow’s feet forming at the edge of his cataract-inflicted eyes.
“I went there last night.”
My nana’s ‘dreams’ take him to Sirhind Shareef, a place he calls home. Sirhind (the popular name of Fatehgarh Sahib), where there is a shrine of Shaikh Ahmad Mujaddid Alf-i-Sani, was situated in Patiala state, a region between Ludhiana and Ambala Districts. It was the head-quarter of the province under Mughal rule.
My nana has never demanded anything from his children. But he asks them to take him to Sirhind, a word he speaks with such longing and love that every syllable seems covered in honey. Perhaps that is why he has started hallucinating. His desire to re-visit Sirhind is so strong, the place where his father had slapped a Sikh who tried to stop a Shia procession and where he had shared loaves covered in ghee with his father’s Hindu business partners. Every night, nana claims that ‘his friends’ in his dreams take him across the border to his home, where he was born in the year 1935.
My nana is Chaudhry Muhammad Bashir, one of the most capable and eminent lawyers in Faisalabad. His grandfather was the late Allah Baksh, who owned two acres of land in Sirhind. He was illiterate and supported his family through a very unconventional business advantage. His wife Naseem, also illiterate, was host to a Jinn at night. By virtue of this supernatural guest, she used to recite the Holy Quran with fervor. My great-great grandfather used to ask the Jinn what merchandise he should sell in the market, and as bizarre as all this may sound, he seemingly made huge profits by selling exactly what the Jinn asked him to sell.
Nana detects my skepticism and remarks, “Irrationality is no criteria to separate truth from lie.”
I am effectively admonished.
A Muslim tailor taught nana’s father, Chaudhry Ghulaam Rasool, to sew and he opened a separate shop for that purpose. He also used to take a buffalo to graze in a garden called Aam Khaas and the milk, yoghurt and ghee was sold for Rs.1, which fetched my great-grandfather a coin of silver weighing one tola. He also purchased one shop exclusively in his own name. It was shared by his two brothers, Chaudhry Ghulam Nabi and Chaudhry Ghulam Hassan. The shop was located in Sirhind mandi, the bustling market place of the region. Ghulam Rasool also started a business selling tobacco and cigarettes, taking some Hindus as partners in the venture.
His Hindu partners often invited nana for dinner, preparing loaves with ghee that nana enjoyed. A slave of habit, he went there every day. Once, however, he left late and was greeted by an orange sunset, a time that signaled the end of all commercial activity in those times. Nana couldn’t go back as his house was two and a half miles away. So he sat in the veranda near the floor of the shop and without realizing it, went to sleep. His father, on the other hand, was fraught with worry. He led a search party and checked every place his beloved Bashir ever went to. His last destination was the Hindus’ shop. With sticks in one hand and lanterns in the other, the group approached a sleeping Bashir with a snake looking over him. They argued over what course of action to take and finally tried to intimidate the snake with the light of the lantern. The snake calmly slid away, leaving nana unharmed.
Nana answers my unasked question, “The snake was protecting me, Mariam.”
“Maham”, I correct him.
“Maham.”
I do not argue with him because I know there is truth in his words. I feel as if there has always been someone around to look after nana, and that God has always been kind to him. Even when things do not fare well, they invariably change for the better. I cannot explain it with reason or logic or rationality, but luck has always sided with nana.
In Sirhind, there was not a single Shia but the Sunnis used to take out processions during Muharram as well. There was a route prescribed by the government but once the people decided to divert from the path a little, as they saw not harm in it. A Sikh police officer wanted to stop them but Ghulam Rasool slapped him in retaliation. Surprisingly and, might I add, thankfully, there was no retribution from the Sikh’s side and he apologized for offending the Muslims’ religious sentiments. Nana was in the 8th grade when the partition of Punjab took place and he, along with his family, came to Pakistan on a train. Nana came in the women’s compartment with his mother, Omari, as he was young. The other women did object to the arrangement but my great-grandmother held firm. On the way, a large group of Sikhs stopped the train and started hitting the women’s compartment with axes and daggers. Just at that moment, some British officers came and reproached the group. Nana felt the whole compartment breathe again.
I am awe-inspired by his fortune yet again. The train disembarked all of its passengers at Toba Tek Singh. Nana recalls with grief how none of the refugees had been welcomed by the local people or any member of the administration.
One thing that nana personally felt was that property and valuables could be snatched away or destroyed but knowledge could not be. He thought it necessary to continue his studies in spite of adversity and took admission in the only school in Toba, High School Toba Tek Singh. He passed his matriculation in 1950 with Urdu and Persian, securing 507 marks which were three marks less than the first division.
While studying in school, nana used to assist his father in the running of a family shop and also used to come to Lyallpur for purchasing merchandise for the shop.
As there was a gap of about three months in between the taking of the Matric exam and the announcement of the result, nana thought of studying algebra which was to be taught in college, on his own. He was unaware of the utility of this field in terms of either the academic or practical side. Nana questions why he undertook this exercise.
In pursuit of that study, nana used to escape to nearby fields and select a field whose surface was flat, even and hard, for solving problems with the help of the thin and dry branches of a Sheesham tree. Nana must have been a strange sight, behaving like a primitive man in the twentieth century. But the abnormality of this behavior is indicative of poverty, with which the refugees had compromised to keep the wheel of life moving.
While tackling problems on Harmonical Progression, it so happened that nana employed a formula easier than the one given in the book to solve the questions. How he came across this formula, he does not know. Nana said he never intended to invent it. The question as to whether nana could claim credit for it is doubtful, as it was not due to his deliberate or conscious contrivance. There was no objective or reasonable explanation for it. Wherefrom it came, nana cannot tell, except that it was willed by God.
Realizing the importance of the formula, nana got it typed to be used for getting admission in Government College, Lyallpur. The reason as to why he opted to study science was that if he could invent a formula, then he could proficiently study science in spite of the fact that in Matric he had not studied the subject. The liking for the study of science was prompted by its practical value in securing service to eke out a reasonable living.
As planned, Nana submitted an application to seek admission on the non-medical (engineering) side. Mr. Abdul Rasheed Qasi, Head of Physics Department, took nana’s interview. On noticing that in Matric nana had not studied science, he raised an eyebrow tauntingly and denied him admission on that very ground.
The interview of nana’s class-fellow in Matric, who had also applied for non-medical side and had also not studied science, fell on the next day. This person had 460 marks. Nana decided to stay in Lyallpur for the night to see as to what happened to him. To nana’s surprise, the said class-fellow was admitted.
This discriminating treatment gave nana genuine cause for grouse. He decided to complain to the Principal about it. A war waged between his heart and mind. His mind argued that he had an indefensible and irrefutable case because if a student with 460 marks can study science then why a student with 507 marks cannot. His heart, on the other, pleaded that the Principal would surely put him in opposition with the Head of the Physics Department and will not pay heed to his complaint. Nana was in a strange state of confusion and worry. A boy, passing by him, asked the reason for his being so worried. He took nana to meet a professor of psychology, named C.A Qadir. The boy conveyed nana’s complaint to him. The professor, realizing the genuineness of his case, took him to Molvi Zia, the vice principal. He apprised him the facts of nana’s case and the injustice meted out to him. Zia, being convinced of the glaring injustice, led the party to Qazi Rasheed, the principal. Seeing nana in their company, Rasheed thought that they had come to recommend nana. He asked his clerk to produce his application so that he may be admitted on non-medical side.
Now, when nana had won his case for admission and was going to be admitted, a strange thing happened. At that very moment, his father’s warning replayed in his head. He had told nana that if he failed at any stage, his study will be discontinued. Not liking the prospect of tilling the family land like his brother Shabbir, and suddenly being unsure of his ability to study science, nana shook his head determinedly. The group surrounding Nana was stunned at his refusal.
So was I but I let nana continue.
C.A Qadir was still kind enough to take nana to the library and ask him about the subjects he now wanted to study. Nana laid his claim to study mathematics on the ground that he had invented a formula to solve problems of Harmonical Progression. He asked nana if he had that formula. He abruptly took out the formula from his pocket and gave it to him. Holding the formula in his hand, he asked Nana to accompany him in order to verify its correctness. He took nana to Mr.Zarafatullah, Professor of Mathematics, who was delivering a lecture. Mr. C.A Qadir gave him the formula and he tested it by solving a problem of Harmonical Progression. The formula yielded the correct answer.
Both the professors, appreciating nana’s work, took him to the Principal who ordered the remission of his fee as acknowledgment. Nana still regrets the fact that he did not preserve the formula nor did the college. As a matter of fact it should have been included in Algebra as an alternate formula.
The next crucial event in nana’s academic life came when his B.A result came. He had passed with 204 marks, only 24 marks above the bottom pass marks of 180. It was nothing short of frustrating for him. In the internal exams in college, nana used to rotate between second and third positions with Ch. Abdul Waheed and Malik Fazal Elahi, both of whom qualified CSS Exam and joined government service.
Nana attributes his low marks to corruption on the part of the superintendent of his B.A Centre. He was notoriously corrupt and was caught red-handed while changing title covers of answer books. Nana was aware of such cases at that time. He thought he was a victim of that man; otherwise he could not have slumped to such an ignominious low position.
Not daunted by low marks, nana intended to do M.A in economics and for that purpose he applied for admission in Punjab University, Lahore. Mr. S.M Akhtar, Head of Economics Department, took his interview and asked him to bring the individual marks to see as to how many marks nana had obtained in economics. His individual marks in economics amounted to 59 marks. He refused nana admission on the ground that he had virtually failed in the subject.
Confronted with this disappointment, nana thought he should apply to Law College to become a lawyer, laboring unconsciously under the impression that there was always litigation in respect of land. Furthermore, nana’s family had been allotted 2 squares of land in lieu of the land abandoned in India so nana thought that he could attend to that litigation. At that time he had no idea that he would be charging fees from litigant public and that it would become his source of income.
I, on the other hand, am shocked to discover that law was never nana’s field of interest. It was merely a last resort.
After applying to Law College, a thought came to nana that 204 marks are too less to guarantee admission and therefore there was a need for him to arrange some recommendation. Having felt the necessity of recommendation, the next question cropped up as to how and wherefrom it will come. Nana had no relative to look for this purpose. His mind suggested that he should go to Law College and talk to somebody to do the needful for him, thinking as if the whole world is out to help him. Nana stood in the hall of the college, hoping to meet someone who could help him.
A young man passed by nana and he said to him “Bhai jaan, gal sunno. Meinay daakhlay waastay safaarish karwani hai.” (Brother, listen to me. I need a source of recommendation to assist in my admission.)
He, perhaps realizing that nana must know him and his status in the college, asked him to come to his residence in the evening. Saying so, he went ahead and entered the office of the Principal. Nana did not know who he was. He asked the person sitting on the bench by the side of the office as to who this person was, who had just entered the Principal’s office. One of them said that he was Shaikh Imtiaz Ali, Vice Principal of the college. Nana got his address and went to his house in Chowburji at about Asr time.
The outer gate of his house was open and nana entered it to find Shaikh Sahib, sitting with a man in the veranda. He recognized nana and asked a servant to provide my grandfather with a chair. After his guest left, Shaikh Sahib inquired from him his name and the marks he had obtained. Upon hearing nana’s reply, he said that it was not possible for him to get admission in Lahore and that he should go to Peshawar, for which he would write a recommendatory letter. In response to this statement, nana said that he would be grateful to him if he could get him admitted in Lahore, otherwise he would go back home and cultivate the family land in Toba.
On hearing nana’s challenging but desperate reply, he said that if he wanted to get admission in Lahore, then he should get recommendation from the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court. Nana, with all his naivety, did not think of it to be a difficult task. He agreed to bring him the recommendation as soon as possible. Nana asked him the address and with a wrinkled piece of paper that said ‘S.A Rehman, Gulberg’, he set off towards his destination.
It was about sunset as nana made his way on foot to Gulberg. He located the kothi belonging to the Chief Justice. The outer gate was open and unguarded. Nana went inside and came across two cooks to whom he told his business. They informed nana that the Chief Justice had gone for a walk and that nana could meet him when he came back. As directed, he stood outside the gate and waited. After a while, he saw a short-statured man, flanked by women on both sides. One may have been his wife and the other his daughter. He came towards the gate and nana saluted him but he turned a blind eye towards my grandfather and went straight to the residential portion of the kothi.
Nana followed him. He must have hardly sat on the sofa that he rang the electric bell from the veranda. In answer to this, his son came and asked my grandfather the purpose of his visit. He told him he had some business with his father. The boy went inside and on returning asked nana’s name and once again, the purpose of his visit. Nana told him that he was to have that conversation with his father and his father alone.
The Chief Justice, getting infuriated (and rightly so) over nana’s refusal to part with the said two-fold information, himself came to my grandfather and aggressively asked “What is the matter?” Nana told him why it was imperative that he get recommendation from him for admission to Law College. The Chief Justice, in an irate tone, addressed nana as under:
“Law College is an independent institution. I have nothing to do with its internal affairs. If on merits you are entitled to admission and they do not admit you, then knock on the door of the High Court. I will see to the matter myself.”
I silently admire nana’s excellent memory. He remembers every word the Chief Justice said and even the minute details of his story have been embedded in his mind.
In reply to the Chief Justice, nana said that if he was eligible for admission on merits, then no recommendation was needed. The Chief Justice, unmoved by his submission, went inside.
In retrospect, nana feels that it was highly unjustified and derogatory to the high office of a man from whom he was seeking favor. However in doing what he did, he was purely acting innocently, being desperately obsessed with his life-making cause and not being status conscious at that time.
On having been refused recommendation, Nana was to return to Sultan-di-Sarai Bus Stand, where he had arranged his stay for the period of admission in the office of the Manager of Chunnian Transport Company. He had been the headmaster of Islamia Primary School, Sirhind, where nana had been a student. Nana came to the main road of Gulberg in the expectation of travelling on a tonga. He tried to signal to the tongalwalas to stop to pick him up as a co-passenger (with the fare being divided amongst every passenger) but no one stopped. Nana could not afford the luxury of hiring a full tonga (and consequently paying the whole amount of the fare) on account of poverty. Night was approaching and nana, having come to Lahore for the first time, did not know about the roads leading to the city. This problem became more imminent than that of his admission and nana found himself helpless and confused.
While his mind was brooding over the possible dangers which could ensue if he did not reach his destination, a tonga passed by him, to which he had not signaled to stop. It stopped at a distance of about ten yards. The passenger sitting in the back seat beckoned him to come. Nana went to him and the passenger asked him if he is to go to the city, to which he replied in the affirmative. He shifted himself to the front seat and made nana sit in his place. When the tonga reached Mayo Hospital, the said passenger asked my grandfather if he could take him to his exact destination. Nana said that there was no need for that. He took out a Chawanni (a metallic coin worth four annas) from his pocket and offered it to the said passenger. He refused to accept by saying that he had taken him as a stranger in the locality and that is why he had given nana a ride. It was not for rent. Nana put back the coin in his pocket and thanked him for the ride. He then walked his way back to Sultan-di-Sarai.
Having been denied recommendation by the Chief Justice, Nana was dejected and there was no question of his having sleep. He was anxiously waiting for dawn so that he may go to Sheikh Sahib to give a report of his visit to the Chief Justice. At the break of dawn, nana got up to go to Chibourji. Sheikh Sahib opened the door and seeing him standing, said that he had sent nana to bring the recommendation of the Chief Justice and now he had to again go to him.
Nana told him that he did talk to the Chief Justice but without success. Shaikh Sahib gestured him to sit with him and kept silent for a minute or two. He then said “Go, you shall be admitted.” Nana asked him why he did not say so yesterday and why he had made him undergo the ordeal. Shaikh Sahib said he could not say so yesterday. Nana asked him the reason for that. He said that he wanted to see as to whether the man so highly placed can have mercy for the poor and this could be tested through my grandfather. He said that he knew that nana would be denied the recommendation but he still wanted to make sure. Nana asked him as to what he had gained through him. He said the Chief Justice had recommended the case of a boy who had just gotten 180 marks and the college authorities, being small flies, could not afford to turn down his recommendation. He stated that since nana had secured 204 marks, he would be admitted first and the said boy would get an admission only if a seat is available. Nana was greatly relieved of the tension of admission with this assurance.
Having that assurance by his side, nana thought of trying to get admission in M.A Economics for which he had the first choice and inclination. In Law College, the list of admitted students was to be placed on the notice board a day after this meeting. It was the following day which could be availed for getting recommendation for admission in M.A. Nana thought about going to the house of S.M Akhtar in Model Town and make one last attempt. In front of his house, there was a grassy plot, surrounded by hedges. Nana crossed the hedges to reach in front of the veranda of the house. There was a watch-dog, who noticing his trespassing, barked in a ferocious way and made him stand on the street. Hearing the barking voice of the dog, the English wife of S.M. Akhtar came out and called back the dog by calling his name and then beckoned him to advance to the veranda. She asked the purpose of my grandfather’s visit. Instead of making an oral submission, he gave her a written paper, in which he had made out my case for admission. She read it and went inside. She came back and asked nana to see Doctor Sahib in his office tomorrow and that he would consider my grandfather’s case sympathetically. Nana said that it was not enough, he wanted assurance. She again went inside and returned with the declaration that Doctor Sahib had promised her to admit nana and that he should see him in his office tomorrow.
Nana now had two options, either to get admission in Law College or in Punjab University. It was a good night for him; he slept peacefully with the hope of getting admission according to his choice.
The next day my nana came and stood on the road dividing Law College and Punjab University, waiting for the verdict of his mind regarding which way to go. Practicality dictated that he should read the notice board at Law College and if his name is there then he should stick to the study of law. On reading it, nana found his name there. Now his study had taken a definite course and on completion of LL.B, he was to be a lawyer.
Nana passed LL.B and obtained the license from Lahore High Court in the middle of August 1956, when he was 21 years and four months old.
After that, nana’s career was an upward spiral. In January 1957, nana received a notice from the Deputy Claims Commissioner of Lyallpur, in connection with the claim submitted by his father in respect of urban property worth more than one lac left in India. My grandfather handled the claim himself and after that spent a predominant part of his career fighting claims verification litigations that the many migrants brought to him. The settlement period started subsequently, which was addressed by the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act 1958.
Nana married Hajra bibi, my grandmother, in the year 1962. They had nine children, of which six were daughters who go by the name of Kausar, Uzma , Sumra, Amna, Saima and Bushra and three sons who answer to the names Usman, Zeeshan and Salman respectively. My mother, Sumra, married her cousin Arshad Mehmood, son of Zeenat bibi . Zeenat is Hajra’s elder sister. From my paternal side, my father’s great-grandfather was a cultivator in present day India, in the region of Hoshiarpur. His son was Chaudhry Wali Muhammad, who along with his family, came to the area now known as Sahiwal, before partition. My father tells me that he was amongst the senior Chaudhrys in the village and used to settle disputes and give punishment to anyone who did wrong. Wali Muhammad’s son was Chaudhry Rehmat Ali, who looked after the family land and was a cultivator. He married Zeenat bibi and they had six sons and one daughter. My father is the eldest and like my mother, wished to educate his children. We then shifted to Lahore when I was six.
After Nana moved to Lyallpur, he used to frequently visit Syed Abdul Salam Shah, an eminent civil lawyer. My grandfather often used to listen to the facts of cases narrated by clients and the advice given to them by Shah Sahib. Nana remembers that Shah Sahib always used to give him credit for providing a better remedy to the client’s problems than him, which helped boost his confidence. Once a case relating to Masjid Noor in Gojra came to him, which was to be filed in Toba Tek Singh. Shah Sahib told the client that he could not go to Toba but he directed him to engage nana instead. My grandfather won the case and consequently, gained reputation as a civil lawyer in Gojra.
Nana can also justifiably claim credit for being instrumental in getting section 5 of the Punjab Laws Act 1872 repealed and the Land Reforms Regulation 1972 amended.
My grandfather had always stayed away from politics but in the morning of December 1988, a lawyer asked him to contest in the Bar Presidential Election. The lawyer told my grandfather that the Jaat biradari had never won the elections and that if he were to contest, victory would be guaranteed because of nana’s considerable popularity and influence. My grandfather won the elections and became the President of the District Bar Association for the year 1989.
He became a member of the Punjab Bar Council in August, 1997 due to the appointment of two members of the Bar as judges of Anti-Terrorist Courts and nana, through the courtesy of Section 16 of the Legal Practioners and Bar Council Act, filled the vacancy caused by the second member.
As the member of the Punjab Bar Council, nana served in the Executive Committee. In this capacity, nana had the occasion to author the judgment report in PLJ. 1998.
Nana also made an attempt to start publishing an annual magazine of the District Bar Association by the name of ‘Peace’. The late Muhammad Mahmood Butt, D.C. Faisalabad, in his message to Peace has observed as under:
“I value the commencement of this Magazine ‘Peace’ under the auspices of District Bar Association, Faisalabad, from this angle. The founders of the magnificent magazine, amongst others, Ch. Mohammad Bashir commonly known in the public out of love and respect, as ‘Bashir Tobey Wala,’ I am sure, have thought of having a magazine for the Bar. As far as I know, this is a maiden attempt by any Bar in the country to have a mouth- piece of their own for projection of their profession, their design to uplift the common man, their endeavor to put the Society on the right lines, their attempt to help the poor and the needy and their wish to strengthen the bonds of friendship and mutual respect between the Bar and Bench. The type of discussion I have had with Ch. Mohammad Bashir, President, District bar Association, Faisalabad , during the proceedings of issuing NOC for this magazine, I can safely conclude that this magazine is going to play a great role in lime lighting and solving the problems of the members of the Bar and Bench in Particular , and the city of Faisalabad at large. Ch. Mohammad Bashir’s tenure as President of the District Bar has a record of tremendous achievements which it would be difficult for any of his successors to surpass in future. The establishment of a lawyers colony on an area spreading over 7-1/2 squares of land , the pavement of all the passages in and around the District Bar, securing a passage for lawyers from the main premises of the civil to the premises of session court, address to the bar by Mian Nawaz Sharif, the resolution of some difference between the lawyers regarding construction of chamber, securing a grant of Rs. 5 lac for the construction of chambers, are some of the brilliant achievements of our beloved President of the Bar, which collectively taken, constitute an act of excellence that an individual could achieve during a tenure of one year. This maiden issue of Peace is another flower in his cap and adorns his career in the field of professional and class journalism. I wish that the Editorial Board of the Magazine do their best and give concrete manifestation of the design of its founder , the Great Bashir Tobey Wala.’
In summary, nana had never intended to study law. It was not something he was passionate about but he says it was God’s will and whatever happened was for the best. His list of achievements and the fact that he is one of the most prominent lawyers in Faisalabad, are testament to that. Two of his sons have also followed his foot-steps and are lawyers and two of his grandchildren wish to enter the profession of law as well/
Nana is loved not only by his family, but his clientele, his co-workers and juniors. By virtue of his outstanding performance and unparalleled contribution to the field of law, he was awarded a medal from the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
My grandfather is an honest and simple man and he may live in a posh colony like Civil Lines but he is the same Chaudhry Muhammad Bashir who used to solve problems on the ground with a stick. Added to that, there has always been someone watching over him, protecting him one time and helping him the other. The snake who stood as a guard while he slept, the tongalwala who stopped when no other tonga was and the fact that he became a lawyer when nothing seemed to be in his favor, are all signs of his implausible good luck. As nana says, “At each stage of my life, the events have taken such a turn which have favored me in moulding my life. If a person is to be convinced of the existence of luck in the making of a person, then he should see to my life.”
I look at nana. My nana. He is undoubtedly tired of his grand-daughter interviewing him every day, asking inane questions and not understanding the simplest of things.
“Thank you, nana,” I say, meaning it.
He smiles.
“You should go to sleep now.”
“I’m expecting my friends.”
“Which friends?” I ask, confused.
And then I understand.
“The ones who take me to Sirhind Shareef”, he says.

APPENDIX:

1) A copy of the speech delivered by Muhammad Mahmood Butt

2) Nana’s article in the magazine ‘Peace’

3) The medal given to Nana by the Chief Justice of Pakistan

4) Nana with his three sons: Zeeshan, Salman and Usman
5) Nana with his wife Hajra and eldest daughter Uzma