Pushkin,life in Lahore 1977 to 1981

 

Pushkin,life in Lahore 1977 to 1981

Agha H Amin

 

mohtaram quin sahib

it was november 1977 and i had joined FORMAN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE LAHORE as a first year student of FA.We had eminent teachers like Chaudry Mohammad Ali (ex principal govt college rabwah) on adverse report and hafiz tariq of statistics and maulvi yasin of english.

we lived on jhelum road in the cantonment later known as asad jan road.simple times.my father was a brigadier and chairman inquiry commssion punjab in the zia martial law.he earned zias enmity and anger by acquitting all 95 MPAs of Punjab Assembly produced before him for disqualification except one known as bukhari of PPP who was a Lotah and had joined the martial law as a supporter of zia.my father disqialified him.Chaudry Zahur Elahi was als produced before him for an inquiry but later on orders of zia that inquiry was dropped .

both nawaz sharif and his brothers were visiting my father in 1977 in the punjab assembly chambers housing martial law HQ in connection with LEFO case which my father was dealing with .at this time they were nobodies and no one knew what they would later be.

shahid hamid later governor punjab , my uncles batchmate from CSP batch of 1964 was also under fire as he had been DG LDA under ZAB.

my routine was cycling to FC College in the morning . I left my bicycle at a relatives house in FCC just near babar alis house.staff car was strictl prohibited for us although my father had a chevrolet biscayne and a crown.brigadiers in those days had just a fan in the office although now the colonels have ACs.

good friends were Babar Akhtar Qureshi who later married a lady called Abida with diasastorous consequences.Omar Shafi whose mother was my grandmothers best friends daughter.Omar was grandson of sir mohammad shafi.a brilliant man wasted by drugs.he died recently .God Bless his soul.Another friend was Ali Zaidi a brilliant artist from model town.His father was a film producer with a lucknow kashmir origin .He was a class fellow in FC College and later joined NCA.He just disappeared.Wherever he is I wish him best of luck.attique son of brig khalil who was son inlaw of zakir hussain president of india (my grandfathers classfellow at MAO College Aligarh 1918) was also our classfellow.His brother in PC Hotel had married Major Shabbir Sharif Shaheeds wife.Attique was a damn good squash player but weak in studies and often failed.

my evening was playing squash in the services club and spending about three to four hours in the military station library then on the main abid majeed road at the girja chowk.lahore was peaceful and hardly any vehicles came to the cantonment after nine at night.

i remember major general aslam beg a close family friend , newly promoted and a great fan of ZAB.he was commanding the 14 division at okara and was frequently with us at lahore.

its strange fate that despite being against in his heart as far as zia was concerned he became a three star and later VCOAS on insistence of junejo.

Aminullah Khakwani Shaheed was president of FORMAN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE students union and my old school fellow adeel kazi (later with me in the armoured corps) was general secretary.It was in 1978 that Aminullah Khakwani was murdered , it has been alleged by some witnesses that Hafiz Salman Butt and company were involved in stabbing amunullah to death , but his murder was just brushed aside and no one was apprehended.the martial law authorities wanted to terrorise the opponents.black period in pakistans history.

when i joined the pakistan military academy as a cadet on 3rd may 1981 i discovered that one of my course mates was cousin of amunullah and Major Naeem from Samanabad Lahore , who was our instructor's brother was also involved in the jamiat i tulaba in the aminullah affair.Major Naeem proved to be a great senior however .We became close friends and served together at kharian,multan and in the tacical wing at school of armour nowshera.naeem later rose to be a major general in the army.he is known as naeem phanna in our course and immensely respected.

some close friends from quetta where i had studied mostly had gone to kabul and our hearts were with al zulfiqar and the many pakistani political refugees in kabul.

the dark age definitely ended on the hindu shamshan ghat at sutlej on 17 august 1988 , but alas politics had been corrupted and BB disappointed everyone.

chaudhry zahur elahi was frequently seen driving his brand new corolla near FC College as his house was near.it is said that students of FC College were involved in his murder in 1980 or so.

it was on asad jan road that i first saw babra sharif in drive way of house of pir safiuddin of makhad.

On 4th July 1977 Lieut Gen Iqbal told all his staff at the corps HQ tha an agreement had been reached between ZAB and PNA but the same night Zia struck and did the coup.

being a non serious student i spent most of my time in FORMAN CHRISTIAN COLLEGES wonderful EWING MEMORIAL LIBRARY.It was there that read the complete short stories of Anton Chekhov.There was a long story that I particularly enjoyed titled " THE HUNTING PARTY".Chekhov was brilliant.

Later I read Chekohovs wonderful biography by the brilliant biographer Hemry Troyat.All Chekov lovers must read this biography in order to understand Chekhovs sad child hood.
Interestingly the best Russian writers like Count Tolstoy and Dostoevsky were army officers.

It was in Lahore in 1978 that I read another less known but powerful Russian novel "From Double Eagle to Red Flag " by General Krasnov.

I particularly liked Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment but War and Peace remains the most powerful influence on me,particularly Count Tolstoys description about Mans Role in History.It motivated me to write my own theory of history known as Mans Role in History.

I also read Shokholovs Amd Quite Flows the Din and The Don Flows Home to the Sea and Pasternaks Dr Zhivago.Shokholov was manly but Zhivago was far more powerful and tragic but deeply moving.No doubt the Russians are miles above any nation in literature and music.In music i was deeply impressed by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky Korsakov and by a lesser known composer on his composition the battle of moscow.

I also read and re-read Fathers and Sons and remembered a drama in urdu shown on PTV in 1971 known as Qurbatain or faslay based on the novel starring young rahat kazmi and others.

I also liked Dostoevskys White Nights.

Then came Maupassant again wonderful but a lower rung than the Russians.

My top favourite book which I have read more than hundred times is Sabres of Paradise by Lesley Blanch about Imam Shamyls war in Caucasus.A brilliant book which is really sublime excellence.