Holland se aaya mera dost, bloggers salaam karo
Bhopal: June 3, 2011
 |
| Asma Farooq, Rebecca, Raheemuddin and Muslim Saleem at Bhopal Railway station on June 3, 2011 |
 |
| Muslim Saleem and Raheemuddin at Bhopal Railway station on June 3, 2011 |
It was a historic and emotional reunion between old time pals Raheemuddin and Muslim Saleem at
Bhopal railway station from 10.05 to 10.15 pm on Friday, June 3, 2011.
Raheemuddin and Muslim Saleem were very fast friend during their
schooldays at AMU City School and then Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh. They were together in the school till 1970. After joining the
university, Raheemuddin branched out to commerce while Muslim Saleem
went to the Art Faculty and therefore, the frequency of meetings
dwindled, but not the brotherly affection. In 1974, Muslim Saleem moved
to Allahabad and then Bhopal in 1979 and settled there. In the
meantime, Raheemuddin settled in Holland. Since 1974, there has been no
correspondence between the two. About seven months ago, Muslim Saleem
received a call from Holland. The caller was none other than the old
pal Raheemuddin. It was after almost 36 years that the two friends
talked to each other on mobile phone. It was almost a miracle.
Raheemuddin had asked every common acquaintance about Muslim Saleem’s
whereabouts but to no avail. However, Raheemuddin, a very determined
person, did not lose hope and started searching Muslim Saleem in
google. About 40 years ago, Raheemuddin had recognised the literary and
poetic potential of Muslim Saleem, though it was in its nascent state.
He had firm belief that Muslim Saleem will scale great height and some
day his entry will be made in some website or blog. He kept surfing
Muslim Saleem’s name until he found some entries on the websites
wikimapia.org and Muslim Saleem’s own websites www.khojkhabarnews.com, www.muslimsaleem.wordpress.com, www.muslimsaleem.blogspot.com and www.poetswritersofurdu.blogspot.com.
From one of these websites Raheemuddin obtained Muslim Saleem’s mobile
number and gave him a big surprise by dialling him from Holland.
About
four days ago, Raheemuddin rang up and told Muslim Saleem that he will
pass through Bhopal by AP Express from Nagpur on way to Aligarh and
asked for a meeting at the railway station. The historic occasion came
at 10.05 pm at Bhopal railway station when the two fast friends were
reunited. Raheemuddin, his daughter Rebecca and a relative were given a
warm welcome by Muslim Saleem, his wife Asma Farooq and elder son
Ataullah Faizan by garlanding them. The train left at 10.15, leaving a
long trail of old memories.
Muslim
Saleem and Raheemuddin came together when they joined class VI of AMU
City School, Aligarh. Raheemuddin’s well-to-do family lived at Dubey ki
Padao. They had a shop on the roadside while their four-storey house
was somewhat deep in the alley. Muslim Saleem lived in Qazi Para. He
was undergoing financial as well emotional strains. At that time,
Raheemuddin gave moral support to Muslim Saleem. Whatever poetry Muslim
Saleem wrote, Raheemuddin memorised it and scribbled some of them on
pieces of paper. His appreciation was a great boost to Muslim Saleem’s
literary quests. Muslim Saleem used to frequent Raheemuddin’s house and
they share most of their off-school time. Raheemuddin also visited
Muslim Saleem’s dilapidated house and was doted by his mother Mrs Umme
Habiba Begum like her own son.
I
am writing these lines only 30 minutes after Raheemuddin’s train left
Bhopal railway station. The emotions expressed between these lines have
come right from the heart and that is why one will find a great flow in
these words. It is hoped that process of out meetings, correspondence
and phone calls will never cease now. (Muslim Saleem: June 3, 2011)
No comments:
Post a Comment