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by Moneeza Hashmi
 It was a very long time ago, too long now even to recall how
many years have gone by, when a little girl of six or seven, quietly
opened the door of her father’s study and saw him engrossed in
conversation with a stranger. She crept in silently to get a better
glimpse of her father’s companion and although his face was hidden
in the shadows of the evening twilight, she remembers clearly his
shining back-and-white shoes with a buckle at the side. Her father
saw her and smilingly said to his companion, “Meet our younger
daughter”. The stranger turned and his face was kind, his eyes
sparkling and almost mischievous and his smile crooked. He held out
his hand to the little girl and said, “Beti, come here, What is your
name?”
The little girl came forward a bit shyly at first but then
curiosity got the better of her (as it still does) and as she came
closer to her father’s friend, she smelt a most intriguing and
alluring perfume that seemed to be enveloping this stranger. It
almost drew her to him and she quite informally and unceremoniously
climbed onto his lap and settled herself close to this
sweet-smelling, shiny-shoes, friendly man. He held her close and
continued to talk to her father and she in a few minutes was lulled
to sleep by the soft murmur of their voices, the softness of his
hands gently tapping her head and the sweetness of his aftershave
enveloping her completely. That little girl was me and that
sweet-smelling gentle stranger was Patras Bokhari who had come to
share a few moments with a pupil he loved dearly, my father Faiz.
Last week while listening to Dr. Anwar Dil speak of Patras
Bokhari at the launching of his book, “On This Earth Together” the
years suddenly rolled away and I could almost smell that perfume of
Bokhari Sahib again. It was still sweet, gentle and so loving – my
first impression of that great man called Ahmed Shah Bokhari also
known to all lovers of Urdu literature as Patras.
The book launching had been arranged by the Government
College, Lahore, in collaboration with the Lahore Arts Council and
had amongst its speakers,
Dr. Khalid Aftab, Principal Government College, Haroon
Bokhari, son of Patras representing the family, Haneef Ramey,
Speaker Punjab Assembly and an old student of Bokhari Sahib and Dr.
Anwar Dil, The Editor of the book and a great admirer of the late
author, Shoaib Hashmi was the master of ceremonies and host for the
evening.
Dr. Khalid Aftab spoke about the contribution of ASB as he
was fondly called by his friends in setting the traditions of G.C.
The relationship of respect, love and closeness between the students
and their teachers was a tradition that went back to the time when
he was Principal, Dr. Aftab lamented the fact that today that
closeness is very much missing in our educational institutions.
Haroon Bokhari warmly welcomed all the guests who had come
to this inauguration of Dr. Dil’s book about this father and lauded
Dr. Dil’s effort for putting together such a well researched
document.
Hanif Ramey spoke the most and with good reason. He was
present not only as an old student of ASB but was also there in the
capacity of an old friend of
Dr. Dil’s. And of course as well as being a man of art and
literature himself,
Mr. Ramey began by first describing the responsibilities of
an Editor of any book. “He is a person who must delve deep into the
very heart and soul of any author or his writing to then salvage
whatever is most valuable to be included in his book. He is a person
who must be closely associated with artistes and writers so as to
absorb their creativity when it comes to putting it together in a
published form.”
Mr. Ramey described Dr. Dil as one such person who was
closely associated for years with great writers, thinkers, painters,
philosophers simply to understand and absorb their work and then be
in a better position to edit it when the time came. An Editor’s work
according to Hanif Ramey, is no less creative or challenging because
that person has to select the very best of a person’s works and to
do that an editor has to be a person with a clear focus and vision.
Dr. Dil, said Mr Ramey was one such person. Speaking of Bokhari
Sahib, Hanif Ramey called him a “complete person” – a man who had
his roots in Pakistan but was a citizen of the world. He lived too
few years in Pakistan but his years at the United Nations first as a
permanent representative of Pakistan and then later as Under
Secretary Incharge of the Department of Public Information, he made
impressions never to be forgotten.
Said Mr. Ramey, “Very few people know that Patras” was one
of the first voices raised for establishing a UN agency for the
betterment of children’s lives, thus laying the foundation of
UNICEF. And then arguing with Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the then
President of the US, to include the children of Asia also in this
Children’s fund. “He was a man that not only belonged to the times
then but a man of the future who was a party to decisions that are
still affecting our lives today.” According to Mr. Ramey, three
things are bringing the world countries closer together now than
ever before. The first is language. “We are all speaking English
which is now a universal language. Professor Bokhari was a student
and then a teacher of English and in his time one of the best
speakers of the language.” The second factor is communication
explosion. Today we are a touch button away from communicating with
any person across the world. ASB was a man well-versed in the art of
communication. Thirdly, wars in the world are forcing us to come
closer to each other to avoid conflicts. Bokhari was a strong
defender of peace and love. Mr. Ramey ended his speech by praying
for more Bokharis and more editors like Dr. Dil to search out the
hidden treasures of some of our great thinkers, writers and
philosophers.
Dr. Dil spoke very briefly about his almost infatuation with
the late Professor Bokhari and how that set him on a long course of
discovery which finally culminated in the shape of “On This Earth
Together”. He recounted meeting many of ASB’s close friends,
admirers, pupils and associates and how their articles and
conversations have been included in this book which for him has been
a labour of pure love and dedication to the memory of a great man.
The book, said Dr. Dil has two parts, the first is a collection of
Partas Bokhari’s speeches delivered at the UN during his tenure
there (1950 – 1958) and the second part is based on reminiscences of
several people about Bokhari himself.
Dr. Dil announces that an international group of scholars
has organized a body called Intercultural Forum Corporation which is
going to undertake the promotion of intercultural understanding
through eduction, training, research and publication. One such
activity will be the organizing of Bokhari lecturers throughout the
world. He ended his speech by reading out a passage from the Draft
of a forward for a children’s book penned by Ahmed Shah Bokhari in
1958.
Quotations from various speeches of Prof. A. S. Bokhari:
“To the children of the world. Isn’t it a pity that nations
sometimes go to war with each other and people get killed and homes
wrecked and young and old men and women live in fear? Isn’t it a
pity that those who are small or weak are sometimes bullied by those
who are big and strong and there is no one to stop them and people
don’t get just and fair treatment.”
“Isn’t it a pity that some people in all countries and most
people in some countries don’t get enough to eat and are often ill
and live in misery and die of horrible diseases?”
“We should think together and help one another and not be
savage-like animals.”
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