Old is Gold

"Those were the days", he says,"we lived in a Rs10 per month 2 bed house and our monthly expenditure was not more than another 5 Rupees. Today I cant even buy an apple worth 5 Rupees."

"Its a shame when I realise that we made no progress in all these years while they (League leaders) lured us back in '47 towards a better future and a better life. They said once the muslims of India settle down in their own country and get strong enough, they will return to conquer the hindu India and claim thier right to throne. In response to these promises Muslims of India fled for the barren lands in the west, left everything they had, money, jewelry, lifestock, furniture and even clothes since they thought that one day they would return as the Conquerors of India. That day never came...!"

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Lean yet strong, 84 years old Mohammad Rafi who lived most of his life in and around Delhi before the partition of India, recalls the great times of his past when everything was so cheap that you could eat a lavish meal in just 1 Rupee.

Today he is simply disoriented by the souring utility prices, he cannot believe that just 1 Rupee that could buy him anything to everything is totally worthless today, even more so, a 100 Rupees note can perhaps be compared to that 1 Rupee note of those times. All this glorifies his past more then ever. He recalls his neighbours, even remembers their children's names and the times when everything used to be so pure and worthy.

He worked as a post officier, a job that took him far and off from Delhi, almost every week his duty would be in Lahore and on his way back he would take some earthen pots which were in great demand in Delhi back then. He would sell it to hindu traders. "Hindus and Muslims were like brothers", he says,"We never noticed the difference of religion among us, we all took part in each others festivities like Eid and Holi, it all changed when the British came"he adds," yeh sari chaal gorey ki chali hui thi".

"There were more Muslim shops in Delhi Saddar bazar than hindu traders, muslim traders flourished in their business and had links to all major cities like Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Karachi and Bombay. Hindus however were much confined to slums and lower social dewellings especially in Delhi and Lahore".

Upon partition thousands feared their lives but since he was in government service, he and his family were provided with shelter from squatters. They arrived in Rawalpindi alongwith hundreds of thousands day after partition,"I helped distribute the claims of people around downtown Rawalpindi","I opened the main gate to Lal Haveli which led to an interconnected network of havelis all around Bau Muhalla in Rawalpindi".

When asked what he had kept for himself, he says with satisfaction,"My family was starving but i didnot keep anything for ourselves. I had no claim over a Haveli".

When asked today that whats changed in his life, he replies "nothing has changed","infact its life that has changed altogether, its become fast and difficult ..and more unaffordable".

One survey reports the diminishing numbers of people who saw the Partition first hand is now in three figures. There is ample need to preserve our history in the words of those who were there when history was being made.