“I want to make my Son a bad Boy” hearing Haji Naeem’s answer, my mouth was left open. It felt as if the ground had slipped under my feet. I asked again, “Haji Sahib, what did you say?” Haji Sahib gave the same answer with complete satisfaction, “I want to make Rashid a rogue”.
I scratched my forehead helplessly. I have known Haji for 15 years. He is a very decent person. He is a retired bank officer. They are also very polite as well as being very well-dressed. Have always been in favor of education. Masha Allah is the father of four sons.
The eldest son is an engineer in London, the second is a doctor in America and the third is a pilot in Canada, while the fourth son Rashid lives with Haji Sahib in Pakistan and is a second-year student. Rashid is not very good at studies. Most of the time the wanderer hangs out with friends on a bike. He has visited Hawalat two or three times. I don’t know why Haji Sahib, knowing everything about him, is keeping aside.
I happened to meet Haji Sahib today, so I asked him what he wants to do with Rashid. Haji Sahib’s answer was enough to blow my mind. A father who himself is educated and three sons are also working in very attractive positions abroad would be shocked if he gives such an answer. When asked the reason, he laughed uncontrollably, “Dear man, many of my problems have been solved automatically due to his rudeness, anyway, he is unlucky, so he is a wanderer, but he is full of cheap feelings”.
I opened my eyes and asked, “What do you mean?” Haji Sahib laughed again, “Look! I remained a polite person to the point of cowardice, despite paying the entire electricity bill, when the lineman would come to me suspiciously and say why is your meter running slow? So I used to get scared and start swearing that I don’t know anything.
On this, the lineman would get even more angry and threaten that if he was not given some money, he would file a complaint, which would not only result in the meter being cut off, but would also have to pay a fine of lakhs of rupees.
Every time I used to give him 2000 to please him for no reason. When my younger son Rashid came to know about this, he spoke to the lineman in his own way. The benefit was that the lineman got scared and now sneaks away with a salute whenever he is confronted. Once in the bazaar, a motorcyclist was coming from the wrong direction, bumped straight into me and started abusing me. Rashid was with me. He slapped the motorcyclist twice and the motorcyclist fell helplessly at my feet.
You must have seen that our neighbors used to park their car right in front of our gate. And did not stop. Rashid once went to his door and spoke. After that his car never parked in front of our gate.” Now it was my turn to laugh. I laughed, “So it’s as if you are enjoying the mischief of the fourth son after giving higher education to three sons?” Haji became silent. He looked into my eyes for a while, then took my hand and sat on the bench of a nearby shop and said, “To tell you the truth, I never liked Rashid, but now I realize that I wish I had made all my sons like him.” Every son I gave higher education went out of the country to make a future.
All three of my sons are married and very happy in their own homes. But my wife and I have become completely alone. Educated children are the pride of their parents, but sometimes they are of no use to their parents.”
Haji Sahib took a deep breath, took out a crumpled tissue paper from his pocket, cleaned the corners of his eyes and clenched the tissue paper again in his fist.
“I realize that these words of mine fall into the category of complete selfishness, but I want Rashid to remain uneducated.” He is a wanderer and a wanderer, but he presses my feet at night. If he wants anything, he brings it quickly. It was like this since childhood. He was not interested in studies but he did all the housework. When his three elder brothers were studying and reading books, he used to bring vegetables. The elder brother used to go to the academies and he would perform the duty of bringing bread from the oven. He also used to clean my car. He also cleaned the ceiling fans of the house.
He doesn’t know big words. Encourages me on little things. In filmic style, the dialogue hits that you don’t need to worry when Abu is me. I pray that he fails again in the second year so that he never studies or leaves us. I don’t know why I believe this rascal will stay with us till death and support us in our old age.
Haji laughed uncontrollably and opened his fist and once again put the wet tissue on his eyes.