Few years back I had met an old man in a train on my way to Pune.....I was wearing a tattered jeans ....it had cuts on my knees :) while talking he said "see this ....our young generation spends money for torn clothes....I hid the cut at once and he said, "Don't hide it child...its your life and you like it....you should live your life the way you want....that's my point of view and it doesn't need to suit you"....I was amazed.....as well as exited to know more of him.....
During some discussion with the fellow passengers he was criticizing Pakistan for supporting terrorism....some muslim ladies were also there who were basically from Karachi ...he was persuading them to settle in India....after a while out of my curiousness I asked him about his family.....he said he lost his wife when he was 35 he had two sons at that time .....one is a manager in TCS now and one is a doctor settled in US....he was going to Pune for meeting the first boy....during his talks I came to know that he stays alone in Bhopal and was a sport officer in the university before retirement.....he opts to stay alone and visits both his sons every year for few days....so that no one hinders privacy and relationships are amicable and wanted.
He is 70 now .....he was 35 when his wife died.....he says he struggled with loads of demanding family requests for remarriage but he didn't remarry because first of all he loved his wife more than his life....and he didn't want to loose respect in the eyes of his kids that he cannot take care of them alone....if he would have died .....he was sure his wife would never ever had thought of remarrying.
He narrated me how he was transformed from an amateur cook to a perfect mommy type cook,how every morning he got up early for his boys to prepare their lunch boxes....to the time when they were adults and he attended their engineering and medical counseling .... Etc etc
He says both his sons their wives and their kids love their dad more than anything in this world....those are the bestest days of their lives when they get to be with their dad.....coz they believe that when they are with their dad ....They are with GOD :)
When I reached Pune he gave his son's visiting card ....the name written was "Iqbal Habib Khan"
Uncle said My name is Habib Khan :)
I was stunned and speechless.
I have never met a person like him before.....he was a Muslim man....forget remarriage.......his religion even allows him to have two wives....and he didn't even remarry.....faced all oddities,didn't take the short cut,played the role of mom and dad at the same time for bringing up his kids.....Amazing human being .....He gained immense Respect in my eyes.
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