Page 223 - Musings 2020

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Summer
Esha Pahwa 2018B2PS0675P

The dull smell of smog filled the air in the winter of 1960. At four o’clock in the morning, the
sound of the daily Salat echoed in the neighborhood, created an aura of peacefulness, and
made Azaan miss his parents. Noor and Imtiaz married at an early age of twenty. It certainly
was not considered as “early” for women in the 1960s, notably because many of the young
girls were wed only in their early teenage years. Noor and Imtiaz were in love, everyone
could see that. Both of their parents imposed no objection, when they disclosed this mutual
affection towards each other, to them. Their marriage took place in the spring, and it seemed
like nature was as happy as the bird whose nest is heaven’d in the heart of purple hills.

Everything had been unerring since the year of 1947. The British had eventually left the
power of governing India in the hands of her own people. What followed were the annulment
of partition and the merging of the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress with the
help of Sardar Patel. Since then, with minor exceptions of some riots, Hindus and Muslims
had been going hand in hand towards triumph with cooperation.

Azaan, now 6 years old, was orphaned. He remembered the time when his mother, Noor, told
him how happy his father had been when he was born. Imtiaz had distributed the prasad of
ladoos to the whole neighborhood and to the people in his office. He also remembered the
time when his aunt had told him about their car accident. Tears filled his eyes, and not one
day had passed when he did not think of the warmth of his mother’s arms, the safe feeling he
got when he was with his father. He yearned for a love like that.

After 4 years, when he was ten, he was shipped to another family, a Hindu family, living in
Lahore. His journey from Kolkata to Lahore was one filled with nervousness. What if they
don’t like me?
With so many relatives, why could not he stay with them? Why did his favorite aunt Mariam
not keep him? Why did no one ask him whether he wanted to stay with complete strangers or
not? These questions occupied his mind and were left unanswered.

Sangeeta and Rahul were a happy couple with a boy, Shiv, who was also 10 years old. They
were so eager to meet Azaan, that they had decorated the whole house for him, they wanted
him to forget all of his worries and start a new life. Shiv was excited to meet his new brother
too. Azaan on the other hand was going through a roller coaster of emotions ranging from

desolation to being puzzled.

A few months passed, he had started to feel comfortable with his new family. The bond
between the brothers was already as strong as steel. Irrespective of them belonging to
different religions, they saw a best friend in each other. Out of all the things that surrounded
them, it was Lahore’s Lassi and the food that both of them loved, with all their heart. It gave
light to the enticing history of Lahore. From an infant to the old, every age group has
something to see at Fort Road Food Street. People could be seen singing, performing their
skills accompanied with smiles that were planted on everyone’s face. By the age of thirteen,
Azaan and Shiv were inseparable. If one fell, the other one would extend a hand to help, and

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