42.. MY DAD'S DAILY ROUTINES

My dad’s qirath would be charismatic. His Arabic was grand and flowed with readiness, skill and accuracy. After fathiha, he would largely recite the last two verses of the chapter two of the book in the first raka’ath. Then he would recite sabbih isma rabbika al a’la in the next raka’ath   after fathiha. Most of the times laqad ja’akum rasoolum min anfusikum azeezun, and the, ya ibadiyallazeena asrafoo, and sometimes the first rukoo of the chapter al moo’minoon, were his usual recitals. His rukoou and sajdah would be hassle-free. His invocatory dua usually was la ilaha illahuwa kullu shain halikun, and allahumma tahhir quloobana minanifaq and amalina minarriya..

My mom would get up and she would also do her prayers as mandatory on times, she would then launch her daily routines:  such as washing, cooking and packing lunch for my dad.   My dad was then working in the District Session’s Court in Coimbatore as a Copyist Superintendent. Mostly he would pack three loaves of wheat bread with country sugar and that was all he would take with him for lunch. This had been a schedule until he saw his retirement

from service. We never saw him take more than two chappathees with mutton or chicken qurma in the morning. At nightfall, he resorted to a small

plate of rice vermicelli mixed with spiced egg. He had a small bowl and that was his measure of food intake. Fish, mutton, chicken, and eggs were there daily but we would not take any more than two to three pieces; however delicious and appetizing had they been. A plantain fruit and a tumbler of boiled milk devoid of sugar he would take as his final course.

 His room was the middle in our house in the series of fours. His deevan qanah was his durbar hall where my dad would sit and meet his acquaintances, his patients for treatment, and hear us our call and plaints. The next was ta’am qanah, his dining and then the rest room and he used it as his bedroom. He had a teak wood almirah there with arty design of Arabic calligraphy. 

 The almirah had compartments full of dry fruits; such as walnuts, figs, almonds, pistachio, Syrian dates etc. The containers also had pure honey, ma’joons helwiyaths and murabbas of various fruits. He would share with us all these usually on Fridays and Saturday nights. I used to get my extra provision from my mom who would seldom take her given share herself. His other furniture was comprised of a table a bit large enough to have room for an artistic qalamdan on it. The qalamdan contained his official paraphernalia in it.