58.... TESTING TIMES WERE SURFACING.

My dad would always infuse in us a sense of moral courage with a pinch of religious upbringing. Values like truth, godliness, and kindness towards the weak and the meek and the downtrodden was our priority in life he would emphasize. Justice even in the face of danger to life was a God loving act he taught us. Purity in thought and will and action was accentuated in all the day today affairs.

He often and always wanted us and expected us to put trust in Allah alone  for everything, and he loved us to patiently seek to live within the god given means;never to be greedy about the worldly possessions and never ever to be jealous about the worldly accumulations particularly of the rich and the arrogant.He had always emphasized the importance of prayers and when anyone of us failed he would be very severe in punishing us for it

We were to merit the wisdom and knowledge greater than everything on this earth,  the pursuit of  them was only the worthwhile affluence we were told of. The life in this world was fleetingly limited and running after it was foolishness he said to us.We must try to be content with what Allah has provided us with, and leading an enduring and law abiding life was what he desired of us always.

Our house was located at the very center of the town,in Mohammedan lane in Nawab Hakeem Road. We had some vacant land in that road which was rented to a timber shop and a non vegetarian hotel. The timber shop was rented to a keralite businessman  while the hotel was run by a local dekkani muslim known as Bhayan Bhai.

His paratta and mutton qurma were very appetizing which had earned a name for him in the town.For all that the hotel incurred financial loss to the extant that he was incapable even to give monthly rent in time. Not one month but several years he did not pay his rent.My dad had asked for the rent quite a lot of times, but he did not oblige.After waiting for nearly for four and half years my dad sued for the rent in the district sessions court.The court gave the verdict that the rent should be paid to my dad with the cost.The rent arrears accumulated were more than seven hundred and sixty rupees and that amount in the year 1950s was great,when a gold sovereign was less than fifty rupees.