"A good relationship is like a sugarcane. U crush it. U twist it. U squeeze it. U beat it to pulp and all that U get is only sweetness."
A septuagenarian has come all the way from Pakistan to meet his childhood friend and his family. And Ali Raja Ali Mohammad’s friend is none other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with whom he shared his school bench.
Despite his frail frame, Ali crossed the international border on Friday, carrying the soil and water from his native place, Gah, for his Manmohan Singh Mohna, who migrated to this side of the border after the Partition.
The naughtiness of childhood pranks shared with his buddy Mohna in the primary school were visible on Ali’s face, when he reluctantly shared his treasure of memories with mediapersons.
"I have not seen him since 1947, but we have exchanged letters a couple of times," said Ali.
Clad in white kurta-pyjama and sporting a white pagri, Ali, who has come here with his nephew Haji Ahmad, is not aware of any protocol to meet the Prime Minister. " Oh lae lengae, uske ghar chalae jayangae, bhabhi hain, bachae hain. Daftar ka nahin koi shauk mujhe, mujhae to woh 11-12 saal wali umar ka pyar pata hai (We will take the appointment, or we will go straight to his house, his wife and kids are there. I am not keen on meeting him in his office, I just want to see my childhood friend)," said Ali when asked whether he had any appointment with his friend.
Going down memory lane, he said Mohna’s father was in dry fruit business in Gallah Mandi. "I often used to steal something from his pocket during the school hours and used to get punished for it."
With moist eyes, he remembered the time when everyone in his village celebrated when they came to know their Mohna has become Prime Minister of the largest democracy in the world. "People from Multan and Pindi started claiming that Indian PM was from there, but we had his school certificates," said Ali.
Opening up, he happily showed the photographs of Gah village and Katasraj temple, a pair of Punjabi tillae wali jutti and soil from the school where both of them had studied. He has also brought the school records of Manmohan Singh from Class I to Class IV.
The water bottle from his village has special significance, it bears messages all over for the PM. Besides, he has also got a profile of Gah village published by district government of Chakwal mentioning it as the village of Dr Manmohan Singh. These gifts have collectively been sent by many other friends of Dr Manmohan Singh, including Mohammad Ashraf, Ghulam Mohammad and Shah Wali Khan.
Despite his frail frame, Ali crossed the international border on Friday, carrying the soil and water from his native place, Gah, for his Manmohan Singh Mohna, who migrated to this side of the border after the Partition.
The naughtiness of childhood pranks shared with his buddy Mohna in the primary school were visible on Ali’s face, when he reluctantly shared his treasure of memories with mediapersons.
"I have not seen him since 1947, but we have exchanged letters a couple of times," said Ali.
Clad in white kurta-pyjama and sporting a white pagri, Ali, who has come here with his nephew Haji Ahmad, is not aware of any protocol to meet the Prime Minister. " Oh lae lengae, uske ghar chalae jayangae, bhabhi hain, bachae hain. Daftar ka nahin koi shauk mujhe, mujhae to woh 11-12 saal wali umar ka pyar pata hai (We will take the appointment, or we will go straight to his house, his wife and kids are there. I am not keen on meeting him in his office, I just want to see my childhood friend)," said Ali when asked whether he had any appointment with his friend.
Going down memory lane, he said Mohna’s father was in dry fruit business in Gallah Mandi. "I often used to steal something from his pocket during the school hours and used to get punished for it."
With moist eyes, he remembered the time when everyone in his village celebrated when they came to know their Mohna has become Prime Minister of the largest democracy in the world. "People from Multan and Pindi started claiming that Indian PM was from there, but we had his school certificates," said Ali.
Opening up, he happily showed the photographs of Gah village and Katasraj temple, a pair of Punjabi tillae wali jutti and soil from the school where both of them had studied. He has also brought the school records of Manmohan Singh from Class I to Class IV.
The water bottle from his village has special significance, it bears messages all over for the PM. Besides, he has also got a profile of Gah village published by district government of Chakwal mentioning it as the village of Dr Manmohan Singh. These gifts have collectively been sent by many other friends of Dr Manmohan Singh, including Mohammad Ashraf, Ghulam Mohammad and Shah Wali Khan.
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