I am in the train and I was reading a book but then suddenly
an image popped up in my head and there was this sudden feeling of sadness that
I felt.
I do not have a direct or indirect relation with him, nor do
I know him personally, my only interactions and our only ‘relation’ if you want
to call it, was that of a shop-keeper and customer. But there was something special
about him and I am absolutely sure that other people who had the same relation
with him, would say the same, and by the way, these other people include most
of the people of Multan City if not all because he was the owner of, not the
biggest but the best bookshop in Multan.
I remember papa telling me that his brother used to buy newspapers
and magazines from a shop called News Corner, which actually was a small wooden hut, ‘khokha’
as we call it in Urdu, and he was there 4AM in the morning, every day, greeting
everyone with respect. My interactions with him over the years have made me pretty
sure that it is his dealing with people, the smile and kindness he showed towards
everyone that his business grew so much and his clients returned to him again
and again.
It is all I remember during my school life, we used to go to
News Corner to buy our course books, La Salle, our school had a contract with
news corner and they used to print our books and note copies and sell them. God,
he worked fast, ask him anything about any book, syllabus, type of pen pencil,
colours, markers, novels, papers, anything you can think of and within seconds
he will tell you where it was and what was the price of it.
It was a small shop, news corner, barely enough space for 10-15
people to stand at a time, but God was it busy, anytime you go, it was full of
people. I was around 12 years old when Papa brought home Taleem-o-Tarbiat magazine
for me to read and I got addicted to it ever since, beginning of every month, I
would ask papa to take his bike from in front of the book store instead of the
main road and he would do so and while the bike passed, I would try and sneak a
peek in and see if the new month’s magazine was there. I would always see him
working fast, packing, picking items and dealing with customers, it felt like 1.5x
speed instead of 1x.
Time passed, I grew up, instead of one magazine now I was
buying 4 magazines every month and the routine stayed the same, papa would pick
us up from school, we would stop and the store I would go in and try to have a
look if the magazine was there, he would notice me and say ‘beta, abhi nahi aya
magazine’ (son, the magazine is not here yet’). He would greet Papa with a
smile, ask how he was doing, ask about how our school was, and always tell me, it’s
a good habit to read.
More time passed and now whenever I went to the book store,
he would already separate the magazines and keep them for me, knowing well
enough that I would come to purchase. He now knew my name, I remember during
college days, going with my friend to purchase Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s
Stone book in Urdu language because we siblings were watching the Hindi dubbed Harry
Potter movies those days and I exactly remember him telling me, Raafay beta,
instead of buying the Urdu version, buy the English version and you will not
regret it. He gave it to me for half-price.
I did not regret it, because that was my first book ever
that I read and fell in love with reading and that is the thing that led me towards
writing. I bought several books and magazines from him, most of them at half
price. I moved to another city, and whenever I returned, he would always treat
me with kindness, always stop for a minute of two to ask about my studies, what
I was doing and how everything was at home.
At home we would always talk about him with good words, his
impressive way of dealing and working. Every time I thought about Multan after
moving away and abroad News Corner would always be one of them, he moved to a
bigger better shop, now a proper mega double storey place with everything you
can wish for and think of, but the main himself remained the same.
When I wrote my first book and was thinking about how I have
been able to do that, I realised that Sheikh Sahab from News Corner had a big role to play and
now that I think of it, I owe him a lot for that. I recently got to know that
he has passed away and it really shocked me, I always thought whenever I go
back home and if I could find some time, I would take my book to him and thank
him for everything, but unfortunately, I did not have that opportunity and I
know I will regret that forever.
Thank you and goodbye, Mr News Corner, I will forever remember you in my
prayers, may you rest in peace!