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PORTRAIT
(A short story by Eqbal Hasan Azad)
(Translated from Urdu to English by
Naeem Baig)



A little far away from the population, itd come the dense forests and he always had a
fear from forests. . Son of Ram Din Gardener who was a few years older than him,
most of the times took him along towards the forest. As far deep in the forest sparse,
it seems to be great sunlight and he enjoyed it. But the moment darkness emerged
on their heads; he used to ask, Lets move back, Sakhoo.
And Sakhoo always smiled at him, as he intended to go further but he was scared of
his master.

Through the shadows of time had spread on everything. Memories swabbed away
ages and it looked like an old tree whose stems are more than empty and awaiting
for a sharp wind. He had forgotten lot of things and lot of places. He was almost out
of his mind. He had also forgotten the face of his father as more than forty years had
passed since his funeral. His elder son was born after this tragedy. These days he was
enjoying his first posting with as newlywed with her beautiful wife in a remote area
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that was based in the far flung city. At that time, normal telephone service was not
available. No television and the news about the death or birth were normally aired
through popular source of telegrams. But sometimes even it become late. Thus, after
receiving the news, when he arrived home, he found that his father has already been
buried and thus he could not sight the face of his father before its burial, however,
his older sister, who was taken along with her husband, in the close city was on time.
His sister after the Chehlum went with her husband and he brought his mother to the
city. The town house was locked.

Sometimes he felt that quite a thick forest have grown up in his mind where high
dense trees meeting together up in the air stopping the sunlight leaving below a
deep darkness. He used to boggle up deep in his sleep at nights. Sweat drops on his
forehead, he seemed to and tried to read Quran verses seven times and tried to
sleep again, but it never caught by him. He usually were skipping sleep shortly again.
It never worked and he knew the sleep in the old age was like raw clay pot that
dissolved itself.
Even he has forgotten his own age. Sometimes he thought he is seventy, again it
seemed him seventy five. Relaxing in the chair on the balcony in the sunlight in
winter-days, he calculated his age at his fingers while sunny warm rays calmed his
elderly bones. His wife had a doubt that his senses were leaving him gradually. She
was concerned by his living. But in fact it was not like that. He read the newspapers
and watched the TV quite interestingly. It seemed him alike lot of the world has
changed. The last time his son came to meet him; he brought a cellular phone for
him. Sometimes he compared the changed world with his own time and had strange
feelings about it. Again he would feel a bit odd from his own world. Nevertheless he
was quite satisfied that his death news would reach to him in time.

In the dense forests when the wind blew the trees, they were separated from each
other for a few moments making noise and the sun took advantage of this
opportunity and its rays reached to the earth. Loneliness spread its wings in his mind
and he often lethargically resting in his mind, in isolation amid memories and then
suddenly lots of light emerged in his eyes. But still he exactly could not recall what
alike his father was? Though, Yes! Many things, ranging from youth to the days of
childhood, which belonged to his father, were clear to him.

He had a big house in his small old town. A long veranda surrounded by round
pillars from the road side. After that spacious drawing room comes, and from the
lobby, it was open from three sides. In the middle there was big courtyard having
one door to the street side and finally six big bedrooms and a store room at the end.
His father had been keeping keen interest in having the antiques and old fashioned
households was ever a strange but in appreciable order. Often his mother wanted
him to throw away some useless item but on his father's advice it was shifted in the
storeroom. He always used Persian idiom Dashta aied bakaar, and his mother was
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irritant to this idiom listening all the time from him. She thought his father was a
quite gentleman and had have respect in his eyes about ladies. This ancestral house
was once his fathers residence after his retirement.
Most of the days his father had have lived his life in small official quarters. He was
simultaneously affectionate and hardliner. He remembered in his early youth days
when he used to have meals with his father and in some occurrences; his father had
put something tasty or a good piece of meat in his dish for him. He had also recalled
that his father often facilitated him in his baths and if he did something mischievous,
he used to have a ruthless hard slap on his cheek while bathing. When he started to
go to school, his father was supposed to have a long stick with him while teaching
him.


He had remembered many of the foggy-faces of his fathers friends. He knew their
features as well. He had memorized one of the red cap and a roofless car. He
remembered fathers registry office, where he retired. Red Victorian-style building
surrounded by big round pillars long veranda and doors which opened and closed
like bright pixel green colour shuttered the door. He still remembered a great big
hall, the summit bringing and benches, and outside in the middle of the open
courtyard in front of the office Union Jack was hoisted in the centre. When the
meeting ended he had used to play with Sakhoo. Sometimes his elder sister had
come in search of him and had taken back him along. Often, he moved into a small
quarter of Gardener where mother of Sakhoo used to feed him steaming warm Littee.
One day his sister told everything to her mother and he was terribly beaten on eating
something from gardeners house and he being scared pissed off in his pant.


In those days, it was a big change around. It begun as in the forests like many snakes,
scorpions, tigers and Leopards, bears and monkeys moved across the Earth. These
days his father was very concerned. One day, he heard his mother saying.
"All the people are going. Take example of your elder brother, his wife and children,
why not we moving...? "
'' Not at all.'' His father was harsh. He echoed loud then fell silent.
And then don't know where from a jungle grown up with the people. Crying and
howling people with dirge naked and hungry filled the entire open plain.
Lorries made it denser, full of men across the forest, with no space to live for them.
Then several months after keeping the surrounding areas full of such dirt, it started
vanishing gradually like as clouds disappeared from the skies and sun seemed to see
the people on earth as usual but extracting a few things like red round caps, all the
lorries filled with uniformed people, cars without roofs vanished and a flag was
hoisted in tricolour instead of Union Jack. These days I was thirteen only I remember.

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After that winter almost one year later father get retired. A group-photo was taken
out in this great courtyard. His father sat on the chair in the middle wearing suit.
Others on the left to the right were some Officers. In the back row drivers, street
sweeper, accountants, and surrounding people. The remaining members sat of the
courtyard with their families included as well on the floor. He and his older sister
were sitting close to their father. His father wore big yellow flowers necklace around
his neck and a photographer took that group photograph from a camera which was
hidden in a black sheets around it. After retirement, when his father returned to his
native house, the group photo was got framed and was dangled on the drawing
room wall.
It remained hung on the wall for a long time. Then don't know how this picture was
got away from the drawing room. Might be when his elder sister was getting married
and all the house was repainted again. At that time it was put in the store room.
The pension of his father was very meagre and there was no more property than this
small house. When he declared fail in his Matric examination, though his father did
not beat him but he was shaken in anger and had said if he could not clear it next
time he will be thrown out of the house barely naked. But it had not happened again
with him. He studied throughout the year and got it cleared next year and he was
admitted a nearby citys college.
Sometimes in search of a news channel he used to press remote controls button and
suddenly a channel appears on the screen displaying honking school kids on the
streets in the odd and haphazard clothes. He always thought that the world has
changed indeed he switched the channel to news but when he witnessed the same
dirt and blood on the roads alike it really happened in his past then he thought
nothing has changed and then he turned off the TV and started reading his books.
One day he came across his book shelf in the wall-closet and found a novel named
Portrait of a lady. Though he has read this novel several times before but now by
seeing this title he went into his nostalgic feelings and flushed again as it brightened
invisible boxes in his minds. It was those days when he had come to his house after
passing his BA exams he had gone through a strange event. The day his father was
got retired, a nearby house had went ablaze terribly and everything in that house
turned into ashes including owner Ram Odesh singhs very important papers. Those
documents had included a Sale-deed of the same house which had gone ablaze. His
father had registered those documents in his office. When he told his father about
this incident, his father was instantly got ready to help him to get a new Sale-deed
from his old office by influence of his relationship. Ram Odesh Singh was so happy
for this favour that he in return he presented him a big portrait of his father. It was
painted by his artist son and that portrait was also hung up on the wall of the
Drawing Room of the same house.

After the death of his father, he had brought her in the city and town house was
locked. He used to take his mother back to the town house whenever she felt sad or
gloomy for some of the days and again brought her back. In this way, several years
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passed. During this time many good and bad things happened. His mother and his
elder sister died and his wife had given birth to three children, a boy and two girls. In
the meantime he got several promotions and became a senior Officer. His wife
always asked him to sale the town house but he didnt get enough time to dispose it
off. However he used to go the town and looked after his fathers house and
sometime did little repairs in it and got back home. He wanted to rent it out so that
someone could take care of this house but in such a small town where everything
was static like grimy pond, he could not find such a person or family. Then he found
a person who would live with his family in that house and also would take care of it.
By this arrangement he suddenly felt him absolved from taking care of the house.
However he used to send the tenant a few buck for its annual repair etc.

In those days he was stationed in the border region surrounded by dense forest and
then the smell of blood and the gunpowder was rushing into his nostril from the
forests which lead to the memory of his father in his mind. One day in the nearby
plains, noise of the Lorries, crying and weeping people and starving faces appeared
again. Tents and footprints of big boots again seen and somebody told him that his
Uncle with his family was martyred. He remained calm but so many days he could
not sleep well. He used to run his life spending in different cities where he was
posted and finally reached to this city where he intended to get his retirement. He
bought there a good big flat. His son after completing his education went outside
the country and both the girls were married.
He used to walk in the nearby park where one day an old man met him, who had
just visited his old house in the village was seemed much joyful and talkative. From
the conversation it was not difficult for someone to judge that he has spent a few
days in his ancestral house that had made him pleased so much. On the way back his
home he also missed his ancestral house a lot, and besides he missed his father too.
But the strange thing was that he didnt remember the face of his father. He thought
to go the ancestral house but had no excuse to visit that house. He tried to find
some of the picture of his father but in vain. He could not find any of it. His wife
asked him what in fact he was trying to find in every place but he just ignored her
and sorted out all the albums of old pictures but nothing held photo of his father.


One day after 2: 00 pm when he had been relaxing on his post lunch, when doors
call bell banged suddenly. He opened the door and found one stranger old man
standing on the door. He told him that he is coming straight from the town. He
further told him that the town is turning into big city now and property prices are
going high because of the inflow of new inhabitants. He asked him whether he
wanted to sale this house to him. In the meantime his wife has also come close to
him. She accepted strangers offer as they wanted to sell this house as soon as
possible. From this conversation he recalled the portrait of his father which was lying
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somewhere in the storeroom. He decided to bring back that portrait and would hang
in his Drawing Room.
After ten days he decided to go the town. For his arrival he has already sent the
information to the stranger. His wife also got ready to accompany him as she might
get something of importance of her taste from the junk in the house. He told his
brother-in-law in confidence who agreed with him. The day when he proceeded for
his town house, he missed his father too badly. When they reached in the town it was
almost evening. The sky was filled with small clouds floating in the air which has
made the weather a little hazy. The tenant had already known their arrival and was
ready to welcome them. He had been keeping the house clean. He had made
enough arrangement for his stay and dinner and so they decided to go to the bed
early. In the late night, the rain begun to shower torrentially with thundering and he
could not sleep for the rest of the night. However his wife was sleeping quietly.
The next morning they visited the entire house. He went on the backyard of the
house when they were used to grow vegetables. Now there were strange bushes
grown around.
His wife was talking with the caretaker tenant and since he has no interest with their
conversation, he decided to go to the storeroom. Though he had no hurry but he
wanted to see the portrait. He had a curiosity in the back of his mind. The storeroom
was not locked but it was just closed. He pushed the door and opened it. It was dark
in the room and strange smell popped up. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket
and put it on his nose. He tried to see in the dark. When his eyes become capable to
see in the semi darkness, he tried to observe the storeroom. There were lot of
fixtures, furniture, iron boxes, mud pots and a big wooden closet. Finally his eyes
could wedge the portrait standing in the one corner. It was covered with dust and
spiders web and he could not able to see it clearly. He managed to open the window
of the storeroom for the more light. Room was now a bit brightened. The portrait
was standing with the wall. He looked on the portrait standing in front of it. So it was
his father. He recalled it, was same grey hair, square forehead, thick eyebrows, heavy
eyelids, slim nose, skinny lips with big jaws. He was speechless and forgot to blink his
eyes. Suddenly he heard some steps inside the store. He turned boggled. His wife
was standing in the door surprisingly watching him. When he stared on his wife, she
asked abruptly, why are you standing in front of the mirror.


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AUTHOR Dr. Eqbal Hasan Azad, Mungar, Bihar, INDIA
Email eqbalhasan35@yahoo.com
Translated by Naeem Baig, Lahore Pakistan
Email skanz.ex@gmail.com
Lahore June, 2014.