F-A-T-H-E-R

ROSHANALI-JIVABHAI-VIRPURWALA

                                                                                                                                                                         

My-father-was-born-in-a-small-village-in-Panchmahal-district-of-Gujarat-named-Lunavada.

He-hailed-from-a-very-poor-family.-His-father-(my-grandfather)-was-a-travelling-tea-peddler'

The-second-youngest-of-four-brothers-I-guess-life-was-least-trying-for-him-as-the-other-two-brothers-shouldered-the-economic-burden-of-the-family

Which-is-how-he-came-to-be-schooled.-Genuinely-having-an-affinity-for-studies-he-realised-the-limitations-of-the-local-village-school-where-he-studied.

Which-is-how,he-came-to-Bombaywhen he-was-eight-years-old                                                          ,along-with-his-eldest-brother-who-was-a-seasonal-tradesman-cun-peddler.

Those-were-the-times-when-buildings-in-Bombay-had-a-sign-put-at-their-entrance-"Rooms-for-Rent-available".   It-was-the-British-Raj-that-ruled-India-must-have-been-the-late-1920s,I-think

The-three-brothers-got-a-room-on-AbdulRehman-Street,-close-to-Pydhonie-for-an-all-inclusive-rent-of-as-low-as-rs.10/-per-month.-This-money as-well-as-the-daily-expenses-had-to-be-earned.

Father-at-the-age-of-eight-started-working-at-a-glass-merchant's-shop-nearby.He-would-sandpaper-the-rough-edgesof-glass-and-mirrors-all-day-and-attend-St.xavier's-Night-School-at-Dhobi-Talao-in-the-evening      

                                                                                                                                          

It-would-be-nearly-10-pm-by-the-time-he-finished-cooking-eating-and-completing-other-household-chores.He-would-then-sit-with-his-books-to-study.-Just-then-the-landlord-would-come-knocking-at-the-door-and-call-out,”Roshan!-Come-on-awitch-off-the-light.Its-already-past-ten !”                                                                                                                                                                                        

My-father-had-no-choice-but -to-   put-out-the-light You-see-the-rent-was-all-inclusive-including-the-electricity-charges-and-one-of-the-rules-of-the-tenancy-was-that-all-lights-shall-be-put-off-at-10pm.

My-father-would-then-collect-his-books-pen-and-paper-and-go-down-and-study-in-the-streetlight,seated-below-a-lamp-pole.This-is-how-he-completed-his-matriculation.

He-then-joined-the-Arts-wing-inSt.Xaviers-College-to-complete-his-Bachelors-in-Honours!-And-that-too-in-Economics!-a-very-diffcult-thing-to-do-and-considered-superlative-achievement-during-those-times!

He-had-beautiful-cursive-handwriting-and-because-his-English-language skills-were-very-good,-a-lot-of-people-would-come-to-him-to-get-their-letters-drafted-by-him.-I-still-have-some-of-his-old-writings-and-shall-post-them-here-as-soon-as-I-can.

Since-his-verbal-and-written-skills-were-par-excellence,it-wasquite-easy-for-him-to-choose-to-become-a-lawyer.He-began-his-law-studies-in-earnest-and-completed-his-first-year-LLB.

But-just-about-that-time-the-Bombay-Municipal-Corporation-advertised-for-personnel-in-various-categories.At-that-time-there-was-50%-reservation-for-the-minorities-including-Muslims.My-father-applied-and-got-the-job-of-Ward-Inspector.He-served-the-Corporation-for-36-years-diligently-and-honestly.

He-retired-in-1978-and-left-for-his-heavenly-abode-in-1997   Some-day-I-hope-to-write-a-book-on-his-life.......or-maybe-someone-else-will...........Someday!