Tale of a treasure lost and found

MY great-grandfather, whom we called Babaji, lived in Sakrali village (Patiala). Hailing from a humble background, he was always keen to help the needy.

A Muslim marginal farmer, Naseer, approached him for monetary assistance and promised to return the sum during the crop harvesting season. Babaji gave him Rs 5,000.

A few years later, the nation was partitioned. Naseer moved to Pakistan, never to come back. Babaji thought that the amount was lost forever and reconciled himself to his fate.

Years rolled by. One fine day, to his pleasant surprise, he received a letter from Pakistan. It was sent by Naseer from his native village in West Punjab. Naseer apologised that he had not been able to return the money before his departure. He had lost his house, agricultural land and other possessions. He wrote that he had hidden the money in an earthen pot and buried it under a babool tree in his field.

Next morning, Babaji told his son to search the place mentioned in the letter. A broken pot containing currency notes worth Rs 5,000 was recovered. The notes were soiled and damaged by termites.

Babaji decided to get the notes exchanged from the Reserve Bank of India branch in Kanpur. He assigned the task to his son and grandson. Chacha and Bhatija went there on a train to try their luck. At the RBI branch, the notes were exchanged for about Rs 4,000.

Both were over the moon to have their pockets full of money. They had a few days to enjoy in Kanpur before their return journey. They watched the 1950 Hindi film Arzoo starring Dilip Kumar, Kamini Kaushal and Shashikala and hummed the song, “Aye dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal jahan koi na ho.”

Being from the land of five rivers, both were very fond of dhoodh, malai and khoya. There was an old mithai shop in the walled city. A paunchy halwai was preparing milk for breakfast (it is called dhoodh kadnaa in Hindi; milk is boiled for a while till it becomes thicker).

They had two big brass tumblers each of the thick, light-brown milk with desi ghee jalebis. After a sumptuous breakfast, they asked the halwai for the bill. He was so pleased and impressed that he did not take any money. He simply said, “Aap ko shauq se dhoodh peete dekh kar mera mann khush ho gaya (I was delighted to see you enjoying milk).”

Later, the duo returned home, bringing not only the new currency notes but also delicious laddoos from the Kanpur shop. Babaji was all praise for their efforts.