Summary: Babu by Tariq Rahman

 

Babu was a master mason. His full name was Mohammad Allah Din, and everyone called him Babu. He used to live in Sialkot. But his city of dream was Rawalpindi. And finally, in his youth age he went there

Even after 50 years Babu’s was not changed. He would wear a lose lion cloth, a linen shirt and a turben in the summer. And in winter he wore black coat. His dress remained the same throughout the year. But despite this monotony, his dress was never dirty. He took minute care of his neat dress and shave. He would chew betel nuts with his dark maroon lips.

Babu insisted writer’s father to buy good bricks by explaining him that the contractor is selling half baked bricks. He had a kind of research in bricks and was aware of their secrets. He was always preoccupied with bricks, mortor or stones.

Soon Babu’s passion changes from bricks to Chips. He would mix cement and put them as slabs on floor. He would get over excited to see the white, red, and lack chippings of the marble. He would then guard the Chips from trespassers. He even bought a red board with black text on it to stray off the wanderers, This made him a laughing stock as he himself could not read it. Yet he was quite serious with his passion. He once asked writer’s father to buy Chips for the house as they look like diamonds. And after construction when the house was open it was a source of great joy to see bright floor. Writer’s mother gave Babu a 100 rupee note as a reward as well.

Babu was not hired by everyone because of his quality demands. People would laugh at his serious passion with his work and he would threaten them to leave their work. One day he even left the house of writer’s father and was never called again.

Writer met Babu two times: one at his marriage when Babu gave his wife 50 rupees. And the second time when his first baby was born. Now Babu had got old. His clothes were dirty and torn; wrinkles on face and white hair; trembling hands and energetic eyes. At this age, he would accept all kinds of jobs and didn’t insist on “Chippus” as poverty was raging his home and health.

Writer asked Babu to build his Summer Villa. After some repeated insistence, he was ready. But when writer’s business fell down, he had to shift to Lahore leaving his house halfway. But after months when he returned he was stunned to see that his house was fully ready. Though he didn’t have money, yet Babu had spent all his life’s savings and had sold his daughter’s dowry to get the house ready with “Chippus”