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43. My Writings
In the beginning , I must admit that I know NOTHING . Then why should I write ? It is because I wish to fill in the empty hours of my retirement doing nothing .
Sheikh (late) Ikram Ali , the father of my childhood friend , Tariq Ikram ,a mentor and a very noble man, once told yours truly that knowledge is a vast ocean and he had just stepped in . If a gentleman at the age 70 plus can say that with his vast knowledge and experience of the world , I am a total novice .
After retirement from the Government , I took cudgels with the Government over a language of my retirement notification and succeeded in having it altered. The said language was obscene .It said that Mr. Mahfooz ur Rahman ‘has been retired’ instead of saying that ‘ has retired’ . To my utter surprise the entire Ministry’s hierarchy was at a loss to see the difference . Till today , the same pattern is followed in the Government machinery .
I had great plans for my post retirement life : running an NGO , printing a newspaper or a magazine etc . However , everywhere I looked I saw giant road blocks facing me . I said sorry to my family urging to get a job to keep me busy . After serving for 36 years , I knew that any job in the Government is the easiest thing in the world plus almost half years leave on full pay . I knew that rules are made for persons and they are there to mould the rules . But job in the private sector is another matter . I was able to compare my life with son’s life who worked in the private sector .
At school and college , summary or précis writing were the death of yours truly .How hated them ? Only Allah Knows .But never in my wildest dreams have I thought I would earn my bread and butter in writing silly briefs and summaries for 36 years. However , I found great mentors , Mr. Zahur Azar , the former Cabinet Division and his deputy , Mr. K. U. Faruqui ,
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particularly the former , in this field .Their practice was to revise written material meant for the Cabinet over and over again till they were satisfied . I remembered that the English authors and poets had scribbling , cross and dashes in the manuscripts . Willy nilly I was compelled to follow suit . I wanted that nobody could criticize my drafting . That made me a writer .
The first days after retirement were spent in visiting long forgotten relations and friends and occasionally the office . However , my good friend , Mr. M.Ishaq (late ), advised against going to the office again for “ he said that colleagues would talk against at his back that he comes to have tea or make a telephone while wasting their time “.
I want to thank Allah for His Infinite Mercy . I am leading a comfortable life . I started writing to keep myself busy and as a hobby . I choose my topics at random. I also started forwarding copies of what I had written for two objectives:-
Mahfooz ur Rahman
Islamabad
January 27, 2013
43. My Writings
In the beginning , I must admit that I know NOTHING . Then why should I write ? It is because I wish to fill in the empty hours of my retirement doing nothing .
Sheikh (late) Ikram Ali , the father of my childhood friend , Tariq Ikram ,a mentor and a very noble man, once told yours truly that knowledge is a vast ocean and he had just stepped in . If a gentleman at the age 70 plus can say that with his vast knowledge and experience of the world , I am a total novice .
After retirement from the Government , I took cudgels with the Government over a language of my retirement notification and succeeded in having it altered. The said language was obscene .It said that Mr. Mahfooz ur Rahman ‘has been retired’ instead of saying that ‘ has retired’ . To my utter surprise the entire Ministry’s hierarchy was at a loss to see the difference . Till today , the same pattern is followed in the Government machinery .
I had great plans for my post retirement life : running an NGO , printing a newspaper or a magazine etc . However , everywhere I looked I saw giant road blocks facing me . I said sorry to my family urging to get a job to keep me busy . After serving for 36 years , I knew that any job in the Government is the easiest thing in the world plus almost half years leave on full pay . I knew that rules are made for persons and they are there to mould the rules . But job in the private sector is another matter . I was able to compare my life with son’s life who worked in the private sector .
At school and college , summary or précis writing were the death of yours truly .How hated them ? Only Allah Knows .But never in my wildest dreams have I thought I would earn my bread and butter in writing silly briefs and summaries for 36 years. However , I found great mentors , Mr. Zahur Azar , the former Cabinet Division and his deputy , Mr. K. U. Faruqui ,
144
particularly the former , in this field .Their practice was to revise written material meant for the Cabinet over and over again till they were satisfied . I remembered that the English authors and poets had scribbling , cross and dashes in the manuscripts . Willy nilly I was compelled to follow suit . I wanted that nobody could criticize my drafting . That made me a writer .
The first days after retirement were spent in visiting long forgotten relations and friends and occasionally the office . However , my good friend , Mr. M.Ishaq (late ), advised against going to the office again for “ he said that colleagues would talk against at his back that he comes to have tea or make a telephone while wasting their time “.
I want to thank Allah for His Infinite Mercy . I am leading a comfortable life . I started writing to keep myself busy and as a hobby . I choose my topics at random. I also started forwarding copies of what I had written for two objectives:-
1. Purely selfish motives . I share the same human failings of
conceit and the desire to seek applause .
2. To seek atonement for my sins .
3. Sharing knowledge experiences and discussions . I feel there
is a vast scope for discussing . That way we become richer in terms of
attaining more knowledge .
Some of my relations (Mr.Zia ul Islam , my cousin from my
mother’s side ) and friends (Mr. M.Khalil Sufi ) send very educative SMS . This
way I learn new things about Islam , the world and fresh ideas . I
even learn from my children and grandchildren , though the latter are young .Mahfooz ur Rahman
Islamabad
January 27, 2013
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