Karachi-based Hashmatullah Lodi, who migrated to Pakistan from Lucknow in 1949 and then went on to hold prestigious positions in the Sindh government’s department of education, is currently visiting Saudi Arabia. He was honored by a group of Pakistani expatriates, led by Rizwan Ahmad, for his excellent services to the Pakistani nation.
A prolific writer, sports enthusiast and stylish radio broadcaster, 81-year-old Lodi has written more than a dozen books on science, education and sports. He has also authored dozens of school textbooks in a career spanning four decades. His latest publication — an autobiography entitled “Aata Hai Yaad Mujhko” — is being recognized as a valuable contribution.
At the event in Alkhobar’s Al-Mahwas Compound, Lodi went down memory lane and recalled some of the most interesting events from his life in pre- and post-partition years. Remembering one particular incident from 1948, a few months after partition, he said the communal atmosphere in divided India was highly surcharged.
“I was a national hockey player and used to captain Lucknow, my hometown. Once, we had to play a match in Patna in Bihar. The chief of the hockey federation was A.C. Chatterji then. He was a good man and wanted me to go to Patna but was worried about my safety. Muslims then were the prime target in Bihar. So he suggested that I go to Patna under a Hindu name. I, therefore, played there in 1948 as Sriram Singh.”
In the audience were a large number of his former pupils who loved his sharp and witty recollections. Rizwan Ahmad treated them with a presentation of rare black-and-white photographs detailing various events in the octogenarian’s life. His autobiography was released on the occasion.
Dammam-based Pakistani fiction writer Farhat Perveen, who was among the special invitees, said though Lodi cannot be classified as a writer of fiction, he has contributed more than many creative writers. “We sell dreams; he sold a reality through his important works,” she said. “The most important aspect of his career is that he has written beautiful books for children. We tend to forget our children; he has not and, therefore, he needs to be appreciated all the more,” added Perveen.
Prominent among those who were present at the interesting and informal interaction were Ismet Amin Khawaja, Ilyas Khan, Syed Waseem Hyder, Jawaid Inam, Sajid Khan Abbasi, Anwar Khalil Sheikh, Inam Khan, Aslam Chaudhary and Mansoorul Hameed. Syed Rashid Husain anchored the evening.
