Literature Fever

“Dear Talha Anwar,

Thank you very much for your interest in the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

The Admissions Committee has reviewed your application to attend the Spring Semester 2015-2016 at LUMS as an Auditing Student. We receive a large number of applications for the limited seats available and entry to the programme is highly competitive. We are pleased to inform you that you have qualified for the admission, and everyone in the Social Sciences Department are waiting for you.

We also wish you success in your future endeavours.

Sincerely,

......................."

This is how you read a letter in excitement and you still can’t believe it.

Let me tell you the story from the very beginning.

Punjab University

“You are an MBA Graduate but not with the required GPA. You should have a CGPA of 5. 4.9 will keep you in the waiting list. The literature department has its standards to maintain. Basically we don’t give admissions to humans. Hope you don’t mind being one.”

Government College

“Everything is more than good except you did not appear in 200 marks English Exam in your Bachelors’ Programme.”

“Sir what’s the Solution?”

“Take Admissions in our Bachelors’ Programme and appear in 200 marks English Exam.”

LUMS

“Today is 12^th October and it’s the last day to apply. Please apply online before 5 O Clock. Otherwise…”

“But ma’am the course offer list is still not released by the Social Sciences Department.”

“Can’t help it. It’s your fate, so you have to bare the loss. Go to the Admissions Office and sort out this issue.”

The Admissions Office was quite cold but still they came up with a solution.

“Get the code of any course in order to proceed with your admission procedure. You can take the course code from the Social Sciences Department. You better hurry up. Just 2 hours left. After that admissions will be closed.”

The Social Sciences Department took a print out of the previous year course list and handed me over the course code.

I took the code to the Admissions Office. Only 20 minutes were left. They took the code and entered the information; helped me out in applying online with the shortest fastest possible way. Really appreciated that. After all I was hanging around their heads for the past two months and they were not at all bothered. What they did in 10 minutes seemed unusual of them.

At 4:50 PM my online application was submitted. It felt like something heavy on my head and shoulders got unloaded. I thanked them and they handed me over the Admission Processing Fee Voucher.

Next day I deposited the fee and thanked Allah in my heart that all went well.

After about a month I got a letter from the Institution and I opened it with excitement. In fact, the letter was like this:

“Dear Talha Anwar,

Thank you very much for your interest in the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

The Admissions Committee has reviewed your application to attend the Spring Semester 2015-2016 at LUMS as an Auditing Student. We receive a large number of applications for the limited seats available and entry to the programme is highly competitive. I regret to inform you that you have not qualified for admission, and I am sorry for the disappointment it will inevitably cause you.

We wish you success in your future endeavours.

Sincerely,

......................."  

Abdullah

"Hello."

"Yeah."

"I'm a father now to a baby boy." Salik broke the news over phone. An old friend.

................................................

Not very long ago, I was heading home after Esha Prayers on foot when Salik pulled up his car on my way back to home at the end of the street.

"Hey, come fast we got to meet Imam Saab."

"What's the rush?"

"Just need to return him his books. We'll just drop them, say Salam and then head back home. A matter of 15 minutes."

"Have you informed Imam Saab that we are coming."

"Yeah I did."

I joined him on the Imam Saab tour. Within three minutes we reached at the gates of Imam Saab's Masjid  where he is responsible to lead the 5 times Prayers. Salik parked the car outside and in a rush he pushed the gates and entered into the hall of Masjid. 

I followed Salik in the hall and found Imam Saab sitting there under the white light of energy saver with two other men. Imam Saab greeted us with pleasure and the other two men just smiled at our arrival.

"You can keep the books if you want to."

"Thank You very much." Salik did not take the books.

"What else?"

"Nothing, we will leave now. I got to visit the old city tomorrow morning."

"You may leave but, if you want to see a Jinn you can stay. Party will be here in a while."

Salik looked towards me with excitement.

"Talha, you got time? I can't leave without a watching a Jinn."

"Plenty of time. No issues."

"Just sit tight then, I'll drop you home in a while."

I still can't believe why I agreed with Salik that time to watch a Jinn. The moment they mentioned it I thought it was a joke. And I thought it will be over in a while but that wasn't really a joke. I realized that fact the minute I said "No Issues.".

After some minutes few men arrived with long beards and no caps on their heads wearing white clothes (Shalwar Kameez). Along with them there was a little boy around the age of  7.

"It's with him." The men in white clothes pointed at the little boy.

"No worries. Just relax and sit there and make the lad sit in front of me." 

The men in white sat with a distance after literally placing the little boy in front of Imam Saab. I was sitting right next to Imam Saab and Salik with happiness out of this world was on the left.

"What happened to you? Tell me your name." Imam Saab asked the little boy this question but he was dizzy. I realized this fact after Imam Saab's question. The little boy could not answer. He was not in his senses. 

"Bring water...!" Imam Saab ordered one of the two men who were already here before our arrival.

Imam Saab read some verses from Quran and made the little boy drink some of it. Imam Saab kept on reading. After drinking that water the little boy looked better. He was stable this time.

"What do you see? A Door or a Hole? Imam Saab asked the little boy this question. I was still not believing it.

"It's a Hole." The little boy replied. His voice did not seem like little ones'.

"Is it a Black Hole or you see White Light coming through it?"

"It's Black." The little boy replied to Imam Saab.

"It will come now."

Imam Saab kind of announced. Right that moment I saw a jerk in the little boy's body. Imam Saab took out a stick. He held the little boy's hand and made the stick go through his fingers.

"What is your name?" Imam Saab asked the little boy this question once again.

"ABDULLAH." Little boy kind of howled his name. He was so loud and so not that little boy apparently. He started looking at Imam Saab with a very evil look.

The moment he mentioned his name "Abdullah" I got terrified. I noticed that none of the other people in that particular gathering got scared. Except me. I guess for them it was something very normal. But, at that time, it was not at all anything that should be called normal to me. In fact, you take many things in life non seriously and you are kind of a non believer. All Hollywood films I recalled that very time were not really some craps. They all flooded up in my memory, after all they got something true. Not entirely but some part of it that I used to consider a lie before this incident.

I also got shocked the way my heart reacted to this incident. I felt weak and kept on trembling in terror. Obviously I tried to cover that and pretended that I am very brave and I am not at all affected but, you all should know that so called Jinn "Abdullah" was hardly at a distance of 1 to 2 feet. If Imam Saab was not sitting right next to me I would have run and run till I reach home with maximum speed.

"How many are you?"

"FIVE."

"Why are you disturbing the little boy?"

"JUST FOR FUN......HAHAHAHA."

Imam Saab squeezed the hand of that Jinn (Little boy) and pressed the fingers beneath which the stick started to hurt. "Abdullah" got terrified...

"You better leave this place for good along with your friends. Next time if I ever see you anywhere causing such trouble, I will lock you down in a place from where you never be able to escape. Consider this as a last warning."

Imam Saab made "Abdullah" very clear. And that was evident from his reply.

"Okay."

"Before you leave shake hands with our brother Talha."

"Abdullah" the Jinn moved forward towards me to shake hands with me. Though he was that little boy apparently but, I was about to faint. The moment he shook hands with Imam Saab smiled. I'm sure he knew that I was shit scared the whole time. Still I shook hands.

"Now go...."

The little boy fainted after the procedure. "Abdullah" was gone. Imam Saab sprinkled that water over the little boy whose real name I still don't remember.

"He will be fine in 10 to 15 minutes."

Later we left the Masjid and headed home. Salik was more than happy. It was like his dream came true.

A few months later all was normal but this whole event or anything related to the event brings some amount of fear in my heart. At present that small amount of fear has wiped out but it was there or remained there inside the corners of my heart for quite a while. And the last I felt it when Salik called me to break the news...

"I'm a father now to baby boy."

"Congrats...so what name are you thinking for the newly born?

"Abdullah."