The Loss of Pampering

THE LOSS OF PAMPERING Children view their parents as role models and older siblings become role models for younger ones. When parents and older siblings are on the right path, the rest of the children naturally follow suit. I n December 1929, my father, Fariduddin Khan, passed away when I was around six. I held a special place in my father’s heart among all his children. He showered me with so much love, which made me very playful, and I indulged in childish mischief. My uncle, Sheikh Muhammad Kamil, would become angry whenever he saw me and would caution my father, “You are spoiling your son by undue pampering.” However, everything changed abruptly when my father passed away during my childhood. My mother, Zebun-Nisa (who passed away in 1985), used to recount how talkative I was in my father’s presence. But after his demise, a profound transformation occurred within me. My playful nature vanished, and I became quiet and reserved. It was a pivotal event in my life. Had my father lived longer, I might have become a young man who would have been labelled spoilt and pampered. The realism and seriousness that came later in my life directly resulted from my orphanhood.