HYDERABAD DIARIES

of income for them in those days. This placed the Hindu majority at a disadvantage, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for it forced them to turn their attention elsewhere. In this way, they began exploring the avenues of commerce. They proved so successful in business that they ultimately gained a monopoly of this sphere. This would appear to bear out the old saying that in every cloud, there’s a silver lining. A loss can always be turned to good account, provided one is sufficiently determined about it. The strangest incident of my trip took place when I was leaving the Public Gardens after delivering a speech. A young man suddenly forced his way through the group of people who had collected around me to shake hands with me. He asked me what I thought my best piece of writing was. I replied that the young man standing before me was my best work to date. At this he was silent for a moment, then vowed to live up to my high expectations of him. I was greatly moved by his ardour, and beseeched the Almighty to fulfill this youth’s desire and to create many more such enthusiasts who would undertake my mission of peace and spirituality after me and carry it even further along the road to progress. The readership of AI-Risala (Spirit of Islam is the English version) is now quite high in Hyderabad. It is interesting that they have started a new venture called ‘Bookstall’ which involves the setting up of at least two bookstalls, one on a Friday in front of the Jamia Masjid and another on Sunday at the weekly function at the Public Gardens. This method of introducing the Islamic message has proved really effective, and I feel that in other towns this would be a good example to follow. An industrialist whom I met there, Mr Prem Murarka, had received a copy of the English edition of AI-Risala from a Muslim friend of his. It seems that he had been so impressed by the two lines written on the front page, that he could not help but read on. He decided to become a regular reader. He told me that many others in his friend circle liked AI-Risala and wanted to subscribe to it. It is, in fact, thanks to him that Al-Risala’s circulation has increased there. Another regular reader of AI-Risala was Mr Mahadevan Reddy of Himayat Nagar, a retired government officer who is fluent in Urdu. He told me that he had read the first volume of the translation and Ignorance of one’s destiny is often responsible for many acts of arrogance. A foretaste of the future would surely cure one of this failing.