Muslim becomes crutch for blind Pandit friend in Pulwama

5 Dariya News (Mudasir Maqbool)

Pulwama 16-Apr-2019

Wahibugh  village , which is situated on one bank of Romeshi rivulet in South Kashmir's Pulwama district, is setting a high example of communal harmony.In this village, which is at five kilometers from district headquarters, ailing Paray Lal Pandita , who is head of one among  7 Kashmiri Hindu families locally known as Pandits, believes that the whole village is his family.This belief reaffirmed after Paray Lal was bedridden."I was detected as a  patient of diabetes 10 years ago and 3 years back suffered a stroke due to which I lost eyesight," Paray Lal 5 dariya news lying on a sick-bed in his modest two storey house in Wahibugh. He had undergone a surgery but couldn't regain his eyesight."There is hardly any sight in one of my eye and the other eye has very feeble sight " , he said.Though, he has a obedient son to look after  him but he found his Muslim friend Bashir Ahmad Dar as crutch.Whenever he becomes bore inside his sick bed and desires to go for a walk around the village he sends a word to his Muslim friend,Bashir, who comes rushing within no time.Bashir holds his hand and walks him round the village .When people meet them in the way and they pay customary greetings to Paray Lal, Bashir helps him to decipher who is paying the greetings .

"It is not only me who helps Paray Lal to walk around, whenever I am not present at home he phones my brothers or anyone from the Muslim community who make themselves present at once," Bashir said, adding with him he enjoys the walk and feels at ease than others ."Here I feel all villagers are members of my family but I have a strong attachment with Bashir," Paray Lal said, adding that he not only walks him round the village but accompany him to Srinagar whenever he has a consultation with his doctor."Bashir supports me on one side and my son on other side while waking into doctors cabin in Srinagar," Paray Lal said.Paray Lal, a retired branch manager in Indian Postal Department, said that he had friendly relation with Bashir, who is a farmer, for many years but the relation became intimate after he became diabetic. Bashir and other Muslim neighbours of Paray Lal live decent lives these days. Bashir narrates that years ago they were living in poverty and often would face shortage of finance to marry their wards.Those days ,it was Paray Lal's father, a kind hearted landlord, who would lend a helping hand to such parents ."Not one or two he helped dozens of Muslim families in kind and cash to marry their wards," Bashir said, adding that such was his nature that he never ever confided it to his family members that he had helped anyone Muslim family but when he passed away the families who were helped by him revealed it themselves.Paray Lal treaded the same path  before he was bedridden he used to spent his part time resolving land disputes or family disputes among Muslims."They have more faith in me than members of their own community," Paray Lal said, adding he also used to give free of cost tuition classes to Muslim kids from class 10th to 12th."Here we live  in  complete harmony and feel we are made for each other," he said.