Flight of the Falcon by S Sajad Haider

Author:S Sajad Haider [Haider, S Sajad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789694025261
Publisher: Vanguard Books
Published: 2016-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

12

THE GATHERING STORM

Prior to my departure from Dhaka, I decided to dispose of a few of my belongings, which included a Chevrolet Ranch Wagon (jokingly called ‘The Hearse’). This was a 15 year old junket procured for Rs 5,000 through my friend Hashim, owner of Dienfa Motors. I advertised for a kind of garage sale of my scanty belongings and received a resounding response. The car was sold for Rs 9,000 after a thrashing of 18 months or so. The other item dear to my heart was my music system. I had other miscellaneous electrical items as well. All the proceeds were converted into pounds sterling courtesy of a friend, which gave me some sustenance, given my empty coffer. The capital thus acquired enabled me to buy some half way decent clothes made for the high powered course in England. Had it not been for this garage sale, my bank account presented a bleak picture for my upcoming trip to the UK. With the kind of salary I was earning without any supplementary income, I was accustomed to living in a Spartan manner, although I was very content and happy.

After that I spent a week or so in Karachi and destiny created a crossroad for me. I was invited for a Christmas Eve party by my friends Adeeb Ahmed and Tehmina. I was standing alone on the dance floor when Tehmina tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, and felt as if someone had belted me in the stomach. She introduced us, “This is Tahira, and Tahira this is Sajad, I have been telling you both about each other.”

She was beautiful, and as we got talking and then dancing and then talking again, I realized she was just as intelligent. Her father, Ambassador Masud was a senior and highly regarded diplomat, at that time Pakistan’s Ambassador to Belgium. I was smitten. We met every day as long as I was in Karachi. Then I had to go to England, but she promised me before I went that she would marry me when I came back.

JSSC Latimer Arrival at the Joint Services Staff Course, Latimer, was uneventful; the accommodation was like a large closet with one bed, a small table and a chair. We had to contend with a tiny bath room. Through a notice in the reception hall all the students (they comprised officers from the US to Japan) were required to assemble at the Officers’ Mess early in the evening for an informal get-together to interact with the staff and each other. When I arrived at the Mess with the Pakistan flag proudly pinned above the name tag on my lapel, I was an instant attraction owing to events in the region. One of the Royal Navy commanders offered to get me a drink, if I didn’t make a habit of free loading!

This caused much laughter and broke the ice right there for the rest of the term. Some of the foreign students introduced themselves and asked questions

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