Munawar Faruqui recalls abusive childhood
Faruqui said he was exposed to violence and grief at an early age. “I didn’t have a very average childhood. Since the age of 4-5, I saw so many wrong things happening that I thought this is how the world works. I used to see my mother and father fight all the time, and every argument would end with my mother getting beaten up. I would sit in the corner and just cry, because you couldn’t do anything about it. It could happen twice in a week, in a month, or for four days in a row.”
Mother’s struggle to keep the house running
He spoke at length about his mother’s determination to manage the household despite severe financial constraints. “She used to get Rs 30 for the day, and she had to manage the whole household with that money. The milk alone cost Rs 6, and everything else, from meat, vegetables, pulses, and rice, had to be bought with the remaining money, and it just wasn’t possible. She used to do embroidery and make torans to earn some extra money so that we could afford to eat. She was everywhere, and she was ready to help everyone. When people used to come back from weddings, with the new bride and all, someone had to cook for the entire group. It wasn’t a city, where you could just call someone up; it was a village. Kisiko toh pakana hai na khana, so she used to cook for 200-250 people all by herself.”
A patient mother who never received appreciation
Faruqui remembered his mother’s endurance and how her efforts often went unrecognised. “She kept on going, and she was a very patient person. Through those 22 years that she was married to my father, she displayed a lot of patience, and it was never easy. No one can endure such pain, and the decision she took was the culmination of everything she had endured for all those years. But she passed away, and I still question the way she went, but I think this was the way she was supposed to leave us.”
Why povery was never botheres him
He explained that because of everything happening around him, financial worries never weighed on him as a child. “Being poor while growing up was my last concern; I never felt poor because there was so much else that was going on in my life. It didn’t matter if we couldn’t afford school fees, and I never used to question why I didn’t have the things that other kids had. Now, the life I have currently – that wasn’t even my dream; I couldn’t think that big. Jab mai bartan ki dukaan mai kaam karta tha, there was a house overlooking the market, with a single room and a kitchen. I used to look at the house every day and think that one day, I’ll live there. Those were my dreams, and my reality today is beyond anything I ever wanted.”
