The Devotion of Life — Page 474
474 “Once, dear brother Mian Ghulam Haider ra and I went to Lahore to visit certain relatives. After staying for a few days, we decided to go back to our village. However, our relatives, as a sign of love for us, insisted that we stay with them another month. Instead, both of us had grown so weary of the place that we did not wish to stay longer and asked our hosts to give us our baggage and money, which was kept with them for safekeeping. However, our hosts thought that if they refused to give back the baggage and the money, we would not leave to go back to our town. So our hosts refused to give back our baggage and money. Anyhow, after breakfast, we decided to leave and left Lahore on foot. We had just nine paisay. When we reached the bank of the river Ravi, we paid two paisay to Chiraghee (a present made to the keeper of a tomb) and crossed the river. After some walking, when we had reached about four miles from Kamonki , it was time for sunset. At the same time, Mian Ghulam Haider, because of tiredness due to walking and due to the cold weather, developed a fever. A village of Sikhs by the name of Manes was nearby. We thought of passing the night in the village. However, we could not do so and had to keep on walking. Finally, at about 10 p. m. we reached Kamonki village. Here we landed in a deserted mosque for an overnight stay. The mosque was just a single room where Kasair (rice straw) was spread on the floor. Another traveller was sleeping in one corner of the mosque. I made Mian Sahib lie down in another corner of the mosque and put his sheet over him. Then, I left for the bazaar to buy food to eat. However, all the shops were closed, and there was no one out in the streets. After much effort, when I failed to obtain any food to eat, I returned to the mosque. I found that now Mian Sahib had a really high fever. I became worried and wondered what I would do if Mian Sahib’s condition worsened