My Roots 1947-1957

Our family belongs to a small village, now a Mandal Headquarters called AKIVIDU. This place is 20 kms from Bhimavaram and amid rich and green rice fields, fish ponds and adjacent to the famous Kolleru Lake. The following book written by Iqbal uncle has good detail about all the Muslim families of Akividu and their origins. It has references to our family.

We attempted a Family Tree showing Mollan sahib, our progenitor after whose name our family is known as “Mollan Khandan”  and six generations above me.

My memories of Akividu on a personal front are narrated here. It is currently comprised of ~160 individuals starting from Mollan sahib. Please contact me to receive a copy of this document.

Original Family tree handwritten by dad in 1971

Our Family never stayed in Akividu for any length of time. Many families got their children educated in early 40's and they took up important positions in Government. Prominent examples are Janab Sirajuddin, Janab Najmuddin, Janab Dr. Jangi, Janab Khaja Mohiuddin , Janab Hyder Ali Khan and many others. My dad was one of the earliest to step out of Akividu when he joined Central Excise department as Inspector in 1942 after graduation. He served at various places in united Andhra Pradesh ( Guntur, Ammanabrole, Bapatla, Parchuru, Medikonduru, Rajahmundry, Vizag, Warangal, Sirpur-Kagaznagar, Kakinada, Hyderabad). We used to make short trips during summer holidays.

My first memories are of a few weeks we spent in 1953 (dates are approximate) when we stayed in our family home of Azgar Hussain sahib, my dadajan which is opposite the small masjid. Though dadijan was the mistress (CEO) of the house, Jawahar tayijan was the GM.  Khamruz Zaman Tayajan was the head of the house after Dadajan. The house made of raised mud floor, Teak wood beams, mud bricks etc., As rare visitors, we were honoured guests with extra love and affection. All the relatives had large compounds on Muslim street.

I remember one breakfast I had with dadajan when we both were served rotis and dadajan told Tayijan to get Honey from the special store at home. On another occasion, Tayijan served us Mixed fruit Jam made in UK brought by Tayajan from the Railway canteen run on the lines of Army canteen.  After breakfast, dadajan took me along to the Fish Market and I was proud to be carrying a cane basket or fish creel ( empty_see pics below) which is specially designed to hold live fish like Marel. It is round cylindrical basket with a lid and u-shaped handle. He held my hand and we walked about two kilometers to the fish market. He bought a Marel which was quite active and kicking and he carried it back home.  I feel blessed that I could meet my dada and nana, even though there were very few moments in number and memories rare and far between. Our kids ( children of Shakir, Shammi, Babu and I ) did not have the good fortune of meeting my dad. On the other hand, I also feel blessed that I have the good fortune of spending some time with my grandchildren.

Kolleru fish

Dadijan took over the processing of the fish sitting on a chair near the kitchen and her Chef was Jawahar Tayijan and assistant chef was Ruhani Phuphujan and Ammi as a guest was exempt from anything. The most important kitchen tool was a “ Darati” which is a knife fixed vertically on a wooden plank and the ladies were adept at cutting fish and vegetables fast and neat.

The cousins who entertained us on our 1957 visit were Moin bhai, Khalid bhai and Naser bhai who taught us how to play cards (the card size was half the normal size) and they had some small rooms where they gathered to do this clandestine activity. They used to smoke Bidis and they asked me to try one and I did.

The gents who came to meet Dadajan met at the Diwankhana which was a detached building. It was a large room with chabutara ( just a platform) with mats to sit on. I remember Tayajan bringing some business people to discuss a deal of “Potta” sale. Pottas are dried fish bellies which are exported to Rangoon, Burma and dadajan was part of a group who traded with Rangoon by exporting Pottas and importing Teak logs. The main partners were Nazir Ahmed nana and Sadiq Hussain nana ( Sultan khalsaab’s dad).This business went belly-up when one ship carrying in Teak logs sank in the Bay of Bengal. While pottas packed in gunny bags for export, they were stored in one half of this Diwankhana.

My cousins, besides teaching us beedi smoking and cards, helped us bring down “Kaveets” ( wood apples) from a  huge tree in this house. Tayijan used to make a sweet paste out of Kaveets by mixing Gur (jaggery). The cards used by kids were half the size of normal cards.

On other summer holidays, we learnt to play “ Gilli Danda” (Gully cricket), “Goli” (marbles) but we left “ Tokudu Billa “ (Hopscotch) to the girls.

The treats we enjoyed (with a few Annas given by elderly ladies from the small knots tied at the end of their pallaus) were ice fruit on a stick ( no fruit in this baby), “panchadara chilakalu´(sugar parrots), marble candy with stripes.

A routine taught to us by Abbajan and Ammi were the visits to houses of all the relatives within the first two or three days to pay our respects to elders of the family. Dawats used to follow later. I remember visiting Soghera nani, Pathan nana,( parents of A.G.Khan a.k.a Hazrata mama),  Tahzibunnisa nani ( Sultan Khalsab’s mom), Mollan Husain dada (Azmathullah chacha’s dad) ,  where we used to given cookies or chocolates. This tradition we maintained for a long time, till say 1980’s by which time many families migrated to Hyderabad, Gulf, US etc., Sometimes we used to get a message to come soon as lunch is ready or some relatives have come to see us. The messengers were young cousins who were breathless when they came running. What a world without mobiles and SMS.

The arrival and departure to/ fro Akividu was via train journeys till 1965 or so when APSRTC buses became frequent. Train journeys were more interesting and the welcome used to be mostly by Sultan Khalsab on his bicycle (Humber) or the standard gadiwale Yaqub Ali who used to bring a bullock cart with purdah for ladies and kids were allowed to sit beside the cart-driver. On rare occasions, he used to lend us the whip to use on the bullock but we found that the whip was a very light one and doesn’t hurt at all. Yaqub Ali had a customized cry of Hut-hut to move the bullock along. Yaqub Ali passed away sometime around 1970 but hundreds of Akividu Muslims had used his cart. He was a general handyman but mostly called in for medical emergencies, family visits etc., and very reliable and knew all members of family by name. He was like a relative. Later in 1970s, we used rickshaw to come home from the railway station.

Those days

These days

Abbajan was very happy to visit Akividu and used to explain to us the relationships and some historical stories. He was always interested in eating as much fish as possible because the freshness and variety of fish in Akividu were famous. Abba used to bring in fish or request some family member to bring Marel, Padhan, Bochal, Rahu, Pandugoppa, bommidi, chandwas etc., were some of his favourites besides prawns and we still like all these when we visit Akividu but you don’t get them so frequently now. Many thanks and Jazakallahs to all the ladies starting from dadijan, and running through Jawahar Tayijan, Shereen khalajan to Nasreen (Asif’s wife) who were / are such great cooks and great hosts, standing alongside till we eat our fill. May Allah bless all of them in the here and the hereafter. Ameen.

Our later summer holiday visits to Akividu as adults and after my marriage and arrival of kids were of different level altogether and perhaps they were exciting for my children. But these childhood memories of mine are unique and pleasant.

Summer visits to other places 1953-59

Though our first place of choice for summer visits was Akividu, I also remember a few visits to Attili, Macherla, Pidiguralla, Yellamanchili, Bhimavaram, Krovvidi, Rajahmundry, Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Srisailam Dam. A few memories follow.

We visited Attili in 1957 to see our Phupha and Hurani Phuphu (parents of Shah Zamani apa). Salarjung was our phupha who married my second eldest phuphu. I do remember phupha’s face but have vague memory of phuphu but I had seen her picture. She was very beautiful and resembled Abbajan. She was an active supporter of phupha’s Congress party and she was respected by the fellow members of Women’s wing. She passed away very early. The street where they lived was named after Salarjung Phupha. Nawabjan Mama ( Yaqoob Hussain ) was the younger brother of phupha and was very close friend of Abbajan and used to visit us very often. Nawabjan mama’s compound was literally a mini-zoo with so many different pets and birds. We used to stay with phupha but spent most of the day time with the children of Nawabjan mama running after chickens, goats, rabbits, The Manager of Royal talkies in Attili was Hussain sahib and good friend of my dad. So we had royal treatment when we wanted to watch a film with the theater staff escorting us to the best seats.

Rest of our summer visits were to Ameen khalsaab and Bade Khaljan. Khalusaab was Inspector of Police and like my dad, was often transferred from place to place, mostly in Guntur district. He used to visit our house frequently in Guntur where my dad was posted for a long time. He was very kind to me and used to encourage and appreciate whatever English I wrote or spoke. He used to write to me often (his letters were type-written on Post cards or Inland envelopes). During Diwali, he used to bring or send through a constable, a gunny bag full of Diwali crackers and patakas. We used to be thrilled.

Our visits to Bade Khalajan’s house were quite enjoyable with many cousins in the house ( Mukhtiar bhai, Anees Bhai, Khalid Bhai, Zareeef, Rabbani and Naseem apa, Kausar apa and Ghousia). We used to be close to the Police station at each place and constables used to take us to the Police station and show us petty criminals in lock up. I used to be a bit scared. A constable told us that when one of the cousins failed in a subject in school, khalsaab used to order the constable to put him in lock up for an hour or two. Strange punishment indeed. I wonder if other policemen prescribe same punishment for their children.

Khalsaab was a devoted and honest Police officer and his full attention was on his cases, where he was famous for solving murder cases. He was reportedly an expert in disguising himself as a farmer, a coolie etc., to follow suspects. In spite of his preoccupation, he was kind to the children, specially the girls. Mukhtiar bhai got special treatment as he was most successful in studies and became a Mechanical Engineer and retired as General Manager of Indian Ordnance factory (tanks)  in Medak. I was considered the next best student in the family.

Khalsaab’s family was large and as he was an honest man, their dinner table was simple except for Khalsaab who had “abbajan ka salla” (dad’s curry) which was most often Mutton fry accompanied by Khatti daal. Woe unto any of my cousins if they touched this salla. The only cousin who had special permission to share this fried mutton was Mukhtiar bhai. Rabbani used to argue with Khalajan why he is not allowed to share. Khalajan had a favourite daant for most of the children which was “pad-ko-gaya” which was used in such backchat from kids.

I used to be charmed by the affectionate way of Khalsaab calling his children and the most common request of his was to scratch his back. The places Piduguralla and Macherla were very very hot and tough on skin. Zareef was called Tadpi and Talpian, Ghousia was called Goochamma or Goochulu. I think, my dad did not do this charming nick names business. Khalsaab was fond of English and used to like for writing English well. He used to write to me letters, mostly on Post Cards and typewritten.

Bhimavaram is a larger town close to Akividu. Rumakhatun dadi was my dad’s phuphu. Nooruddin phupha was a District Educational Officer and they had a large house near Veeramma tank. Their daughter is Noorjahan chachi married to Mehdi chacha. We used to visit them for a day or two. It was a busy house with regular visitors who enjoyed the great hospitality.

Krovvidi is a canal side place close to Akividu where Essa amoji and closely related to my first dadi (Khamruz Zaman tayajan’s mom). We visited this place only once and all I remember is water in the canals and it looked like a mini Akividu.

Our visits to Rajahmundry were to meet a large number of relatives, mostly in Municipal Colony where Daisaba phupha and Roohani Phuphu were part of Essa Amoji Khandan. They were very affectionate towards our family and Khamruz Zaman Tayajan’s. I remember the evenings when all of them gathered at one place to hear Abbajan tell the latest news which sounded like exciting stories. More exciting were the real life stories narrated by Khamruz Zaman Tayajan which covered diamond hunting in Godavari River beds, hunting for tigers and Sambhar in jungles. The audience used to feel the excitement and terror sometimes as if the tiger was lurking around. There were two special people Nizamuddin chacha and Chotima Phuphu who were great stand-up comedians who could make the most mundane things sound so hilarious.

Maqbool mama and Phooljan mami were great hosts and we used to enjoy holiday visits to their home. He was posted at Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam Dams when they were in the early foundation stages. He had attendants, gardeners to help out and a jeep and a driver to show us around. Mami was a great cook who used to make new and tasty dishes. Along with our family, Kamal mama, Aliya Khalajan and Mukhtiar bhai were regular visitors. My special interest was the library of books of Mama, mostly Reader’s Digest Condensed Books.

Early days 1952-58

Abbajan was employed as Inspector of Central Excise (Central Government ) and he used to be transferred every two/three years. The family moved with him and hence we studied in several schools all over the state. I started with Stall Girls School, Guntur (imagine a girl’s school with a  handful of boys). Later I went through Municipal School, Medikonduru, Municipal School, Bapatla, M.G.High School, Guntur.

Shakir with dad and me sitting in front of dad_ Ammanabrolu 1952

Abbajan was posted in Ammanabrolu when I was 5 years old. I have some memories of getting my first tricycle (a photo exists) and a visit by Aliya Khalajan and Sheerin khalajan. My mom was second eldest daughter and she looked after these two khalas for a while as my nani passed away after the delivery of Najma khalajan. I was a toy in the hands of these two khalajans during their short stay here. Abbajan was fond of Badminton and he used to play with some friends and colleagues.

We were in Bapatla for a short while when Abbajan was shifted to Parchur. Masood chacha and I were in the middle of school term, we were housed in a  room of Kamalamma, Congress MLA and our lunch and dinner was fixed up with Baig saheb’s family who used live in a hut across our room. Baig sahib was the Attender in my Nana’s (Deputy Collector) office when he served here a few years back. It is said that Nana worked alongside British Collectors but he had very simple and humble qualities. One such was his inviting Baig sahib to sit with him at the table for dinner and Baig sahib was so nervous that he declined politely. On the first day, Mrs. Baig served us rice with a very colourful curry spread on the mat on the mud floor of the hut. Masood chacha and I mixed this red curry with rice and the first morsel resulted in a flood of tears as we found it was red chilly chutney. Mrs. Baig was so sorry at the impact she lovingly caused to our delicate palates. She switched to normal curries from the next day.

My first ever beach trip was to Bapatla beach with Ammi, Aliya Khalajan, Shakir and Mukhtiar bhai. I still remember the exhilarating feeling when I waded into the waves. It was a mixture of fear and joy. I have a picture of this in 1956. I visited the same beach recently in 2013 with Khamar and it looked the same with very few changes like a resort and some eateries which were not there earlier. Here is the latest picture. (Trying to trace an old picture of 1954 with Alia Khalajan at ths beach).

Bapatla Beach

Abbajan’s stay in Parchuru was only for a few months when he was shifted to Guntur. One incident I recall is a fire accident in this small village and we could see thatched huts and houses burn a few hundred meters away. Aliya khalajan and Ammi were reading Surah Yaseen and swaying to and fro and we kids were standing around them scared. Fire engines came later and stopped the fire from spreading.

Profile from "Muslims of Akividu":

Dad and Mum 1965(?)

Badruz Zaman was the second son of Asghar Husain. He was tall fair and handsome. He studied in A.C. College, Guntur and later in P.R.College, Kakinada for his B.Sc. degree. There was a story told about his studies. He discontinued his studies after seventh Standard and started going to Timber mart with his father and grandfather, as he was not willing to study any further. After a couple of years, his elder brother Khamruz Zaman passed his S.S.L.C. examination and naturally, there was jubilation in the house. This inspired Badruz Zaman to join school and study. Since he discontinued, he had to appear for an entrance examination to get into higher class. They somehow managed to get him through. Once he joined the school, he took up the challenge, studied very hard, and passed his S.S.L.C. examination.

There was no looking back, he continued and did his B.Sc. He was selected as Inspector of Central Excise, and he was in the rank of Asst. Collector Excise and Customs, when he died. He was honest and upright, not only in official dealings but also in private life. He was generous and of helpful nature. He along with Madaruddin started the idea of renovating Anwari Masjid, which had fallen into disuse and misuse. Abdul Qadir family took it up and today it is a beautiful mosque. He was religious and a pious person. He and his wife Sultana were very hospitable people. He died at the age of 53 years. They have three sons and a daughter. Khaliquz Zaman (Zakir), Shakir Husain, Aziz Ghouse Mohi-ud-Din (Babu) and daughter Shammi (Excerpts from Muslims of Akividu).