English & Urdu Text : Khalid IqbalPresentation : Shoaib Sobani

Besides Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, Abu Bakar Ladha wasborn in the famous old Karachi Town of Kharadar. He joined the famousMadrassah Islamia there and had his primary education completed. Fifthposition in the examination brought laurels in terms of a scholarship whichprompted Abu to continue here till matriculation. He then joined DJ College enroute to Dow Batch of ‘79. He was seen mostly wearing a loose shirt, trouserand an old fashioned weighty plastic framed spectacles with heavy glasses. Hisaccent was classic and there was no need to confirm that he belonged to theMemon Community.

Following graduation Abu Bakar did his house job in Cardiology with the thencelebrity Prof. Shaukat Ali Syed. He also worked in Pediatrics and Medicine. HafizIdrees a batch mate of ‘79 continues with the story: “During Dow days I did notknow Abu very well. I got to know him a little when I met him in 1981. Hewas among a small group of the Class of ‘79 who had come to pass PLAB and thenbuild a career in UK. He was living with Shershah and Afzal Khanna. Everytime I met him, I was struck by his ‘unique’ personality.

He was unique’ because no matter how difficult the circumstances were, howuntenable the situation may be, he would never lose his calm. Behind thosethick glasses his eyes would tell the story; deep in thought when serious orglittering with glee with a little laughter in pleasure. Every expression wasmeasured.

After passing PLAB we lost contact. A few years later I bumped into him at a jobinterview at Southport Hospital, where both of us had applied for a job as SHO inMedicine. Neither of us got the job and it went to a ‘gora’ candidate as expected.We had a good laugh at our plight. Many years went by and I did not know wherehe was. In 1994 I went to Saudi Arabia and I was delighted to meet him again inJeddah. By this time he had married and was working as a ConsultantNephrologists in the Ministry Of Health operated King Abdul Aziz Hospital.”

Abu did his MRCP in 1986 followed by a Diploma in Nephrology and served asRegistrar in Medicine for four years in England. With reasonable settlement Abulooked with a greater view around to help the classmates loitering in England.Whether it pertained to matters of accommodation, examination fees, dailyneeds, distress due to failures or nostalgic feeling about the country, Abu Bakarwas available without a grimace or grudge.

It was simply his magnanimity that many classmates who were on the brink ofquitting their plans were able to regain lost ground. He never did that for anycompensation or expression of patronage but was a staunch believer in “whateveris in excess in your pocket ahead of your needs is the privilege of others in need”“Hafiz Idrees further scans his memories: “We spent hours talking abouteverything. He was still the same good old Abu, happy and contented. In early2000 he returned to UK and settled in Amersham (Buckinghamshire near London).

While we were ‘enjoying’ the heat and dust of Saudia and getting tax free riyals,‘goras’ had changed the rules and our experience in the Kingdom was deemedworthless. We were shattered to learn that the UK Licensing Bodies wanted us to‘retrain’ before we could be considered ‘competent’ to become a consultant. Anew licensing body had been created to assess the experience of ‘experienced’doctors to assess if they were ‘competent’ enough to become consultants in theNHS.

He was very pessimistic and did not think that ‘goras’ were serious in theirintentions. I decided to bite the bullet and go through a very tedious process ofre-assessment and ‘recognition’ of experience. I insisted that he should do thesame. He was initially reluctant but when he He was initially reluctant but when hesaw some positive developments, he decided to follow suit. For a couple of yearsour phone conversations were focused on this topic.

He was delighted when I got my CCST. He was in the process of gathering relevantinformation for his portfolio but then suddenly he decided not to apply. I wasreally shocked when he broke this news but did not tell me the reason AnotherIdrees of Dow ‘79, the famous Idrees Adhi in his correspondence broke thesilence:

Abu was diagnosed to have a renal cell carcinoma for which he had nephrectomydone by classmate Shamim Ahmed Khan. Thereafter he went back to his activelife for six months when on follow up CT he was noted to have secondaries in thelungs and then the brain. He had radio/chemo sessions. He fought back and kepthimself alive for his family.

During the sufferings he just kept quiet about his illness and went on encouraginghis two sons Fahad getting on to Charted Accountancy and Asad getting on toBar at Law. He moved to Karachi and made his wife Farzana , who was a dentalsurgeon (Farooq Habib’s first cousin) settle down with a well equipped dentalclinic. Everybody who knew about the illness kept mum.

Farzana proved to be an iron lady who stood like a rock beside Abu, all ends up”. AbuBakar’s sufferings gained momentum as days passed. On return to England itbecame apparent that many bones had developed mets. Farzana England it becameapparent that many bones had developed mets. Farzana very vividly remembersthose days. Abu Bakar’s personality transformed completely.

He learned a major portion of the Quran by heart with translation. He did a lot ofcontemplation exercises to understand the message of Allah. He personally taughtQuran to his sons. He followed the Quran in letter and spirit. He adopted a verydown to earth life style and quit all worldly leisure. He learned to survive on 3 suitson the pretext that it will be difficult to defend the extravagance on the Day ofJudgment. He freed himself from the worldly covets and competitions of bragging.He never made any moan and mutterings on the excruciating pains that he wasexperiencing. He became a picture of unending patience and gratification. He wasalways smiling and talking to the family members preparing them for theforthcoming event. He would tell his well wishers in plain words “My time isover!’ it’s about moment that I meet my Lord.

Nothing is going to work now save for the righteous faith and kind deeds. Abu lostany longing for food. What an astonishing and enviable change to see your end? Hefelt sorry for leaving the near and dear ones but simultaneously derived solace thathis family was capable of surviving without him and is not going to be a burden onanybody. The day of departure arrived. The severity and swoon overwhelmed Abuand he surrendered to the will of the Creator. Idrees Adhi wrote on the list serve.“His physical remains were brought to Karachi on 4th of April and he was buriedalongside his father in Mewashah Graveyard. He looked peaceful andcontended with his life, to me at least, when I last saw him in his grave”

Many years have elapsed since the parting of Abu Bakar. Fahad and Asad are livingsuccess stories. Both have achieved unbelievable feats. They carry reflections ofthe personality of their admirable father. Fahad a Chartered Accountant works forGeneral Electric Audits. Asad, a Lincoln’s Inn Bar-at- Law, further did Masters inInternational Law and Human Rights from the Lydon University, Belgium. He ismarried to the daughter of Qazi Faiz Esa, the Chief Justice of the Baluchistan HighCourt. Mrs. Farzana still cherishes the memories of great times that she spent withAbu Bakar. She has done a diploma in conservation dentistry and implants andplans to devote herself to work for welfare and charity based practice now.

Persons like Abu Bakar are a singular breed in the acquisitive world. TheClass of ‘79 is proud to have icons like him .

GonearethedaysweusedtoshareButinourheartsyouarealwaysthere

NevermorethanathoughtawayLovedandrememberedeveryday

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Many years ago I met Abubakar just by chance.While returning from my clinic,I stopped at a Gulshan e Iqbal mosque for Asar prayers.I had never been to this mosques before. As I made my Salaam ,I saw a familiar face in the same row. It was Abu Bakar. We met .He was on vacation and come to Pakistan for a brief visit.I went to his home which was near the Mosque and had some tea. There was a great white South American Parrot roaming near the front gate.He told me his younger brother is quite fond of keeping pets.We talked about our families and other things and then departed.Two years later I met him again.But this time it was by an appointment.It was his funeral prayers at a mosque again...May Allah grant you Jannah my friend....Shahab

Thank you Shoaib for a brilliant write up of a classmate, who is no more with us. Perfect SESQUICENTENNIAL personality of the week.swaraj

Dear Shoaib and Hafiz jiMany thanks for a beautiful and befitting write up on Abu. Your summing up of his personality "Persons like Abu Bakar are a singular breed in the acquisitive world."does it for me. Most of you have already highlighted his strengths. My regret is that one could have known him more.Ifti

I feel greatly sad reading about late AbubakarLadha. Indeed he was a thorough gentleman. I always found him a sincere classmate. May almighty Allah(SWT) keeps him at the highest level of Jannat-ul-Firdous.Amen.Mullick

Dear ShoaibA wonderful write up for our dearest departed Abu Bakr. He will always be remembered for his laughter and humour, no better way to be reminded of someone.Asif

Now you would know why we call this Eid as BaRieid. On this day we got the BaRa gift of the best write-up of POT-W series.Abu Bakar the great will live forever...both in our individual and collective memories.Arshad

You may be no more but your spirit, good deeds, easy manner will live in our memories for everMay the peace of Allah always be with you in the eternityYour children and your wife carry your loss. Their success at all levels is your legacyRest in eternal peace dear friendMunir

Shoaib BhaiThank you for writing such a touching obituary of our friend Abu Baker. It reflected the warmthwith which he was remembered and will be remembered. It was really sad that such a talented,kind hearted wonderful man's life was cut short in the prime of his life. Very sad indeed !Ahmad Saeed

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Thanks shoaib for AbuA friend to remember all our livesA true man with one face with out IF,BUT and AGAR MAGGAR.suchketrahSadaA person who always helped any one who comes to himIf he can't do any thing he used to creat smileWhat a wndodrful manOnce he showed me a pile of papers recieved from some British space agency with the date and timing of moon sighting for next hundred years.we talked about mullahs and some jokes about their ignorance.he was very clear about religion,mullah and politics.When Berlin wall was collapsing we were sitting at cylon tea restaurant in front of Swiss centerAnd I have no answers of his questions about failure of socialism in eastern Europe and rise of solidarity in Poland.ABU was honest in his questions as ever and I had no answer but was not uncomfortable because of his criticism .We had another discussion in his flat in Hammersmith hospital about tin min square incidenceAnd the role of Chinese communist party.to my surprise he had better explanation than meBecause he was well aware and well red.An extremely extremely hard working doctor,a compulsive reader a very very educated and aware man who used every moment of his life in learning and teaching.He was religious person too despite his secular and liberal attitude in lifeI think he knew English dictionary by heart,at least there fourth of it and has a deep understanding of quran.hewas more spiritual than religious.I miss his laugh,his style of saying hellloooweie on phone and some of his actions which always bring smile on my face and in side my soul.We all miss you BOSS with your sons and wifeI am sure you are smiling but do not embarrass those poor and innocent angels in heaven .ShershahJavaid,

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Thank you ShoaibMay Allah subhanahuwata'ala further raise Abu Bakr's rank and grant him the highest abode among the prophets, siddiqeens and saleheens.Jalil

Thank you shoaib.Yaad e MahziAzab Hai ya RABBCheenlyMujhseyHafizaMera.During my stay with him ( After failing in PLAB) I learned from him------"A day without Laughter is a day wasted and SMILE is a curve that can set everything straight".I remember him.as being cheerful . Life wasn't easy for him, yet he always seemed to find a way to make light of the silly experiences of Life.Shaikh Afzal

A personality that showed from his heart, his generosity, light hearted spirit, and camarderie towards everyone set him apart from the rest. He was ever ready to dispense advice, crack jokes in his unique style. He is sorely missed.Yousuf

Extremely well written Shoaib!Heart touching ! He himself touched so many lives as you described that he will never be forgotten.'People who live in the heart of others; never die‘Thanks Shoaib.Naheed Elahie

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