Faridsaab and I were discussing poetry on our way to Gurgaon. I quoted Mir,

“sirhāne ‘mīr’ ke koī na bolo

abhī tuk rote rote so gayā hai”

He quoted Iftikhar Arif,

“mire ḳhudā mujhe itnā to mo’tabar kar de

Maiñ jis makān meñ rahtā huuñ us ko ghar kar de”

Our discussion was interrupted by a friend of mine, a cabin attendant from a leading airline. Faridsaab snatched away my phone and started a conversation with her. He gave me the phone back after ten minutes with a mischievous, “Arun, kisi ko daldal se nikalna ho toh hamesha bal pakad ke khenchna hota hain, seene se laga kar nahin.” I laughed my heart out saying mock seriously, “ Hum ek doosre ke razdaar hain, aur aap mujhe itna bhi yakeen nahin karte hain?” He joined me in the laughter and broke into an impromptu “Mose bol naa bol, meri sun ya na sun.”

We arrived at our Gurgaon home. The smell of mutton curry had reached till the living room. Tuhina opened the door and gave a bear hug to Faridsaab, and within minutes Faridsaab had started reciting a dua in chaste Farsi to ward off all evil “nazars” for his bitiya. He sat down instantly on the dining table and settled for a small portion of the curry and rice followed by two spoons of dessert. He retired in our guest room for a nap.

The background story of smuggling him to Gurgaon is not easy. The SHO at the local police station had mumbled, “Sir, aap sarhad paar ke nagrik ko kyon boolate hain, ghar?” I played “Kanhaiya yaad hai kuchh bhi humari” on my phone and he nodded in agreement. Faridsaab had a three city visa, Delhi, Gurgaon and Mumbai where he had a stream of private mehfils lined up for the following weeks.

His son Baleeg was supposed to get married during that month. Tuhina packed a small silver souvenir in his bag carrying passport and medicines. Later when the new bride came home, Farid Saab had reportedly paused the ‘Muh-dikhayi ka rasam’ by claiming that his daughter from Gurgaon has sent something for the bride, and that would be the first gift to be handed over to her during the ceremony. He had sighed, “kaash tum dono yahan hote aur main tumhe receive karne airport aata!”

To lughten the mood I asked him to share the song he would have sung in the airport for us. He sang a beautiful “Aaya bana aaya, hariyala bana aaya, Arun-Tuhina aaya” with a little twist in the lyric.

2015 November was the last time he had visited Delhi.