Mullan Ki Daud Masjid Tak, Tumari Daud…….

We have heard the phrase – Mullan Ki Daud Masjid Tak, which means a person with limited goals focuses on his narrow and confined world. He knows nothing beyond that and enjoying life in his world.

It is said that it was first used in Mughal times for the trader people, not inducing them in local politics. Later on, it was used in early British times for Babus – clerks, as they didn’t think of anything else than the work assigned to them.

Literally, it means working or thinking with limited focus, not thinking anything beyond that.

Life had been so stereotactic – daily getting up, having a cup of bed[1]tea, taking a bath, dressed up, having breakfast, moving to the office with a packed lunch box on a cycle, busy with office work, waiting for the clock to strike five, coming back, resting, having dinner, little gup-shup, going to sleep and again next the same routine.

From my maturing in the 70s on joining the service till my retirement in 2008, my life has been so systematic except for the development of theatre interest in me and later on switching over to writing.

While sitting with one of my friends at Punjab University, he appreciated my writing letters to the editors regularly criticizing and opining on various social issues in the newspapers. Rather, he advised me to go for a PG Diploma in Journalism. To everyone’s surprise, I did it in the year of my retirement.

Writing became a passion for me and I started writing regularly in the newspaper started my blog section and later on associated with the online portals which started dominating the newspapers with the breaking of news even 24 hours before it reached the readers who were wedded to reading the newspapers only.

Anyhow, this phrase fits well for those who are confined to a particular point all the time and don’t want to come out of the four walls and frame of their thoughts.

The other day I had an unexpected phone call. But it provided a pleasant opportunity to hear a few words from an old friend wedded to the profession of journalism and since retired from a leading newspaper. For a long time, there had been no contact with him though he lived in the City Beautiful Chandigarh. But he was famous for saying the entire idiom – Mullan Ki Daud Masjid Tak… and whenever he was asked as to what you are doing. Rather it has become his ‘takiya kalam’ – catchphrase.

Frankly speaking, before my friend could speak, I repeated the phrase in a different tone to know about him – Mullan Ki Daud Kahan Tak.

When I told him that I too have joined journalism as a freelance but after retirement, without waiting for a fraction of a second, he uttered,- Tumhari Daud Akhbar Tak.