Chapter 8
Recreation Continues....

We stayed at Murree with Master Devi Dayal who looked after us very well. Devi Dayal himself liked good food and enjoyed feeding others. We thoroughly enjoyed his hospitality. Then we spent a day at Changla gali, a day at Nathiagali and then enjoyed the hospitality of Seth Chuhar Lal at Abbottabad. Seth Sahib’s house was always full of guests. He was a most hospitable and charitably inclined person. He was regarded as the Lord of Abbottabad and lived like a Raja. We also visited Nawan Shahr and bathed in its beautiful springs and enjoyed the hospitality of Rai Bahadur Lala Ishwar Das Swahney, a timber king and sugar magnate. He is no longer in the land of the living. He was a lovable and affectionate person. He believed in simple living and was charitably inclined and always ready to help friends, relations and persons in need of money. He was always very kind to me and when I was in Kashmir he gave me good guidance and useful information. I started calling him Maharaja but he disliked this ‘title’. From Abbottabad the party returned to Lahore and I came back to Gurdaspur.

The next trip was to Simla with father. This time we lived with Rai Bahadur Mohan Lal, about whom it was said that half Simla salaamed him. He was a lawyer turned a timber magnate and earned a good deal in timber business. He was very fat but did Jaku round every morning. He was a friend of my father and was very kind to me. He was a great host but unfortunately (for me) a vegetarian. To live on vegetarian diet -daring the vacation and in a place like Simla is a penance! We went round Simla and saw every nook and corner of it. On our return when we reached Lahore, I found that father had decided that I should shift my practice to the Lahore High Court. He had taken a house on lease in Anarkali for my residence.

to be continued...