Studying Law continues....

I spent two very happy years in the Law College and during vacation I did a little ‘devilling’ for my father. He used to give me his briefs and ask me to prepare notes. Then he would see the notes and tell me where I had gone wrong. He used to take me with him to the Bar room and the Court during my first year and allow me to listen to his talk with clients, learn how he settled his fees, how he declined to take a bad case and how he extracted true facts from illiterate clients. He was such a keen lawyer that he thought out arguments when lying on his bed and dreamt of his cases even in his sleep! He had a clean practice and a great reputation in the district for giving correct and sound advice. He discouraged useless litigation. For this reason he was respected by all officers. He taught me drafting of plaints, pleadings and petitions and made me draw out conveyancing documents. As he had a very good practice I got an insight into all kinds of legal work whilst I was still in the Law College. Soon after passing my F. E. L., I was enrolled as a Mukhtar. In those days one could appear as a lawyer in subordinate courts after passing this examination.

While in Law college I managed a great wedding party. Bakshi Tek Chand’s first wife was a consumptive and died very young. Bakshiji was persuaded to marry again. A daughter of Lala Bhagat Ram Shah of Bal in Sialkot District was engaged to Bakshiji. The marriage party went from Nurpur to Bal. On the way, it was fed at Pathankot by Bakshiji’s uncle, Bakshi Gopal Dass. At Lahore the Barat was fed at the Railway Station. The next morning we reached Sialkot and were sumptuously fed there. A cho had to be crossed on horses and we reached Bal in the evening. We were looked after and fed with a number of delicacies by the bride’s people for three days.

to be continued....