Habib saab liked to drive. He liked to feel that he was in control of things. Once I asked him the question 'Who drives your car?' He was offended and said 'Why, of course, me. I drive my car. I have driven all across India in my old fiat'. But after Monica di passed away and he had a hip fracture, he kept a driver. The fellow lived in a jhuggi cluster( pakka jhuggis, not like any other urban slum) adjoining the wall of the society in which Habib saab lived in Bhopal.
But the two of them were very different from each other. Habib saab was more towards atheism in his response to God. The driver was a devout muslim. Whenever Habib saab needed him ,the driver would say ' mein aata hoon, namaz padh ke saab' (will come back in a bit, got to read the namaz)and disappear despite the fact that Habib saab got furious at this. This would happen almost every day. Can't call it like a daily spousal banter but there was a similarity as far as the regularity of this banter was concerned. Habib saab would say 'kambakht phir namaaz padhane chala gaya hoga' (The fool must have gone to read his namaaz again)
Sometimes in the evenings too, during the rehearsals, he would disappear without a trace. If someone from the theater had to use the car to go to New Market to bring some costumes or any other adornments, our friend would be missing. He never missed his namaz, come what may. So, once I asked him, 'bhai, habib saab itna naraaz hote hain, tum gayab kyun ho jaate ho?' ( habib saab gets angry, why do you disappear?) Pat came the reply, ' wo to yahan ke saab hain, daant lenge, naukari se nikaal denge, par wahan jab jaayenge to jo inka bhi saab hai wo jawaab maangega to kya jawaab doonga' ( Habib saab is my boss here, he can scream at me, throw me out of the job, but on the other side, when the real boss asks me questions, I should have the answers)
So, this continued till a time and then there came a point where both of them got fed up with each other. The driver bought an auto rickshaw on loan. Habib saab got a new driver- not that devout ,that he would leave work for namaaz.
I met the driver again when I had to use his auto rickshaw one day- I asked him- ' so how is it going now?' He said- 'Very good, now I am my own boss, If I don't want to drive on a day, I don't, no one to scream at me any more, got tired of it.' I said ,'And then there is the other benefit.' He said, ' Yes, now no one can scream at me if I miss work for reading my namaaz, I just park the auto near a masjid at the time and do it'
Habib saab who never cared for religion in the time that I know him, or at least the practice of it through rituals, once he passed away, had to go through all the rituals, the rituals don't leave you, if you don't accept them when you are alive, they catch up with you when you die.
As far as the questions asked by the real boss on the other side, I think Habib saab would be just fine the other side. Doubt many questions would be asked of him.
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