Even after the publication of his autobiography, Meray Shab-o-Roz, Syed Meeno Chehar felt the need to tell us more and so wrote a second volume, Karwaan-i-Guzraan. In this, Chehar speaks of his father’s love for ancient Persian history and his contributions to the Punjab civil service. I value this autobiography for the information it provides about Chehar’s learned father, Syed Abid Ali Abid, as well the eyewitness account it contains of events in our national history.

Abid Sahib was a scholar steeped deep in Urdu and Persian traditions. A teacher and principal at Dyal Singh College, Lahore, Abid Sahib relished in the spoken word and wrote only under pressure. It was only after resigning from his post that he felt the need to write. Then too he preferred to dictate and Meeno Chehar says that he was always ready to record faithfully what was dictated to him by his father. The scholarly books we have by Abid Sahib were possible because of his son. Karwaan-i-Guzraan acknowledges this fact.

Chehar alludes to Abid Sahib’s visits to the Pak Tea House and how the place was indebted to the Halqa-i-Arbab-i-Zauq for regular visits by learned personalities. At the end of the weekly meetings by the Halqa, all those attending were entertained at the Pak Tea House. However, there were two learned personalities who visited the place at their own sweet will: Professor Sufi Tabassum and Syed Abid Ali Abid.

Abid Sahib’s visits were treated as an event, with people eagerly gathering around him. A few had been his students while others behaved like his disciples and were all ears to hear him talk.

Unfortunately, Abid Sahib’s second marriage spelled disaster for him and his rivals launched a vicious campaign against him.

Meeno Chehar talks about this unpleasant situation and clarifies his position in this respect. In Karwaan-i-Guraan, Meeno Chehar also mentions Syed Sajjad Rizvi who was very close to Abid Sahib and remained unflinchingly faithful to him in this hour of adversity.

Rizvi was once a part of the Halqa and was a scholar in his own right. In addition to his scholarship in Urdu and Persian, he also specialised in Arabic. To study Arabic he lived in Lebanon for nine years. He too was a disciple of Abid Sahib. But the trouble with him was that he was an impatient soul and could not manage his affairs in a way that left him time to concentrate on the subjects dear to him and write extensively on them.

Abid Sahib moved among his contemporaries and was close to personalities such as Pitras Bukhari, Dr Taseer, Dr Syed Abdullah as well as being a guide and mentor to several young writers. Meeno Chehar was a witness to these relationships and so is in a position to write about them which makes this autobiography meaningful for those interested in literature and the literary world.