FROM LANTERN TO BULB AND TELEPHONE -THE BIGGEST REVOLUTION IN EKSARI VILLAGE

The People Of Eksari Village Still Remember That Day, When The Electric Bulb Lit Up For The First Time In The Streets Of Eksari Village And The Telephone Bell Rang… And People Wondered- Who Made This Dream Come True?

Because That Day,

The Air Was Filled With The Smoke, The Sun Had Hidden Behind The Mountains, And Eksari Village Was Ready To Spend Another Night In Darkness.

Children Were Roaming Around The Lantern, Elders Were Listening To Stories Sitting Near The Fire Of The Stove…

Everything Was Feeling The Same As Before.

But This Evening There Was A Strange Warmth In The Air- As If A Storm Was About To Come.

And After A Few Days, The Same Storm Covered The Streets Of The Village Eksari With Light,

And The Voices For The First Time Made Their Journey Through The Paths Of Stars.

After Hearing This, Such A Commotion Started In The Village Eksari That It Was Going To Change The Fate Of The Entire Village Eksari.

There Were Two Faces Behind This And Their Intentions Were Faster Than Lightning.

The Very Next Week, Early In The Morning, A Truck Entered The Eksari Village Courtyard.

It Had Big Iron Pillars And Some People With It Who Started To Lift Them.

Children Were Roaming Around Them As If There Was A Fair.

Women Were Peeping From The Windows And The Elders Were Standing Quietly, With A Question In Their Eyes- Is The Light Really Coming Out?

It Turned Out That This Is Not Just The Work Of The Government But Is The Result Of The Hard Work Of Two People From The Village Eksari.

A Father And A Son- Who Ran Around Government Offices For Months, Prepared A Storehouse Of 

Papers And Did Not Give Up Even After Hearing Come Tomorrow Every Time.

Playing During The Day, Planning At Night And A Single Dream Every Moment-

To Bring The Village Eksari Out Of Darkness.

And Then That Day Came…

When The First Bulb Was Lit In The Evening, It Seemed As If A Star Had Descended On The Earth.

The Children Began To Clap, The Elders Remained Silent For A Moment Or Two… Then They Said-

Today Eksari Village Has Become A City.

A Few Days Later, A Telephone Booth Was Also Installed. The First Time A Mother Heard Her Son's 

Voice While Working In The Town- Ammi, I Am Fine…, Tears Rolled Down Her Eyes.

It Was Not Just A Telephone, It Was A Link- Between The Village Eksari And The World.

Even Today, When The Light Is Lit Up At Night, People Silently Smile Upon Seeing Each Other-

As If They Are Saying:

If Those Two Were Not There, Eksari Village Would Still Sleep In The Dark.

And When The Secret Behind This Change Was Revealed, The Entire Village Eksari Was Chanting Only One Name- Masood Haider… And His Son Shamveel Haider.

Father And Son, But The Dream Was The Same. One Had Kept The Experience Intact In The Purity Of His Children, The Other Had Passion In The Strength Of Youth.

On A Winter Morning, When People Were Drinking Tea Wrapped In Woolen Shawls Near The Stove, Masood Haider Would Be Seen Standing In A Line At The Office Door.

A Bag Of Papers On The Shoulder, And A Single Intention In The Heart- Every Home Has The Right To Light.

Shamweel Haider Had A Different Colour, Go On His Scooter To The Post Office, Telephone Exchange Or Some Clerk’s Office.

There Was A Sparkle In His Eyes- As If He Was Saying, The Village Eksari Will Not Only Get Light, But Also A Sound.

Neither The Heat Nor The Rain Stopped After A Month Of Running.

The Government’s Tomorrow Did Not Break Our Courage Or Enthusiasm.

And Then… That Day Came When The Iron Pillars Stood Upright, The Wires Stood Erect, 

And The First Bulb Lit Up.

Masood Haider Silently Looked Towards The Sky As If He Was Thanking Allah.

Shamweel Haider Hit The Stand Of His Scooter And Went Straight And Stood Near 

The Telephone Booth- Now The Light Of Sound Is Also Coming.

Even Today, When An Elderly Person Smokes A Hookah Under An Electric Bulb At Night, 

Or A Mother Talks To Her Son Over The Telephone, The Eksari Villager’s Quietly Say-

These Two Were The Ones Who Broke The Darkness.

Some People Become Torches In The Journey Of Light, And Some People Become Bridges In The Path Of Sound.

Every Bulb Shining In The Sky Of The Eksari Village, And Every Word Humming 

In The Telephone, Even Today I Am Thankful To Their Footsteps.