He was friendly and cheerful and always happy despite the fact that many customers would make fun of him.
LONDON: When I was a teenager, I would often take a route home that would take me past Bilawal House. This was the time Ansar was working at the restaurant, China Town. He was friendly and cheerful and always happy despite the fact that many customers would make fun of him because of his height. At times, I even gave him a lift so that he could reach his home quicker. I became somewhat of a friend of his because of that — in the car he would talk about his life, and how unequal he thought it was, and how good he felt that someone who wasn’t from his background (me), was helping him out.
Then there was big gap and I didn’t meet him for over a decade. And then I ran into him at Pizza Hut — and he still remembered me. His death is a tragedy and may Allah give his family the courage to bear loss.
Umair Niazi
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2011.
