Mohalla Haji Gulab is indicated as a red dot on the sketch. Prem Dua was born in Mohalla Haji Gulab, Bhera, district Sargodha. His father, Lala Sant Ram owned/leased lands and owned a mehndi business and was a well-known figure in Bhera and surrounding villages. ( For details about Mehndi, also called Henna, see Wikipedia.) Prem Dua’s Tayya, Mr Devidas, was a science teacher at Government High School, Bhera. He lived just opposite Dua Sahib’s house in Mohalla Haji Gulab.
Prem Dua studied in Municipal Committee Primary School No 2 ( 1876), Mohalla Sheikhanwala, close to Chirri Chog Darwaza ( Qabli Gate 1865). Then it was till Class lV. Later, Dua joined the Government High School for Boys, Bhera. The school was established around 1882 in Kacheri Bazaar, next to the old Bhera Police Station (1870) and later, shifted to the new building in 1927, near the terminal Bhera Railway Station (Circa: 1881). The old building became the boys’ hostel.
When the Partition of British India was in 1947, Prem Dua was in the 8th Class, about 11/12 years old (they started school early). In India, he became a veterinary doctor, and for a couple of years, he taught at the veterinary college. In 1961, he went to America for higher studies. He did a Master’s and Ph D from the States and since then worked there in the veterinary field.
Dr. Dua has a great love for Bhera, his birthplace. He vividly remembers his childhood spent there. He has visited Pakistan and Bhera a few times. Presently, he is 87 and lives a retired life in Washington, D.C.
Pictures of his visit to his mohalla, Haji Gulab and ancestors’ house are shared in a form of a video clip.
To be continued …
Zahid Mumtaz
Additional pictures, Mohalla Haji Gulab, Bhera, district Sargodha
