 The Pundit and the Maulvi
 During October 1997, I departed for Oxford on Queen Elizabeth House Fellowship. I was to stay at North Oxford Overseas Centre, affectionately called the NOOC located at 107 and 117, Banbury Road. The NOOC is a registered charity and is run on the non-profit basis. It provides accommodation to overseas scholars and provides them a real taste to the international living.
My room was on the ground floor of the 107, the building where Indian Civil Servants stayed. It was a complete suite tastefully done in greyish blue. It had large bay windows with lace curtains, overlooking the main gate, and I could watch everyone coming and going.
The NOOC was always filled with lovely people from over thirty nationalities. With them I shared a wonderful life. The two persons who became my best friends in NOOC, initially appeared to be totally opposite to each other. One was a Pundit and the other was a Maulvi. The Pundit was Professor Das, Professor of Sanskrit from Sagar University in India and a scholar at the Oriental Institute of Oxford University. The Maulvi was Professor Zia, Professor of Islamic Theology from the University of Peshawar in Pakistan and a scholar at the Institute of Islamic studies at the University of Oxford.
 Both were deeply religious and held fast to their moral values. They were extremely dedicated to the areas of their studies and did nothing but work. Gradually, it dawned on me that they were very similar. Initially they were hoping to maintain some distance between them but eventually they developed a perfect understanding, respect for each other and spent a great deal of time together.
Zia always did his Namaz (Prayers) five times a day or even more because whenever I strayed into his room I always found him on his knees. On the other hand, Das was very punctual with his Yoga and Meditation, reading of scriptures and trying to mould his life, accordingly.
Zia wore a beard and had the get up of a ‘dyed in the wool Mullah’ but as I got to know him I realised that he was a true seeker of God. He was very human. A very earnest husband and a very loving father to his four children and missed his family every moment of the day. On the other hand, Das spent most of his scholarship on telephoning to India and speaking to his little daughter. (Rest of his money was spent in buying a lap top computer, his loving child, which he hugged all the time).
 Both of them were very sporting. During a party we asked Zia to sing and he surprised us by singing a ‘Pashto lover song.’ When we organised an Indian night in the NOOC (which was really an Indian, Pakistani, Srilankan and Nepali night) I asked Zia to act as ‘Hakim Tarachand.’ He very charmingly obliged while we girls danced around him singing the Punjabi folk song ‘Hakim Tarachand jara kothe pe aajaa.’ (Dr. Tarachand please come to my terrace).
Not to be left behind, Das often regaled us by his vigorous tap dance steps. He also loved to cook for people. There was not an Indian scholar in Oxford who had not been extended hospitality by Mr. Das. I was a constant guest at all such gatherings of eminent scholars.
One of Zia’s pet theories was that during medieval period ‘King Arthur’ of England had converted to Islam (which no English scholar wanted to believe). But lo and behold! Right there at Oxford, under our very noses, he had found the evidence in the possession of Ashmolean Museum, the coins struck by ‘King Arthur’ with the sacred name of ‘Allah’ inscribed on them.
Zia had come on a short fellowship of three months but the quality of his work had been so good that no sooner he returned to Pakistan that he was re-invited to Oxford on a longer and more prestigious fellowship. He arrived back on time to say an affectionate goodbye to me. The Queen, made reference to his work in her speech made during her 50th year of Independence goodwill visit to Pakistan.
 Work of Mr. Das was also highly commended. He was invited to give lectures in France and Germany. He spent considerable time teaching Sanskrit to a lot of foreign scholars from England, Thailand, Korea, Germany, etc. In addition he completed a book about his Guru, a Saint Philosopher of Orissa.
The day I was leaving Oxford I had my last meal with Mr. Das which ended with our sharing a dish of cherries with cream. He rode with me as far as the Oxford coach station to say a tearful goodbye. From there I had to make it alone to the airport and to India to be back with my old life and old friends. But the Pundit and the Maulvi will always remain in a happy corner of my heart.
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