I got admission at T.I. School; Qadian in 1945.The Boarding House of the School was at a stone’s throw from the School. It had a huge gate which remained locked most of the time. The Boarders had to take permission from the Tutor to go out and was given a pass which he was required to show at the time of his re-entry to the Boarding House.

I was allotted a bed in a large dormitory with a cupboard to store my belongings. The Boarding House only supplied a Charpai (Wooden cot). The students had to bring with them their own beddings. There were four blocks and in the middle was an open courtyard. On one side of the building was a large Dinning room. At one end of a block there were washrooms and this area was called Tank Room. In it there were large tanks full of cold water for Wudu and for taking a shower. In winter months the water used to be almost frozen and performing Wudu was really a sacrifice. In the middle of the courtyard there was a hand water pump for drinking water.

The first six months were very tough for me as I could only speak Pashto and the language of the school was Urdu. As the majority of students hailed from Punjab they spoke in Punjabi among each other. There were three or four Pathan Boarders with whom I could speak in Pashto. Within a few months I was quite eloquent in Urdu but Punjabi was a difficult language. I could understand the language but was unable to speak in it. Moreover I never made a serious effort to learn Punjabi.

There was a very strict discipline in the Boarding House. Those who would break any rule were physically punished with a stick. Sometime they were quarantined in a separate room for a few days. No body would have any contact with them. It was a sort of solitary confinement.

We were woken up for Fajr prayers by the ringing of a bell. After a few minutes the Tutor, with a stick in hand, would check that every student had woken up and had gone to the Tank Room. We would do Wudu there and then return to the Courtyard where the Superintendent would have a roll call. We would then go to the nearest mosque in a single file reciting some Arabic prayers. There were group leaders who had ten students in their group. It was their duty to see that everybody in his group has done his Wudu properly. We would recite the Arabic prayer of entering the mosque in a loud voice.

The Imam at the mosque usually recited long Suras from the Holy Quran in the prayer. Some boys would go to sleep in Sajda (prostration). Many a times, they would still be in Sajda sleeping while the prayers were over. After the congregational prayer there was Dars (Commentary on the Holy Quran). At that age we did not have enough intellect to understand the Dars. Some boys would go to sleep in a sitting position while the Dars was given.

After Dars we would go to the Boarding House in a single file reciting some Arabic prayers. We were then asked to recite a portion of the Holy Quran loudly for about fifteen minutes. Then there was rest time for about an hour in which we usually slept. Some boys would do some exercise in the courtyard.
For breakfast the bell will ring and all of us would rush to the dinning room. We were not allowed to start our breakfast until the tutor had recited in a loud voice the Prayer before eating, in Arabic. The breakfast consisted of a plate of natural yogurt and a chapatti. Some boys would sprinkle sugar on their yogurt to make it a sweet dish. In the beginning it was very difficult for me to eat yogurt in breakfast instead of tea. Later we complained to the Superintendent and requested that special arrangements should be made for Pathan students to have tea instead of yogurt. Luckily he agreed and we were then served tea in breakfast.

After breakfast we would prepare for school and go to school once again in a single file. School was very close to the Boarding House.

There was an assembly in the morning in the open ground where all the students would assemble. The Headmaster and other teachers would stand in front of us. After the recitation of the Holy Quran a poem of Hazrat Khalifatul masih II was recited in a chorus by some students. Then the Headmaster would address the students for a few minutes.

After school we would return to the Boarding House where there would be a roll call. In summer months the school closed at 1’o clock in the afternoon. We would sleep for an hour until Asr prayers. But in winter the school hours were from 9 to 4 in the afternoon.

In the afternoon we were allowed to go out in the open fields of the School for sports. Usually football, volleyball and kabbadi were played. Our tutors would be there to keep an eye on us while playing. A few minutes before Maghrib prayers we would go to the Tank room to do Wudu and get ready for the prayers. It was the same routine of going to the mosque in a single file and reciting Arabic prayers.
In winter we were required to do home work between Maghrib and Isha prayers.
Lunch was simple. Lentil ( Dal) and chapattis. At dinner usually meat curries were served mostly Aloo Gosht, Bhindi Gosht, Chana dal and gosht etc. We were not allowed to have second helping except chapattis. On Thursday evening a sweet dish was also served. It usually used to be Firni, Gajrela or Kheer. We were not allowed to start eating until the tutor had recited the Arabic Dua of eating food in a loud voice.

Every boarder had an allowance for having a glass of milk and a Rusk from the Boarding Canteen during the day. We would sometime barter our allowance for something else like Barfi or buttered bun. Honey, jam or marmalade was never heard of in Qadian.

In Qadian there were two Afghan restaurants. They spoke Pashto and served tasty tea. I would go to one of this restaurant and buy Halva Gagger (Call it a carrot cake) from my pocket money. The owner being a Pathan always gave me two portions of Halva at the price of one.

Next to the Boarding House was a Swimming pool. We were allowed to swim in it once a week. I was not fond of swimming and would spend the time of swimming in going to the Pathan restaurant instead.
During the summer months there was a grand picnic at the Canal flowing near Qadian once a month. All residents of Qadian would go to the banks of the canal in groups with cooking utensils and food stuff. Our Boarding chef would take enough food stuff and would cook while we were swimming or playing games. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II and other members of his family would also spend the whole day at the Canal banks. Water polo was a favourite sport. Huzoor would join one team and the play would go on for quite sometime.

A fortnight before the summer vacations we would write on the walls the days left to the closing of the school. There used to be great excitement among the Boarders and everyone would be busy in booking his seat on the train. Promises of letter writing to each others during the vacations would be made. Addresses would be exchanged.