PM's friend takes back to Pak 'fond memories' of Mohna

Amritsar, Jun 16 (UNI) Raja Mohammed Ali carries back to home in Pakistan fond memories of his meeting with his childhood friend and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whom he met in New Delhi recently.

A resident of Gah village in Chakwal district of Pakistan, Ali was given a warm farewell at the DAV Public School here today.

DAV School Principal Neera Sharma presented a photograph of the PM to Ali, showing the two childhood friends wearing matching 'tilley wali juttis'.

Despite the feeling of sadness, Ali joined the 'bhangra' presented by students and enjoyed the Punjabi numbers dished out by the young boys and girls of the school.

Later while talking to the media, Ali recalled his meeting with the Prime Minister and said when he met 'Mohna', he did not know how to greet him. ''Mohna entered the room at the PMs residence and spontaneously hugged me,'' he said, while recalling the affection and warmth shown by the one who had become the Prime Minister of one of the biggest countries of the world.

''When I presented a pair of Chakwali 'tilley wali juttis' to him, the PM took off his shoes and wore them,'' he recalled.

Ali during the meeting also presented the PM soil of the village and school, where 'Mohna' and he had studied. He even invited Dr Singh to visit his ancestral village as the people there were anxiously waiting to meet him.

''After presenting the 'juttis' I wrapped the 110-year-old ''lachcha'' (shawl), a family heirloom that had been woven in silk by my grandparents, around the PM,'' he recalled, adding that the Prime Minister had enquired about the residents of the village and even reminded him of many interesting episodes from their childhood days.

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