When our youngest son Dr. Imran Aslam expressed his desire to see us at the convocation ceremony where he was to be awarded the degree of MRCP (Member of the Royal College of Physicians), it was a joyous moment for us. The 3,000-mile journey from Jeddah to London took seven hours. Our son and his newly-wed wife Dr. Saba Aslam received us at the Heathrow airport. Imran has been in the UK for five years and working in the Rotherham General Hospital for the last three years. The convocation ceremony was attended by parents of about 200 doctors who were receiving MRCP degrees. It was great to see a large number of young boys and girls from the subcontinent and a few Muslims among them as awardees. The English are well-known for their punctuality and this was evident as the function started and finished at the announced timings. We then went to the Jama Masjid at Regent Parks to offer prayers and thank the Almighty Allah. We began our sight-seeing with Madame Tussauds museum. On request, the guide took us to Sharukh Khan's model. She informed us that Sharukh Khan himself had unveiled the statue last year as per the museum tradition. In this museum you stand face to face with kings, rulers, artists, poets, writers, politicians, sportsmen and others. Madame Tussauds museum is the center of attraction for people coming from all over the world. Established in 1835, Madame Mary Tussaud had confined the museum to the heroic personalities of the 1789 French Revolution. With passage of time, British rulers and others became an important part of the museum. The Buckingham Palace, residence of the English Royals, is indeed a unique feat of architectural perfection. On the southern bank of River Thames between Westminster and Waterloo Bridge is the British Airways built skyscraper, from where one can view the city of London in entirety. Later, a poetic gathering was arranged by the alumni of Osmania, Aligarh and Karachi Universities. Aqeel Jafavi entranced the audience reciting the poetry of his professor and Vice Chancellor of Karachi University Dr. Peerzada Qasim. Anwar Ahsan and Farooq Ahmed, of Aligarh and Osmania universities, respectively, recited the poetry of Jigar and Maqdoom Mohiuddin. After our 20-day stay in London we returned to Jeddah where our elder son Dr. Aman Aslam received us. On our wish, he took us directly to the International Indian School's auditorium where a grand All-India Mushaira was in progress. __
