Hobbies of Old Times: From My Memory

6-9-2018

-        Shortly before the mid-seventies of the last century, when I was an employee at Arab Bank ... Jabal Al-Hussein branch.... My rural origins did not prevent me from thinking about learning to play music ... I was dazzled by city society... in Amman... at that time... and by how, at some evening gatherings, people would celebrate the appearance of a lute player among the guests, who would play and sing and the evening would become delightful to the strains of that playing, and we held the player in additional and special respect compared to others... So I said, after everyone had gone to his home... why don't I learn to play music... and find myself a foothold in the world of music parallel to my work ... and a calm for its tension.... I did not say this only to myself, but to one of my colleagues. The next day he was astonished by the idea and said, "يا زلمي شو اللي داير عليه" .."this is something that won't put bread on the table,... and besides where are you coming from my brother... you are a peasant... not ... I refuse to believe you will become a musician....!!" But I was determined and I told him this is not a profession I will practice for a living.. but rather something I like.. and I want to climb a rung on this ladder that we carry in our minds.... And leave your ideas... and concepts... about dividing people... into peasant and urban for yourself.. these are outdated concepts.. and no one will share them with you...

-        And in my defense of the countryside..... I said to him repeating and laughing... "Man, enough that the top graduates of the Tawjihi are all from village students... every year.!!" And we laughed.. two colleagues... fond of one another... and this dialogue was only in the spirit of jest... and strengthening ties and bonds... bearing in mind their deep faith in those days in that saying — that intelligence comes from the countryside — which was the view of some of the countryside people... among the employees, passersby and clients who frequented the city to complete their transactions... at the government departments... headquartered in that beautiful capital... since they did not have government electronic applications in those times!

-        I was determined to knock on music's door, and by coincidence one of my friends gifted me a guitar in those days... not electric of course... and a special pick. I liked it for running over the strings while playing... but first and foremost I had to learn musical notation, and after I asked someone about the steps to learn music, to my surprise my colleague — the one who had opposed my inclination — told me there are artists who give music lessons... And indeed my colleague and I went to the late artist — I remember his name was Fouad Mallas — and I registered my name with him in exchange for paying 5 dinars for each session as I recall. I attended 4 sessions over several days to learn notation. The late Mallas taught me the notes for some popular songs of those days... so I was able to play a piece of the song "Enta Omri" by Umm Kulthum and the piece "Risalatan Min Taht Al-Ma'" by Abdel Halim Hafez... and the composition "The Jordanian Royal Anthem"... I did not complete the music lessons, as I left the country to take up a banking job.... I had to leave the guitar with relatives or friends... so I chose to keep it with relatives of mine in Amman... and when I returned for the annual vacation I went to check on the guitar... and it was broken (maktoush). I was very saddened..... and I buried my hobby in its cradle... When I returned as an employee to Arab Bank in Jabal Al-Hussein again after an absence of two years abroad.... I found friends and colleagues still cordial and cheerful... but they flooded me with questions after they learned the fate of the guitar... and said why didn't you take it with you when you traveled? I said to them... don't you know that music (in that time) was taboo in that country... and its instruments were considered satanic tools; their owners, carriers and players were held accountable... unlike the present time... One of them answered, "ما قلنالك الدنيا مقسمة..." and "this music of yours won't put bread on the table....." and "this also is not your garment..." I told him... this is not a profession, but a hobby... and I want to develop it... and wear that garment you are talking about..!!...... Yet they killed my persistent attempts to keep up the momentum toward change.... in my imagination....... I called it changing the pattern of thinking among people to take them to... other levels of life concepts.... and to move away from dogmas... and fight every new thing...!!!

-        The community of colleagues at Arab Bank in Jabal Al-Hussein was a fraternal community, carrying and practicing the idea of collegiality with a brotherly hue... We used to work late hours, especially at month-end or when there were discrepancies in the manual accounting that we used in those days, and we would not close and return to our homes until all departments were reconciled with the accounts, even if that meant staying at the workplace until midnight...... but we were happy, ... although the colleagues were from different origins and geographic areas. The branch, which was established in 1974 as an office or agency and later became a branch, was led by its founder and capable manager, may he be remembered well, the late Ibrahim Shaheen, "Abu Khalil," who taught us the basics of banking in their proper and comprehensive form..... and taught us and produced tough bankers.... we boast of our apprenticeship at his hands... the banks of the world!!. Despite his known firmness and strict standards, he was our teacher...

-        I was convinced by the late Ibrahim Shaheen "Abu Khalil" to replace my hobby of music with another hobby that attracted me in those times as well, which was hunting. The late man was a skilled hunter of the highest order and used to tell us a lot about the hunting trips he took with colleagues who shared the same hobby, which planted in me this hobby that I could not practice and learn properly except during my studies for an MBA in Business Administration at Tarleton State University, Texas A&M in 1979... where I acquired my first shotgun easily... and learned shooting as a hunter.... I added other hobbies to hunting during the two years I spent obtaining the degree, including: the hobby of playing tennis, which I had learned earlier at the American University in Cairo (AUC) at the beginning of 1979, and I practiced it well, in addition to new hobbies such as squash and fishing and swimming and the art of cooking.... After finishing my studies in Texas in 1981 I returned to Amman.... and to the same Arab Bank branch in Jabal Al-Hussein... and in early 1982 I worked as assistant branch manager, who was still the late Ibrahim Shaheen "Abu Khalil"... Then after his legal retirement, a distinguished banking teacher followed him: Mr. Abdel Hamid Al-Attari "Abu Muhammad," the brother, friend and former colleague, whom I held in all respect and affection; may God prolong his life. I acquired a shotgun - a double-barreled - and its license and obtained a hunting license from the competent authorities in due form..... and I began practicing my hobby of hunting.. and began acquiring more than one firearm.... When I traveled to work with Arab Bank in Al-Hudaydah, Yemen in 1987... I kept my hunting weapons this time with a dear friend of peasant background, the Sikh, entrusted to him for maintenance... and when I visited Amman I would practice hunting in licensed places, where we used to make "qala'iat" (which they call "al-'uqda" in Yemen) of finches, pigeons and other types of partridge birds.... The hunting hobby has remained with me to this day... and I hope the vision remains sound ... so I do not see a rabbit as two rabbits...!!!.

-        As for music... today, societal concepts and thinking patterns have changed... Yesterday's taboo on music has turned into a wide space... of welcome and acceptance... but for the children and grandchildren... for I no longer remember from the pieces I played in the past except the name of the piece and its singer... "Risalatan Min Taht Al-Ma'" by the late singer Abdel Halim Hafez.. and it seems that I have now floated on the surface of the water.... without fear... of the seas of music.... And according to the theory of aging and the theory of generations, and so that my hobbies do not become extinct... I have succeeded in cloning part of them to my children... male and female.... As for the other hobbies... time has taken its toll ... and we no longer practice them except for walking as exercise these days... We have encountered many obstacles such as the lack of places to practice them or the prohibition on practicing them... and this is accompanied by the succession of generations... and its consequences...

-        So let the course of generational change work... and let the course of change for these generations proceed... with... breezes of freedom... to raise generations... that build and protect the homelands... with knowledge and skills and hobbies... and work....
All greetings to all...the Arab generations...