Aasima Jan
“Those narrow corridors witnessed sleepless nights, handwritten petitions, endless legal research, and the determination of advocates who built the legal foundation of Bandipora with dedication and dignity.”
The shifting of the Court Complex in Bandipora is undoubtedly a welcome and necessary step for the new generation of lawyers. Growth demands space, expansion and smart infrastructure. For the newcomers, this new complex symbolizes prospect, development and the beginning of promising careers. But for the senior advocates, this transition carries a very different emotion, one that words can hardly fully capture.
As a child, I witnessed my father, Advocate Jan Muhammad Sahib, grow, struggle and flourish within the walls of that old court complex. In those days, Bandipora only had a small Munsiff Court and there were merely a handful of lawyers who dedicated their lives to the profession. Advocate Jan Sahib, Advocate Malik Sahib, Advocate Amin Sahib(may Allah bless his soul with Jannat)Advocate Majeed Sahib, and Advocate Reyaz Sahib were among those few respected names who built not only their careers there but also the very foundation of legal practice in Bandipora.
The court was not merely a workplace for them, it was a second home. Its corridors had witnessed their youth, their hardships, their achievements and their silent battles. I still remember life inside the courtrooms was far different from what we see today. A clerk was lovingly called an “Agent” and I too became my father’s little agent. I would sort files, arrange papers and sit beside him at home writing petitions as he dictated every word to me.
There were no computers, no internet and no instant access to judgments. Everything was handwritten. The files carried not only papers but the hard work and sleepless nights of lawyers who dedicated their lives to the profession. Advocates would stay awake till late at night reading thick law books searching page after page for a single judgment. There were no shortcuts, no search engines and no easy commands to bring the law before your eyes within seconds.
In those times winning a case was not just professional success it felt like winning a war. Every victory carried the weight of countless hours of reading,sacrifice, struggle and patience. Lawyers truly put their blood and sweat into their work and the old court corridors silently witnessed all those battles.
Today with a single command hundreds of judgments appear instantly on a screen but perhaps the emotional connection between the struggle and the soul that existed in those days can never fully return.
Back in my Mohalla people would seek my suggestions simply because I belonged to a lawyer’s household. Somewhere along that journey without even realizing it I became a small pseudo celebrity in my locality carrying pride in my father’s name and in the world of law that shaped my childhood memories.
Today, the district court has grown far beyond what those early pioneers had once witnessed. Times have changed the institution has expanded and with that a new chapter has begun. Yet, for the seniors, this is not merely the shifting of a building.It is the shifting of memories.
It is walking away from the rooms where they spent the best years of their lives. It is leaving behind the corridors that once echoed with their footsteps, their arguments, their laughter, their anxiety and their dreams. Every wall of that old complex carried fragments of their youth and struggle.
To the junior lawyers I would only say embrace this new beginning with humility and respect. For you, the new court complex marks the start of a promising journey, but for many seniors, it is the farewell to a place that carried their countless memories, struggles and lifelong commitment.
Your seniors may not be familiar with smart buildings and modern systems, yet they carried the dignity and legacy of the legal profession with remarkable honesty, simplicity and wisdom. Those old courtrooms were not just workplaces, they were witnesses to their youth, their hard work, their sleepless nights and the countless stories that shaped their lives.
One day, time will place you exactly where they stand today. And then you too will understand the ache of walking away from a place that quietly held your entire journey within its walls.”
Buildings can be shifted. Memories cannot
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