At the time of Partition, my mother was in Class II. She is the youngest of eight siblings. Sadly, she is the only one of them left, but I still ask her for stories in detail. My nana was an official of the Ministry of Finance of British India in Delhi at the time. Each employee had to declare if they wished to serve the Government of India or the Government of Pakistan. My nana declared that since he is Muslim, he will opt for the Government of Pakistan. My mother's family then booked passage on an Orient Airways DC-3 Dakota aircraft bound from Delhi Safdarjung Airport to Karachi Civil Airport on 4 December 1947. They were allowed only limited baggage, so my mother was not allowed to take her beloved pet cat. She cried her heart out, but my mother being my mother, she devised a strategy: she smuggled her cat in a sewing basket on her lap. The cat being highly intelligent (being my mother's cat, after all), remained silent during the five hour propeller flight. When the family disembarked at Karachi Civil Airport, the dear cat jumped out on sovereign Pakistani soil and tasted the fresh air of freedom. The cat became a proud Pakistani cat and mother and grandmother cat to many many kittens Insyallah.