utside the students’ hostels at the University of Peshawar, Badam Gul, a frail, middle-aged man, sits on a cotton sack, his eyes fixed on the road, mind lost in deep thought, a gleaming weighing scale placed in front of him.

He waits for curious customers to show up so he can earn a measly Rs 300 a day. Every morning, Badam Gul walks one hour and thirty minutes to this spot, which lies under a tall, shady tree on the main street that passes through the hostels and leads to Madina Masjid and Madina Market. The wrinkles on his face speak of the years spent in scorching heat.

His hair turned white on the campus.

Many years ago, Badam Gul had worked as a labourer in the university hostels. It was after a traffic accident that left him with a broken leg that he had to shift professions. At one point, he sold hand fans on the campus, but that was a seasonal business and not quite profitable.

Apart from paying ten thousand rupees a month for the flat he lives in, he has to feed his wife, three sons and a daughter who has thalassemia.

His sons have been trying their luck at various jobs since an early age, but the city’s weak law and order situation has impeded their efforts. His eldest son, Ali, now in his early twenties, once worked as a delivery boy for a pizza restaurant in University Town. One night, while returning home along with a friend on the motorcycle he had bought for his pizza delivery job, Ali and his friend were stopped by robbers. Ali handed over his phone; his friend resisted and was shot. A few days later, Ali’s friend died. Haunted by the tragedy, Ali sold the bike and quit the job.

Badam Gul’s has been a life full of struggles. His youngest son went missing. A year later he found out that the boy was living in Hayatabad, working as domestic help at an affluent family’s residence.

The family took Gul to court for claiming his son to be returned after the boy had called him using another servant’s phone. The boy, Gul Badshah, finally returned to his family upon the court’s order.

Badam Gul’s life has returned to its usual lull. Day in and day out, he waits for customers. Holidays, he says, he despises because they mean fewer customers. The challenges presented by life have not broken Badam’s resilient spirit. He continues to work and support his family through one trial after another.

The writer is based in Peshawar. He can be reached at nadeemkhankpk13@gmail.com X@nadeemkwrites