Tag: Farouque Shaikh

As 2013 comes to an end

The year started and just whizzed by, not even giving me a few moments to pause and ponder. What did I do new this year? Nothing remarkable…. started several things and left them midway…

Lost one of my best friends to cancer and there is nothing and no one to fill that void. Miss you so much, Old Man, and I am sure I am not the only one. Atul, you meant much more to me than I ever admitted.

It is still difficult for me to believe that Atul is no longer going to be a comforting online presence; even as I struggle to accept that he is not there, another friend, who was just getting close  after several years of not being in communication had a fatal fall. You were a beautiful person, Kavita I wish we had more time to know you closely. I will always miss that friendship that never blossomed completely.

Just after Christmas, I got one more blow.  A man who was larger than life itself passed away. A well wisher, and an extremely talented actor, Farouque Saheb was one of the most down to earth person I have ever interacted with. I will miss his occasional phone calls and messages…

Life has its own ways… and while I am alive, I  must live my life to its fullest and on my own terms. People who are gone would not wish any less, I am sure, because each one of them lived their life on their own terms.

2013 also saw Aasim turn 16, an important milestone in his life; he gave his IGCSE this year and is growing up to become a fine man. I feel proud to be his mother. Next year he will be away from home, staying in a hostel for continuation of his education. Though as parents we feel we have equipped him to be on his own, somewhere there is a string that tugs… I guess that will always be there. It’s an emotional bond and I wish it stays that way.

Things changed a bit on work front, we  have a talented and much stronger team and a few products to be proud of. SANIsoft is embarking on new growth path and we are determined to take it to new heights.

I don’t know what 2014 will bring, as I write this I remember a very old and beloved friend who loved to say and sing Que Sera Sera… whatever will be will be, the future’s not ours to see.

 

Farooque Shaikh : As I knew him.

Farouque Sheikh
Farouque Sheikh

Some people are larger than life. Farooque Saheb was one of them. This morning I woke up to the news of his passing away and for a few minutes, it just did not sink in… It was not as if we talked or messaged on daily basis a phone call once in a year, a few messages exchanged was enough. When it came to greetings on festive occasions, more often than not I found myself replying to his greetings, and he beat me to it again, just a few days back on Christmas eve.

He was a celebrity,and one does not expect them to take initiative in maintaining relationships, and yet he was a man who took efforts to maintain relationships.

I still remember, like it happened yesterday, when a few years ago I received a handwritten letter from him asking for Dr. Zarina Sani’s book (which was not in publication) and our subsequent phone calls. It was his encouragement that made me start the Devanagari transcriptions of that Ammi’s works so that it can reach a wider audience. I will forever be indebted to him for that little push which I needed at that time;  when I did not believe I would be able to take up such a big task. He not only encouraged me to start the work, he took active interest in knowing what stage the work is in. When I published “Ekkyavan” on http://zarinasani.org, he wanted to have it in print, for his collection.

Farouque Saheb you will be missed and always remembered fondly. I see yet another vacuum in my life that can never be filled.