Under the latticed Rajanigandha and Rose Petals
A Sister Remembered
Syeda Razia Faiz with the writer.
I left London on an autumn day when the leaves had already started falling, the trees jaundiced with different hues of yellow and brown, as I took my flight to Delhi. I had prayed endlessly asking the Almighty to give me a chance to be with my sister who was ailing in Dhaka. He listened to my prayers – I came to Dhaka on the seventh of November and spent six days with her. I touched her, felt her and tried to make conversation. She smiled and seemed happy at my presence but time was ripe for her to shuffle off the mortal coil. She breathed her last on an autumn afternoon, the 15th of November 2013 and left for the hereafter at the United Hospital in Dhaka. All sisters are special and so was my sister Razia apa, a sister whose last breath brought to an end an era of love, compassion and empathy for her family and for all of us to whom she was a role model.
As a child she nursed me as my mother was ill during my birth. I remember her wedding in Kolkata when I was three years old. A paragon of beauty personified, she was much admired on that day. Her marital journey brought her to the then East Pakistan where she settled with our very beloved brother-in-law Mohammad Abul Faiz and had four children.
In this part of the world she developed into a personality whereby all relatives of our extended family sought advice, trust and mutual respect from her. Her household both in Khulna and Dhaka became a centre for shelter, solace and merriment. Numerous weddings took place at her residence and relatives from all walks of life found a niche in that household that we remember to this day. We laughed on happy days, we cried together when we were sad and shared moments of joy when something momentous occurred. When my parents passed away she embraced me with her generosity of spirit that always shone when we were desperate. I found a mother in her and love in her children and shared with them my time, my love, my dreams and ambitions. I developed a relationship that bloomed into a mystical flower whose fragrance I still smell when I am away from them. Today in my quiet moments I dream of the children that she gave birth to and I pray that they be able to carry her legacy forward.
She is no more and we pray for her eternal peace and bliss in heaven. Amen. She taught me to love others, to be patient in times of despair, to share whatever one has with others, to carry forward the legacy that my parents left, to value and nurture Islamic principles, to have a goal in life and endeavour to achieve it however hard the journey may be and to believe in the Almighty Allah whose support is paramount in our existence, and lastly to give to others whatever we can when any soul is in trouble.
Her political legacy was one that we were proud of, she being the first woman in Bangladesh to have been elected to the Jatiyo Sangsad through a direct election (in 1979). Her personality coupled with her charisma to connect with the peopel developed her into a political icon, attracting respect and admiration from all walks of life.
The latticed flowers on her grave have by now dried up but her qualities and love will continue to touch us whenever we will think of her. Sister, as you lie in the moist earth, and the stars shine upon it, may the angels in heaven serenade around your soul and may the Lord give you eternal bliss. You are my evening star that will emit the much needed light in my quiet moments. In the words of Tagore.
'The stars crowd round the virgin night
In silent awe at her loneliness
That can never be touched'
Syeda Zakia Ahsan is the youngest sister of Late Syeda Razia Faiz
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