Razaque Ahamat – A life remembered by Dr
Nihal D Amerasekera
The news of the demise of my friend
Razaque Ahamat brings great sadness as I recall our time together since we
started med school in 1962. Razaque was educated at St Anthony’s College
Wattala. He came from a sporting family where his father captained the 1st
XI Cricket Team at Wesley College in 1926 and his elder brother was a boxer and
an athlete. Razaque opened the batting for his school.
Because of our surnames “A” we sat together
at lectures, weathered the storms of the signatures and revisals and endured
the hardships of those clinical appointments. We both lived in Wattala and travelled
daily by train from Hunupitiya to Maradana in the carriages packed like
sardines. During those years, what stands out is his helpful kindness, his great
sense of humour and charming convivial nature. All through those years in the
Faculty he enjoyed life to the full. He joined in the many dances, Colours Night
and Block Nights that brightened up our lives. Razaque was often one of the last
of the stragglers to leave the King George’s Hall at the break of dawn.
At the Faculty, Razaque was often seen in
the Men’s Common Room with a “tea-punt”. Hard study was alien to his nature. He
was a keen bridge player and a fine raconteur. He had many stories to tell
which he related with a slight lisp which enhanced the narrative. He said, with a
murky smile, he descended from the Royal family in Penang. Fact or fiction, we
will never know just like the other hilarious stories in his repertoire. Razaque
brought happiness to our lives at the Faculty when the atmosphere was stuffy
and toxic.
Razaque was always self-confident and
forthright. What struck me most about him was his unusual mix of intelligence,
courage and humility. He always had time for the less fortunate and the less
able and a desire to treat everyone fairly and with dignity. He was generous
with his affection, encouragement, and kindness, giving freely of his time. He
was strong in his convictions and self-assured, yet docile and gentle in his
interactions. This self-effacing modesty, combined with an utterly unstuffy
attitude to fellow students in particular and life in general, was one of Razaque
’s trademarks.
After the Final Year Examination came the
great dispersal. Razaque had a stint in Moneragala as DMO. Then we met again at
the Central Blood Bank in Colombo in 1971. There we started where we left off
and resumed enjoying those evenings at our favourite watering hole at the
Health Department Sports Club. Razaque was appointed as the M.O Blood Bank in
Kandy where he worked for several years and we continued to meet in Kandy and
Colombo. We both emigrated to the UK around 1974. He was a registrar and then a
Senior Registrar at the Prestigious Haematology Department at St George’s
Hospital in Tooting, London.
After his training and post-graduate
examinations, Razaque was appointed Consultant Haematologist at the Royal
Victoria Hospital, Dundee in Scotland. He served the hospital with distinction
and took early retirement after which he worked as a Director of the
Transfusion Services in New Zealand. He was greatly respected for his work in the
antipodes. His work included much air travel visiting hospitals in the North and
South Island. After several years in New Zealand, Razaque returned to Dundee to
be with his close family. He and his wife Farina created a wonderful garden and
enjoyed looking after his plants. We spoke often on the phone reliving those
happy days in the Faculty, of mutual friends and of studies together. Razaque
had many cardiovascular problems that needed prolonged care and supervision. He
accepted the privations and hardship gracefully and without complaint. We were
fortunate to experience his wonderful self-deprecating humour on the blog for
several years.He took a liberal and cosmopolitan view of life. When speaking
about religion or life, often, it was so hard to make out if he was joking or
serious.
Those who attended the London Batch Reunion
in the 1990’s will remember Razaque proudly wearing the Scottish kilt with knee-length
skirt and long thick stockings. This costume suited the big man to a tee.
Razaque brought joy to our lives. He will be
sorely missed.
He is survived by his loving wife Farina
and their children Melati, Dr. Haji, Dr. Binthan & Dr. Bulang. We send our
condolences to the family at this most difficult time.
May he find Eternal Peace
Inna LillahiVa Inna IlaihiRajioon
From Him do we come and unto Him do we
return"
Nihal, Thank you for taking the time to write this fine appreciation of Razaque’s life .
ReplyDeleteI came to know him only in the last few years through his unique humour in the blog,
but enjoyed his sincerity in friendship .
We will truly miss him.
My sincere sympathy I extend to Farina , his children , and all those who have been close to him.
May he be at peace.
Rohini
ReplyDeleteIts great to see you back on the blog.
Losing Razaque has particularly hit me hard as we spent so many years together. Its a great pity we were so far apart in miles in these our twilight years. His photo does bring him back to life.
Cest la vie
Nihal, I am sorry this is so difficult for you- Having lost a close friend recently I understand just how you feel . I am seeing what Razaque was like for the first time in the photo in your appreciation. In spite of having known him only briefly, I am still stuck in disbelief that I will hear from him no more.
DeleteI hope you soon find solace in the joyful times you were fortunate to share with him. Take care.
Rohini, even after a lifetime of losing family and friends it hasn't got easier. So many memories surface of our faculty days when we were closest before career and families took precedence. Those indeed were our formative years. Razaque didnt fast for Ramazan those days but celebrated the end of the fast 'ID UL FITR' with a lavish party at his place when his mum cooked the best Malay food in the planet. My other pal Bernard Randeniya alias Claude Bernard partook in the food and the fun and sadly he too is no more.
DeleteI seek the wisdom of Omar Khayyam
“Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
Before we too into the Dust descend;
Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie
Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and--sans End!
Nihal,
DeleteThank you for another glimpse into your happy times with Razaque and Bernard.
I think cheery Razaque would also have been inclined to echo this verse from Omar Khayyam in a similar situation.
The following also from the Rubaiyat comes to mind-
“Strange,is it not? that of the myriad who
Before us pass’d the door of Darkness through,
Not one returns to tell us of the Road,
Which to discover we must travel too.”
Iam sure Razaque will keep in good spirits whatever the Road, just as he was while amongst us. Take heart .
The Rubaiyat is a store house of wisdom. I remember asking a Muslim friend from Jordan how Omar Khayyam got away with what he has written living circa 1000 AD in parochial, conservative and insular time in Persia. I never received a clear cut answer and your guess would be good as mine.
DeleteNIhal, my guess is that during Omar Khayyam's times Persia was mostly Zorastrian and that Islam was introduced later to Persia/Iran, (1500 or so). The Zorastrians emigrated to other countries (chiefly India, I think) and established the "Parsee" communities, as we now know them.
DeleteSrianee and Nihal, I don’t know much about the politics in Persia during Khayyam’s time, but I have read that K’s family were Muslim and his tutor was Zoroastrian, both of which would have influenced him. Though he was acclaimed for his mathematical and astronomical brilliance, none of his poetry was published during his lifetime - one of his poems goes like this-
Delete“The secrets which my book of love has bred,
Cannot be told for fear of loss of head;
Since none is fit to learn, or cares to know,
‘Tis better all my thoughts remain unsaid.” !!
I think there was a time he was in hiding too .
Much to think about and learn !
P.S. here’s a link to a good account including details of his scientific achievements.
Deletehttps://www.famousscientists.org/omar-khayyam/.
It also explains why he had to go into hiding.
Nihal, Thank you for writing this heartfelt appreciation. You obviously had a long and close relationship with him. He was very friendly and a warm personality, and because of my other friends in the "A section" of Medical College, I feel as if I got to know him fairly well while we were students. As I said in my comment on Lucky's post, my last 'live' conversations with Razaque were at the London reunion, where he showed up in his Scottish kilt! He made quite an impression. It was great that in spite of his health problems he made an effort to stay in touch on the Blog. We will miss him dearly. May he find Rest in Peace.
ReplyDeleteHi Srianee
DeleteWelcome back. I did feel sad at our loss but the time has come to celebrate his life and remember him for the wonderful life he lead being a reliable and helpful physician and a good friend. Thank you for your comments and do keep in touch.
Thank you for sharing Omar Khayyam's wise words "Ah make the most of what we yet may spend....." and reminding us how important it is to do so. I try to live by that mantra these.days.
DeleteSince we are on the topic of wisdom mediated sayings, how many of you have heard of the Yogi Sadhguru? He speaks eminent common sense. e.g.,“The choice is always before you: to respond consciously to the present; or to react compulsively to it. There is a vast difference between the two. And it can make the world of a difference.” – Sadhguru. If you want to change your life for the better, start acting consciously, not compulsively. Act consciously. Dress consciously. Eat consciously. Talk consciously. Walk consciously.
DeleteDon’t just live your life unconsciously on autopilot like most people, doing the same things day after day without thinking about it. Actually think about what you’re doing and why.
“The nature of the universe is that even if you do the right things for the wrong reasons it still works. But if you do the wrong things even for the right reasons it doesn’t work. People need to understand this.” – Sadhguru
Thank you Mahen , I agree- Sadhguru does speak down to earth common sense-
DeleteFunny at times too !
I like the way Omar K ends that little poem
Delete"Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and--sans End!"
"Sans end" gives it such poignant meaning and much food for thought.
From Asoka Wijeyekoon
ReplyDeleteHi ND Thanks Sorry to hear of our colleagues passing I last met him some years ago in our cruise to New York just before 9/11 Earlier met Razak at our get together in England
You have recounted interesting moments with him and no doubt was friends with him Pretty clear he had a productive life He must surely be proud of his children
Death comes to us all and we are more at risk than ever before
Let us pray for his soul and offer condolences to his grieving family
Please if you can pass this on to his family
Asoka
I have already posted this under the Obituary notice but thought it might be fitting to publish it in this thread too.
ReplyDeleteI was saddened to learn of Razaque's passing away initially through ND who read the obituary notice in the Sunday Times and subsequently in our blog. Razaque had an amazing and witty sense of humour and had that priceless ability of laughing at himself. He always saw the funny side of things. He approved of me calling him "my substantial friend"! I am so sorry that I couldn't meet him in Scotland although attempts at finding a suitable time were made. I corresponded by email and the occasional telephone call and was aware of his many medical problems. He always joked about the short time left for him on Planet Earth. This excerpt from one of his posts on the Blog is typical of him."...found to have had a so called "Cardiac Event" After all the investigations was sent home after 4 days with only continuation of my present therapy with addition of an anti platelet medication and no interventions. Have lived to tell the tale ....... AGAIN!!!!
Missed out on God's flight---- still lingering in the 'His' Waiting Room / /Departure lounge!!!".
He was a devout Muslim, a loyal husband, dutiful son, loving father and above all, a true Human being. May he Rest in Peace
Thanks Mahen for the post. I am proud of my ability to recall events of people and places and wish I had this same memory for academia.
ReplyDeleteIn all the years I have known Razaque I can never recall him falling out or speaking ill of anyone. He had a wonderful attitude to life which he lived to the full in all the years I've known him. His ability to see the virtue and goodness in everyone amazes me still and is one of his most remarkable attributes.
As we have all dispersed far and wide it is never possible to meet face to face except occasionally or never at all. But the social media nowadays make it so much easier to keep in touch. Lucky and a few of us have worked hard to to make this possible through this blog keeping its fires burning . It is disappointing not to have more from our batch join in. This is a friendly request and not a criticism.
From Dhushianthy Vedavanam
ReplyDeleteThank you Nihal for letting me know. I am deeply saddened by his demise. I would like to send me condolences to his wife Farina. They were such lovely people and Razak and Farina were so kind to Sivakumar when he first came to UK and kept him under their roof until he found his foot in the door way.
Kind Regards
Dhushy
From Dhushy
ReplyDeleteNihal I just read the blog and your great and moving appreciation of a close friend. May I add that I totally endorse your view that he was good human being who saw the virtues in every one and never spoke ill of anyone. I know he had s wonderful sense of humour. I have been in touch with him after Sivakumar's death and spoken to Farina on the phone a few times.
I am aware he had health problems but he never failed to inquire after me. Sivakumar was so fortunate to have such a wonderful friend.
My thought and prayers go out to Farina and the children.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.