By Zohra Chattterji

مت سہل ہمیں جانو پھرتا ہے فلک برسوں
تب خاک کے پردے سے انسان نکلتے ہیں

“Mat sahal hume jaano,
Phirta hai falak barson…
Tab khaak ke parde se,
Insaan nikalte hain”

-Mir Taqi Mir

Our beloved brother, Dr.Ahmed Zaheer, was one such multifaceted, larger than life, one in a million, beautiful soul, who the heavens searched out for us, but alas, his mortal body could not contain his expansive spirit. He exuded, unconditional love and warmth, and his smiling face will remain in our hearts forever.

Ahmed came into this world with a huge humanitarian legacy as the great grandson of Sir Wazir Hasan, the first Chief Justice of the Awadh Court and the grandson of Syed Ali Zaheer, a member of the first interim cabinet of our country and the law minister of Uttar Pradesh for over a decade. From his mother’s side, he carried the legacy of his grandfather, the great educationist, Khwaja Ghulam-us-Saiyadain, who himself belonged to the family of the scholar, poet and writer, Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali.

Ahmed ably carried forward his twin legacies, firstly as a hugely humane and altruistic person wedded to justice, philanthropy and care of the weak. At the same time, he had the sensitivity of a poet. He loved music and poetry. “Gathering friends together over an evening filled with splendid food and wine, poetry, music and gentle conversation were second nature to him”. He drew his family and friends together into bonds of camaraderie and friendship, which he cemented with his smiling face, his words of wisdom and pictures of the little paradise on earth, which he so lovingly created, at Dagshai for himself, and his near and dear ones, specially his mother. His single-minded devotion and love for her was exemplary.

In his chosen profession, Dermatology, Dr Ahmed Zaheer, was the best…so much so that it was tough to get an appointment and a child once wonderingly asked if he was the only doctor in the world of his kind. Indeed he was! While pursuing his PhD in immunology, he was part of the team that made the only successful leprosy vaccine in the world for which he received the President’s award. He worked initially at Harvard medical school as a fellow and then in India with Apollo and Max hospitals. At Max, he was the Director of the dermatology department. He remained an international fellow of the American Academy of dermatology in recognition of his good standing in the field.

Ahmed was blessed with Shifa, the power of healing. His brother Yousuf Zaheer is a living example of Ahmed’s devotion and indomitable spirit as a doctor. Along with his team of cousins, Iski Arshi and Bharat, Ahmed insisted on setting up a fully equipped ICU at home, pulling Yousuf out of hospital at the height of Covid and assuring him that he would pull him through. He even permitted 2 tablespoons of whiskey in the evenings to help him feel normal and back in the flow. Ganeive remembers and I quote, “anyone who has received his tight meaningful warm embrace knows that he was able to communicate with his reassuring hug as much as he did with his beautiful poetry. His words were always reassuring and his advice always peppered with a good dose of humour.” His cousin, Saleem Zaheer writes from the US, “Dear brother, you are not gone. You remain as close, always. No separation. Permeated. One. Your smile and generosity of spirit are infused in me…my sense of closeness and an open connection with you is eternal”. Salman Zaheer adds from the US, “it has been a monumental gift to have had Ahmed in my life and the lives of Inji and my daughters. He was the family’s first stop for medical advice, the source of inspiration and joy, a shining example of selflessness”.

Ahmed’s devotion extended far beyond family. He reached out and helped each one who came into contact with him. Like a great big oak tree, he gave shelter to all. The staff at Hailey Road all bear an orphaned look. The man at the gate said to me, “hum
logon par kya guzar rahi hai koi nahin samajh paega!” He was their munificent benefactor.

A few years after his fiftieth birthday, Ahmed announced that he would now be entering into a new phase of life when he would like to explore the realm of Sufi thought and we saw him evolve towards his goal. Today he has attended it and is one with his Creator. Though he has left us torn and bewildered, struggling to face reality, let us rejoice for him, for the blessed life he lived and the happiness he enjoyed with his closest family in his last moments, before he went peacefully to his Creator, without pain or suffering.

I will close with his own words:

The cup with bitter or sweet may run,
The wine of life oozes out drop by drop.
Each morning, brings forth a thousand roses,
But where whithered the rose of yesterday?
In life what you collect, you must spread
Before we too into dust descend
Without wine, without song,
Without life!

Rest in peace dear Ahmed!