Today was one of those days when you just wake up sad. July 11, 1999, was a tragic day for our entire family when we lost Dr. Ejaz Haider: a son, father, husband, brother, friend and mentor.
Ejaz Bhai was a lot of things to a lot of people. He was brilliant in his professional life, compassionate in all his human interactions and a role-model for a lot of us. What do you call a person like him: Perfect. A likeable perfect.
I was still a gawky teenager when we lost him but the lessons I learnt from him still shape my behaviour. He was an amazing listener, with insightful guiding questions. He taught me the importance of role-models for younger people in the family. Whenever I take time to talk to the younger lot, ask them how they are doing, what they are reading, what recently inspired them, how they view the world —it's only because I know Ejaz bhai would have done it if he was in the same room.
Our lives would all have been very different if he was still alive. Last year when we were talking about him on the same date (on email of course, everyone being so globally spread now) my father said that we should all continue to talk about Ejaz, so that he stays alive and we can pass on his personality to all the younger kids in the family who now only see his pictures on the wall. I agree. Maybe I should dig out baba's email and post it here.
So what was your favourite memory of Ejaz Bhai?
Ejaz Bhai was a lot of things to a lot of people. He was brilliant in his professional life, compassionate in all his human interactions and a role-model for a lot of us. What do you call a person like him: Perfect. A likeable perfect.
I was still a gawky teenager when we lost him but the lessons I learnt from him still shape my behaviour. He was an amazing listener, with insightful guiding questions. He taught me the importance of role-models for younger people in the family. Whenever I take time to talk to the younger lot, ask them how they are doing, what they are reading, what recently inspired them, how they view the world —it's only because I know Ejaz bhai would have done it if he was in the same room.
Our lives would all have been very different if he was still alive. Last year when we were talking about him on the same date (on email of course, everyone being so globally spread now) my father said that we should all continue to talk about Ejaz, so that he stays alive and we can pass on his personality to all the younger kids in the family who now only see his pictures on the wall. I agree. Maybe I should dig out baba's email and post it here.
So what was your favourite memory of Ejaz Bhai?
