Mere Jaani Dost Naqi Bhai – A Tribute
By Dr Suresh Borkar
Chicago, IL
The late Prof Naqi Akhter
There are a few moments in our lives which we would like to block out of our minds as if they never happened. Hearing about Naqi Bhai’s departure was such a moment for me. There are a few friends in our lives whose friendships we cherish and who we never want to lose. Naqi Bhai was such a jaani dost for me. There are a few people in the world who we feel are gems of humanity bringing humanity together. Naqi Bhai was one such insaan for me.
To Naqi Bhai, there were no Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Isais, Buddhists, Yahudi, or Zoroastrians. We were all members of one family of faith, a faith of not religious variety but faith based on respect and love for each other. To Naqi Bhai, there was no Pakistan, Hindustan, or Bangladesh. We all were members of one nation of people with a common root and culture, an ancient culture imbibed with richness and resilience and embellished with influences which make us inclusive and tolerant. To Naqi Bhai, there were no segmented heavens decreed by different Gods, Goddesses, or prophets. We were all ordained with souls who would live with genuine peace in a common restful heavenly abode after we depart our earthly bodies.
Naqi Bhai was a shayar par excellence. His sublime Urdu poetry reached the highest realms of richness and love, exuded essence of creativity and passion, pushed the envelope of free thinking, and encompassed beautiful and deep sentiments. Naqi Bhai was a teacher and mentor par excellence. Not only was he a renowned and highly respected faculty member at DeVry University but to his friends, he was a deep reservoir and source of knowledge, scientific thoughts, and learning. Naqi Bhai was a humanist par excellence. He was compassionate to the downtrodden, empathetic to other’s feelings, and generous and kind to all.
I will really miss our frequent lunches together, lunches which lasted for hours and where we generally ignored the food but focused on solving world problems and coming up with solutions which made sense to us but maybe not to anyone else. The memories of spending time with Naqi Bhai are very precious and irreplaceable.
So, Naqi Bhai, if you can still hear us,
Do Doston ki dosti ko, baki log Mubarak Dete Hain
Hamari is Dosti ko, Khud Khuda Mubarak Dete Hain.
(Dr Suresh Borkar is a faculty member in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Illinois Instt. of Chicago, Chicago. Previously, he had a long association with AT&T/Lucent Technologies in Naperville. He hails from Delhi.)
