TRIBUTE NAJMA CURRIMJEE
Najma, wife of Bashir Currimjee, passed away on Saturday 30 July. Funeral prayers were said at the Currimjees in Port Louis and she was laid to rest in Riche Terre cemetery. She is the fourth child in a family of five children, (three girls and two boys). She started her education in India and completed it in the USA.
Najma’s smiling face is the first thing that comes to my mind when somebody mentions her name. That smile was wrapped in a warmth that only Najma knew the secret of. She radiated the grace of the Bilgrami Indian nobility. She was always elegantly dressed and her personable behaviour and glowing eyes endeared her to her interlocutors. On the plane taking Bashir to marry Najma in India, Bashir’s closest friend remarked to him, “ She is too beautiful for you!”.
Najma was full of life. Even during her illness, contrary to the advice of her doctors, she asked me to invite her to the social dinners Alif society organised and teased Bashir that she would go by herself if Bashir did not come with her. She would entertain you on various topics. I vividly recollect how she looked thrilled during a painting exhibition in Ebene, commenting on many of the artworks and looking forward to buying one.
On occasions when we were meeting in small social functions, she would talk about her interest in religion and would recommend to me some of the invocations she would make every day and some of the ayats of the Quran she would recite daily.
The two greatest moments of her life were the weddings of her two sons. On those occasions she would move around the reception marquee erected on the grounds of Le Maritim hotel for the dinner reception and she saw to it that all her guests were comfortable. This Hyderabadi lady held my arm and wanted to make sure that I tasted the Hyderabadi Biryani she was specially serving that evening. She joined Bashir [whom I saw smoking a cigar for the first time] and the crowd in the merrymaking and taking to the dance floor.
Alas! All lives have to end unfortunately. She was suffering from a disease which defied and resisted all treatments and against which she struggled with courage and serenity. One great support was Bashir by her side who took her to the best clinics around the world and who was hoping against hope to save his life partner.
All those outside the Currimjee family circle who have known Najma regret her passing away but feel relieved that her pain is over. Najma enjoys immortality in their hearts and minds though. Bashir has lost a wife, and her son Saeed with four children and her son Rishaad with his two children, a loving mother and an adorable grandma.
During this very sad time, many thoughts and reflections pop up in the mind that are unbelievably hard to process, and leave you feeling empty and shallow, frustrated and sad. And it is hard to find the right words to bring comfort to those in grief. Let us pray Allah SWT give her eternal peace and accept her in Jannat u Firdaus.
Dawood Auleear