To
Sir With Love – A Tribute To Asghar Ali Engineer
His death is a great loss to various sections of society – academia, social reform and the budding bunch of intellectuals, who are trying to decipher the current state of the world and the direction it is headed in. In a world dominated by materialistic desires, where everything is a simplistic transactional process, Sir will be sorely missed for the vibrant thought leadership he provided to society.
Yesterday was a solemn day, as I felt the `missing
presence` of Sir in his office. By Sir I mean the great scholar,
intellectual and reformist Asghar Ali Engineer who passed away in
May. I told his son Irfan that I could feel Sir was still around.
I first met Sir in 1993 during his lecture at Mumbai
University. I approached him for a job as I had done my post
graduation in Politics and he was running a social research
organisation. I got the job as a research assistant and he thus
became my first employer. I worked with him closely for a year and a
half and then moved on to explore my life ahead as a journalist.
Twenty years later too I can feel the impact of his
personality on my life, especially in the writing space. He authored
an incredible 70 books in his lifetime and I was witness to his
voracious reading and writing abilities. It was a proud moment for me
when he at short notice agreed to launch my first book `The 20 20 20
20 Formula For Success` on June 19, 2011 at Mumbai University's
Kalina campus.
Besides the gift of language and of the gab too, he
carried an almost superhuman sense of courage and conviction. All his
life he stood up fearlessly for what he believed in, travelled the
world to get his message across and worked real hard. His
autobiography `A Living Faith` is a must-read for those looking for
establishing a firm purpose in life. The book brings alive the joy of
purpose, sufferings, toil and concern for developing a just society
like only a man obsessed with his mission can. Sir was a giant in his
field and commanded the respect of people from all walks of life.
His contribution to my life I realise now is immense, as
somewhere I was inspired by him to intellectualise, analyse and
write. Though I hardly met him a few times since I moved out of his
organisation in mid 1995, his influence stayed with me as I wandered
through careers and companies in an attempt to discover my personal
purpose.
It is rare indeed to be closely associated with people
of Sir's stature. He transmitted inexhaustible energy and was truly
an extraordinary human being. When he spoke, people listened. When he
wrote, people `listened`, for his writings communicated with the
reader, and when he read, he was a genuine student of knowledge and
perspective.
His death is a great loss to various sections of society
– academia, social reform and the budding bunch of intellectuals,
who are trying to decipher the current state of the world and the
direction it is headed in. In a world dominated by materialistic
desires, where everything is a simplistic transactional process, Sir
will be sorely missed for the vibrant thought leadership he provided
to society.
There will hardly be anybody else like Sir. He died the
way he lived – FIGHTING. Thank You Sir. This world will miss you,
ALWAYS.
