An Elegy for a dear departed friend, Sayeed Beg

Sayeed Beg and I became friends when the days were long, the nights were bright and time was not in a headlong rush. We met because he felt that I was new and alone in a new town and a new land and needed a friend. He was a gentle, caring and a thoughtful friend without any expectation of reciprocity. He and his new bride Hameeda adopted me as a valued family member, a brother to both of them. It was autumn of 1969 at Knoxville in Tennessee. Hameeda was equally caring and lovely with a welcoming quiet presence.

They lived in Oak Ridge about thirty miles from Knoxville. On weekends they would come take me to their apartment, feed me delicious home cooking and drive me back to Knoxville on Sunday afternoon, refreshed for the coming week.

They did this for almost six months. His training at Oak Ridge came to an end and he moved to Garry Indiana, then Chicago and finally to Houston.

As always he immersed himself in the service of the community in Houston with a genteel grace. Helping others with no demand for himself was a second nature to him. In time he suffered from diabetes and eventually from congestive heart problems, but most people did not know it. He never complained or asked for any special consideration. Hameeda and Sayeed Beg are blessed with three wonderful children, two sons and a daughter. He sublimated into the eternity, as he wanted, without slowing down to worry about personal ailments. He fell ill in the evening of May 4th and was on his way to eternal bliss the next day.

The following lines are an inadequate effort at expressing my feelings for him. The concept and the first line are adapted from an elegy in Urdu by Faiz on the passing of his brother.

My dear departed friend, I can’t help but protest
You left us so suddenly, that was sad enough
But in the process you quietly took with you
One of the most precious chapters of my past

It had lovely memories of long halcyon days
With azure blue sky and nights full of hope
When the world was young and hope eternal
Two kindred souls, out to heal the future

You did. You traveled, touched all you met
You nudged others to find their better selves,
Set ideals worth aspiring, with an infectious smile
You helped all, as if they were all your needs

Though we did not talk or meet often enough,
But the thought that you exist was comforting
While leaving did you think of the pain to others
Did you know you are leaving a void larger than life?

I know you are at a better and a more serene place
The place is certainly better because you are there
I know you could not have hurt us knowingly
I know you would come back only if you could.

So long till we meet again across the divide.
Your friend - Mirza A. Beg