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My Recollections of Hassan Haider Rizvi
By Syed Shabieh Haider Zaidi, 7102/Liaquat
My recollection of
Hassan Haider Rizvi is more mythical than factual.
To me, he represented something loftier than
achievable. He was a textbook example of what a
youth ought to be – intelligent, athletic,
charismatic, amiable, respectful, responsible,
spiritual and accomplished. In 1971 he was the SUO
when I joined as a plebe.
Unbeknown to me, my
father had written to him (as also to Bhatti Sab,
Commander Feroz Shah and the Adjutant) asking that
he keep an eye on me and guide me through the
first year…So it was quite a shock when after the
morning assembly he called my name and asked me to
stay back. After all dispersed, he asked me if my
father knew him; to which I replied that I did not
believe he did. For some odd reason he decided
then to take me under his wings.
It was through him
that I learnt the art of public speaking and
developed the ability to debate and discuss
issues. From my very first speech made when I
could actually feel my legs shake and mouth go
dry, to just last month when I made a presentation
on Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he
has always been the source that keeps pumping
adrenaline when I speak!
My interactions with
him were few and most were limited to preparation
for some debate or declamation; all through my
first year at Petaro I looked up at him, never for
once considering him a friend or mentor, but
seeing him more as a demigod! One month before his
death, I met him at a restaurant and simply went
over to his table and began babbling, not
realizing he was not alone…He greeted me and then
introduced me to the girl who was with him. He
then asked me to meet him later that evening,
because there was something he wanted to ask me –
I did. He told me he wanted to marry that girl and
we talked. For the first time I found out that he
considered me not only a friend but perhaps a
sibling or even a peer! We talked late into the
night and I left thinking what a good couple they
made…a month later he died.
I am not sure of the
year but it was perhaps 1981 when I was sitting at
his grave in deep reflection. I suddenly became
aware of the presence of someone else; it was a
couple who were offering fateha. I stood up and
was about to leave when the lady stopped me and
asked if I remembered her; I did not. She said she
remembered me to be the person Hassan spoke of
often and said she met me at a restaurant before
his crash…she introduced me to her husband, who
seemed to share our love for the man beneath the
earth…such is life! |
