Category: misc/personal

Weekend in NYC

Visited my son at his place of work in NYC, where he is doing an internship. So proud of him. What an incredibly hot and humid day to be schlepping around New York tho. The heat didn’t subside even at night.

my son's office buiding
my son’s office buiding
view from building
view from building

identity through art

haha! this was in 2005, 11 years ago. thx APAA (Asian/Pacific Islander/American Association of Greater Rochester) for producing the documentary “identity through art,” which included this interview. it was a prelude to much film and art making for me and a definitive divergence from finance and economics.

Clips from my interview for the doc “Identity Through Art” directed by Rehema Trimiew and produced by APA-Hip, 2005.

weekend in canada

what an amazing weekend in canada! i got to spend time with a dear friend from college and was blown away by her entire family’s warmth and hospitality. my mom and dad accompanied us, which made everything more special. i got to visit two of my cousins and their families, and my daughter got along beautifully with all her new found brothers and sisters. we attended the wedding of a wonderful young man whose parents are close rochester friends. throughout this trip, we enjoyed hakka chinese, chicken biryani, some serious barbecued meat, delicious homemade koftas and karhi, and pakistani mangoes that transported us back to lahore. my daughter got some gorgeous mehndi and bangles in order to celebrate the first weekend after eid and we got to try doubles (a sandwich made with flat fried bread filled with curried chick peas – popular street food in trinidad and tobago) as well as bolani (fried or baked afghan naan with a vegetable or ground beef filling). thank u to all the lovely family and friends we met on this super busy trip, especially our generous hosts. my only regret is that i didn’t take more pictures.

mehndi

wedding

family and friends

my uncle atique ahmed passes away

yesterday i found out that my uncle (my mom’s brother) passed away on june 6, 2016. atique mamoon lived in london most of his life. he was an outstanding student and athlete at government college, lahore, where he excelled at soccer, field hockey and squash. he joined the pakistan air force and later emigrated to the UK. he was a dashing, debonair man, an intellectual who read voluminously and appreciated art and beauty. the love of his life was a german woman, gaby wolff, whom he met in london in the 70s and who shared his passion for travel and scholarship. they decided not to have kids and lived a cosmopolitan, unorthodox, and fully-realized life together.

but my eternal gratitude for atique mamoon’s independence of mind stems from something personal. my grandfather died when my mom was a mere child, soon after the 1947 partition. when it came time for her to go to college, the family had to consider all the expenses involved in sending her off to lahore. but atique mamoon, who was still a young man getting started with his own career, committed to supporting her education at his alma mater, the prestigious government college. that’s how my mom ended up graduating from GC, and meeting my dad, who was her classmate there. my siblings and i wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for atique mamoon’s belief in education and his unwavering love for his little sister. may he rest in peace. surely we belong to god, and to god we return.

atique ahmed
atique ahmed