50 Sad reminiscences of a Ramadan

Ramadan as everyone knows is a day on which believers celebrate after a period of extreme sacrifice and purification of mind and body. But, when Ramadan is celebrated every year, what comes to my mind is the very sad memory of the loss  of one of my dear  colleagues and family friend.

Sri. E.I.Suleiman Sir of Mathematics department  and his family were our neighbours REC campus  for a long time  before I went  to Delhi for my higher studies. He was known to me before he joined REC Calicut as he was a member  of faculty in T K M College of Engineering when I was a student  there. Even though he had not taken any class for me during my course, I respected him as a teacher. Our two families were very close. His wife Mrs.Sainaba and my wife Malathy were thick friends. They had three children, the eldest boy was in the same  class as my son and student of Silver Hills School in Paroppady, Calicut. The younger children  Shereena and Shibi were  smaller  than our children but were good company for our  children. Children  of both  our families had some peculiarities. Our children will be very happy to eat from Suleiman’s house and they will  point out the containers    in which their favourite  items like biscuit and cookies are  kept. Similarly their children, especially, the elder two were frequent visitors in our kitchen. If the same food is served in our house they will be reluctant to eat, but they will gladly eat if served in the other house. Mrs. Sainaba  Suleiman or my wife  did not have any complaints on this peculiar character of our kids.

During Ramadan days, we used to take food from their house in the evening. Formal invitation for breaking the fast in evening (Iftar dinner) was not very common those days, but friends used to join for the dinner. Very often, as Warden of hostels, Mr.Suleiman was in charge of the Ramadan mess in the hostel. Some of our students   used to join the Ramadan mess  too along with the regular mess eating in the regular mess during day and Ramadan mess in the night, he used to say jokingly. In his house, most of the days, either chicken or mutton curry was available. On the Ramadan day, if   Mr. Suleiman and family were in the campus, we will be taking food from his house for certain.

Several years had gone by. Our children had grown up. We moved to our own house  in the city. Most of the days, I used to return  by the college bus. One day as I was  rushing through the  veranda in front of Maths Department, Suleiman Sir caught me on the way and said: “ Hei Mohandas, wait a minute. Don’t you remember it is Ramadan days? Have you forgotten your days in the campus? Sainaba was asking me to invite  you for  food one day. If you cannot come with family, she said she will prepare food early one day and give  you a parcel  for your children”. I said : “Ok  sir, I will come and collect the parcel in a few days, may  be  next week”.

After this incident, the next Sunday night we heard about the tragedy. Suleiman Sir was constructing his house in his native place Chennamangalam (N.Paravoor) and used  to  go home every weekend to supervise the construction. His family will be left in the campus during these week end trips. That week end also, he reached home and returned on Sunday night. He had broken the fast at his home before starting to Calicut. He was planning to reach the campus before the last full meals in the night, just before day breaks in. But as the bus was delayed, by the time he reached home, the signal for the supper had already gone from the nearby mosque and he did not take any food. He continued his lectures in the college and as usual broke his fast in the evening with the usual porridge and karaka. After this, he was watching the TV lying on his bed, as it was the budget day. His wife was busy cooking their lunch  in the kitchen  and   once her work was over, she also came into the bed room and asked him to move a little  so that she can also  stretch her  back a little. As he was not moving, she touched him and found that his body was too cold and he was motionless. She felt alarmed and called out her neighbours. Some one called the RMO and   she examined him and found that he has breathed his last. Doctor said he must have  died at least half an hour  before. It was a silent massive heart attack which took his life. Suleiman Sir’s sudden departure  was  too much of a shock to all of us.  We all, in several buses, accompanied the body to Paravoor and participated in the funeral rituals.

Mrs. Suleiman was a very jovial person with a lot of humour sense. She used to make fun of her husband   anywhere and everywhere and Mr. Suleiman used to enjoy every bit of her fun. The family moved to his native place afterwards and no one has seen Mrs.Sainaba laughing  or even smiling afterwards. Fortunately, all the three children were bright in their studies. Eldest, class mate of my son, completed B.Tech Ship Technology in Cochin University of Science & Technology, the elder daughter  completed her B.Tech inGovt. Engineering College, Kannur and the youngest,  completed her  MBBS  in Calicut Medical College. The doctor  was in UK  for a few years and now she is un UAE with her family. Recently the elder daughter Shereen who is settled in Saudi Arabia came to Calicut in connection with the admission of her daughter in Calicut Medical College after getting a very good rank in NEET  examination. Even though they could not get the advice of her father directly, they are all well settled with the blessings of almighty. Mrs.Sainaba spends her time moving with her children, mostly spending her time in prayers, in spite of minor physical ailments.

I and my family together  pray God that everything good happen to the children and grand children of our  dear Suleiman Sir and health and peace of mind for  Mrs.Suleiman.