Kirmanis (2)

Shahabuddin Kirmani’s mother was a second cousin to my Nana, Syed Iftikhar Husain, who ensured that Shahabuddin had a good job at his niece’s (Inam Habibullah) house. Shahabuddin worked at her place and was in charge of accounts and many things. 

Shahabuddin was Achchay Mamooñ (AM) for me.

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AM had 2 sons: Nishat Bhai, who married Sofia Bhabi … and the entire family loved her. She was an absolute gem. She died of cancer some time ago.

The 2 had several children. Tauqeer was the eldest. His wife died of cancer at a young age. They have 4 daughters. Tauqeer died recently after falling down in the bathroom. Nishat Bhai and Sofia Bhabi have other sons: Zameer, Shakeel. Naveed. 

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AMs second son was Aqeel Bhai (aka Sabahuddin) who died of cancer many years ago as a well-known military officer. His wife, Shamim Fatima Alavi (we called her Putti Bhabi), and three children are here. Sabihuddin is in the Air Force. Saif was a Captain in the Merchant Navy. Aisha is married and lives in Karachi. 

After AM’s wife, Sayyedun Nisa, passed away he was married to Mursilunnisa, my mother’s cousin. They adopted a daughter, Jannat, who lives in Lucknow. 

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AM also took under his care his younger half-brother, Ziauddin Kirmani and treated him always as a real brother. More about ZK in the next blog: Kirmani (3)

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AM loved humour. He was a poet and I have his handwritten deevān. As part of his humour, a section of the book is named Chirkeenyāt. It was to honour Chirkeen who always wrote about our excrement. Here are two pieces of his writing: