Letter from Sheila Rashed to Hosain Shahid
Rāshid, N. M., -- 1910-1975
Letter sent from Mrs. Sheila Rashed to Hosain Shahid, in which she thanks him for his letter of 18th August. The letter is dated 3rd September 1976. She received his letter earlier but thought it best to reply after she and Nazeil returned from a holiday, as she would be able to give it more time and attention. She writes that she is appreciative of the efforts Shahid is making to ensure her husband's work and memory remains fresh in the nation's minds. She is finding it more difficult to write about Rashed now than before when Mr. Shahid came to visit her in Cheltenham, as the fact that Rashed had passed away had not fully struck her yet. She describes her first encounter with Rashed taking place during a meeting they had about his daughter Tamzin. She spoke for ten minutes about how Tamzin was struggling because of her poor English, as well as how she appeared very unhappy. Rashed listened attentively after which he informed her that Tamzin had been in shock after she witnessed her mother's passing before her eyes. Rashed described feeling great anxiety about keeping the family together, as he was a widower taking care of her four young children. Together they started to brainstorm ways they could help Tamzin improve in school. She adds in pen that discussing techniques for his daughter was the beginning of a great friendship between them. She was thirty-three when she first met Rashed. She had been engaged twice before but broken it off as she did not feel that it was a right match. She wrote that she believed he was attracted to her and wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. For one of their first dates he asked her to come to a lecture he was giving at the Asia Society in New York, after which he asked her to be as critical as possible about the lecture. From November till December they saw each other three or four times a week along with spending time with the children. At the airport before Christmas break he asked her to marry him, and told her that the friendship could not continue if she said no, which she recalls was a tough ultimatum to be given. She had a lot to consider, as he had five children, was from another part of the world, and was eighteen years older than him. She returned to New York in January with her mind made up and they were married in September in England to be close to Sheila's parents. Times were hard, she admits, but the reconciliations made it worth it. They were both strong and independent, and they never hid anything from one another. She recognises his honesty and truthfulness as some of his most outstanding characteristics. He was always forgiving of the weaknesses in others. He strongly believed in the equality of all, no matter how high or low their position. She writes that she always knew when her husband was "hatching a poem" as he was moody for days during the process, but became very happy like a "new man" once he has birthed the poem. He was not what one would call a practicing Muslim, but he was deeply religious in the true sense of the word. He never demanded that Sheila become Pakistani or Muslim. He disliked any kind of totalitarianism or dictatorship. After Rashed's retirement from the UN in 1974, they had the option of living in Pakistan, Italy, or England, but they decided on England for Nazeil as the education was the greatest quality there, they felt. He liked the regency style house and the study where he was surrounded by his books and could write looking out into lush greenery. He was very happy during his retirement, composing poems often, even one day before he died. She writes that he died suddenly without pain, for which she thanks God. She writes that Nazeil, who Rashed called his "masterpiece", was only eleven when his father passed away, but always remembers him fondly.
Rashed, Sheila
1976-09-03
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NMRArch-01-17-031-letter-from-sheila-rashed-to-hosain-shahid
Letter from Shahryar Rashed
Rāshid, N. M., -- 1910-1975
Letter from Shahryar Rashed sent to Mr. Mohammad Fakhrul Haq Noori, Shohba-e-Urdu at Oriental College, Punjab University, Lahore. He addresses him as "Prof. Noori." He confirms that he received Prof Noori's letter dated 16 July 1993 about his work on the "Noon Meem Project" and Shahryar expresses his apologies about not being able to assist him in any way. He explains that part of the reason why he has been unable to help is because his job has him moving from place to place, so even now the materials that could have been helpful are stored away in Holland. He elaborates that his association with his father was limited to his youth, and even then he can only provide something to the effect of reminescences. Most of these reminisces can be found in Dr. Aftab Ahmad's book "Noon Meem Rashed: Fann aur shakhsiyyat." Shahryar also encloses a copy of M.A.R. Habib's publication "The Dissident Voice: Poems of N.M. Rashed." He then names several people he believes will be better equipped to help Prof. Noori, including Mr. Ijaz Batalvi, bar-at-law, Justice Ataullah Sajad, Justice Yaqub Ali Khan, Mrs. Sheila Angelini Rashed, Munir Niazi, Ahmed Faraz, and Zia Mohyeddin. He writes that the most important respect of Rashed's relationship to his children were his sense of responsibility. He tried his best to keep the family together after the children's mother, his first wife, passed away. He recalls how Rashed encouraged his children to be independent-minded, so when Shahryar visited Tehran in 1972 and wanted to explore by himself, Rashed made all the arrangements for him to safely get around himself. For Shahryar's sisters, he encouraged them to get good jobs and education before they got married. Rashed's first wife passed away in 1960 after which he married Sheila, Tamzin's teacher, in 1964. Rashed had a very affectionate relationship with his youngest son Nazeil, but Shahryar writes that he opted out of the family early so he was not able to benefit from Rashed's advice. He writes that Rashed was secretly proud of his son's decisions. He writes that he was prone to losing his temper if someone was behaving irrationally, and although he never showed affection, his children knew he loved them. When Shahryar showed him some poems in high school, he remarked that there were a few good lines but they were bad poems in all, so he was always very straightforward. He encouraged his children to spend money wisely, but never liked to impose on anyone, and on visits to Pakistan would opt for staying at hotels rather than in a relative's home. He was very fond of chess, and spent many hours playing the game with his own father. Shahryar recalls that when her mother passed away from a thrombosis which occured from a wrongly administered intramuscular injection, Rashed was playing chess. He was a fair person who believed "life must be taken by the horns." He also liked to make jokes and play little pranks. While he disciplined his children moderately, with his own discipline he was "ruthless", as Shahryar remembers it. He was an incise and keen thinker, who was innately curious about the world around him, which made him an enthusiastic learner. Shahryar describes him as "non-ideological" particularly after his disappointment with the Khaksar Movement. Shahryar wonders whether his war-time travels as a Captain in the British Imperial Army sparked his belief in the futility of ideological confrontation. He describes Rashed as a universalist. He concludes by recalling how Rashed always made time for his children no matter how busy he was, and apologises again that he did not have any more documents to share.
Rashed, Shahryar
1993-08-06
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to Canadian copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. Our provision of reproductions does not constitute permission to publish or reproduce images in print or electronic form.
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NMRArch-01-17-001-letter-from-shahryar-rashed