Shahnaz Anklesaria Aiyar: friend, sister, supporter — and great human being
Shahnaz Anklesaria Aiyar, who passed away in Washington DC yesterday, was a close friend and a wonderful human being who touched everyone she met with her joyfulness and kindness She was one of those rare people in the world: a good human being. I had known her for nearly 40 years and respected her unstinting fight against cancer, for she rarely let anyone know of her relentless battle and the years of treatment. Deeply knowledgeable about learning disabilities (she taught in Washington at a school for special children), Shahnaz and her husband, the columnist, Swaminathan Aiyar have a very special link with Assam and especially the health work we do on the Brahmaputra with the boat clinics (www.c-nes.org).
They sponsored the construction of several boats and came to inaugurate the one which is running in Tinsukia, SB Swaminathan. But the first boat from their generosity was SB Shahnaz, which like the person who gave it its name, was graceful, beauteous and supportive. I recall Swami speaking at the event, on the sand banks of the Brahmaputra, before we lit the diya and broke the coconut on the boat — “In a strange way, the Aiyar name, from another end of India, will travel on and be connected to the waters of the Brahmaputra long after we are gone”.
Her passing is wounding. I deeply feel for Swami, her wonderful husband and my old friend ( I was always the butt of the happy joke of how Swami got me run out in a cricket match … And Shahnaz would say, ‘Tell, tell that story … The young man couldn’t run fast enough’, and burst into peals of laughter. I was always ‘kiddo’ and ‘young man’ to her and she lavished much love on my daughter, Meghna, esp after Minal ‘s passing. Meghna and Rustam are good friends and have been in touch. I knew Shahnaz from our Himmat days and followed her award winning fine career in journalism: Himmat in the days of the Emergency, the Statesman, India Today, Indian Express and the way she lavished love and companionship on her friends.
When they shifted to Washington after their marriage, I visited them in the apartment on MacArthur Drive and then the house on Arizona Avenue, went for long walks, and loved the way she constantly was creating new spaces in their home, with their amazing collection of sculptures and handicrafts from across the world. She would cook huge amounts and say, ‘Young man, eat up’.
Shahnaz, you were the sister I never had, we shall not just miss you, you leave a gap of goodness and delighted laughter in our lives. You enriched all of us.