Find his tomb in the hearts of men

Philosopher Marcus Tillius Cicero had once famously quoted, "The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living." I truly believe that as people leave this world to the heavenly world, they surely leave behind bountiful memories. We mourn his demise and remember the memorable time we spent with him. He is none other than Nasimuddin Ahmed, our Nasim Mamu whom we remember today on his second death anniversary on  March 26. He was a big-hearted man, who helped countless people in their time of need. A former finance secretary of the Government of Bangladesh, he retired in 1995.
Nasim Mamu was born into the distinguished family of Khan Bahadur Naziruddin Ahmed and Begum Shamsunnessa Khanum of Dhaka in 1936. He used to cherish memories of growing up in "Shams Manzil" located at 62 Nazimuddin Road. This was a paternal home with long verandahs and lush green lawn. The house was full of life with lots of cultural activities by elder siblings. As heard from the elders, dramas and poetry recitals were often their evening pastime. All these influenced Nasim Mamu, who had a passion for reading and excellent taste for music. From Haydn to Bela Bartok, Tagore to Nazrul, Begum Akhter to Asafuddowla and even Pablo Casals' cello recitals haunted him. But all these activities came to a halt in late 1930s. The British Government was looking for a suitable location for the establishment of All-India Radio Dacca and from this property radio transmission started in Dhaka on December 16, 1939. So the family had to move to a rented property at 10 Nalgola, which was also located at old part of the city. The radio station moved to Shahbagh in 1960; by  the family had already moved to "Azim Villa" at Segun Bagicha. Our Nana died from massive cardiac arrest just after partition. Nasim Mamu and his twin brother Azim Mamu were attending school then and completed education with flying colours. Nana was one of the most brilliant students of his generation. Nana had a Master's Degree from Calcutta University and stood first in first class in English (1906). The government directly inducted him into the Bengal Civil Service, and he succeeded the legendary leader of Bengal Sher-e-Bangla A.K Fazlul Haque as sub-divisional officer, Jamalpur in 1910. When University of Dhaka was established in 1921, he became its first registrar.
Nasim Mamu had a very distinguished civil service career and held many administrative positions.  He started his civil services career as Sub-Divisional Officer at Patuakhali. He held position as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs and participated in the formulation of many of the landmark policies. He held several other important positions during his career such as  Chairman of two public Sector Corporations, including Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation and Bangladesh Tariffs Commission, Secretary, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Roads and Highways, Ministry of Commerce, and Member, Planning Commission with the status of Secretary. In 1992, he became Finance Secretary and retirement in December 1995.
Nsaim Mamu was soft-spoken, honest, straightforward, dutiful and loyal to the country.
He often recalled his Ramna Rovers Club days when they used to play cricket in the late 50s. Cricket, Tennis, Billiard, Snooker and Chess were among his favourite sports. Once, NasimMamu won the Dhaka Club Snooker Championship and was also selected to represent Bangladesh for the World Championship in Canada. He, however, withdrew his name from the tournament. He was President of Bangladesh Chess Federation from (1987 to199). He was an avid followers of sporting events.
Nasim Mamu would also like to have discussions on a wide range of subjects - social, economic and political. He had a thirst for knowledge and could carry on discussions on black holes, the Milky Way, the unknown galaxies and, above all, Stephen Hawking's  A brief History of Time and The Grand Design. I wish he were with us today, so I could tell him that Scott Kelley, an American astronaut had returned to Earth after 340 days stay in Space and he has documented much of his trip on his Instagram and Twitter accounts of his distant views of Earth and its otherworldly sunrises and sunsets.
The family remembers him on his second death anniversary by praying for the departed soul and feeding the poor and destitute. May his soul rest in eternal peace.
I like to end my tribute by quoting from Jal?l ad-D?n Muhammad R?m? where his epitaph reads: "When we are dead, seek not our tomb in the earth, but find it in the hearts of men".
The writer is a niece
of the deceased.
aemanrasul23@gmail.com