Did I ever tell you about Nabeeha?

Have you ever been in those moments when you walk into a room and look around and some people just stand out? And it’s not because of what they’re wearing, or the things they’re saying. But just because there’s something about them that makes you want to stop, and just stare.

Perhaps it’s their beauty both inside and out, that positively radiates and for a second you’re knocked off balance. And you smile. Because you’re so happy. And you don’t even know why.

Nanga baba was one of those people.

Did I ever tell you about my sister? That darling nanga baba who was, and still is, the centre of my universe?

Nabeeha Salie was a girl like no other.

A legitimate happy pill, Nabeeha made every 24 hours of every day she lived on this earth, count. Witty, intelligent and just so smart, she had a strict routine that she created herself. Embodying true Bridgetine discipline, from the time she was six, she would have a nap for an hour at the most after school, and then sit at the dining table poring over her books. She never once would ask for my mum. Mama says it was because it was habitual for her to never complain about anything. I put it down to the fact that she really didn’t need the extra help.

I, on the other hand, would lie in bed digesting a good book, until I was yelled at half a dozen times; until nanga would drag me out, sheets and all, heat my coffee for me and then tiptoe around my study table until I got my study face on. That was Nabeeha.

The time she spent at school was the happiest of her life. An uber everything, my sister was a genius. She’d run from basketball practice, to swimming squad practice, to drama practice. In addition to being intelligent she made friends at St. Bridget’s Convent who now find it hard to say her name without breaking down.

Her four best friends were almost family to her and I’d often find her chatting away to Lashelle or Nicola about some song, some boy sensation had released. Most times she’d be the one to listen, and the smile on her face when she had her friends around her was just priceless. The surprise party held when she entered her teens, saw those four bouncing around, all super excited, enacting James Bond methods of planning everything without nanga’s knowledge. I remember the look on her face that night with Mama, Dada, Aamir, Apum, Shaachi, Ummamma, Biggie and everyone else surrounding her, celebrating her journey so far. Looking back, I now realize that those were the moments. The moments I want to go back to, live in, and never return.

If you were on the hunt for someone who had a wardrobe co-ordinated as per the occasion, you only had to peek at Nabeeha’s. If you wanted to see a student with books so neat, sans even the slightest scratch, I’d lead you to my sister. If you wanted to look at someone so practical in her ways, whose every action made more sense that most of our life decisions; you’d just need to find my sister.

During my Ordinary level examination, Dada handed over Aamir’s and my ID cards and our exam forms and our time table over to nanga, announcing to Mama that he didn’t trust anyone else with all of that.

Because my sister was all of that. And so much more.

A fighter till her last breath, you haven’t seen anyone fight the way nanga did. Her last few months in India, she was the diamond in the All those memories All those dreams We were getting close But now we’re thrown apart. We’re on different roads But we’ll meet again The only difference is You took the highway. Speeding through this road But there’s too many cars. I swear I’ll be with you But maybe not too soon. Because I’m on the main road And you took the highway. Just a few miles more. Then I can see your smile But until I do I’ll be crying alone. Because I’m stuck in traffic Headlights on and all. Just a few more miles Till I see you smile. And all through this journey You’ve learnt more about me. It all started with a smile But it ended with a tear. But I promise you it’s not the end. I’ll see you soon in heaven. So I lift up my glass to you, And toast until death. ward. Nabeeha’s room was like a hotline if you needed some TLC.

Did I ever tell you about the angel that spent a solitary six months in hospital without a single complaint?

That girl who would prop herself up and question whoever was around, as to why they got late with her medicine. That girl who would push up the switch of her IV bottle once it was over, and signal to the nurse to unhook it from her arm. That girl who would giggle like a child with chocolate, once released from her bout of infection.

I’d hear her anaesthetist affectionately talking to his “always smiling girl”; Doctors entering Nabeeha’s ward would beam, because that girl in bed would sit up and give them a big smile. They were her companions and she made sure to tell them so through beautiful friendship bands she wrapped around their wrists. It was impossible not to love Nabeeha. They loved her like there was no tomorrow. When she returned to Allah, she went like an angel with a gentle smile on her face.

Uncle Ameen and Aunty Zanooba gave her a lovely home away from home. She’d spent many a night sprawled on their couch, watching late night cooking shows with the family.

Words are inadequate to describe how much I miss my little sunshine. You were not just my sister, you were my truest companion. My headphone sharing person. My room mate. My chocolate dividing person. My Captain Cool buddy. My note writing person.My cuddle bug. My huggy pillow. My beginning and my end. My everything.

Peter Pan once said “Don’t say goodbye. Because saying goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting”

So this isn’t a goodbye. This is a shout out to the world about the Nabeeha Salie I was so fortunate to call my baby sister.

“To Allah we belong and truly, to him we shall return” Holy Quran 2:156

I had been associated with Priyalal for nearly 50 years since our Advanced Level days, when we used to attend practical classes at Pembroke Academy at Flower Road. Since then (the latter part of 1966), our paths crossed several times at the Science Faculty of the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya at the Geological Surveys Department when he was reading for his Masters of Science with Dr. N.R. De Silva while on study leave from the Ceylon Ceramics Corporation and I underwent training on Mineral Analysis under the late J.P.R. Fonseka.

Subsequently, Priyalal worked at the Ceylon Pencil Company for a short time where the late Wijitha Malewana and I worked after his departure to Middle East in 1980. When he returned to Sri Lanka in 1982 I was residing at Ratmalana and he started his own company, Foundation and Waterwell Engineering at Ratmalana and I was a frequent visitor to his office and home.

He was a true professional and personally we had the good fortune of obtaining his services on several occasions. He was working on an environmental study related to one of our projects as his last active assignment. He provided his services to clients more than for financial gain and would defend his clients even at public forums. We are grateful for the help he extended to us.

He was an active member of the Old Thomian Group of his vintage.

In October 1990, Malcolm Wijithapala and I met Priyalal at his office when we were requested by the Peradeniya University Alumni Association to form the Colombo Chapter and solicited his help to make the initial meeting a success. Priyalal enrolled several of his friends in the membership and since December 1990 served in the Committee of the Colombo Chapter of the Peradeniya Alumni Association in various capacities finally becoming President. At the time of his death he was the immediate past President. He was a great asset to the Association and was a live wire in organizing get-togethers and would participate in all events at Peradeniya. We will miss him very much at our Association’s events.

He was also actively involved in other professional associations especially as the President of the Geological Society of Sri Lanka and as Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee of the National Science Foundation.

In 2009 he was the recipient of the prestigious Ananda Coomaraswamy Award for his services to Geosciences and obtained his D.Sc from the University of Dublin.

With all his professional involvements he loved his family and was proud of the achievements of his two sons. We miss his parties at home and friendly gatherings.

During the last three years, Priyalal suffered immensely after a stroke. He did not meet friends as he had told his family members that he needed his friends to remember him as he was. The members of the Peradeniya Alumni will certainly remember him as a jubilant, generous, straightforward professional who was a tower of strength and a pillar of the Colombo Chapter. We trust that his soul will rest in peace.