Farewell, My Friend

My first meeting with Mohiuddin Ahmed was in 1956, at a dinner in his brother's house. His brother, Kabir Ahmed, was what in Bangla we call the "bhaira bhai" of SAM Khan, my father's colleague in the civil service, and the friendship of the two families extended to include him. It was not really a family dinner and I still do not know why I was invited and not my brother, who was closer in age to Mohiuddin. Among all the grown-ups, I felt quite out of place. And then this stripling came up to me and asked whether I would like to see his brother's art collection.