We have lost Mohsin Ehsan.

At 2 o’clock  in the afternoon my husband said,  “I heard on BBC that Mohsin Ehsan has died.”

We all, who knew him, knew it was coming.  It was expected but still I felt something drop in my heart.

I had received an email from Khalid Qureshi yesterday. He had sent it to all those he knew; I got a copy too. It read  like … Mohsin is not feeling well. His Son Ali came from the UK and took him back. He is in the hospital now. He is being given Morphine … he is not talking, not responding…

This was my very first contact with Khalid Qureshi. I had a torrent of email exchanges with him after that. I was a little apprehensive that my too many questions might become too many. But he was really nice and polite, helpful. Maybe he understood what I was saying.  Sometimes words are not just words- they become connectors if there is a common cause, a shared concern. We both wanted Mohsin to get well and get well soon.

I again contacted Khalid Qureshi  to confirm the news. It came back with a yes.

Why did he have to die? Couldn’t he hold on to… ?  We were going to have “Zavia, Mohsin Ehsan Number.” Only last month Irshad Siddiqi made me promise to write something and I had finally written and sent my contribution – a short essay on him. We all wanted him to know he was loved, respected and valued.

Yesterday a dear friend also called from Lahore – our, time spent together routine –   The first thing I said was “Mohsin bemaar he. Du’a karo” (Mohsin is ill, pray for him) and we talked about him for about an hour. Where did all that come from?

I had told Irshad , “What do you want me to write on Mohsin ?  I  have never met him. Apart from Wah Ordinance club mushairas, we never even met. So what do you want from me?”  And I  spent an afternoon writing about Mohsin Ehsan. It was a short essay but I enjoyed writing it.

Humans are a strange species, totally!

Rest in peace Mohsin. You will always be in our hearts.