Mohd.Ajmalur Rahman- an undying soul letter by his friend Kenneth Jung

  Mohd.Ajmalur Rahman

(11-7-1995 to 11-9-2011)

I am gathering the courage to reproduce a letter written to me by his friend and the classmate Kenneth Jung just before the first death anniversary of my beloved son who lost his life in a tragic road accident. I thought that I must share this letter with you all which reflects the personality of Ajmal as a friend. You all can imagine how tough and painful it is for a father to reproduce and write with his own hand the letter written in the memory of his son who lived with him for 16 lively years before leaving for heavenly abode. Thank you Kenneth for writing your feelings about Ajmal. He is in our hearts and will live for ever.

Here is the text of kenneth's letter:

A few more weeks mark Ajmal’s first death anniversary. It is quite surreal thinking that about just a year ago, I was woken up in shock on what seemed to be a peaceful Sunday afternoon to hear about the tragic incident.

As I attended the first funeral ever in my life, it was very regrettable that it was one of my closest friends, whose body was buried back into the earth. It was a very awakening sight to see how distressed all the family members were, and the extremely emotional behavior of the grandmother who lost her dearly child really brought tears to my eyes.

Upon marching back the tracks of the memory lane of how Ajmal came into my life and played such an important figure to be reminded of, I sit here to narrate how it all started and what impact it had.

I was a person of solitude. My life, which most of it was spent majorly friendless, took a surprising twist of turn when I met Ajmal.My lone departure to India in 2005 and studying in a boarding school made me a very reserved character who couldn’t be, and wasn’t an approachable person in a social setting.As I left the four restricted and confined walls of a heavily regulated school dormitory, I truly experienced the city of Hyderabad for the first time.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all that exciting. Life in the city proved to be tough, and staying social in the wild world proved to be difficult. I found it hard to develop friendships with people, and joining a new school just a few months before the annual examinationswas an excruciating challenge.

Amongst all the occupied classmates who were either busy with their own friends or revising the chapters for the exam, Ajmalwas one of the few who actually did approach out to me. Of course, heundoubtedly had no commitment to, given that he already was a well-known child in the school. With a character that quickly attracts people, he was well liked by the classmates for his amicableness and I was no exception in falling in as a victim to his attraction offriendliness.

As our friendship slowly developed into a meaningful one, I was introduced to his network and circle of friends. It was through this experience that I realizedthe change in my inner self. It was pleasantly surprising to realize how social a reclusive person could become, with a little aid.With Ajmal and his friends whom I became close to, it was soon was made clear that having friends to look forward to meet is what makes schooling and the social life fun, giving a reason to wake up in the morning with excitement.

Of course, school days would be really dull without the mischiefs. All of us being rebellious kids, the troublemaking clan surely did add to the enjoyment. Being a highly opinionated thinker and expresser, Ajmal effectively communicatedhisthoughts and challenged certain mechanics of the school.His guiding philosophies were a significant influence to my attitude of questioning the authority at times when I thought otherwise.

He had strong beliefs of dislikinga form of authority laid upon, with a condition of not being explained thoroughly. The only probable exceptions to this rule of him not being dictated, was his parents and religion, both of which he followed unquestionably.Hiscommitment and belief on the Islam was his core inspiration of the humanity and the mankind that fueled the world to revolve. Though not at all times, he admitted to being thankful for the privilege of being exposed to the high-profile contacts and living the abundant life with all the necessary supplies and resources, thanks to the concrete background in association with the politics and the unconditional familial support.

His approach toward being the winner in such a competitive world was to stand out. He wished to be unique, recognized, and he wanted his voice heard and his words read. In a quest to add uniqueness to his personality, his presence had to be felt by others – which hecertainly did achieve. My assumption in reasoning out his idolization of Michael Jackson is that Jackson and his success served to Ajmal as a metaphor of being the ultimate figure to the world whose presence can’t go unnoticed.

One such methodology that he adopted to be successful was his attempt at writing. His particular interest in English resulted in him sculpturing his talent of writing to his advantage.

He surprised me one day, with a sudden and unexpected news that he has a book written on Michael Jackson that is ready to be published. Myself sharing the similar interest in literature, genuinely and wholeheartedly encouraged him to pursue his dream of getting ‘Ajmal’ published on a book. Despite the bright hopes through his periodical updates to me on the progress of the publication, I find it terribly unfortunate that he couldn’t achieve it in his lifetime.

The time I spent with Ajmal and the moments we shared together remains a valuable asset in my memory. Introducing me to the ‘desi’ lifestyle through the often auto-rickshaw commutes, juice from the cracked open coconut, roadside Pani-Puris, may sound a bit funny put in words. However, it is through those memorable moments that I learnt the true meaning of the value in friendships. I wouldn’t have realized the importance of companionship in one’s life, if not for the company of Ajmal that I had for a couple of years.

I vividly remember Ajmal picking me up in front of my house, every morning after his cricket practices, to go to school together in his car. Needless to say, this courtesy just proves his caring and friendly nature that inevitably gets shown through his actions. Speaking of, I do know for a fact, that he was skilled in careful driving. As I travelled together with him in his car every morning to school, get-togethers and parties, and even the late night airport drives on the highways – he stayed away from speeding to the limit of danger.

Having never seen Ajmal speeding excessively, or pulling stunts, I discovered the hidden maturity in him that puts him away from such dangers. Even though speeding may superficially appear thrilling and cool, and though himself being a youngster who understandably could be attracted to such acts, he was mature enough to distinguish entertainment at the cost of lives. To further support this claim, I have seenAjmalshying away from driving a bike, because he claimed it to be dangerous. Being such an adult-like teen with a sense of responsibility that realizes and values the importance of a human life, it is truly disheartening to realize that it was by being on a bike that we unfortunately no longer can share the same air with him on the same planet.

Ajmal, your existence in my life is a remarkably peculiar one, which strongly influenced what I became today. You will, forever in my heart, remain a memorable friend with whom the memories I will cherish reminiscing throughout my life. Though physically apart, to this day, you still occupy equally important space in my heart, as with your spiritual company.

                                                                                      Kenneth Jung