PICTURES WORTH A THOUSAND STORIES

By SHAGORIKA EASWAR

Hasan Ali Khan Bozai, the respected photojournalist with decades of experience in newspapers in Pakistan and the Middle East, passed away on March 5. He was weeks short of 90.

In the course of a distinguished career, he covered world events with the photographs he took chronicling key moments in history.

His portfolio includes one that he took when he accompanied Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Canada during which visit Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his wife Margaret hosted Bhutto and his wife Begum Nusrat. In it, the two men are standing and look on as the ladies play with the young Trudeaus. Bozai saab, as he was affectionately known, presented a print of that family portrait to a visibly moved Justin Trudeau at a community event many years later.

Tributes poured in from former colleagues who all went on to become members of his extended network of friends. Many shared memories of working with Bozai saab.

Asifullah Khan from Jaipur: “Bozai sahab was very kind to me. He had not forgotten Hyderabad where he was born and used to regale us with stories of old Hyderabad, especially of Makhdoom Mohiuddin, the communist Urdu poet.”

Tazeen Ali from Australia: “I remember him as a gentle, kind and decent presence in the newsroom.”

Mahmood Mustafa in Ajax, Ontario: “Wonderful man with charming manners and a lot of sincerity, Bozai Sahib always kept in touch and whenever we met at weddings, parties and celebrations, he would come across with the same love, care and warmth! Absolute gentleman!”

Kokila Jacob in Toronto: “He was a nice and polite man. Have good memories of going for assignments with him.”

From the number of people there to pay their respects at the funeral at the Islamic Society of Markham, it was clear that he was much-loved.

I knew him from my newspaper days in Dubai, but we became friends after moving to Canada. He enjoyed giving photographs to friends, too, and came home once with a large framed print of one he took of the fall colours over Don Valley Parkway. That hangs in the room where we listened, enthralled, as he reminisced about his travels with world leaders, and covering wars and the Olympics. So many stories, so much priceless history. His memory sharp and detailed as though he was talking about something that happened last week, not 50 years ago. Thanks to Bozai saab, we were privy to the drama that sometimes unfolds behind the scenes.

He published a book of his photographs, People, Places And Events. In it, pages from history come alive. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, with his sister Fatima Jinnah. Members of the Bhutto family. The Shah of Iran being felicitated by the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan. President Eisenhower with Ayub Khan. Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz at the Indo-Pakistan Customs mushaira. President Nixon, Olof Palme, Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy (perched precariously on a camel in Karachi!), Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Anne, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, George Bush Senior, President Francois Mitterand...

The Dawn Media Group in Pakistan purchased his collection of images where they are now archived for posterity.

He visited us each Diwali with a dabba of mithai. Sadly, that didn’t happen for the last two Diwalis due to COVID restrictions, but we chatted on the phone. Though he was ailing and becoming increasingly frail, right until the very end, he’d still talk of visiting India and Pakistan – which he did on a regular basis until recently – but losing his wife Mehtab in recent years and his son Inayat last year were blows he didn’t recover from.

He leaves behind sons Khalid, Mohsin, Ahsan, Imran and Rehan and their families including 15 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

It was a life well-lived, mostly on his own terms, and he’ll be missed by many. What more can one ask for?

After a few back-to-back cold, blustery and snowy days, it was bright and clear on the day of his funeral. A mild and sunny, almost early-spring day. Picture-perfect.

As someone said, Bozai saab left us like he lived, ensuring he caused no inconvenience. The day after the funeral, we were back in winter. Bozai saab, the quintessential no-nonsense man, might have dismissed these thoughts with his impish smile.

A mere coincidence? Who can say?