Page 47 - Seniorstoday March 2024 Issue

Alaimentary - A Story of a Tale - 12
Contours of Love
What say can mortals have in matters of heart and contours of love, asks
Nagesh Alai
The Rizvi and Ali families were
longstanding friends having schooled
together in Azamgarh and subsequently
moving to Mumbai in search of greener
pastures and opportunities. It proved to be
a propitious move for them and reflected in
their personal and business wellbeing.
Hasina and Abdul Rizvi had been
classmates as were Salma and Sohail Ali.
They were close knit and formed a cozy
foursome whilst schooling in Azamgarh
and subsequently at college in Mumbai.
They came from a conservative back
ground, the Rizvi family was Shia while the
Ali family was Sunni. But, over a period of
time, they had adopted and adapted to the
changing times and societal evolution and
dropped their conservatism significantly
without sacrificing their core values.
While Hasina Rizvi took up a job in a large
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #57 | MARCH 2024
Indian manufacturing company, Salma
Ali had set up a counselling centre, aided
by her clinical psychology specialisation.
Abdul Rizvi and Sohail Ali had joined their
respective family businesses of exports of
engineering goods and textiles respectively.
The Rizvi couple had two daughters, the
elder one named Huma and the younger,
Sara while the Ali couple had twins, a son
named Salman and a daughter named Soha.
The four children went to the same school
and subsequently got admission into the
same college as their parents. They too were
close knit as their parents. The families
stayed in the same neighbourhood and
bonded further as a result, with frequent
visits to each other’s homes and celebrations
of festivals and special occasions. Huma
and Soha were particularly close right from
the beginning and had a special place in
47