Heart to Heart - Conversation About Aslam Azhar (Part-1)

Some people leave this world forever but they are actually not gone. Their influence on lives and thoughts of people keep them alive!

We requested few people who have been close to late Aslam Azhar's life/work or have keen observation on his work  to share their thoughts about him.

As first part of this series, we are sharing selected views here:

I got to meet Azhar uncle through his son and my friend Arieb Azhar, and for that I will forever be grateful to him. I feel privileged that my daughter and I got to interact with a man of his stature. He was a very rich man – not in terms of worldly possessions but in the matters of the intellect. I finally met someone who could make me shut up and listen in complete silence and awe. I don't know if it was his voice, his knowledge, his wisdom or his self-satisfaction that inspired awe in the people around him. People may think that Pakistan did not treat his achievements and his intellect as well as it should have, but he never had anything but love, respect and hope for this country. I would never forget when he would recite beautiful words from a book or when he would tell us glorious stories from his past. It was in such moments that I felt lucky to know him and his family. 

May he rest in peace.  

Soofia Mahmood, 

Photographer, Writer, & Communications professional 

Toronto, Canada

Aslam Azhar is one of those people who brought innovation to Pakistan Television through his work; keeping in view new demands of the TV. He was a complete institution in his own self. Hundreds of people have learned a lot from him. He was a man of principles and therefore never compromised upon them even if it was related to his work based income. It is worth noting is that he dared to work in his own progressive way by being in a state owned TV channel and that was not an easy task. Relatively silent Aslam Azhar continued doing his work assiduously. He was never made for today’s private media that runs on basis of ratings merely. He was quite professional and responsible media personality.

  

Salman Abid, 

Political analyst, Daily Express

 Lahore, Pakistan

I feel celebrating Aslam Azhar’s life and capacity he had to do so much work for positive change in the society and contributed a lot in his whole life. I will always cherish his unconditional love and support he extended to me. 

I cannot forget the time I spent working with you and learning from you. You were unique, progressive, committed, active listener, nurturing and a mentor to me. I have learned so much from you. Especially when I was working for Oxfam; you were always interested to listen to my stories working with grass root communities in Pakistan.  You gave me so much support and encouragement to do more work to reduce poverty and develop empowerment. There are so many women whose lives changed during our work filming for Voices of Pakistani Women documentaries.  I still remember an old lady’s remakes about you from Voices of Pakistani Women.  She said “Aslam Azhar is a saint who is seeking gold in the mud.”

You were truly people’s person. You have done so much to bring progress and positive change in this

society and you loved to support new and fresh ideas. Most importantly you just loved hardworking and self-made people in this country.  You were so rich inside, knowledgeable and down to earth, where no classes existed. You treated me as an equal friend.  I feel extremely privileged, honoured and lucky to have met and known you.  Your work your ideas and your dreams about people of this country will always continue and will come true one day as you used to say “Jado johad jari rahti hai”(struggle goes on)

Nuzhat Abbas

worked at Oxfam GB

Oxford, United Kingdom

~August 2016