When I met Sameer: 06/01/2001

Where Sameer and I spent time:
We would meet periodically in Florida when we would visit his brother and sister in law and their family.

What you remember and appreciated most about Sameer
His sense of humor and keen intellect coupled with a boyish charm that made him instantly likable and engaging.

Extended thoughts about Sameer.

Sameer was full of surprises.

We are from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. We were surprised to learn on our first meeting with Sameer that it was our home town that made him the most eager to meet us. It seems that as a child in sunny Florida he used to dream and scheme of one day running an air transportation multinational company. After extensive research and planning he had settled on Winnipeg as the hub and set to work acquiring and encyclopedic knowledge of the city. Being from a smaller town and knowing from Tuya what a kidder he could be we were naturally suspicious that he was pulling our leg until he settled down and laid out everything he knew (and we did not) about Winnipeg.

He seized on Tuya and Shalin’s first trip together to Winnipeg to tag along. Once in town he set to work making pilgrimages to all of the notable landmarks and locations that he had read about in his youth. He engaged eagerly in a local multicultural festival called Folklorama and would grin broadly at some of the more campy performances along side his brother and sister-in-law. He had an ability to enjoy life and a lightness of being that was very evident.

Another coincidence that gave me personally a great deal to discuss with Sameer was our shared interest in the writer, George Orwell. We both had despite not being involved in any literary field possessed great interest in his writings and had both read his complete works. Sure many people heard or read of Animal Farm or 1984 but to sit down with someone who like me could discuss Orwell’s less well known but equally significant works in detail was a real treat. If you want to get inside Sameer’s head I suggest reading Burmese Days or Coming Up For Air. Orwell’s razor sharp insight into how the world is and melancholy for how life could be obviously struck a chord with Sameer.

I have since our time together always tried to catch glimpses of him as life and family floated us around. Everybody gets busy with their own things. That is the way life is. I will miss him but I am glad to have known such an authentic person. I wish we had all had more time to enjoy his company and good humour.