Saeed Khan is no more. Friends have recalled their association with him. We all know that he had excellent command over the language and was a wonderful journalist.
But it was his personality, his maverick ways, selflessness, always leaving a mark wherever he stayed, worked or went--even if briefly and his wit that can never be forgotten.
Many other English journos have good command over language but his copy was distinct in the sense that apart from verbosity, each of his copy had the signature style of Saeed, and without byline one could recognise that he had written the piece.
He was moody and made sharp comments, sparing none, not even friends, without caring that it would upset them. But that was his style. In Bhopal, you could find him wandering in the by-lanes of the walled city, with cigarette in the hand, or sitting in a tea-shop at Bus Stand till late night.
In 2000, HT was conducting recruitment but it was felt that the HR was no longer entertaining applications from here. I was leaving for Delhi when Saeed gave me a packet, saying that it was his CV, and that I had to hand it over to a senior person in Delhi. I gave the packet and they opened it right away--it was a T-shirt that had Saeed's CV printed on it, with a headline, 'Try me, I'll fit in'. It was an out of the box thing, at least in those days. Its another thing that they weren't impressed with it.
Saeed worked with several papers. Once, fed up with journalism, he had opened a tea shop at Imami Gate. Friends gathered and, of course, one could have as much tea cups as you with, without paying a penny. It was named 'Limra hotel', and it had to be closed down soon. He again came back to mainstream journalism, worked with Chronicle, Pioneer and later with HT Indore.
Saeed had adjusted well in Indore. Though he was a Bhopali to the core, he came here less. I was surprised when a few years ago I found him, staying at the Soofia Masjid, during Ramzan. I couldn't digest that he was becoming religious, but here he was staying in 'etikaaf'.
Saeed had adjusted well in Indore. Though he was a Bhopali to the core, he came here less. I was surprised when a few years ago I found him, staying at the Soofia Masjid, during Ramzan. I couldn't digest that he was becoming religious, but here he was staying in 'etikaaf'.
Another sad aspect is that during his illness, while journalists in Indore, were concerned and expressed solidarity, it was saddening to see the organisation's role.
Today, after attending the burial, Khalid bhai and I stood silent at the same spot where we used to drop him after the work was over, at around 2 am, when were together in National Mail.
Saeed never had a two-wheeler, with his characteristic gait, he would cover the city either on foot or taking auto-rickshaw, or dropped by friends. That was also typical Saeed. Friend Ritesh Mishra has recalled Saeed in his post.
Senior journalist Arif Mirza has written an excellent piece in Pradesh Today, that can be read here.
