Time to bid farewell

TIME TO BID FAREWELL
There is a well known saying that: "All good things must come to an end", and it is with utmost regret that members of the Dhaka Nawab Family, subscribers and all others, who read with interest, are informed that, the time has come for the Dhaka Nawab Famly Newsletter to bid farewell in this "sixteenth" year of its publication.
It is difficult for me to explain, why, on waking up from sleep in the morning of Sunday 10th September, a thought flashed across my mind that, the time has come for me to start making plans to retire from this "labour of love" which has sustained me for over fifteen years, keeping me occupied, and giving me so much pleasure in keeping in touch with members of the family around the world.

However, the fact is that I too am beginning to feel the strain as I get along in years, and the position now is such that, if God so wills, and grants me the opportunity to cease publication of the Newsletter in my life time, it can very easily be done with the December issue, at the end of the year 2006. Unless, of course, someone else volunteers to take on the responsibility to continue publication, in which case, as long as I am around, by Allah’s grace and mercy, I shall help and guide the person to the best of my ability.

The position of our account at present is such that the Advisory Committee will not be faced with the problem of distributing excess funds to various charities that had been agreed to some years ago, and be left in a mess, if the publication of the Newsletter came to an end abruptly, on my passing away, a fact which we must all accept and submit ourselves to the will and plan of the Lord Almighty, in Whose hands is the final decision – how, when and where?
I am grateful to the Members of the Newsletter Advisory Committee for their help, support and the implicit trust with which they let me use my own initiative and do whatever was needed to bring out this publication month after month for over fifteen years. By the way, I made a mistake by giving the impression in the editorial – in verse – of the July 2006 Newsletter that it was the Sixteenth anniversary, whereas, it was the FIFTEENTH. The error is regretted.
However, by the grace of God, all is not lost as members of the family can continue sharing news about themselves with others around the world even after the closing of the Newsletter on 31st December 2006.
Thanks to Belal Hassan, Anas, Saniya and Arshad, in New York, we now have the Dhaka Nawab Family Website – www.nawabbari.com - where all the news and views can be posted in the Gupshup section on a daily basis without their intervention. It is a free for all, but they do read everything that is posted to make sure nothing is offensive. This can be done by going to the "Gupshup" section in the website. You will see the "Create a Discussion" link on the right side. Click on the "Create a Discussion" link. It will open a box where you can type a news item and publish it instantly.
Finally I wish to thank each and everyone of you for your kind consideration, help and cooperation over the past fifteen years, without which there could have been no Newsletter; specially those who have been kind and gracious to keep contributing items of news, articles etc. May the grace and mercy of the Lord Almighty and His blessings be upon you all forever and ever, with health, every happiness and all that is best in this world and in the hereafter.
Khwaja Sayeed Shahabuddin
Karachi, Pakistan
Saturday 7th October 2006