by Talal Khan
Some people are lucky to get together and become brothers. When I left the close pack of 10 friends in Isloo on a fateful evening in Oct 2001 to come to the US, I was not sure that I would ever find people that I can call my tribe and my brothers. Walking into the State University of New York campus in Brooklyn, sandwiched between Downstate hospital and Kings County hospital, past the famous Flatbush avenue, I looked lost till a guy in a sports car pulled up from nowhere. I followed him into the admissions office. Iftikhar Shah or Baba Sain as he is known to us is one of the most remarkable men I have ever met in my life. A born leader, he immediately adopted me as a younger brother and helped me get the basics, place to sleep in a cool area of brooklyn called Bay ridge in a small studio apartment right on top of the Ammonia Cafe, where the prettiest girls in Brooklyn came to hang out. He told me just like my brother Talha that you become who you associate with and where you live. The bond of friendship and respect is still strong today. During the course of my internship in NYC I met up with Mujitabba Butt who ironically became a Gastroenterologist forever destined to look up people’s butts. He was from the same medical school as myself and we shared a mutual love for each other. Yet another member of our group was the prodigal Oncologist Amir Bhai, originally from Karachi, graduate of Dow and sharp as hell. He kept me grounded with religion and honesty and also with making life easy for himself in incredulous ways like living with a grown ass uncle who would cook food for him, and cleaned his apartment. Amir Bhai has a heart of gold and follows Islam to the letter, and makes some really shady things kosher, in only a way that he can.
Not to be outdone was the only married member of our group Hammad. I will forever remember him for his wit, his early start in life, his competitiveness in sports, often driving long distances to lose in the pool and dropping me at the darkest corner in NYC and asking me to take a subway at midnight when I was on call the next day.
We all decided to go to NYC way in advance and booked a stay in Marriott Marquis right at the center of Time square. Everybody flew in from different parts of the country, Jacksonville, Houston, Las Vegas and an unknown area somewhere in the bible belt where Hammad resides.
I drove up to NYC and picked up Amir bhai on the way. I was happy that I decided to drive as this way we had a SUV to take people around and it was just as well that Afsar, the last member of the group decided to bail out at the last minute as the X5 could only fit 5 people.
We all had rooms on separate floors but me and Amir Bhai were near each other. We prayed together and then met up with the rest of the gang, all aging gracefully. We went out to get some grub and ate at a halal shop that sold middle eastern grub with desi flavor. We had some fascinating discussions and it was great to be in NYC together after almost 15 years. After dinner we just goofed around standing and talking for hours at Time square finally deciding to call it a night at close to 4 am.
The next morning started with the gym for me which has breathtaking views of time square and running on the treadmill at this height makes you feel like flying over NYC. Soaking in some great views, the workout got me hungry. All of us ate breakfast at the hotel except Shah who decided to sleep in. We all were ready for our day around noon after doing a starbucks run with Shah and decided to relive the subway memories and take a train to Freedom Tower which was on our list to see. The westfield world trade center mall which is in the financial district close to one world observatory, was our first destination. It was good to aimlessly walk around and make our way to the relatively small line to go to the top of one world observatory which gave us spectacular views of NYC. It was amazing to imbibe the wonderful panoramic views from the roof of the world.
As we came down we took some pictures and went back to the hotel to change, catch up on our prayers and get ready for our pre-booked Broadway show.
Initially I was skeptical about the book of Mormon show. I did not know if it would be interesting enough for the group. What followed was a treat in comedy and satire. The show has sarcastic humor and takes on the Mormon beliefs in general and religion in particular but kept it light and not offensive.
The show was extremely entertaining and was followed by dinner at Lahori restaurant in the famous Lexington Avenue District. The ownership of the restaurant seemed suspect and it appeared that the food had an Indian/Bengali touch and not the taste of traditional Lahori food.
Next day, Butt had to leave to see his friend’s ailing father in Long Island. We decided rather skeptically at Baba Sain’s advice to have mother’s day brunch at the hotel which transformed to the highlight of our trip. Not only was the food decent, but we spent almost 4.5 hours relaxing, chatting and snacking reminiscing about our past, listening to leadership and investment advice from Shah, taking in some Successful Aging tips that i shared with the group and tried to unravel the mysteries of Amir Bhai’s driver, a man of superhuman talents and his private assistant.
By the time Mujitaba came back, we were ready to drive to Brooklyn to visit our Alma mater. It was fun taking the Manhattan bridge and going back in time to visit Downstate Medical Center. Pulling in, we identified the famous Dunkin donuts that we all frequented, the parking place where Shah parked like an attending as an intern at spots for which some senior attendings had been waiting for years. I fondly looked at the Library where I was first introduced to Evidence- based medicine, walked the streets between two hospitals and visited the Kings County Cafeteria where the gang met for lunch after a hard day at work.
Nostalgic but happy at our accomplishments as a transplant nephrologist, oncologist, gastroenterologist, intensivist and primary care physician we marveled at how far we had come. Driving back we made our way back to the city to check out a new mall where we sat and had coffee and dessert. Our dinner was also a highlight as we came across a Persian restaurant with some of the best food. Finishing up we made our way to sit in the hotel lobby with views of Time square as we planned our next trip hopefully with Afsar.
Next morning, we again met up briefly for breakfast as everybody started to leave for the airport. I had decided to stay with Shah and drop him at JFK. As I absorbed more words of wisdom from Shah, we left the hotel after lunch and our 10 mile journey took two and half hours in bumper to bumper traffic but luckily Shah was able to catch a flight home.
The drive back home was smooth, full of amazing memories we made together and looking forward to many more trips together Inshallah.
westernmassoutdoors 