In this touching autobiography, an immigrant couple recounts their rich and fulfilling lifelong journey of more than fifty years together. Immigrants (Canadian Citizens) from India and Pakistan, the Habibs have penned a memoir that is a labor of love. It is a testament to their lasting bond with each other, honoring their marriage, successes, and heritage. But it is also a dedication to the community at large in which they serve and have come to know and affectionately consider as extended family. Additionally, they convey thanks to Canada for opening its arms to them following the partition of India, a complex social and political history that still affects them today.
The book splits the focus between Naiyer and Mahlaqa, portraying their lives before and after India. The beginning pages ardently trace each ancestry with maps, pictorials, and detailed family trees. From there, they depict their upbringings, extensive educations and careers, and active retirement with civic roles devoted to the Saskatchewan Muslim community. Part of their efforts here is to shed a positive light upon the Muslim faith and traditions, endeavoring to erase challenges, stigmas, and fears against their culture. Their prominent positions with organizations helping to better the Muslim population are also admirable and vital to its prosperity.
Altogether, this is a comprehensively structured but elegantly assembled memoir. At first glance, their book appears to be a hefty read. However, in actuality, there is a considerable amount of photographs and other documents highlighting their lives along with regional histories, articles, and other materials. Yet nothing is wasted or superfluous here, and all of it is pieced jointly into one chronicle that beautifully illuminates this generous couple's sacrifices and contributions. It is surely a lasting legacy worthy of being passed down to their descendants.