Syed Danish Anwer | Personal Website

We must welcome the future, remembering that soon it will be the past; and we must respect the past, remembering that it was once all that was humanly possible.   

                                                                             George Santayana

Background

I was born on 12th January 1983, Wednesday, in Karachi, Pakistan in the morning at around 10 am to be specific. I have 4 siblings; 2 brothers and 2 sisters. All of my siblings are younger than me and I am the eldest.

We are Muslims and ethnically muhajirs (immigrants) hailing from the grounds of Patna, Bihar, India. Our ancestors had migrated to Karachi, Pakistan in 1955.

Early Childhood 

My first five years of childhood (1983-1987) were spent in North Nazimabad town of Karachi in a 250 sq. yards house owned by my grandmother (Syeda Mehbooba Razzaq) that had three rooms. My mom (Rukhsana Anwer), me and my sis (Syeda Asma Anwer), who is a year younger than me, lived in the house along with my paternal grandmother and also my chaha's (dad's brother Syed Aziz Ashraf) family. They had three children (Saima, Arsalan, and Mubasshir) while I and my sis were two kids making a total of five mischief-makers in the house. 

In that joint family house in Karachi, my chachi (dad's brother's wife) usually fought with everyone and there were lots of fights between her and my mother and between her and my grandmother and between her and my other uncles and aunts who came to visit our dadi (grandmother). I spent my time playing with my sis and cousins oblivious to the happenings.

My mother enrolled me in Nursery at a local school "Sultan Syed School" when I was three years old. I clearly remember that day as I cried the whole day as I didn't like the prospect of parting from my dear mom. 

My dad (Syed Khurshid  Anwer) had had been working in Saudi Naval Base in the port city of Al-Jubail in Saudi Arabia as a Mechanical Engineer since 1984. He was responsible for operation and repairs of mechanical equipment. He was living there alone until my mom, me and my sister arrived there to give him company in April 1988 when I was five years old. 

My paternal grandmother died in 1989, and the house in North Nazimabad was sold off in early 1990s.

               

We spent 10 memorable years in Al-Jubail, which is a developed city having all the amenities and luxuries of life. My brother Syed Afaq Anwer was born in January 1989 while my sister Syeda Amna Anum Anwer was born in January 1991. Finally, brother Syed Abdul Rehman Anwer completed our family of 7 in February 1997.
                                        

I completed my matriculation (Grade 10) from a school in Al-Jubail called "Pakistan Embassy School" in 1998. The most reminiscent thing about my life in Al-Jubail was going to the beaches, cornish, fishing and visiting places that our school arranged for students like zoos, ships, KFC, Pizza Hut etc. I regard my days spent in Saudi Arabia in the 90s as the most refined gem of my life. 

Teenage Life

After matriculation (10th Grade) we, except my dad, shifted back to Karachi, Pakistan in the summers of 1998 (Age 15). We lived in a large 400 sq. yards house of my late maternal grandfather (Sheikh Murtaza Hussain) located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi. Both my maternal grandfather and grandmother (Nilofer Hussain) had passed away in 1978 and 1996, respectively, and we lived in that house ourselves for the next 10 years.

During the initial few years, my social circle was like an empty plate. But then one of my school friends – Mustafa Khursheed – happened to visit our maternal house in Karachi. I had no idea how he was able to find our house since in those days there was no digital presence in Pakistan. Still, I spent quality time with my school friends – Mustafa, Talha, Umair, Nauman, Raheel Zia, Atif, Sheryar – sometimes partying late at night.

I was not a mischief-maker as a teenager. But I had the habit of crashing into weddings to eat free food. I was not caught most of the time, but decided to end the habit when once a relative of the groom had caught me and handed me to the security guards. My mom had to pay the guards about Rs. 2,000 ($20) for my mischief. From then on, I never ever crashed into any wedding.  

Due to misguidance, location change shock, and my own fault of procrastinating, I wasted the next 5 years of my life after coming to Karachi in 1998.  I achieved nothing during that period - no job, no degrees, nothing at all - and wasted my time watching TV or playing video games on my PSOne and PC.            

        

But then in 2003, I suddenly regained my senses after a serious skin disease due to which I was hospitalized for two days in Agha Khan Hospital. I had used an unknown ointment to get rid of my pimples, which resulted in a severe allergic reaction. As I was being administered an antibiotic intravenously in the hospital, I got time to ponder over my life. I realized that I was not only doing harm to myself but also my parents by wasting away my life and being a financial burden to them.       

  

After being dispatched from the hospital and recovering from the illness, I immediately enrolled in an intermediate program in 2003 (Age 20).  I completed my intermediate (high school) in 2005 as an external student. I completed my Bachelors in Commerce also privately from Karachi University in 2007.

Meanwhile, my sister Asma was married to a USA national, Fawad, in 2005 and she shifted to her susral. (She immigrated to the US in 2012, but got divorced in 2013 due to the horrendous treatment by her husband. She is now living and working by herself in the US).

In December 2007, my maternal granddad's house in Gulshan-e-Iqbal was sold off and we bought a small 120 sq. yards house in Gulshan-e-Maymar, sector R/1, a society located near the highway to Hyderabad in Karachi.    

                

In 2009 (age 26), I enrolled in the MBA/MPhil program as a regular full-time student at Iqra University, Karachi, and completed it in December 2012, with over 3 Cgpa and double majors in marketing and finance. The four years at Iqra University were truly the most memorable years of my life - quality friends (Sakhawat, Babar, Adnan, Awaal, Umar), parties, seminars, and winning outstanding diplomacy award two times at IUMUN (Iqra University Modal United Nation) representing Azerbaijan and China in 2010 and 2013.

In 2010, we sold our house located at sector R/1 as it was located in a bad neighborhood. We bought another house in the same town but this time in sector Q/1 at a very secluded area being fed up with rude, noisy neighbors. Our house was the only one located in the area at the time. We had an incident in 2015 with rangers and secret police banging our door one day since they thought it was suspicious for someone to live in a secluded area. They took me for questioning, but let go with no harm done when they were satisfied that we were simple, average family members who wanted some peace and quiet.

Adulthood 

In 2014 (age 31), three important events occurred that literally rocked my life. My mother along with my brother Abdul Rehman and Anum immigrated to the US, my brother Afaq got married and moved house to another area in Karachi in Federal B. Area, and I enrolled in a PhD program in Finance at Iqra University. 

I lived all alone in our family house with not a single soul to share my feelings for the next four years. 

Finally, in February 01, 2019 (age 36), I got married to a lovely lady named Syeda Tayaaba Danish. Allah Almighty blessed us with a beautiful son a year later on January 07, 2020 whom we named Syed Hassan Danish. 

My dad passed away after retiring from his job on May 2nd, 2022 at the age of 73. He was burried in Karachi, Pakistan. The same year my sister Anum got married to a self-employed Punjabi businessman named Salman. 

In October 21, 2022, Allah Almighty blessed us with a girl whom we named Syeda Ismah Danish. I did not complete my PhD due to family responsibilities, and also I realized that the scholarly professsion was not compatible with my personality. 

As of 2023, my mother Rukhsana along with my other three siblings Asma, Anum, and Abdul Rehman live in New Jersey in the US. My brother Afaq has done bio-medical engineering, and works as a business development manager in a firm specializing in medical equipment. He is married with 3 children (two sons and a daughter) and living in Karachi, Pakistan. My brother Abdul Rehman works as a cybersecurity network engineer for a firm in the US, and is currently engaged to a girl in Pakistan. 

Job Profile 

I would like to briefly narrate my job profile. My job career started when I worked as a computer operator in a school owned by my unlce Mr. Farrukh Zaidi (mother’s sister (my aunt) Shabana’s husband) in Karachi in 2004 (age 21). I worked there only for a month but left as I couldn't concentrate on my studies. 

Later on, I secured a post of Accounts Clerk in DHA Head Office in August 2010 (age 27) while studying for my MBA. I worked for the company for two years. 

When I completed my studies in December 2012 (age 29), I joined Al-Raziq international (Amiza Transport) located at Port Qasim as an MTO (Management Trainee Officer). However, I left that job within weeks of joining due to incompatibility with the management, and also due to extremely long hours (12 hours or more) required at the logistics company.

After a gap of one month in January 2013 (age 30), I got another job as an SEO Specialist for my Farrukh uncle's online business located in the US. I worked for the company from home in Karachi along with one of my classmates, Adnan Jivani, till January 2014.

In March 2013, I obtained a position of Customer Relation Officer at an Australian based immigration firm - AiNIT - in Karachi, Pakistan. I worked for the company until January 2014 (age 31).

In February 2014,  I secured a post of Executive Copywriter at Logicose (Pvt.) Ltd. located in Karachi. I am currently employed as a Senior Digital Marketing expert at the company as of 2023.

Acknowledgements

My life has been like a roller-coaster with many changes. But these changes in life have taught me a big lesson: you have to adjust to the surroundings or fail. My resilience, faith in Allah, and hard work ethics have been invaluable in recovering from setbacks.

I have also learnt that no man is an island. Behind the success of every person, there is a hand of someone. The support of my father and mother during the troubled times have been invaluable for which I am extremely grateful. I would also want to thank Dr. Aftab and Naved mamu (mom's brothers) for their financial support especially in buying a house. I also want to thank Farrukh khaloo (mom's sister's husband) for playing a part in my career development.

Lastly, I would like to thank Dr. Farhana khala (mom's sister) for taking time out from her busy schedule to help me with my wedding. She and Masood khaloo were emotionally supportive when I was alone. I am truly grateful to Allah for helping me through his noble creations.

I am now a married person with great responsibilities. But I have firm belief in Allah that He will help me in overcoming obstacles and remaining firm and faithful until the end. 

 That's it and that's the gist of my life till now. 

Thank you for reading.