By: Shaheen Sultan Dhanji
My mother Arzina and I were on a flight to London in December, year 2010. After comfortably securing ourselves in a seven hour flight, we chanced upon a conversation on her first cousin, Farid Sher Ali, who has been one of my mother’s cherished cousins from her paternal side. The perceptions I had carried of this distinguished man clearly defined his personality on the day our meeting took place over high-tea in London, England — Farid’s residence of forty-three years.
Farid Sher Ali had fled Nairobi, Kenya, at the age of twenty in pursuit for higher education in the United Kingdom. A charismatic man who had less than fifty pounds in hand promptly searched for a place to identify his position in a colonial millieu — he travelled on foot to various European cities with his then “hippie” friends, taking long motorcycle rides across the country with his companion and brother, late Amin Sher Ali.
More at the source: Islamic Coinage of the Fatimid Era « Blood Ink Diary.
Ismailimail 
Shaheen, you finally completed this. We talked about it after your return from UK. It makes for a very informative reading and I am glad you did it in the format of an interview, I find that very interesting.
Farid had shown me some of the photos and some of the coins when I visited him during the Golden Jubilee, but I know he has such a vast collection. Hopefully, he will bring the collection to Toronto, once the Aga Khan Museum is completed.
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First, I apologise for not responding sooner! Just came across this post.
Ah, yes, Farid’s collection is stunning – thus, I felt apt to share his knowledge and passion for the Fatimid coins and its’ historical element.
Thank you, dear Zee – for the time you take to read my writings. Cheers.
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