Shamim Azad: From small beginnings

Mike Raggett

I first met Shamim Azad in May 2009. We were in an infants’ school in Bromley by Bow where she had been running a storytelling session. So it was a low-level encounter on chairs meant for five- and six-year-olds. I was on a six-month contract with the BBC to develop a series of pilot programmes for teaching English as a foreign language for the then World Service in Dhaka. I had done some research at SOAS and with Tower Hamlets Education Department and one name kept cropping up so I thought I’d better go and consult the oracle. My plans were at a very early stage and Shamim’s deep knowledge of Bengali history and culture and her experience in education proved invaluable in helping to shape them.

Buoyed with my new knowledge, I set off for Dhaka for a month of on-the-ground research in schools, colleges and community centres, and two elements emerged that young people, our target group was 18-25s – enjoyed was drama and games. They were interested in history to an extent, and of course in sporting and movie celebrities. Plans solidified. I needed two presenters fluent in Bangla and English and had auditioned a few when Shamim introduced me by email to her daughter Eeshita. It was quickly apparent that she was perfect for the role and I soon found her a co-host in Manzur al Mawla, a lawyer in training who also did some TV work. We were fortunate that Shamim happened to be visiting at the time we were filming and so I could incorporate a storytelling performance into my filming schedule. The pilot programmes worked well and I returned to London to debrief at the BBC and come to the end of my contract. Two series of programmes aired on BTV. End of story? No.
Over the next few years, Shamim and her husband, my wife and I would go to events together and dine together in a variety of favourite restaurants. Then came the sad news of Azad’s death but our friendship continued a little more fitfully. Until!

“We’d like you to be a trustee of the British Bangladeshi Poetry Collective,” came the call from Eeshita. My own wife had died in 2016, and I had decided to enter semi-retirement – well, I was quite old enough. But these had become dear friends, I had the knowledge of setting up companies and handling and a certain amount of time between other writing commitments and volunteering positions, so I said “Yes, OK.”

Since then, of course, the second B has segued to Bilingual, we are a fully-fledged Community Interest Company, have performed at the Season of Bangla Drama for five or six years now and participated in many other events together. Shamim and I seem to gel both as friends and as colleagues when working together. Facilitating a Translation Circle to a room of 30 people with 12 different languages as part of the Barbican Centre’s Voiced: Festival for Endangered Languages was quite a challenge, but it proved popular and obtained good feedback. Our thinking comes from different places but seems to coalesce into something that works.
Meeting Shamim sixteen years ago proved to be the start of a journey that has given me immense pleasure, insights into different cultures and a lasting friendship that shares concerts and outings outside of BBPC. And I’m also delighted that she got back in touch with a friend from way back when, who became her second husband, Selim Jehan, who is also among the people- I’m proud and privileged to call a friend.

Copyright@ Mike Raggett November 2025

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