Living with Integrity : Saber Reza Karim of Bangladesh

As I reflect on the nearly fifty-five years of my friendship with Saber Reza Karim (1930-2009) the two words that sparkle in my mind are Integrity and Love that characterize his life and work. Saber's father A.K. Bazlul Karim learned Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit and earned a First Class Master's degree in English Literature from the famous Presidency College, Calcutta. As a civil servant he was known for his integrity and hard work. Saber's grandfather Abu Rashid, an inspector of schools, was well-known for his educational and community service and saintly character and is immortalized by Syed Waliullah in his famous Bengali novel Lal Shalu. Saber had a distinguished career first as a CSP officer in Pakistan and from 1972 onward in the foreign service of Bangladesh as Minister and Ambassador internationally and in a number of educational and public service national organizations after retirement. Saber loved to recite the following saying of Marie Curie: "We cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individual. Towards this end, each of us must work toward his own highest development, accepting at the same time his share of responsibility in the general life of humanity - our particular duty being to help those to whom we feel we can be most useful." Another favorite quotation of his was from one of Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays that the test of a really good and successful life is:... to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition. "This book is a gift offering by some of his family members and friends. My opening two essays show his ideal of Living with Integrity.