Radha Mohammed

– beginning of September 2021

Punya remembers:

Our gracious friend, Radha Mohammed (Ashrafa Sattar) passed away in her sleep at the beginning of September. She had been ill with cancer.

Our destinies have been intertwined from the very start of both our sannyas lives. This is how it came about: Around 1972/73 Saeed Sattar was moved to the Air India office in Milan. With a friend who was working in his office and with my then partner, Joao, we took him around, showing him the best bars and traditional restaurants in town. Ashrafa arrived, after he had settled, with two beautiful little girls in tow (later called Prema and Sonal).

Through some work exchange Joao received a free ticket to Mumbai which I redeemed. I was invited to stay at Ashrafa’s mother, Husena, in Colaba, where I also met her brother, Shabbir, who later bacame Farid, and her two talented sisters who were working in fashion.

Upon my return, wearing orange clothes and a mala around my neck, there was some head shaking from them, in particular because the concept of ‘guru’ was not in their tradition. From one of my trips I brought Osho’s book, My Way: The Way of the White Clouds, as a present for Saeed. He started reading it right there at his desk… I later heard that Ashrafa had heard from Osho at the very same time through other friends she had visited, so independently they both decided to visit Osho in Pune.

Saeed became Krishna Mohammed and Ashrafa received the name Radha Mohammed. After some time, Krishna was transferred to the Air India office in Pune, less prestigious a post but close to Osho, and Radha started to work in the ashram boutique.

Later, together with her brother Farid, they opened a strawberry farm in the countryside. He always kept me updated with news from the family on his regular visits to Pune. (Both Farid and Krishna Mohammed have left this plane a while ago.)

Radha and I attempted a Skype call in 2018, but internet was too bad from both ends. So she he wrote me a message which reads:

I am in my home in Bagalore. It’s lovely here. The monsoon rain is coming & the trees more than 50 of them are shining & happy. Got lots of mangoes from my trees. They are delicious! Next time in India please take a train or a plane flight to Bangalore & spend time with me & my small family. I am 75 years old now, but healthy & strong.

And Rashid remembers:

I lost touch with Radha and Krishna after Pune 1 (our kids had been the connection). They drifted off to Bangalore and set up a small restaurant on the outskirts. As you’ll remember they had done this a couple of times – both in the ashram and in the Botanical Garden.

It wasn’t till 2000 (after Krishna has already died) that I re-connected with Radha. She had come to Pune at the insistence of her brother who was also there – he with a terminal cancer. She invited Nisheetha and me to visit the following year. She was always generously welcoming.

By now their little small holding had become part of the city of Bangalore (on my last visit in 2019 the city had totally engulfed their small island of greenery and 3 or 4 tower blocks peered down on them…). They also had a restaurant that was being run by daughter Sonal and her partner. It was totally up-market, as was a boutique also run by Sonal.

I then saw her once or twice when she came to London to visit one of her sisters. We would have a meal and perhaps go to a gallery or stroll in one of the parks. Radha also came to Devon to visit us. On her last visit she happened to be travelling with 9 family members in 2 cars – somehow we managed to accommodate them all in our house!

Later she told me she had set up a small whole-foods business centred on breakfast-type cereals.

Last time I saw Radha, 2 years ago, her memory started to fade but she remembered me and was as infinitely gracious as always. She was a friend full of lovingness, balance, aesthetic sensibility, generosity, acceptance and integrity.