Touched by support in city: Ayatollah’s envoy

Mumbai: Among the mourners who assembled at the iconic Masjid-e-Iranian at Dongri on Sunday to condole the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei was a little girl. She offered her gold earrings to Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi, the representative of Iran's supreme leader in India, as a way to help the war-hit country."I was touched. I cried at the girl's gesture, her pure heart and intention," said Illahi, who attended condolences at the mosque, Islam Gymkhana near Marine Lines, and Habib Esmail Hospital in Dongri held by Habib Group of Trusts and Mumbai Aman Committee. Ilahi, who has visited Mumbai multiple times, said he was overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of the people in the city which, he stressed, is not just "a financial centre but a cultural centre too". "If I am not dressed like this (without headgear and black robe), many people think I am an Indian." A close friend of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Khamenei's son, Ilahi described the new Iranian supreme leader as "a simple man who lives in a rented house". "Once I travelled to Mecca with him and we went to buy shirts. He said he did not have $20 to pay for a shirt and bought a shirt that cost $10. When the shopkeeper found that he was the son of Iran's supreme leader, he started shouting in disbelief," recalled Ilahi. He recalled that Khamenei loved India a lot. "Before I came to India, he told me to read up on the history of India and the historical and civilisational relationship India and Iran have. Out of 75 books he wrote, his first book was on India." When PM Narendra Modi met him, said Ilahi, the meet was scheduled for only 15-20 minutes, but it went on for over an hour as Khamenei discussed India's rich history and its multicultural society where communities live in harmony. He said Khamenei revered many Indian writers and statesmen, especially Jawaharlal Nehru, who wrote "some wonderful books". Javed Shroff, chairman, Habib Group of Trusts, said, "War was imposed on Iran, but it must end as war brings disaster." He told TOI he will send medical help and a team of medical professionals to Iran on humanitarian grounds after consulting Ilahi. Former Navy chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat presented a piece of gold sent by his wife, advocate Niloufer Bhagwat.