Dedicated In loving memory of Solveig Keshavjee (1963 – 2019)
Author: Solveig Keshavjee: In loving memory
The online Keshavjee family memorial dedicated in loving memory of my beautiful wife, incredible mother and artist Solveig Keshavjee (Solveig Zarah Keshavjee).
When I lost you honey sometimes I think I lost my guts too And I wish God would send me a word send me something I’m afraid to lose Lying in the heat of the night like prisoners all our lives I get shivers down my spine and all I wanna do is hold you tight
I swear I’ll drive all night just to buy you some shoes And to taste your tender charms And I just wanna sleep tonight again in your arms
Tonight there’s fallen angels and they’re waiting for us down in the street Tonight there’s calling strangers, hear them crying in defeat. Let them go, let them go, let them go do their dances of the dead (let ’em go right ahead) You just dry your eyes girl, and c’mon c’mon c’mon let’s go to bed, baby, baby, baby
I swear I’ll drive all night just to buy you some shoes And to taste your tender charms And I just wanna sleep tonight again in your arms
There’s machines and there’s fire waiting on the edge of town They’re out there for hire but baby they can’t hurt us now Cause you’ve got, you’ve got, you’ve got, you’ve got my love, you’ve got my love Through the wind, through the rain, the snow, the wind, the rain You’ve got, you’ve got my, my love heart and soul
As time passes and the days turn to weeks, then turn to months and now almost 2 years have gone by…doesn’t change my love, my memories and my gratitude for every moment I spent with my beautiful Solveig. Though I have found a way to move forward and feel happiness in my memories, doesn’t lessen the loss I feel, the loss our girls feel at losing their mother…we miss Solveig everyday…everyday, and even though we are able feel happiness again and the pain doesn’t sting like a razor cut, we still feel it…we’ll always feel it, but we can now live in the way that Solveig would be proud of.
On this day I remember, as I do every day, our wedding and the start of our life together – I didn’t think it would get cut short after 26 years and I wish we could have had more time together, but for the time we did have, Solveig and I LIVED it FULLY and HAPPILY and steadfast in our Ismaili faith and with the love we have for God – I could not imagine it any other way. Solveig has left such a legacy and I am still learning from her…how to be an even better man, a better father, a better friend, and to continue her love of life, passion and kindness to others.
As life moves forward, not on, but forward, I can smile and laugh again and forge different paths. Life must continue, and new horizons await…yet I know that the whisper I hear in the trees, in my heart and in my soul, that sign, I know is her…it will always be her, guiding, and shining above.
I miss you every day my angel Solveig and I love you with all my heart and soul, that love is special and holds a place only for you. One day, I’ll hear your voice beside me, and you’ll take me home.
Happy anniversary to my beautiful Solveig.
A kiss that began a journey and will continue through eternity.
In loving memory of Solveig Z. Keshavjee,
1963 – 2019
(Solveig Zarah Keshavjee)
Goodnight, my angel Time to close your eyes And save these questions for another day I think I know what you’ve been asking me I think you know what I’ve been trying to say I promised I would never leave you And you should always know Wherever you may go No matter where you are I never will be far away
Goodnight, my angel Now it’s time to sleep And still so many things I want to say Remember all the songs you sang for me When we went sailing on an emerald bay And like a boat out on the ocean I’m rocking you to sleep The water’s dark And deep inside this ancient heart You’ll always be a part of me
Goodnight, my angel Now it’s time to dream And dream how wonderful your life will be Someday your child may cry And if you sing this lullabye Then in your heart There will always be a part of me
Someday we’ll all be gone But lullabyes go on and on… They never die That’s how you And I Will be
Dear God, we humbly thank you for Solveig Zarah Keshavjee. We thank you for her life. For her kindness, her humor, compassion and bravery. For the love she shared with our family and friends. The joy she brought into all of our lives. And we ask that you be with us now. To guide us in our pain…and our grief…And help us comfort each other, strengthened by the knowledge of your love. Knowing that Solveig is not lost to us, merely separated for a while…as she finds rest and wholeness in your loving arms…until one day we may be reunited with her…in everlasting peace. Amen
There is not a single day, or moment that goes by where Solveig isn’t remembered in our hearts, in our thoughts, in our memories and in all the love that she has given us that endures eternally.
We miss you so much, and are so grateful that we were chosen to be your family – all those that knew Solveig throughout our 26 years together, know what her family meant to her…and we honor that now, by loving each other and staying by each other’s side through thick and thin.
Dear God, please grant peace eternally to, Solveig Zarah Keshavjee, who is under your care and your grace, that her soul may rest and shine above us, and that she always is proud of us. Dear God please grant peace to all those left behind, allow smiles and happiness to enter our hearts, now and always.
My beautiful Solveig, I shall hold you in my heart until I can hold you in heaven, happy birthday.
All the shows in loving memory of Solveig were COMPLETELY SOLD OUT! Partial proceeds from every event went to various foundations across the province. The special presentation the band did will be online soon with a link to https://www.ottawacancer.ca/
Solveig will always be in my heart, my thoughts and my love is endless…we all love you and miss you…I love you always…
Last year in January, Solveig Zarah Keshavjee, my beautiful wife and mother to our two incredible daughters became an angel. I am not going to cut and paste platitudes from the internet or funeral poems, but I will write in earnest…we miss her, think of her and love her everyday single day. Solveig still lives in our hearts and I see her in everyday my children…this is a blessing that I cannot ever begin to articulate properly – to be able to see her still in our children…her laugh, her smile, her strength, her wisdom, her courage and her compassion…it truly is God’s blessing. Sometimes I look up, and there she is, a reflection in our daughters, guiding and loving. I see how many people she touched with her kindness and joy… and in this way she still lives on. We have beautiful photos and video, music and song…we are so filled with gratitude. Solveig is honoured now by us living our lives to the fullest and continuing to live everyday with love. My family is deeply grateful to the incredible support and love we have been shown from friends and family across the globe and still receive this kindness daily…we are truly grateful. Cherished and forever loved, Solveig Zarah Keshavjee, we miss you and love you, we smile and are filled with gratitude always as we ALWAYS remember you… beautiful wife and mother, loved by all, voice of an angel, forever in our hearts. NEVER FORGOTTEN. Azim
Solveig introduced us to this beautiful German tradition back in 1993 when we first met and the tradition has continued to this day. Even though Solveig is not physically here, her presence, in all we remember and honour her with is deeply felt. We feel her all around us like a gentle whisper, supporting and loving us as she has always done. Our plates are ready!
What is a Bunter Teller? Bunter Teller translates as “colorful Plate”… but it’s much more than that. It is a plate of colorful goodies like cookies, fruit, candy and chocolates that is given at Christmas. A special cardboard plate decorated with pretty Christmas images… loaded up with our favorite cookies and other special treats. These were ours to eat, and not have to share. Solveig also set out a BIG Bunter Teller on the table LOADED with home baked cookies, candies and other treats… and spent the whole season replenishing it daily. Domino Steine, Spekulatius, Lebkuchen, Chocolate Glocken, Eiskonfekt, and MORE.
Where does the tradition of the Bunter Teller come from? The Bunter Teller is mentioned in a song from the 19th century, “Lasst Uns Froh und Munter Sein” While we associate putting out Shoes for St. Nicholas, somewhere along the line, a plate was added to collect goodies.
One theory goes like this…Originally, Christmas trees were decorated with nuts, fruits and cookies. Kids loved that they could help themselves to these special seasonal treats… and then glass ornaments and lametta started showing up on trees. More and more families began using them, and the treats were crowded off the tree in favor of these beautiful and re-usable decorations. But the kids still wanted treats (glass balls are beautiful, but you can’t eat them) … so a plate was set by the tree, loaded with the cookies that used to hang from it. In a sense, the treats moved from shoes to tree to plate… Today kids get treats in shoes on Nicholas Tag, and on plates for Christmas.
German Paper Cookie Plates The cookies and treats on the plate are special, but the plates themselves have a story too. Paper plates were invented around 150 years ago by a retired museum director, who was also a master Bookbinder, in the Brandenburg town of Luckenwalde. He had read an article about how unhygienic it was to put food on old newspapers, so he did some experimenting with pulp made from sawdust. In 1867 he got his first patent, and before you know it, paper plates were in use. Picture plates came soon after this, and by the 1880s, special Christmas plates for Christmas confections were being offered. Colorful plates with pictures of Children playing, the Weinachtsmann, and the Bethlehem stable. What’s interesting is that the pictures in the advertisements for the plates held mostly cookies and sweets instead of the traditional fruit and nuts. People loved the look… and started filling their plates with more calorie bomb sweets and fewer apples, oranges, dates and almonds.
Today, it wouldn’t be Christmas in a German Household without a Bunter Teller on the table, filled with all of your favorites. Whether you use the vintage paper plates, or you use regular serving plates, it is certain to become a favorite tradition in your home too.
Bunter Teller for New Year Another time to have Bunter Teller is New Years Eve. The bounty of sweets on the plate represents the best of the past year, and is a hope for a plentiful New Year!
Solveig Zarah keshavjee We miss you…everyday, every minute…
We miss you…everyday, every minute…
It was only one hour ago It was all so different then Nothing yet has really sunk in Looks like it always did This flesh and bone Is just the way that we are tied in But there’s no one home I grieve, for you You leave, me So hard to move on Still loving what’s gone They say life carries on Carries on and on and on and on
The news that truly shocks
Is the empty, empty page
While the final rattle rocks
It’s empty, empty cage
And I can’t handle this
I grieve, for you
You leave, me
Let it out and move on
Missing what’s gone
They say life carries on
They say life carries on and on and on
Life carries on in the people I meet
In everyone that’s out on the street
In all the dogs and cats
In the flies and rats
In the rot and the rust
In the ashes and the dust
Life carries on and on and on and on
Life carries on and on and on
Life carries on and on and on and on
Life carries on and on and on
Just the car that we ride in
The home we reside in
The face that we hide in
The way we are tied in
As life carries on and on and on and on
Life carries on and on and on
Did I dream this belief Or did I believe this dream? Now I will find relief I grieve
Our Mom stood by her word, her ethics and by her loyalty to all those she loved dearly – she was fiercely loyal and loving to our Dad throughout their 26 years together and to us, her children for our 20 years. The one thing, more than anything she absolutely detested was hypocrisy – she couldn’t stand folk ‘showing up at the nth hour’ so to speak…she would always say, “if you can’t be bothered with me then don’t show up when it looks good just to make an appearance or when it’s convenient – or because it’s self-serving”…we knew and still know a few sad folk like this…even now there are still those ‘folk’ that act like they’ve known her well…like they knew her throughout her amazing marriage with our Dad, through raising us, and through her growth as an amazing independent and strong religious woman who chose her path definitively without doubts…and yet ‘these folk’ have not spoken to, or have had any involvement at all in ANY aspect of Mama’s life, our Dad’s, our family’s or otherwise for LITERALLY 26 years – and yet feign this ‘am so sad and so shocked and deeply grieving’ – We don’t begrudge anyone expressing their sympathy, but to act and write like they were ‘close and tight-knit’… yes, grief and loss are very individual and grief is a journey…trust us, sadly we know all too well how hard it is… just look at our Dad and how much he misses Mama…but seriously if you haven’t seen or heard from someone in over 25 years…come on…the hypocrisy… these are Mama’s least favourite people…she loathed this type….that is fact…she even wrote a song about it (called Hypocrisy which is on her album together with our Dad (The AK/SK Project – a thunderous exchange of silence)…we also have a number of hand-written letters she wrote on this matter …we have asked our Dad to put one in the gallery so you can see first hand…it’s clear and precise.
Mama’s life and memory are pure and it will remain that way, untainted by fake, phony and frankly deluded acts by those in their guilt or their hypocrisy.
