It Runs In The Family: Farhad Humayun And Navid Shahzad

Farhad Humayun and Navid Shahzad share their bond

Master drummer Farhad Humayun speaks about his unbreakable bond with his iconic mother, academic-actor Navid Shahzad. The two sat down with TEdit and spoke about a life shared together.

What inspires you the most about your son/mother?

Navid Shahzad: His strength. He is a true warrior, loyal, loving and honest.

Farhad Humayun: She is calm and content in the most testing times. She will never show a knee jerk reaction. That is the sign of an educated mind.



What trait of each other encourages you?

Navid Shahzad: His vision. He has always encouraged me (and others) to dream big and to be unafraid.

Farhad Humayun: She excels in everything she does and prepares for the smallest speech or role for months. That is how she has raised all of us. When you’re prepared, you can accomplish anything.

What is your favourite memory of each other?

Navid Shahzad: I cannot think of one particular memory. Life does not allow for ‘pop ups’ because when you look back, which we all do; there is a long list of moments that you cherish. I suppose one of them must be when Farhad was born and I went to see him in the nursery. He was born in Jersey and like most Asian babies had jaundice so they put him under a simulated sun light and blindfolded him. When I saw this beautiful, plump baby he was clad only in a diaper and had pulled the blindfold off his eyes! The nurses loved him because he was so active and just would not allow the blindfold to stay on. I suppose he was in a hurry to see the world!

Farhad Humayun: Going to school in the morning, she used to drop a scoop of vanilla ice cream in milk and give it to me for breakfast, when I was getting late.



What is the most adventurous thing you have done together?

Navid Shahzad: All our life has been an adventure! We relish every moment and every detail of every single day!

Farhad Humayun: We have walked the streets of England and Turkey endlessly and tirelessly, stopping for a bite at a cafe or for coffee and eclairs. Eating dessert or drinking coffee is always an adventure for us.

What’s the best thing about being a part of your family?

Navid Shahzad: I think the best thing about our family is that we constantly communicate with each other. We respect each other’s space, opinions and aspirations. Most importantly, we do not expect a traditional relationship wherein only the parents are always right. I learn from my children every day because I respect their intellect, creativity and their integrity. So it becomes a two way street and there is never a traffic jam!

Farhad Humayun: My two sisters, Ami and I and when Abu was alive, are close friends. We share the same interests - we like to laugh at nonsensical things - we always know we can count on each other, there is no pretense and there’s amazing positivity when we are together.



Is there anything that you wish had been different between you two or that you would still like to change?

Navid Shahzad: Not really. We love each other unconditionally with our faults, shortcomings and failures. We rejoice when any one of us succeeds and we comfort each other through failures. It is a very good equation.

Farhad Humayun: Everything is great!

What is the one thing you love about each other?

Navid Shahzad: I love his crazy sense of humour. This is something he has inherited from his father- I have nothing to do with it, but he has such a strange, droll way of looking at life.

Farhad Humayun: She has the softest ear lobes and sees the light in the darkest times.

Is there anything you wanted to tell each other but never have?

Navid Shahzad: I don’t think there are too many skeletons in the family cupboard - so the answer would be – no.

Farhad Humayun: No. In our family, we don’t hide things from each other. However, I don’t tell her enough that I love her but I show her in many ways.

Describe each other in three words:

Navid Shahzad: Beautiful, strong and kind.

Farhad Humayun: Warm, sparkling, mighty.

How are your personalities similar?

Navid Shahzad: Well we are both creative people so we enjoy a special and very delicate relationship based on music, performance, art etc. We are both private people with few friends and we are intensely loyal to people we love. And of course, we are both generous to a fault – money and time are of no consequence.

Farhad Humayun: We are similar in the way we analyse life, people, art and relationships. Money and power never meant much to us. Earning respect and helping others is our measure of success.



Do you think you are your mother’s favourite child?

Farhad Humayun: She makes all three of us feel we are the favourite child. It’s an art.

Do you have a favourite child?

Navid Shahzad: No. I love each of my three children equally but for different reasons. One may be strong, another may be vulnerable but the measure of love never changes. It is like your heart divides itself into the number of children you have and if one part of the heart does not function along with the others - you know you are in trouble. I do not think any mother could ever answer a question like this though my daughters tease me about my ‘preference’ for Farhad!