Expectedly, Pakistani newspapers gave utmost prominence to the news of Dilip Kumar’s death and it formed the headline of most of the well known dailies. A country that had the privilege of housing the thespian’s birthplace, Peshawar, honoured him with the highest civilian award, Nishan-e-Imtiaz and loved his work as much as we loved here, ought to have treated his demise as a big event.

As very succinctly put in a couplet by redoubtable port Anwar Shaoor, who writes a topical couplet every day in Urdu Jung, grieving the thespian’s demise, it read:

تھے کب سے دلیپ کمار بیمار

کوچ آخر کر گیے وو

سنسار مین سو برس کا جیون

بھرپور گُزار گیے وو

थे कब से दिलीप कुमार बीमार

कूच कर गए वह

संसार में सौ बरस का जीवन

भरपूर गुज़ार गए वह!!

Loose translation of the above:

Dilip Kumar suffered for long

And bade adieu at last

Lived in this world for almost a century

A life that was celebratory till the last!

More importantly, the loss of Dilip Kumar is not a simple loss of an actor par excellence. It’s the loss of that common heritage that the two neighbours share but which is increasingly becoming rare. Raj Kapoor also came from Peshawar. OP Nayyar was from Lahore and these icons were the reminders of that shared heritage of these two countries which were one till 1947.

The above aspect becomes especially relevant when the new generation on both sides of the border engages in some very acrimonious exchange on social media, in spite of the two countries having a common heritage.

This is the third in the series of blogs that I dedicate to the thespian. Justice couldn’t have been done to such a towering personality in one blog. His life was so rich that one can write pages and pages on it, but for the time being, I will end this series with this last blog on the great actor, loved by generations and emulated by every actor worth his or her salt! As very graciously put by Megastar Amitabh Bachchan- “ whenever the history of Indian Cinema will be written , it shall always be ‘before Dilip Kumar, and after Dilip Kumar’ ..

Dilip might be dead but Salim, Devdas, Gopi, Ram, Shyam, Jugnu, Ganga and so many other characters lived by Dilip will always remain alive!

Read two beautiful couplets that summed up the legend that Dilip Kumar was :

The first one celebrates Dilip Kumar, the evergreen romantic, who is seen expressing his feelings to that eternal beauty Madhubala in a scene from all time classic Mughal-e-Azam. It reads:

کوئی آیت ایسی مل جائے میں ورد کروں تو مل جائے
کروں جو تجھ سے بے رخی اک اہ پہ میرا دم نکل جائے

______________________

कोई आयात ऐसी मिल जाऐ
में विर्द करुं तुं मिल जाऐ __

करूं तुझसे बे_रुखी एक आह
पर मेरा दम निकल जाऐ ..!!

Aayat is verse from holy Quran and vird is recitation. Berukhi is callousness, avoidance. So the above is loosely translatable as:

When I recite holy scriptures

You are my only ask;

If I ever avoid you

Let that be my day to be last!

Leave apart onscreen chemistry between Dilip and Madhubala, more so in the roles of Salim and Anarkali, the two were madly in love with each other in real life and if destiny was to be kinder, we would have had a made for each other couple that’s seldom seen. But in this matter, thespian’s tragedy King image overruled his romantic King image. And this is not to take anything away from Saira Banu, whose love for her “ Sahab” was pristine and who took his great care till he breathed his last. With Kamini Kaushal he had the first serious fling and as he revealed in an interview, Asma was his mistake. Rest of his so called affairs could be publicity gimmicks but did not seem to be very serious.

The second one aptly describes the actor par excellence, the best ever, and reads:

दफ़्न करने से पहले, जरा नब्ज जाँच लेना,
उम्दा अदाकार था, कहीं किरदार में न हो… 💐💐

Before you bury him

Don’t fail to read his pulse

A thespian was he

Could be into his role like no one else!

He literally lived his characters. When he failed in love, you empathised, when he met with a tragedy, you cried with him and you laughed with him and danced with him. Such was his power and connect. He died so many times on screen and it all looked so real that when the actual death came knocking at his door, it was natural for his fans to presume him to be acting, waiting for him to get up and play his next role!

There will be superstars and megastars. There will be natural actors and method actors. There will be talent not seen hitherto , but Dilip Kumars come once in centuries and we all should consider ourselves lucky to be born in a century that had the thespian illuminating it with his sheer presence.

Today morning the ultimate truth called death took the thespian Dilip Khan in its embrace. He was keeping an indifferent health for several years and was in and out of hospital frequently. But he fought and for this some credit should also go to his wife, actress Saira Banu, who stood like a rock behind him, taking great care.

His demise is no ordinary event. Sobriquets such as “ End of an Era”, “ the greatest Indian artist ever” etc will not be adequate to describe the loss. He was a national treasure – a national monument. His loss is simply mountainous, an unbridgeable chasm!

In his long career that started with his first movie Jwar Bhata released in 1944 and that spanned almost 6 decades till his last release in 1998, he acted in only 65 movies, which comes to an average of 1 movie per year. And in that sense, he was the first true Khan of the Bollywood- Shahrukh being highly inspired by the thespian’s school of acting, Aamir bring selective like him and Salman trying to reach the height of popularity that Dilip Sahab attained.

To my mind, Ram aur Shyam, a trend setter that immortalised the lost and found theme was the last of the movies reaffirming his superstar status. With several other stars taking centre stage and Rajesh Khanna’s era about to start, Dilip’s magic started waning. Gopi, Dastan, Bairaag, Sagina were some of the movies that readily come to my mind that he did in his later years. Though these were good and thespian acted with his usual aplomb, the old magic was amiss. Then he took a break and came back to set the silver screen and box office on fire in his new avatar- a character actor par excellence. Starting with Kranti, Vidhata, Shakti, Mashaal, Karma, Saudagar – it’s a stuff that embellished the thespian’s profile to a category that one can only aspire but may not be able to reach!

Born Mohammed Yusuf Khan in Peshawar in undivided India, the man developed his own school of acting that mesmerised viewers etching his lasting memories in their hearts. Highly honoured and awarded, his name and fame reached beyond Indian contours. While India honoured him with Padma Vibhushan and Dada Sahab Phalke awards, Pakistan bestowed its highest civilian honour, “ Nishan-e-Imtiaz”. His and Raj Kapoor’s paternal houses in Peshawar are proposed to be converted into Museums by Pakistani government. This will be a great tribute to the doyens of film industry, the breed of actors that’s fast vanishing.

Like any screen icon , the thespian’s personal life was colourful and controversial. Though he found a stable and lasting partner in Saira whom he married in 1966, before her, he had Kamini Kaushal, Madhubala and Vyjantimala in his life. He also married Asma and made her his second wife for a brief period, but ultimately Saira’s love prevailed.

He will remain the doyen, the thespian, the biggest star of Bollywood and continued to be emulated by generation of actors to come.

Rest in peace Mughal-e-Azam or more befittingly Azam-e-Hind, for he was not only Bollywood’s but nation’s pride.

26/11 continues to rankle our worst memories, when our beautiful and lively city was attacked by a band of heavily armed terrorists from across the border, who wreaked havoc by spraying bullets and lobbying grenades at the hapless, innocent and hardworking people of this city. What started as firing at Leopold Cafe, soon spread to famous restaurants locations such as CST station, Cama Hospital, Marine Drive and two of the most iconic hotels not only of this city but of our country- the Oberoi and the Taj Mahal Palace.

I didn’t know that great valour and presence of mind shown by the staff of the Taj had in fact been taught as case study at Harvard university, and came to know about it only the other day when a friend sent me a Ted talk video on the subject.

The speaker, a faculty member of Harvard university explains this case study and this video leaves the audience in the midst of a plethora of emotions – heart rending at the trauma faced by 500 in house guests , 600 visiting guests and 500 staff, gut wrenching misdeeds of the abominable terrorists, pride at the presence of mind and valour shown by Taj staff and above all amazement at the management lessons learnt out of this unforgettable tragedy!

While the Tata group is respected world over for their philanthropy and employee friendly policies and practices, the management lessons are real eye openers:

(1) the young apprentices and starters are mostly undergraduates, who are generally recruited from smaller towns such as Tiruchirappalli, Nashik and not from Delhi, Mumbai or Chennai;

(2) while recruiting the grades of the candidates are not seen but the emphasis is given on their attitudes. Teachers are talked to so that the students who are obedient, cooperative, empathetic and positive in their outlook are identified in preference to class toppers and A graders

(3) these staff are encouraged to be guest ambassadors and not brand ambassadors. Any positive note by a guest for a particular employee is taken note of and rewarded within 24 hours through recognition instead of through annual Diwali bonuses!

And such is the impact of the above that on the doomsday even the lowest ranked employee- telephone operator, waiter, cleaner, guard et al formed a human shield around the guests and protected them instead of escaping ! And mind you these were youngsters in early 20s for whom escaping the crisis should have been a natural priority! At the end these heavenly armed mad dogs on a death mission could kill only around 50 people, half of them being Taj staff!

As it is, any reference to 26/11 evokes the saddest memories, but I recommend viewers to check out this TedX video on YouTube by Rohit Deshpande. It will give goosebumps alright – the greater lesson being what the practical management lessons are all about!

Came across a beautiful message yesterday on the importance of giving and unity. A preacher asks the congregation about the secret of longevity of the giant redwood trees, the tallest trees on the earth that have survived flurry of storms, blizzards , snow, heat and yet have survived for hundred of years? Someone from the congregation attributes it to the depth of their roots! Preacher explains that in fact their roots are quite shallow; these trees expand their roots horizontally beneath the surface so as to form strong interlocking bonds with the roots of fellow trees. By doing this, they don’t only strengthen themselves but give strength to fellow trees to ! As the preacher finally concludes, this gift of reaching out to others, giving them strength and in the process forming a strong unity is the secret behind these tress longevity, stature, magnificence and uniqueness.

He then goes on to beautifully explain the fine nuance between living and life. He says by giving we receive. By getting things, we make a living. By giving, we make a life. We are only the caretakers of the divine property, but we misunderstand and treat ourselves as owners. We should learn from redwood trees – support each other and give strength to each other. In return, we shall receive longevity, strength and above all happiness. Isn’t it a beautiful thought?

I saw an interesting item in today’s newspaper. It was around the dedicated days – in fact, it was about an overdose of such days and yearning for a free, plain day.

As the news item mentioned, moving from Father’s Day on Sunday ( which was also an International Surfing Day and international T Shirt Day – thank god I wore a T shirt on Sunday, albeit unknowingly) to International Yoga Day on Monday ( also World Giraffe Day and World Peace and Prayer Day) to today being a World Rainforest Day, it’s been one helluva busy period 😃! This is not all – tomorrow the 23rd is World Widows’ Day and 24th is World Fairy Day and World UFO Day. In fact, the news item further laments that all the remaining June Days are dedicated days, 1st July is International Jokes Day, 2nd July for some reason is World UFO Day again, 3rd July is International Drop a Rock Day and 4th July is International Day of Cooperatives! The item celebrates 5th July, exactly 2 weeks from today that has been mercifully not dedicated to any cause and is just a plain, old day!

In the earlier days of my blogging, dedicated days were my favourite to pen a new blog! Luckily very soon I realised that it’s not just Father’s, Mother’s, Teacher’s or Children’s Day ! Virtually every day, sans a few intermittent good, old , plain days as the aforesaid news item describes such days, is a dedicated day and I would have run out of steam and ideas had I persisted with my initial resolve!

Happy 5th July no event day!

Father’s Day is celebrated the world over on the third Sunday of June honouring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. Going by the tradition, tomorrow, being the third Sunday of June 2021, is the designated day for this occasion.

India has a tradition of treating father with utmost respect not only in his capacity as the Head of family, but as someone who begets a child who is then born to a mother. Our most revered scripture Ramayana is replete with the stories of an ideal son, Ram, following his father’s orders most obediently though it meant tremendous hardships for him. We belong to the land that has produced sons like Ram, Prahlad and Bhagat Singh, who brought great glory to their fathers.

Respect for father requires no special day and this is true almost for all important days that we celebrate. However, this year in particular, Covid pandemic has wreaked havoc and it has been especially harsh on senior citizens – our fathers and mothers. This was not the end we envisaged for those who brought us into this world and whose love, affection and blessings we always craved for. There’s something depressing about this father day.

And today the nation received the sad news of the sad demise of another of his glorious sons – the flying Sikh Milkha Singh, who lost his battle to Covid a few days after his wife lost her life too! This father day let’s dedicate the occasion to the father of Indian sports – the flying Sikh!

Some people are brave hearts. While I don’t know whether they maintain social distancing or wash their hands regularly, but they definitely have an aversion to using the mask. They either don’t wear or wear it well below their nose, as if virus hates the nasal opening and likes to infect through mouth cavity only! It’s not clear whether their attitude arises out of ignorance or just that they have been plainly lucky to have avoided Corona?

But these are not all! There is another set that has an aversion to vaccine. These are easy preys of the canard being spread about the side effects of the vaccine. There have been news of bodies turning magnetic due to ill effects of vaccine.

Yet there is another set for whom crowded places are a must visit. Whether it’s their shopping requirement , religious affiliation or political inclination , they simply cannot sit at home or avoid such places where social distancing is made mockery of.

While writing the above piece, I am acutely aware of our Corona warriors – doctors, health workers, essential service providers et al – who are daily risking their lives for our sustenance. There are also daily earners who have no choice but to earn their sustenance daily. I salute all these and I think we should all remain eternally grateful to this section.

We can still fall victim to Corona in spite of mask, hand washing, social distancing and vaccination. But then we know that while death is a certainty, to walk in the middle of the road or railway track is suicide! We cannot defeat the death, but let’s not commit suicide.

Life is nothing but a set of challenges

And Covid is just one of them

If we can overcome all others

Why should to Corona we succumb?

Obliteration of Corona may not be immediate, but let’s ward off the immediate threat of the third wave that’s knocking at the door!

Stay safe!

In a sermon on death, a priest was explaining the truth about death to the congregation. He first stuns the audience by saying he’s dying. He said he started dying since the very day he was born, because death is the only truth and end of the life and the each day that we lived brought us closer to death. He then makes a statement that rankles everyone in the audience! He said, “ Everyone in this parish is going to die!” He looked around and noticed one man in front smiling broadly. “ Why are you so amused?” he asked. “ I am not from this parish,” the man said. “ I am just visiting my sister for the weekend.”

The incident reaffirms that we are all scared of death and do not want to reconcile to the fact that death is a reality and definitive end of this life. To avoid this reality, we go to any extent, like the man in the above incident, who felt he was immortal as if only the members of that parish were to die of which he was not a member.

Because we don’t regard death as definitive reality and the end of life, we continue to accumulate material happiness as if life is perpetual. Let my readers not get any impression of I turning philosophical preaching metaphysics, it’s just reiteration of my thoughts expressed in my birthday blog. Each birthday takes us a step closer to the end and while we should celebrate the day of our arrival in this world with our nears and dears, we should not forget to reflect on the reality of life!

I would like to thank Abacus Consultants, Colonel D K Sabharwal and Anindita for introducing me to Mitch Albom, whose work I found to be mesmerising and whom I want to read more.

Came across these beautiful lines by Robert Browning Hamilton :

I walked a mile with Pleasure;

She chatted all the way;

But left me none the wiser

For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with sorrow;

And ne’er a word said she;

But, oh! The things I learnt from her,

When sorrow walked with me.

The above lines beautifully encapsulate our frame of mind during pleasure and sorrow. When we are happy, we move ahead merrily as if there’s no tomorrow. When we are entrenched in sorrow, we move ahead heavily, again as if there’s no tomorrow.

The above lines can also be interpreted with more relevance, if we substitute sorrow with problems. I think the Poet exhorts us to take sorrows or problems in our stride by taking them as learning and remain optimistic or hopeful because if pleasure is transient so is sorrow.

There’s another angle to interpreting the above lines. Pleasure seems to be getting over very quickly, for we are in celebratory mood and everyone is with us; when we are in deep sorrow or serious problem, we are alone so it seems mountainous. As a Hindi song describes it beautifully-

Sukh ke sab saathi

Dukh mein na koi

This is much oft explained enigma that pain and pleasure are the two sides of the same coin and go hand in hand. Like we celebrate a transient happy phase, we should keep hope in difficult phase too as sukh follows dukh and vice versa.