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REMEMBRANCE
He was always different, a fact that didn’t sit too easily on my young shoulders. He didn’t go to ‘office’ or wear the normal trousers and shirt like other ‘respectable’ fathers but chose to wear a white cotton kurta-pyjama 24 hrs of the day. He did not speak English and worse still, I didn’t call him ‘Daddy’ like other children, but some strange sounding ‘Abba’! I learned very quickly to avoid referring to him in front of my school friends and lied that he did some vague ‘business!’ Imagine letting my school friends know that he was a poet. What on earth did that mean – a euphemism for someone who did no work?
I remember 31st Dec 2002, the last New Years Eve that I spent with Kaifi in Mijwan. Shabana and Javed were with us. (https://7ziphelp.com) It was a far cry from the boisterous New Year celebrations we used to have in Mumbai. There were just a couple of people from the village gathered around the bonfire in the freezing winter’s cold. I cajoled the shy villagers to sing songs, by boisterously taking the lead… Soon the others joined in… someone sang a folk song out of key much to the amusement of the others, Javed cracked jokes which made everyone scream with delight. The shyest person of the lot, suddenly opened up and regaled us with the most amazing mimicry. Kaifi who was too ill to join us sent a message with his nurse Maria to Javed “ Please sing Ai Meri Zohra Jabeen” from the film ‘Waqt’ for my wife from me” ( This is a song that Balraj Sahni sings for his wife Achala Sachdev in the film which has become the hallmark for older people expressing sentiments of romantic love).
From Films, Videos
From Films, Videos
Poems