It's the silliest line you would hear, yet it has acquired cult status. Rajesh Khanna, hailed as India's First Bollywood Superstar passed away yesterday.
Cannot claim that I am a fan, he was my mother's generation but there is something about what I heard which has remained in my psyche.
When I was very young, we didn't have a television at home, infact, TV came into sleepy Mangalore in 1984 I guess and we had one at home a year later. The only channel available then was the Government run Doordarshan which we religiously watched since we had no choice otherwise anyways.
Sundays and Fridays were special. Sunday would feature a National Award movie in regional languages at 2:00 pm and a Blockbuster movie in the evening and Friday had the medley of popular hindi film songs called Chitrahaar.
Rajesh Khanna's movies were very popular and quite regular. What has remained with me is this memory of mother and me watching 'Aradhana' and mum saying in shocked tones, 'you know, when I was single and working in Bombay, every time a Rajesh Khanna movie released, the ladies compartment in the train was abuzz with excitement. One of the women said, Rajesh Khanna is my God!!! As mother narrated this, she was shivering and shaking in outrage. As a devout Christian her sensibilities were terribly offended and the statement too blasphemous to be real.
So when I hear of or watch Rajesh Khanna on TV, I'm instantly transported back in time and my mother emerges in all her hell hath no fury frame and her scorn is a living thing, even after all these years.
We never grow up do we.... prisoners of memories...
But remember... Pushpa... I hate tears...
2 comments:
Memories! Reading your blog has definitely stirred up some long forgotten memories. I fondly remember those Sunday afternoon huddles around the TV, waiting with anticipation and excitement to watch the Doordarshan movie. I had completely forgotten about Chitrahaar…..how we looked forward to it and how sad we were when the broadcast was over. Those were definitely simpler times and for me personally, happier times as well.
Anonymous has a name?
Post a Comment