On Passing Away of Dear Friends

It is appalling how few in the print media take the liberty nowadays to print quotes that spring from the imagination of the scribe. It shocked me and Saira to read newspaper reports with imaginary quotes from Saira about plans to celebrate my birthday!  We have yet to recover from the shock of the passing away of my dear friend Yash Chopra who was by my side when I blew away the candles on my birthday cake last year and stayed on till the wee hours, sharing the family’s happiness. 

We are deeply grieving the passing of Balasaheb Thackeray who I always thought was not a Tiger but a Lion. He had the virtues of a lion. We will cherish in our memories the lively evenings at his home when we smoothened out our differences over cups of strong masala tea. I found him extremely sensitive on occasions, especially during the days Sunil Dutt was going from pillar to post to get justice for his son Sanjay. Balasaheb’s response was that of a father who understood a father’s desperation to save his son. We pray for Balasaheb’s family, especially for his son Uddhav, to derive strength from the Almighty to bear the irreparable loss. 

Rajesh Khanna who was with us at our party last year is no more with us. And Dara Singh who wished me so warmly on my birthday last year is not with us anymore.  A friend I am missing is NKP Salve, a stalwart of the Indian National Congress, who shared my love for the game of cricket and initiated me into the legalities of taxation with his command over Law and Accountancy.   

With so many dear friends gone this year, how can we even think of a celebration?