No one calls me ' Sir ' !

I am amused to read in a prominent English  weekly  about a former MOS in the Union Government , belonging to the TMC, who when asked what he missed about  the ministry days, said that it was being addressed as Sir………!  His is not the lone example as many others find themselves in the same boat, once they are out of office or position.

One of the many (?)  perks that come along by being in a position of authority or even   while working in a supervisory capacity  is  being addressed as   ‘Sir’   by persons  who happen to be steps below in the  official hierarchy.  Many of the young entrants-  barely in their  twenties or early  thirties -  to the Service to which  I belonged not long ago, visibly look most happy when addressed as ‘Sir’ by   junior colleagues – I dislike the word ‘ subordinate ‘-  much older in age.

‘Unfortunately’      it is rarely that I have been called ‘sir’ by my junior colleagues , to whom even behind my back, I have been just ‘ Sharma ji ‘  .This at times left me  thinking   that perhaps I did not look like one  or simply did not deserve to be where I was. Now when  I  visit my  old offices,  I  am    welcome , am paid due regard  and listened to  carefully and attentively  and enjoy exchanging pleasantries  with my former colleagues . This perhaps is the secret   of being plain ‘Sharma ji ’. In    hindsight , I feel that perhaps they  did not want to have  artificial distance being created  between us as they  considered  me one of them  if not  ‘ their very own ’.

And why should I mind not being called   ‘Sir’ , as I was only a small  cog in a wheel  of the Government  machinery  and did nothing of note  to deserve the honorific  much as ‘Sir’ was  a hard earned knighthood in British India –and is still there in Great Britain- with only a handful of Indian  stalwarts like Sir Chhotu Ram, Sir Ganga Ram, Sir J.C.Bose  and   also  the Nobel Laureate  Rabindranath Tagore in the league , who returned the knighthood, aggrieved over the Jallianwalla   massacre.  

                                                                  

Lata Mangeshkar- Mohammad Rafi

A news item quoting  the legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar as saying that the Late Mohammad Rafi , another legendary   singer had tendered her  an written apology  on differences  over the issue of royalty, when she had refused to sing with him -  is disgusting. Such a  statement   coming in the wake of   Lata Mangeshkar’s  83^rd  birthday, when millions of  music lovers  across the  world   would be greeting her  and praying for  & wishing  for her long life , is certainly  uncalled for , ill timed   and  out of place , as  Rafi  Sahib   bade adieu to this world more than three decades back. I wonder, what points Lata Mangeshkar   was seeking to score, when  the issue  presents Rafi  in a  better light- as he emerges as a fine human being the least materialistically inclined . All he had said that there was no question of royalty  being claimed by  the singer or  the artiste  when he had already been paid .Rafi Saheb was  a loving and lovable person with no rancour or ill will towards any one.How hurt he must have felt when  forced to seek an apology.The reaction of Rafi Sahib’s son is  only natural , as  Rafi  was no less a  celebrity or a  legend  than Lata Mangeshkar  though comparisons seem odious at times .  Together they sang  many  unforgettable duets.

Mirror fast

 A few days back , I read about ‘ mirror fast ‘  being recommended   for  celebrities, especially those , whose looks  matter a lot as far as their profession is concerned. The celebrities would naturally include  film actors, stage artistes ,  media presenters  etc. Fortunately or unfortunately, I have been signing papers and pushing files   throughout my working career  which has had nothing to do my looks. Still age catching up with you is the concern of all ; crow’s  feet , furrowed face, laughing lines appearing all of a sudden are no laughing matter even for a less- than- ordinary –looks   person  like me. I have been virtually  on a mirror fast for quite some years, though, I have discovered the term only lately or may be  this  is a new invention altogether. What with the ever growing and burgeoning cosmetics   and wellness  industry , age does take its toll on all of us , so why not   accept the reality and face old age and fading & sagging  looks  gracefully ! Why run away from the mirror  and observe ‘mirror fast ‘ which is just like burying  one’s head in the sand  like an ostrich !

Mall (sans) culture

Shopping Mall  culture  is fast invading our lives , even in small cities and towns. The new locality  where we have shifted  some seven months back has mercifully no Mall . It may be more convenient  to  finds goods of daily need and use under one roof  and may also save  us  our  ‘valuable’  time  which each one of us  seems to have run out of   these days  due to hectic schedule and racy lifestyle,  but still I for one miss that personal  bond that existed between the  dealer/merchant/shopkeeper and the customer  in good old days.

I remember my childhood , when as kids,  for years we  went  to a particular barber for a haircut- and why not , as it was he who   would come to our home to give us a haircut when we were too young  to sit on a   high chair  in the shop  in front of a large  mirror  and  unable  to absorb the unfamiliar atmosphere of a  shop or a saloon.  He won’t   mind walking two kilometer  one way  on foot  when a haircut  fetched him  only   20-25 paise .  I still remember his name- Jhania Ram.

Similarly , Kammi  (Karam Chand ) was our family  tailor , till the time   we  grew up and  became fashion  and style conscious  to look for   ‘better’  choice or alternative .

Like wise, one Bhagwati Prasad  was our dhobi for many years  and my  father would endearingly  call him baretha , the meaning  of the word unknown to us  even today.    The grocer    and the sabziwala  would  gladly offer my father a seat inside the  small  shop  where  gup-shup  would go on for quite some time . I never saw  my father  haggling over price with any one.

Walking around in a shopping mall with a trolly  may satisfy our ego for a while, but  the pleasure of shopping  for    various goods  from   different  shops  was  immense. The personal bond  is  certainly missing in these shopping malls, however courteous the  attendants   may appear to be !

Retirement Blues !

More than a month into retirement  and I know not what to do now, with my physique  and mental faculties  all in tact. The philosopher in me prompts me to liken this phase to the  last Act of a drama ,which may  end soon or   stretch itself   even to 20-25 years. But last Act it is. It seems  thirty five years  of service have come to  naught  with no achievement to count or laurels to rest upon. Only I have been able to earn  sufficient  pension to  take care of my  financial needs . The words of the shayar  Akbar Allahabadi ring so true :

Kya kahen ahbaab  kya kar-e- numaya kar gaye

BA  padhe , naukar bane, pension mili  aur mar gaye !

Any suggestions please !

Meena Kumari

Born this day in 1932, Meena Kumari, the great  Bollywood actress of yore , due to penury and poverty   was forced to act as a child artiste at  the age of six. This also happened as a quirk of fate , as plain looking Mahazabeen Bano, as she was named then,  was not considered even worthy of  entering the film line, by her father .It was her mother who took her to some producer/ director  As luck would have it , her talent was spotted and her  career took off.She acted in many  well known films , like Miss Mary, Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam , Azaad , Kohinoor, Dil Apna aur Preet Parayi & many others ,  and last but not the least, Pakeezah which proved her swan song  but also immortalized her.All the songs of the film  became hits and were played all over .Perhaps this was the best that Kamal Amrohi , her separated  husband and also  Director of the film could have done for her.  Frustration and loneliness proved too much for her and she took to  drinking .It is no secret that while shooting for  Pakeezah, Meena Kumari ,  due to illness, was not able to speak and one  Sadhana Khote dubbed for her.   This hastened her end as she died in March 1973  at the relatively young age of forty.  If Dilip Kumar is the Tragedy King of  Hindi cinema, the crown for  Tragedy Queen would certainly go to Meena Kumari .

Romance with Music

My romance with music dates back to pre-school days in the late fifties when , my father brought home an assembled radio receiver set, run on electricity . I took to it as fish to water and in no time was able to switch on and off, tune in the stations on various bands i.e. ‘medium wave ’ and ‘short wave’  to listen to songs being played or broadcast . Sri Lanka or Radio Ceylon , as it was called then was the favourite ; from 7-30  AM  to 8 AM  old film songs were played and last song always  was  a K.L.Sehgal  song, as a tribute to the legendary  singer. Binaca Geet Mala  presented by the inimitable  Amin Sayani  was the rage. By the time I went to school, I was able to tell  Mukesh from Rafi  and  Lata from Asha   and vice versa.

In initial years when from School we were taken to see a  movie  or a ‘picture’ it was called then, I kept wondering  how the same actor could sing in different voices in  different songs. It was much later that I came to know about the playback system or “kiraye ki awaaz”  as  it was called in common colloquial language. Apart from the Radio, there was the gramophone on which records or ‘discs’ were played by manually turning a handle and frequently replacing the magnetic needle.  However this luxury was available to the rich few.

Radio receiver sets gave way to  portable transistor sets, run on  battery cells  and remained in vogue for pretty long.  Gramophone also came in power operated version without hassles of turning handle and replacing needles.

Then came cassette players, first audio  and then also the video version , on which full length movies could also be seen  at home by connecting the device to TV set. Sooner than later came   the computer and the  internet that   brought about a revolution of sorts . It was made possible to  download and store  a limitless collection of songs  to play at will. The You Tube  made it possible to play video clips at will. Now a days people carry music in their pockets  as song are stored in  mobile  phone sets.

The journey has so far been long  and interesting ; many surprises are in store  in future yet !