…Over to Ramlila Maidan

NEW DELHI.August 18,2011. 06.26 AM  IST. :  After a series of hectic parleys spread over 36 hours, the team Anna and Delhi police have reached a settlement over the duration of Anna Hazare’s  anti-corruption protest. The Gandhian has accepted the offer for 14 days of hunger strike beginning on Thursday at the Ramlila Maidan.

“Anna has accepted the DP (Delhi Police) permission for two weeks (of fast). Anna now shall be at the Ramlila Maidan post 3PM”, tweeted Anna team member Kiran Bedi.

The breakthrough came late midnight after a half an hour long meeting between Hazare aides Bedi, Prashant Bhushan, Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Police commissioner B K Gupta at the latter’s residence in Chanakyapuri .

Police  commissioner agreed to grant the  permission for 14 days of protest by Hazare at the Ramlila Ground, after an initial offer of 7 days. After the agreement team Anna consisting of Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan, Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal left back for Tihar Jail, where Anna inside and a huge crowd outside has been carrying with their peaceful protest against corruption. Anna by fasting since 16^th morning and crowds by raising slogans and sitting in the most orderly fashion.

The team, on return first briefed Anna about the outcome of the meeting. Once Anna nodded to the agreement, the news was shared with huge gathering outside Tihar jail. This was greeted with loud voices of cheers.

This is being seen as a huge victory for Anna protest over the government of the day, which had imposed earlier none less than 22 conditions to allow the Anna protest against corruption and the demand to introduce Jan Lok Pal Bill in place of the weak official Lok Pal Bill. Now almost every unreasonable condition like a maximum of 3 days fasting, limited gathering of 5000 people and parking for only 50 vehicles at the dharna site has been withdrawn.

My Unforgettable Moments : Shammi Kapoor

 
YOU promised not to tell……

        “But… they are unforgettable….”

        “True, but how could you even dream of telling….”

This is how the argument went on within me before I began to write about my unforgettable moments.

The first experience alone is unforgettable. Repeated again and again, it freezes into habit. The unforgettable moments and those that are forgotten, the intense and the trivial, make up the chapters of human life.

They are few, the experiences. I will never forget the first time I became aware of him, because in that instant I knew life would never be the same again. He made it fiery, turbulent –going somewhere, faster, and faster, always going endlessly, never reaching.

He drove me mercilessly, making me live as though each day were my last. He made me go in search of everything in life until a voice whispered within me, “you must find yourself first to find everything” that was when I decided to get rid of him.

His name is Shammi Kapoor. He used to be a handsome young man with a thin moustache and a devastating look which unnerved the brave and attracted the fair. He nearly led me astray when I realized that I must take another path.

I was about fourteen at the time, studying at the Don Bosco School. I had been chosen for the football team to play against another school. I was very proud of this. The match was to be held at the Matunga Gymkhana Grounds.

A few minutes before the match we trooped to the ground in our uniforms. I was the goal-keeper. The game commenced – and with it my downfall.

Among the crowd near the goal I was (supposed to be) defending, I noticed two girls in pigtails, grazing adoringly at me! This spent my spirits soaring, and I began to show off. Our opponents scored goal after goal through my distracted defence, and we lost the match by the ignominious score of seven-love.

When the match was over and the crowd dispersed, the irate members of my team fell on me with fury and gave me a sound thrashing, swearing never to allow me near the football ground again. But was I worried? No, I had been admired by two lovely girls.

The first time I took a girl to the pictures was when I was not fifteen yet. We were looking forward to it. I had booked two seats in the Rs 1-5 class. Before we caught the train at Matunga, where we lived, I bought two first-class tickets.

We saw the picture-till the interval. The crowd got up and went into the foyer and we too went. At the door, the usher looked at us.

“Just a minute,” he whispered, drawing me aside.

“I don’t think you know, but your father is upstairs in the Rs. 2-2 class, and your grandfather is in the Rs. 2-10 class!”

I got the shock of my life.

“Come,” I told my fair companion taking her elbow and hurrying, “we’ll see the second half some other time!”

We hastened to the station, nervously looking behind us to see if my father or grandfather was following us.

In spite of having us first-class tickets, we entered a crowded third-class compartment and travelled standing. I was taking no chances.

(This is an excerpt from an article by Shammi Kapoor, published in “Filmfare’ May, 1958. It gives a deep insight into the character of the man – fun loving and deeply honest. We reproduce the piece here as a tribute to the Prince Charming of the Bollywood. Editor)

*****

Shammi Kapoor : The actor, who brought sunshine to dark reel

By Raajkumar Keswani

The most happy face of Indian screen, Shammi Kapoor, is gone. He breathed his last in Mumbai on Sunday 5.15 AM, bringing to an end the era of sparkling energy in Bollywood.

Shammi Kapoor, only one in his own class and style, was admitted to Breach Candy hospital last Sunday and had to be put on a ventilator after his condition deteriorated. His low blood pressure compounded by an infection has been bothering the team of doctors attending on him in the ICU. He has also been suffering from chronic renal failure for past several years and had to undergo dialysis thrice every week.

With all these physical problems, Shammi kapoor’s undying ‘Yahoo’ spirit never did desert him till his last breath. I am not aware of his exactly last moments, but he was very much interacting with his family till I checked on Friday evening.

My generation of 50s and 60’s has grown on Shammi Kapoor movies. His acting was a rare combination of Sunrise energy and unbounded spirit of youth. His physical movements were a language in itself , which every young man of that age wanted to speak.

To say, he was inimitable, is oft repeated sentence for Shammiji. But that did not deter the likes of Joy Mukherji,Biswajeet and many more and even flourish on that. No matter, how poor they looked in their attempts.

On one occasion, in an interview, inresponse to a question on what he would like to be if was born again, he said  -  ‘Shammi Kapoor, who is a better actor. Who is more disciplined and who makes lesser mistakes in life.’

Amen.