Atal Bihari Vajpaee was the Indian prime minister at the time and my friend Sudhendra Kulkarni, a journalist turned political activist, showed the article to his boss, who sent a very touching letter to the singer, admitting his great admiration for the maestro. I highlighted this comment in my piece on him for Dawn. Unho ne mujhe kum muhabbat nahi di” (Whatever claim the Pakistanis have over my music, the Indians have it in the same measure.
When I introduced her to Khan sahib (as he was often referred to) he said “ Jo haq Pakistanion ko meri museeqi pe hai wohi Hindustanio ko bhi hai. She had been a great admirer of the vocalist. Also with us was a young Indian girl Nandita Bhavnani, who had arrived from Mumbai to see the city of her ancestors. I had accompanied Dr Saira Khan, who had made arrangements for the ambulance of the Medical Aid Foundation to take him from his house to the Aga Khan University Hospital daily for physiotherapy sessions. This meeting took place at his house in Karachi. He could answer questions, albeit with long pauses. The first time I spoke to him was in 2001, after he suffered his first stroke (in Kerala, where he gave his last performance).
Strangely, while I am one of his biggest fans, I only met him – save a cursory exchange of ‘ adaab’ at Mumbai Airport in the 1990s – when he fell ill. Watching him lie helpless and speechless, afflicted by so many ailments, not to speak of bedsores, was a heart-wrenching experience. Don’t curse me when I say I am relieved, for death has brought an end to his decade-long suffering.
0 kommentar(er)
