Of the Old & New

I was thrilled when my friend Neena Kulkarni said I was her 'date’ for the staging of an old play Hamidabai Ki Kothi. Directed by the doyenne of Indian theatre Vijaya Mehta, it spoke about the inability of a courtesan to adapt to changing times in ‘40s of Mumbai. After more than two decades Bai (as Vijaya Mehta is known fondly) was directing the play again and was staging it for her friends and well-wishers. I reached half an hour before the play only to see the sprightly 80-year-old Bai walking back and forth issuing last minute instructions. She was smiling, laughing, cracking jokes and yet there was a tinge of nervousness in her demeanor. It made me wonder how after all these years of accolades, applause and appreciation, she still had a side that was eager to please the audience and worried about the outcome. The play went off well and after a thunderous applause as we all thronged towards Bai, she just brushed everyone aside with a, “Now praise the play for the heck of it and get it over with so we can all move on!” Saying this she ambled towards her old friend Kishori Amonkar, who had made a rare appearance and the two giggled like schoolgirls as everyone stood around watching them. The average age in that room must have been 65 and yet the crackling creative energy was palpable. Nostalgia is a powerful thing!

Apart from evoking the bittersweet feelings of loss, regret and elation, it also reiterates that more things change, more they remain the same. Another invitation that surprised me was from Nina Pillai. I had met her many years ago at a party. I didn’t know her well but I remember it was difficult to ignore her in a room. I met her again and as the evening progressed I was taken in not only by Nina’s characteristic joie de vivre but also her strong belief in freedom and liberation from everything that stopped expression of mind and heart. She spoke unflinchingly of her feelings and escapades in the presence of her son and it was amazing to see a bond between them that transcended the nature of conventional propriety without compromising on mutual respect. As we discussed common friends, I asked her casually why she had gone off the radar from the Mumbai social scene. “I moved cities and I wanted to make a new life! And honestly if you don’t break away completely from your past you can never make a future, “she explained. “But now that I’m back to Mumbai I feel I’m home… But with a new perspective!” I think that was the secret. Whether it was Vijaya Mehta’s revisiting of Hamidabai Ki Kothi at age 80 or Nina Pillai’s return to her city, what gave them the enthusiasm was a fresh `perspective’! Who knows if a fresh perspective makes things better or worse but it’s definitely one way of making old things `new’!