Issue September 1 – 15, 2003

SAY ‘Khan’ and you think Bollywood, where the Khans rule. But there is one Khan we all almost forgot, and what a terrible mistake that was.

HE is an omnipresent Khan, his presence is inevitable at every Hindu wedding, and he not only sets the mood, but keeps the sanctity of a typically Indian tradition alive.

I am talking of the giant who hit the headlines recently because despite being a living legend, he almost lapsed into oblivion thanks to public neglect and personal ill health.

LUCKILY for all of us, Bismillah Khan’s plight was spotlighted by TV channels across India, and the prime minister himself stepped in to ease his sorry plight. I was outraged at our own negligence of what is precious to our cultural heritage when I first saw the maestro in distress on TV, but I could not but swell with pride at the way we responded to pull him out of his misery. The magical strains of his ‘shehnai’ when he played in Parliament must have brought a lump to so many throats, as it did to mine, and I marvelled at the strength of breath of an ailing octogenarian who could still weave his magic on us without missing a note.

HIS story reminds us of the other performing artistes who were not saved by such publicity, but lived and died in neglect and penury despite their talent and the wealth they amassed at the height of their careers.

IS THERE no scheme a bank can float where a percentage of all earnings could be banked with a equivalent portion from the state or central government being put in... for the rainy day when the performer is past his day in the sun? I’m sure any bank that starts such a scheme will win the approval of its clients as a caring bank. Not to mention the blessings of a generation of performers.

THERE is never a dearth of roadside entertainment. Each day shows me something new. Let me tell you of this power game I saw.

THE boy saw the goodies first. Rather he realised that the bag that lay on the roadside was worth investigating. His little sister hung around; he chased her away with a snarl... She busied herself with playing with a stick.

BUT by the time he went back to the bundle, an older playmate had spotted his interest in it and decided to get interested. When the little boy reached his treasure, he was eager to share it with the one who now had it, but the older boy would have none of that. His turn now to turn around and give the boy a long, lean look. The boy, who had probably encountered consequences of the look before, did not stop to protest that the bundle was rightly his... He joined his sister who greeted him with joy in her eyes. Together, they watched as the older boy opened the bundle by tearing an end, and revelled in its contents.

HUMAN nature at play, you say? Now substitute the word ‘dog’ for ‘boy’ and see how the story reads. It will tell you how human animals are. Or how much like animals we have started to behave.

SCENARIO number two: In downtown Mumbai, a water carrier truck waits for the lights to change, and inches up as the traffic readies to move. Each time it moves, a bit of its contents splashes out of the open top. From its leaky sides, water drips in a small trickle. I bemoan the waste. Then, a beggar carrying a baby stops, and holding the child’s head forward, cleans it softly and lovingly in the trickle. It might be the child’s first hair wash in a long time, and he enjoys it, wriggling his toes in response. I stop feeling bad, knowing this is a city where nothing really goes waste.

THE light changes, the traffic moves. The woman and baby move out of the way. Life goes on.

END of story.

The Editor