Once Gulzar's little BOSKY, is now known as well famous Director - Meghna

It was December 13, 1973 and the world, especially the queen of the suburbs in Bombay, Bandra was preparing for the coming of Baby Jesus and there was an atmosphere of festivity all over with decorations hanging out of every big shop on and around Hill Road and Linking Road and twelve days before the birth of Baby Jesus was born the first daughter of writer-director Gulzar and his beautiful actress- wife Raakhee in a maternity home with Dr Gokhale, the family doctor being in charge of the delivery which was declared safe. Ali Peter John

Bosky celebrated her birthday just after two days of the birthday of Dilip Kumar

Gulzar who was at the peak of his career visited the mother and the daughter and when he held the baby in his arms, he whispered "Bosky" into the baby's ears because he felt his touch feeling something like fresh and raw silk in the baby. Little did Gulzar know that his baby would be called Bosky even when she was a forty seven year old woman and a director of repute. Incidentally, Bosky celebrated her 47nth birthday on December 13, two days after the birthday of Dilip Kumar and one day before the birthday of Raj Kapoor and the poet and lyricist Shialendra.

I had grown as a journalist and one of the first few friends I had made was Sampurn Singh Kalra, better known as Gulzar. I was a regular at Cozihon which was the residence and office of Gulzar. I saw the early steps taken by Bosky and heard her first prattling sounds and then I kept seeing her grow into a child prodigy. She could write her own poems when she was hardly five and could paint the walls of Boskyana, the quaint bungalow Gulzar had built on Pali Hill and named it after Bosky. She was sent to the nearby J B Petit School for girls near Perin Villa, the old bungalow where Sanjeev Kumar lived in one room which was like a cubicle.

 

Bosky emerged as one of the brightest students and after finishing school, she pursued her studies at St Xavier's College where too she was recognised as an all-rounder. Her father had left a strong impression on her, especially when he wrote a book for her on her birthday for the first thirteen years of her life.

She could have easily joined her father as an assistant, but she preferred to work with Saeed Mirza from whom she learnt the basics of filmmaking and told her father that she was prepared to take her first big step.

Gulzar and Raakhee had separated and Bosky spent her mornings and afternoons with her father at Boskyana and the evenings and nights with her mother at "Muktangan"

She was very close to her "Papi" as she called Gulzar and wrote a book on him called " Because he is ". I was thrilled when Gulzar and Bosky decided to present the first copy of the book to me at the launch ceremony at Crossroads in Tardeo.

It was the 60th birthday of Gulzar and as was well-known about Gulzar, he never celebrated his birthdays and went into hiding on August 18, his birthday and spent the whole day at the West End Hotel in Bangalore which was also the place where he gave the finishing touches to all his scripts.

Bosky was very keen to have a party at Boskyana to celebrate the special occasion, but Gulzar was not interested. Bosky knew how close I was to her father and requested me to talk to him about the celebrations and to my surprise, I had to request Gulzar only once and we had a small but grand and dignified celebration for the birthday of a man who has been a silent but sacred celebration of life.

Bosky got married to a handsome young man called Govind Sandhu and they have been living in the same Cozihom where Bosky was born a full 47 years ago. They have a son who they have named Samay.

I realised what Samay (time) could do when I made it a point to be present at the press conference of her film, "Talwar" Bosky was surrounded by the media and I kept looking for her and finally lost track of her. I wonder if she will ever recognize me now that she is the maker of classy films like Filhaal, Talvar, Raazi and Chappak. I don't mind it she forgets me, but I will always remember the days I spent with her father and her when no one could say anything about her future, not even her father, but I had seen and told her father that she would be a creative giant one day.

Samay kya kya khel khelta hai insaan ke saath aur insaan bas dekhte raheta hai. Kab khologe tum tumhara raaz, ae Samay?