PAPPI AND HIS DEAR BOSKY

Ali Peter John

I had a loving mother, who was with me for a far lesser time than I would have loved her to be. I never had a sister .I knew I would never have them again ,but I had a dream to have a daughter of my own, which also remained a distant dream. I wrote my first major piece as a "middle" in the "Indian Express " about the joy of a father when daughter is born when I was only twenty -four and I recieved any number of reactions from readers and especially women who knew me asked me how I could write so emotionally about a daughter who was not born to me and when I had not even thought of getting married and setting up a home.

The dream of having a daughter has been still-born , but I still love daughters and will always do.....
I have spent my life looking for ideal relationships, but the one relationship I have still held close to my heart is the relationship between a father and his daughter....

It was this quest that led me to finding the ideal father and daughter in the poet and filmmaker Gulzar and his only daughter,Meghna who he called Bosky....

I had the privilege of watching the relationship between Gulzar and his Bosky from the beginning. Bosky was the first born of Gulzar and Raakhee, the popular actress. They had decided to call the baby Meghna, but Gulzar being the sensitive poet he was (and is )called her Bosky because he said he felt it was like touching Bosky (which was a kind of delicate silk )when he first touched her in her cradle....

Gulzar and Raakhee had differences and had separated with Raakhee moving out to her own bungalow, "Muktangan"and Gulzar building his own bungalow on Pali Hill which he named"Boskyaana "

(The house of Bosky)
Meghna studied at J.B.Petit High School for girls in Bandra and was a very bright student who made her father and mother proud....

Gulzar, the father was enamoured by Bosky's achievements that he did not mind her scribbling her little poems and painting the walls of "Boskyaana" with her first attempts at expressing herself as a child....

Gulzar, who Bosky had started calling Pappi had started an unusual experiment as a writer. He wrote a special book for Bosky and presented it to her on her birthday and this practice continued till Bosky was thirteen years old. The books were a combination of stories for a child with a message in them.

Bosky had started going to St. Xavier's College and had again proved to be a bright student and also an all -rounder .

She spent her time between the homes of her parents, the day with Gulzar at "Boskyaana" and the nights with Raakhee at "Muktangan". And showed the first signs of being interested in writing poetry, writing scripts and making films.

She could have easily joined her father who was at the peak of his creativity as a poet and in his career as a film maker, but she assisted director Saeed Mirza and after working for some years, she made her debut as an independent director with a sensitive film like "Filhaal ". The film did not do well at the box office but was appreciated by the discerning audiences and critics. Bosky who was now Meghna Gulzar was ranked among the directors who would make a difference to the future of Indian cinema.

Bosky took a break from films to write a book on her father called
"Because he is "and the book was recognized as a genuine tribute from a daughter to a father. I was lucky to be the first to receive a copy of the book as was the wish of both the father and daughter.

It was the sixtieth birthday of Gulzar and it was a known fact that Gulzar never liked celebrating his birthdays (August 18, which incidentally is also the birthday of my mother which I have felt is one of the reasons why I have had a unique bond with Gulzar right from the time I was in college and use to try and dress up like him and even had a stubble on my cheeks, a madness which I had to give up because I couldn't afford it). Meghna wanted to somehow celebrate her Pappi's sixtieth birthday at "Boskyaana ". She asked me to convince her father about the celebration she had planned. Gulzar listened to me and the party that followed was one of the most dignified and yet joyful parties which I don't think Bosky or Gulzar can forget.

Bosky got married to Govind and Gulzar was very happy for the couple and they have a son who has a name only Gulzar could give him,Samay (time).Even though they live separately, they live like one small family. And time (samay)has failed to have any negative impact on the bond between them. Incidentally, Bosky and her little family live in the same apartment (Cozihom Apartments)where Gulzar had his office and also where he and Raakhee lived after their marriage.

Gulzar has not been making films since he made his last fiasco of a film called "Hu Tu Tu"with Nana Patekar and Tabu. His producers had made it difficult for him to make the film as he wanted to and he had vowed not to make a film again and he has stuck to his vow.

But he has not stopped writing lyrics for the films directed by Bosky, films like "Talvar "and "Chhapak".

Gulzar is eighty -four now, but he can still give any man half his age a run for their money. There have been many other changes in the lives of Pappi and Bosky, but the relationship between them as a doting father and an all-admiring daughter is still the same and is only growing stronger.....

Years ago, I had read a collection of poems by Gulzar and I remember writing to him and telling him, "if I was Raakhee, I would have come running back to you "

And now when I know how fond and strong the relationship between Pappi and his Bosky is, I feel like writing to him and telling him, "if I had ever been a father, I would have loved to be a father like you and have a daughter like Bosky "

But like the poet says, "Kisi ko zameen toh kisi ko aasmaan nahi milta" and if I go away with one ambition not being fulfilled, it will be the hopeless ambition of being the father of a daughter who I have always believed is the foundation on which a home, a family and even the world grows on .

PS: I have written about my not having a daughter of my own, but I know that I have a daughter who I have named Swati, who is more than many daughters for me