USS DIN RAAKHEE NE GULZAR SE EK AJEEB SAWAAL POOCHA AUR GULZAR NE APNA CHASHMA UTAARA, PASEENA POCHA AUR AANKHEIN MOOND LI... By Ali Peter John

The day Gulzar married Raakhee the man who was most surprised and even shocked was Jitendra who knew them very well from their courtship days and when Raakhee used to regularly visit Gulzar in his Cozy Home apartments on Pali hill which was his residence and also his office - ALI PETER JOHN

Jitendra lived on one of the floors below where Gulzar lived and he knew of all the fights the two used to have almost every evening and was bewildered with the language Gulzar used to abuse Raakhee and wondered how a highly respected poet, writer and filmmaker could use the kind of language he used to belittle and berate a woman like Raakhee who had already made a name for herself as an actress.

He was the first to make a kind of prediction that the marriage would not last as the couple were not made for each other.

Time passed and there were differences between Gulzar and Rakhee and the main difference was about work.

Gulzar didn't want Raakhee to work in films after marrying him, but the actress in Raakhee was eager to show her mettle and found her chance yo do it when Yash Chopra offered her two very good roles in his 'Daag' and 'Kabhi Kabhi'.

Raakhee signed both the films when Gulzar was not in Bombay or that is how the story goes and even started shooting for Yash.

Gulzar came back and received the shock of his life when he saw how Raakhee blatantly broken the promise she had made to him and he took an instant decision to separate.

There were many efforts made to bring the couple together, but they were too sensitive and too obstinate to listen to anyone and they had a mutual separation with certain conditions which included the one in which Raakhee would move into her own bungalow, Muktangan with their little daughter Bosky (Meghna Gulzar) and Meghna would stay with Raakhee during the night , go to school and college and spend time with her pappi (that is how she called Gulzar).

The separation also allowed the couple to meet each other and was so understanding that Gulzar could go to the airport to leave Raakhee to receive her and Rakhee could visit him in 'Boskyaana' the beautiful house Gulzar had built for a bright future for their family, which unfortunately couldn't be....

I used to be a regular at Boskiyana and had seen how the couple had long and short meetings and I could also see the longing and the concern for each other in their eyes and it was very touching to sometimes see Raakhee still supervising the house and asking the servants to take better care of 'Gulzar sahab' and give him the right kind of food and all the requirements that kept him comfortable.

They also sometimes shared the same driver whose name was Sunder and he sometimes told me how he wished the two saw sense and came back together at least in the interest of Bosky.

Bosky was visibly very happy to be with her pappi who planted in her the first seeds of being a good painter when she was only 6 or 7.

And he gave her all the freedom to paint all the walls of Boskyaana with charcoal and mediums of a child's way of painting. Gulzar also wrote a book of poems for Bosky which he presented her on her every birthday from the age of 3 to 13, the books were also presented by Gulzar to all the friends of Bosky.

It was the beginning of the creative and the sensitive writet, poet and filmmaker in Meghna Gulzar.

But surprisingly when it came to her joining a senior director as an assistant, she preferred to join a director like Saeed Mirza and after being trained by Mirza , Bosky took off as a director with a very difficult to make film called Filhaal which unfortunately didn't do very well and Bosky in the meanwhile wrote a book on her father and called it 'because he is'.

She then followed with interesting films like Talvar , one of the ten films in the Dus kahaniyan series and her last victory was Chhapak in which she presented Deepika Padukone in one of her best roles till now and for the last few years she has been battling to make a film on the life of the first Field Marshal of India S.H.F.J Manekshaw....

She has her own family life with her husband Govind and an only son who her pappi gave a name Samay.

I had started writing this piece with the intention of narrating an interesting anecdote in the lives of Gulzar and Rakhee after they were separated. So let me satisfy my conscience and narrate it...

Raakhee barged into Boksyaana one morning when Gulzar was sitting in his large chair with a huge white towel behind him and another towel on his lap and was busy staring at the roof.

He was also blowing nose as was his habit from time to time and Raakhee came up to the front chair and without sitting in it just went on ranting, " Aap kab kaam karte hain, aap kya kaam karte hain? Main jab bhi aati hoon,aap ya toh chat ko dekhte rehte ho ya apni badi si rumaal ko leke apni naak ponchte rehte ho.

Toh mujhe bataao aap padhte kabhi ho aur likhte kabhi ho?" Gulzar gave her a very mysterious smile, took of his spectacle, wiped them with the same towel and closed his eyes and sat silently in his chair for the next fifteen minutes.

And Raakhee said, " Dekho, inke paas koi jawaab nahi mere sawaalon ka, issi liye toh humaara jhagda hota hai".

If I was Raakhee , I would have gone back to Gulzar and tried my best to repair and restore our relationship because I would know that without me he could work wonders, then what could he have done if I was with him , by his side , wiping his forehead, ending in his favourite cups of green tea and then flying with him to Bangalore and be with him in his favourite suite at the West End hotel where he gave the finishing touches to all his scripts, songs and books.

Lekin kya karein, aisa hona nahi tha , aise qismat ko manzoor nahi tha aur ab aise kabhi hoga nahi.

P.S Gulzar is 87 now and lives all alone in Boskyaana. Raakhee who looks like a shade of what she used to be is 73 and the sparkle has gone away from her smile and laughter and she lives alone on her farmhouse in Panvel.

And Bosky lives in Cozyhom with Govind and Samay. Yeh samay hi kya kya khel khelte rehte hai insaanon ke saath.