Tribute to Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Those of us who have watched Anari, Anand, Abhimaan ,Golamaal, Chupke Chupke and loved them; demise of Hrishikesh Mukherjee brings an end of an era; an era which he dominated by making realistic, simple yet entertaining movies.

In current days most of our filmmakers think a few songs shot abroad, a few item numbers, some jazzy special effects and some controversy before the movie release ensure them success. In spite of all the grandeur and jazz in today’s movies more often than not they simply fail to impress. In stark contrast we have Golmaal, Anand or Abhimaan which do not boast of any foreign locales or jazzy special effects but still are such a delight to watch. Even decades after these movies were made these movies are still so entertaining and I am sure they would be as popular in the years to come. This speaks itself for the magic which Hrishikesh Mukherjee created on celluloid.

In my opinion what sets Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s movies from other movies is the simplicity of treatment. He portrayed lives of the urbane middle class with simple believable characters and simple stories empathetically. The characters of his movies have the ability to touch you; who would forget Rajesh Khanna in Anand or Amitabh Bachchan as the jealous husband in Abhimaan or the adorable Jaya Bachchan in Guddi. His movies had the biggest stars of his times in realistic characters; he never portrayed them in larger than life characters. Be it the serious Abhimaan or the heartwarming Anand or the laugh riot Golmaal ; he had the ability to make you smile and cry with his powerful stories. Another feature common to most of his movies is great music. I am sure all those who love to listen to old hindi movie songs definitely have songs from Abhimaan, Golmaal or Anand in their play lists.

I am sure he would live forever in the hearts of hindi cine viewers with the classics that he has created!

Thank You!!

Teachers’s day is just round the corner. So I though today I would thank all the teachers who are responsible in some way for teaching me lessons which have been invaluable to me.

Ravindra Pratap Singh: Sir you deserve the complete credit for all the marks I have scored in Mathematics in high school and in my engineering. I remember those days in junior high when I feared mathematics and as a result ran miles away from it. You are solely responsible for not only taking that fear away from me but also making me fall in love with the subject. You taught me how much fun playing with numbers could be.I hold you in high esteem because you did not judge your success as a teacher by counting how many of us scored a 100 but by counting how many below 35s could you change to above 60s. You taught me a very important lesson too. You taught me that most of the times the reason for our fears is our ignorance.

K P Ravindran Sir: We thought you were crazy, your moustache earned you the nickname of ‘Veerappan’ from us. You were a terror to all of us .Your ideas were too radical for us. I remember how the entire class failed in the first Physics test you gave us. I was one of the three who passed that test and I surprised myself by getting the perfect score. That one incident made us the best friends. You brought so much fun to our physics class. Your objective was not to just teach us physics, but, you wanted us to love the subject. You taught me the importance of being passionate about whatever I ever do, you also taught me the importance of being true to our selves.

Mouli Das: You were my first guru; I started learning Kathak from you. You not only are a great dancer yourself but your dedication to all your pupils was just amazing. You were also my first fashion guru. All your tips on ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ still help me a lot. Your ability to hold your composure and temper midst of the biggest backstage crisis was amazing. Your mantra during such situations ‘Don’t panic, just find a solution’ is something I use myself even today. You taught me the importance of pursuing our dreams at any cost and to never ever give up.

Rajvansh Sir: You not only taught me Physics but also taught me one of the most important lessons of my life. “It is okay to look like an idiot once and ask a question to clarify your doubt rather than being ignorant always.” This is exactly what you told me when I did not clarify my doubt in one of your electrostatics class because everyone else said they understood. I obviously could not answer the question you had for me.

Srivastav Sir: You taught us hindi and you would undoubtedly win the strictest teacher award. You were good at what you did and you had the same expectations from us. Getting every mark from you was huge accomplishment but that also made sure I always tried my best. You taught me the importance of setting high standards in whatever I do.

Uma Devi: You taught me Computer Networks. Your lectures were the most researched lectures I attended during my undergrad. You taught me the importance of hard work and the importance of coming prepared for anything. This is something I have diligently followed over the years. Even before a very simple meeting I still prepare thoroughly for it.

Sunil: I include you in this list not because you were the best but because you were one of the worst. You never understood what being a teacher means. You are not supposed to bask in the glory of a few smart students who could have done well even without you. You are supposed to make a subject look fun and interesting. You need to learn that you are not supposed to bring your personal biases to the class room. I guess every successful women engineer is enough to prove you wrong. But yes I include you here because you taught me an important lesson in life, something which has done me lot of good. You taught me that “it is not necessary that every one will have faith in my abilities. I just need to ignore what they say and have faith in myself and prove them wrong.” And yes sir with all due respect I proved you wrong!!

There are quite a few more of them who have helped me to not only do well in studies but also taught me lessons which have helped me become a better person. I would like to thank all them and wish them all the best in whatever they are doing. I guess they are the people I would be indebted to forever. Thanks Teachers!