A telephone conversation about Saroj Khan
Par woh mari kaise?
Photo: Dayanita SinghMe: Aap ne suna, Saroj Khan guzar gayi.
Mother: Oh, kab?
Me: Aaj subah.
Mother: Arre, arre (clicks tongue).
Me: Aap toh mile honge na?
Mother: Haan, Patita film ke set par (I hear patootie).
Me: Oh, dance kis ko sikha rahi thi?
Mother: Shoma Anand
Me: Bas ek baar miley thay?
Mother: Nahi, nahi, kai baar Shanmukhananda Hall mein unka dance programme dekha.
Me: Phir, kabhi baat kiye?
Mother: Arre, nahi nahi, hum log toh duur se dekh lete thay.
(She is talking about the girls from the Congress house kotha who could not muster the courage to speak because of their illicit background.)
Me: Par Bandook Gully (kotha in Bowbazar, Calcutta) mein toh sab khoob nachte thay Saroj Khan ke dance ki naqal kar ke, woh Mere Haathon Mein Nau Nau Choodiyan Hain…
Mother: Haan, woh toh bahut chala, par uss time tak hum log ko maloom nahi tha ke dance kisne sikhaya…Saroj Khan toh baad mein zyada popular hui na…
Me: Kab?
Mother: Jab woh Madhuri ko sikhane lagi. (The television boom in the 90s made Saroj Khan a household name.)
Me: Kaun se gaane pe?
Mother: Dhak dhak karne laga. Dhak dhak toh bahut mashoor hua. Par woh mari kaise?
Me: Heart attack.
What made her famous also stopped her heartbeat.
