My Interactions with Habib Tanvir: Part V

After that meeting with him where he taught Pushan ( refer to My Interactions with Habib Tanvir: Part 1) an important life lesson,  I had a sustained interaction with Habib Saab in Delhi when he was directing a play for the Lady Sriram college. He was also getting some work done on his teeth and he had to go to a dentist about 15 minutes away. I think for no other reason other than getting some company in going to a dentist with whom you were slated to be sitting for about 20 meetings, Habib saab asked me if I could come down in the mornings every third day in that month and take him to the doctor and get him back. I agreed.

These morning drives would be just talking about life in general. Things that I remember being said were like this:

Habib saab is talking about something and his phone rings. Monica Di is on the other side. Monica di is very concerned about his health and she asks him all kinds of questions ranging from whether he is wearing enough clothes, taking his medication, being looked after well at LSR, eating right etc. And Habib saab kept responding ‘don’t worry Monica, I am fine’ The conversation lasted for about 10 minutes as I drove him back from the dentist to LSR. After he disconnects the phone,I look at him and say ‘well, so this is going to go on for ever’ Habib saab said ‘what?’ I said ‘ Shalini calling me and checking on me like Monica di’ Habib saab now had a hearty laugh and said ‘Yes, be assured it will never change.’ Then there was a bit of a silence and then I said ‘ you know,  maybe there is an argument that this gender thing is a hog wash and we are the controlled gender’ ( this was obviously in jest, I realize the magnitude of gender issues across the world that need to change, not just in our country) Habib saab laughed and said ‘between you and me , you may have a point but dare you quote me on that’ ( well, quoting him today ) So, it was this spirit of conversation that had taken off between us and we had become sort of friends. That was in a way the greatness of the man. He loved humor in any way, had an eye for it, was extremely witty himself and would not leave a chance to have laugh.

In another conversation I said ‘ you know if my mother did not push me too much away from theater , maybe I would have realized that it is a difficult profession after spending a year or two in it, and then probably would have written UPSC or something, become a government officer etc’  Habib saab said ‘ Exactly what I feel , if my father did not push me towards ICS, I would have probably taken the exam myself and become an ICS officer’

It was in one of these conversations that he asked me if I would like to work with him and I said , ‘Yes, of course’