It was in Raipur that I saw him last. Habib Tanvir was someone who was very good with his welcoming words and goodbyes. So when he would meet you he would say a warm 'Hello' and while leaving you would almost always hear him say 'see you soon'.
It was strange though that this time he didn't say it , I did and he wasn't his usual self in his response. We had done a show of 'Raj rakta' and I had to rush out to take a flight to Mumbai. Habib saab was standing outside at the gate of the auditorium. I think waiting for his car as I rushed out. I saw him and I turned back to say 'bye habib saab, see you soon'. His face broke into a broad smile. He said 'bye Himanshu, see you soon' and the face revealed sadness as if he knew that this was the last time I was meeting him.
After he said see you, I waited for a few seconds before turning. He looked down, then turned his gaze up once again, looked at me and said 'whenever'. I didn't meet him after that. I got to know from Nageen that he was very ill, he revived but then his health fell again and he went.
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