|
When Benazir Bhutto enjoyed 'Pakeezah' in Shimla
Sunday May 13, 2012 10:06:20 AM,
IANS
|
|
|
|
|
New Delhi: When her
father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto discussed peace with Indira Gandhi in
Shimla, his daughter Benazir was busy viewing the Meena
Kumari-starrer 'Pakeezah'.
So says M.K. Kaw, a highly respected Indian bureaucrat who was
then posted in the Himachal Pradesh capital and who had been
assigned to look after the young Benazir Bhutto.
Assisting him was Veena Datta, lady officer of the Indian Foreign
Service. "She helped me keep Benazir in a good mood," Kaw says in
his just released book "An Outsider Everywhere" (Konark
Publishers).
The year was 1972 when the senior Bhutto travelled to Shimla to
sign a peace pact with Indira Gandhi after the breakup of Pakistan
and the birth of Bangladesh following the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
Kaw says Benazir wanted to see "Pakeezah", a hugely successful
Kamal Amrohi production in which Meena Kumari played the role of a
'tawaif'. The celebrated actress died soon after the movie was
made.
Kaw says he spoke to Shimla's deputy commissioner and a special
show was organized at the Ritz cinema.
"There were only three of us in the cinema hall: Benazir, Veena
and myself. Benazir enjoyed the film immensely.
"I retained the picture of the young and innocent Benazir all
through the years of her tumultuous career till she was
assassinated."
An IAS officer, Kaw served the government for 42 years in various
capacities before retiring in 2001.
The book is replete with his numerous interesting experiences as
well as encounters with leading politicians and officials at
various levels all over the country.
Kaw says when he was a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) in Delhi,
he realized that station house officers or SHOs, who head police
stations in the capital, knew all the criminals in their area.
"The general impression I got during my tenure was that the SHOs
were aware of all the criminals in their area and all the crimes
were flourishing with their knowledge if not their connivance.
"Of course there were some rituals that had to be gone through.
Once in a while, the police raided the bootleggers and recovered a
lot of material. The accused appeared in our court and were duly
punished."
|
|
Home |
Top of the Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
In six decades, a sea change in Indian
parliament
When it opened six decades ago, it was a highly revered
institution, packed with stalwarts who won freedom for India and
where debates were of high
»
'Parliament fractious, state issues pervasive'
Parliament was treated like a temple once,
recalls veteran from first Lok Sabha
|
|
|
|
Most Read |
|
When cricket became a saviour in
battle-scarred Afghanistan
Cricket has
not caught on to any major extent in Afghanistan even 11 years
after the Taliban was pushed out of Kabul in 2001. The sports-shy
Afghans are still too battle-scarred to laugh their angst away on
the pitch.
»
|
|
Waheed meets Manmohan, commits to early
polls in Maldives
Mohamed Waheed, the new president of
Maldives, will be in India on a five-day first ever official visit
beginning Friday when he will discuss with the Indian leadership
his atoll nation's future, including possible early elections.
After unexpected turn of events in February this year
» |
|
|
|
News Pick |
|
Absence of Big Idea leaves Congress without
direction
The
Congress has undertaken major ideological changes. For a start, it
is gingerly sidestepping the Nehruvian concept of socialism even if
this Fabian ideal is associated with one of the party's greatest
leaders.
»
|
|
Now Pakistani men face revenge acid attacks
from women
Using acid as a weapon to disfigure women has
become a worrying trend in Pakistan. But now the tables seem to
have been turned on them and Pakistani men are reported to be
facing
»
|
|
Oxford Center for Islamic Studies granted Royal Charter
The
Oxford Center for Islamic Studies (OCIS) has been granted the
Royal Charter and this will be celebrated at an event hosted by
the center’s patron, the Prince of Wales, Tuesday.
Royal Charters, granted by the sovereign on
» |
|
|
|
Picture of the Day |
|
 |
|
A
Parliamentary delegation led by the Speaker of Majlis Ash
Shura (Consultative Council) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Dr. Abdullah Bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh called upon
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad,
in New Delhi on May 09, 2012. |
|
|
|
|
Comments
|
Quick links