Day 19 - 10 Ka Dum

We would often rehearse and shoot for 10 ka Dum late into the night. So once I invited the unit members to dine at my place after pack-up. But they felt that bringing guests home past midnight would cause inconvenience. I assured them that my mother is super-organized and so used to this that in my house, food is ready at any given point in time. In fact, she – the eternal hostess, would be surprised and hurt if guests were not brought home for a few days. We brothers have inherited this streak of bringing friends and guests home unannounced at all hours, from our father.

All of us, love giving parties and are always looking for an excuse to do so. Once my father was surprised to see a lot of guests at home in the evening. He was thrilled to learn that it was in celebration for his blood test results. That morning, he had gone for a routine check up and all his reports were normal. Friends and people close to me don’t need an invitation, it’s as much their house as it is mine and everyday is a cause to be together and celebrate. So, as I was telling you, I insisted that everyone from the 10 Ka Dum team, come home with me. That evening it was our unit member Aradhna Sharma, who was in for a big surprise… I had ordered a cake for her…she had not told me about her birthday but I overheard a conversation during rehearsals. It was good to see the expression on her face and everyone was laughing out loud.

I remember as a student, at Saint Stanislaus – a stone’s throw from our house our teacher wanted some students to bring extra tiffin for those who lived far away, in particular students studying on dole. So I took a dozen such students to my home and my parents invited them to come daily for lunch… till the time we didn’t pass out of school three years later! My father believes that guests oblige us by coming to eat the food that was destined to be theirs… It is a Pathan belief.