जिंदगी कैसी है पहेली हाये

Why does it always happen that we talk about people only after they die? So many fans talked gushingly abour Rajesh Khanna when he passed away last week and yet he was almost forgotten till he did that ceiling fan ad. There are still so many actors and actresses who were the favorites of many during the period called 'Golden Era' of Hindi Film Industry. But there is hardly any newspaper article or TV program on them even on their birthday - except for 'Ansuni Kahaniya' on India TV and their occassional interviews on FM programs such as Radio Mirchi's 'Purani Jeans'. Is it just the pace of life or a case of 'Out of sight, Out of mind'?

I must confess that I wasn't one of Rajesh Khanna's fans though I have always found him incredibly cute in some of his earlier movies. But that evening I felt really sad as I listened to his songs - I cannot explain why. Maybe it was the effect of lyrics like 'जिंदगी कैसी है पहेली हाये' or 'जिंदगी के सफरमे गुजर जाते है जो मकाम'.

The only sour note came from Amitabh 'Big B' Bachhan who supposedly wrote on his blog saying that it was sad that a lot of people in the crowd had come to watch the celebrities as they came to pay their last respects. I wonder how he reached this conclusion. This comment seems rather mean and petty, don't you think Babu Moshai?