impressions of a city
this is one of my pieces that appeared in sakaal. here' the unedited version.
We wait outside Lalan Sarang’s apartment in the city and it’s five minutes past the appointed time. When we finally catch up, she offers sincere apologies for being late. “ I couldn’t sleep all night because of the cold. Even now, I don’t feel too well,” says the actress, in a tell-tale hoarse voice. The fatigue is showing but it hasn’t yet dulled her demeanour. For the next one and a half hours, she keeps us hooked to a conversation that veers through the memory lane, touches special recollections and charts a journey that’s rich with experience and creativity. Lalan Sarang, the actress we’ve brought home with numerous plays, serials and films, gives us a glimpse into her personal space, which is intricately tied with the cityscape. There are names of places and people that keep lacing her fond recall. It reveals a creative persona, whose life is a busy fare of drama rehearsals for an all-women performance at the apartment’s Ganpati fest, meeting various people to plan her husband’s, the late Kamlakar Sarang’s death anniversary programme, practicing for her plays and buying her granddaughter’s favourite chicken Momos from Dorabjee’s.
Dorabjee’s has been one of her favourite places in Pune. “ I used to come here even when I hadn’t settled down in Pune. I love the variety of things they have on display and always end up splurging on things that were not on my shopping list. So many malls have come up in these years, but I still travel all the way to Camp to shop here,” she tells us. Sarang is also fond of trying out different recipes and has written two books on cooking. Though ready-to-eat packets are not to her taste, she goes to Dorabjee’s to buy Olive oil and other sundry stuff.
The wider the range of her passions, the more diverse is her list of favourite places. Our next destination is Balgandharva Rangamandir. There’s nostalgia tinted with a hint of loss in her voice as she remembers her earlier performances there. “I have many bitter-sweet memories of this place. There was a time when the godown was overflowing with water because of some leakage. We could actually hear the water gushing under us, while we were performing on stage. It was some experience!” she reminisces. Then she mentions the famous batata wada in the canteen. “After our bus stopped at the auditorium after the journey from Mumbai, all of us got down and went straight for the canteen. Batata wada and tea were all we wanted. They don’t make them like tha anymore,” she adds. She also speaks of how the canteen then was a very cozy place. “ At that time, they used to light incense sticks while we ate. To eat that delicious food in the fragrant ambience was a very good feeling,” she relates.
After we wrap up the trip of her professional stamping ground, she wants to go home. And she takes us along. This is the last and perhaps, the most cherished location for Sarang. “I’ve been staying here for the past 11 years. There are so many moments spent here which are close to my heart. The last two years of my ailing husband’s life were spent here with me. After that, I kept traveling to Mumbai for work assignments, but never thought of moving there again. Even though a lot has changed in Pune, I really prefer it here,” Sarang says, with an emotional resolve. When we leave her, she’s feeling a lot better. “ My granddaughter must be back, waiting for the Momos,” she smiles and bids us goodbye.
We wait outside Lalan Sarang’s apartment in the city and it’s five minutes past the appointed time. When we finally catch up, she offers sincere apologies for being late. “ I couldn’t sleep all night because of the cold. Even now, I don’t feel too well,” says the actress, in a tell-tale hoarse voice. The fatigue is showing but it hasn’t yet dulled her demeanour. For the next one and a half hours, she keeps us hooked to a conversation that veers through the memory lane, touches special recollections and charts a journey that’s rich with experience and creativity. Lalan Sarang, the actress we’ve brought home with numerous plays, serials and films, gives us a glimpse into her personal space, which is intricately tied with the cityscape. There are names of places and people that keep lacing her fond recall. It reveals a creative persona, whose life is a busy fare of drama rehearsals for an all-women performance at the apartment’s Ganpati fest, meeting various people to plan her husband’s, the late Kamlakar Sarang’s death anniversary programme, practicing for her plays and buying her granddaughter’s favourite chicken Momos from Dorabjee’s.
Dorabjee’s has been one of her favourite places in Pune. “ I used to come here even when I hadn’t settled down in Pune. I love the variety of things they have on display and always end up splurging on things that were not on my shopping list. So many malls have come up in these years, but I still travel all the way to Camp to shop here,” she tells us. Sarang is also fond of trying out different recipes and has written two books on cooking. Though ready-to-eat packets are not to her taste, she goes to Dorabjee’s to buy Olive oil and other sundry stuff.
The wider the range of her passions, the more diverse is her list of favourite places. Our next destination is Balgandharva Rangamandir. There’s nostalgia tinted with a hint of loss in her voice as she remembers her earlier performances there. “I have many bitter-sweet memories of this place. There was a time when the godown was overflowing with water because of some leakage. We could actually hear the water gushing under us, while we were performing on stage. It was some experience!” she reminisces. Then she mentions the famous batata wada in the canteen. “After our bus stopped at the auditorium after the journey from Mumbai, all of us got down and went straight for the canteen. Batata wada and tea were all we wanted. They don’t make them like tha anymore,” she adds. She also speaks of how the canteen then was a very cozy place. “ At that time, they used to light incense sticks while we ate. To eat that delicious food in the fragrant ambience was a very good feeling,” she relates.
After we wrap up the trip of her professional stamping ground, she wants to go home. And she takes us along. This is the last and perhaps, the most cherished location for Sarang. “I’ve been staying here for the past 11 years. There are so many moments spent here which are close to my heart. The last two years of my ailing husband’s life were spent here with me. After that, I kept traveling to Mumbai for work assignments, but never thought of moving there again. Even though a lot has changed in Pune, I really prefer it here,” Sarang says, with an emotional resolve. When we leave her, she’s feeling a lot better. “ My granddaughter must be back, waiting for the Momos,” she smiles and bids us goodbye.
posted by renu at 5:32 AM
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