DEV OF ANAND

Main Zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya....The evergreen joie de vivre of  Dev Sahab has inspired and will continue to inspire millions. 26th September happens to be his birthday and on this day I have chosen to write about his zeal for life...I am not talking about Dev the actor or the director...I want to write about Dev the enigma...the forever young phenomenon of Indian Cinema. 

Thanks to my father's persistent admiration,Dev Anand became his dear friend. Dev Sahab had just about 40 contacts in his phone and my father's name did figure there. I got to talk to Dev Sahab several times over the phone...mostly on 26th September to wish him on his birthday and I just cannot forget his musical 'Hellloooo' and a very stylish 'Thank you so much...God bless you' 

I also got to meet him atleast on 4 occasions, twice at his luxurious Anand Dubbing studio, once at the Lucknow Airport and once...well ....to our most pleasant surprise...he graced our residence by paying a visit. 

'Fans from all parts of the world come to visit me in Mumbai...but I feel elated to be visiting a fan's house' Dev Sahab said...with a humble pride. 

Dev Sahab has impacted my life in many ways and the most impressionable of them is his exuberance, let me explain that…If we don’t have a possibility of a dream our reason to sleep will only be resting and if our nights don’t show us a dream to be realized, our days might become meaningless...just squandering our precious moments of life waiting for a purpose makes this life a tiring journey…our fresh morning is a result of an anxious and not a peaceful night. Dev sahab taught me to be anxious...restless and ever demanding.

The second influence of Dev Sahab’s philosophy on me was his romance…well ...more than anything else, the romance for life. When you love something,  you tend to love everything about it and just imagine what will happen if we love life …we will love everything about it…every person that it it introduces, every place that it takes us to, every moment that it makes us experience….love them all and you are bound to get it back. In his autobiography, aptly titled as ‘Romancing with Life’ Dev Sahab underlines his sorrows and disappointments too…but in such a manner that they too sound glamorous and enticing. I owe my love for life to you Dev sahab.

I also picked up from this symbol of positivity, how to handle failures. Even the greatest thinkers and philosophers and exponents of spirituality will be humbled if they get an insight of Dev Sahab’s ability to detach his past…good, bad or ugly. Dev Sahab neither regretted his failures nor he celebrated his success. He truly imbibed Bhagwad Geeta’s philosophy of  Karma and Bhagya…what we do is our Karma and what we get is our Bhagya and never the twain should be equated with each other.

And last but not the least…Dev’s youthful charm…never count your years of existence, have a regulated lifestyle,  derive your intoxication as you take sips from the alcohol called Life. Always keep on learning new things and never ever become outdated….

I can go on and on when it comes to talk about you Dev Sahab…have never felt the void eversince your mortals went away…your spirits live around me …through your philosophy more than your films…Happy Birthday