14th Aug 2011. I am in Manali, getting all ready for our jeep safari to Leh. The weather is bad; incessant rains for over 24 hours and there have been landslides on the passes. We hear that Manali is completely cut off and so we are not starting our journey as we had planned on 14th morning. So I am in the hotel room, nothing to do, and so I switch on the TV. Its about 8:20 AM or so… I browse to a news channel and the news line scrolling at the bottom says “Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor passes away”….
On finding out that this news was first twitted by Mr. Bachchan, I go to twitter, but find out only that he passed away at about 5:15 AM that morning…
I HAVE to talk to someone who was an out and out Shammi fan. So I smsed my sis and called my mom – two people with whom I have enjoying watching many a SK movies, many a times….
As it happens, there is hope of Rohtang pass opening up and so we start on our safari that afternoon. And I am traveling to Leh, in Ladakh – which is part of J&K – the state for which Mr. Shammi Kapoor has been the best brand ambassador.
While driving through the picturesque mountains that evening, through the snow clad mountains, I could think of him going “Yahoo” on those snowy slopes….
While, I was sad to hear the news of his demise, I think he is now in a happier place. In fact, I think he must have felt really free after leaving this world and gone “Yahoo!!”
For someone like him, so full of energy, someone who was dancing with every step he took, being wheelchair bound must have seemed like a punishment… And I agree with Hrithik Roshan who said that for Shammi Kapoor RIP does not seem quite right – we should say DIH (Dancing in Heaven)!! I am sure; he is – dancing in heaven….
