MADRAS CAFE

This Saturday began like any other. Little bit of shopping in the morning, lunch and then a movie. Last week it was ‘ Chennai express’ and this week it is ‘ Madras Cafe’.  I had already read the reviews and remembered John saying in an interview that for him the day Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated   was an unforgettable one. I believe it was unforgettable for every one of us who went through that summer of 1991 in India.

 Watching the film brought back memories of that terrible summer that would always be etched in my memory. I was in my twenties , married for two years and living in New Delhi. I was also five months pregnant. Few of our relatives had come down and like any other scorching summer, powercuts and insufficient supply of water was part of everyday life. Every night we would often end up cursing the inefficient municipal corporation or Delhi development authority.

Though 21^st may 1991 started like any other hot summer day, there was a stillness and eeriness to that day and by late afternoon  dark clouds had gathered and there was a storm brewing.  Late evening saw an unusually heavy downpour which had made the roads impossible to ply vehicles. Office commuters were stranded and I was worried about my husband who was then working near Ghaziabad. I lived in NCR for nearly 22years and whenever there was a storm or heavy rains during summer ,it was a cause for joy but not that summer of 1991. On that fateful day, it felt like  the heavens were crying out. After my husband reached home , we all had our dinner and were getting ready for sleep when my father-in-law who was on an official trip to Dubai called us. It seems BBC just made an announcement about the assassination of our Ex prime minister in Sriperumbuthur in Tamilnadu. We were shell shocked. We couldn’t believe our ears. We switched on our television sets but there was no news regarding the assassination. In those years, we didn’t have umpteen news channels ,only doordarshan and they hadn’t released the news yet. Since we couldn’t come across anything, we hoped against hopes that it was not true and had a disturbed night.

Alas ....the next morning  brought with it the tragic and terrible news and a nation went into mourning. That day changed my entire perspective of the future. A confounding sadness enveloped all of us. We were all glued to the television sets for the next three days. Most of us would have shed tears watching  young Rahul performing the final rites. The future was no more taken for granted. Any moment could change your life. That was the lesson I learnt then.  Ten days later I had a miscarriage and lost the baby.

‘Madras cafe ‘ brought back all those dark days. After the movie came to a close ,there was a stillness in the theatre before people got up and left their seats. I suppose like me everyone remembered the tragedy. It took 22 years for someone to come forward and make a movie on the theme and that too so realistically. Some might say that it is against a particular organisation or some might say that it favours one political party or that facts were twisted.

But tell me did anyone deserve such a brutal ending that too a national leader?

Well done John!!!!!