Sunday, February 12, 2012

After KP grants Dilip Kumar's ancestral home 'heritage' status, actor recalls childhood



The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s decision to grant veteran Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar’s ancestral home in the historic Qissa Khwani bazaar heritage status invoked memories of his old house.

Last week, the government completed formalities in granting the status of national heritage to his house in Mohallah Khudadad, Qissa Khwani Bazaar, Peshawar. Born as Muhammad Yusuf Khan in a statement Saturday said, “The news that house where I was born (1922) and where I spent a good part of my childhood in Peshawar’s Qissa Khwani Bazaar, then in undivided India, will be given the honour of being a part of national heritage of Pakistan has sent my mind racing back to memories of happy days spent in the spacious home and its surroundings.”

“I am at once full of fond remembrances of my parents, grandparents and numerous uncles, aunts and cousins who filled the house with the sounds of their chatter and hearty laughter. I can vividly recall the piggy rides on my grandfather’s back and the scary stories my grandmother cooked up to forbid me from wandering out of the house alone,” the veteran actor said.

Known as the Tragedy King of Bollywood, he said he has penned down all his memory from his time in Qissa Khwani in his autobiography, due to release soon.

Incidentally, Peshawar has produced some gems in the field of performing arts such as Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Shahrukh Khan, to name a few. The KP government intends to preserve houses of more legendary Bollywood stars.

No comments: