Dilip Kumar’s memorable visit to Mahdi Bagh

 

 

 

THE legendary actor Dilip Kumar’s visit to Nagpur 30 years back was made memorable by a visit to Mahdi Bagh Colony in the city. It was in February 1991 that Dilip Kumar, along with his wife Saira Banu, came on a visit to Mahdi Bagh – a unique example of community living. The head of the community, Maulana Amiruddin Malak Saheb, welcomed the actor couple and explained the beliefs of the progressive Muslim community known as Atba-e-Malak Badar. The thespian spent close to four hours in the colony and was deeply impressed by the social and spiritual practices of the residents and their harmonious co-existence with people of other faiths.

 

The colony is a rare green patch in the thickly concretised North-East part of the city and Dilip Kumar expressed surprise and pleasure when he went around the lush gardens, pond, swimming pool and play fields nurtured by the residents. He also took great interest in the many heritage structures. In an exclusive interview to ‘The Hitavada’ during the visit, Kumar had lamented that such humanism was eroding in the society and called upon opinion leaders to instill rational thinking and common sense among the masses. Only common sense can bring people together and demolish the walls of caste, race and religion. The futility of hatred would then dawn upon the people, Dilip Kumar had said some three decades back. Later, at a gathering to felicitate him, Dilip Kumar was presented an oil-on-canvass portrait of his by Abde Badar Haque, an amateur painter and resident of the colony.

 

“It was only the evening before that he was told about the actor’s visit scheduled for the next day and he toiled through the night to finish the portrait,” recalls his son, Ibrahim Badar. Dilip Kumar was stunned beyond words when he was gifted the painting. “This is livelier than I am,” he had quipped. Later, the portrait by Mahdi Bagh resident Abde Badar found a pride of place in the actor’s bedroom. (The author is Head of Mass Communication Department, RTMNU)