The world knew Taarak Mehta as a name from the popular, record-breaking TV show Taarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashmah, in which the residents of a housing society help one another find creative (or upside down) solutions to life’s mundane problems. In an age when neighbours show curiosity, but rarely concern about one another, the show’s characters remind viewers of an earlier, simpler time when communities were valued. The show is based on Taarak Mehta’s popular column, Duniya Ne Undha Chashma, which first appeared in the Gujarati magazine Chitralekha in 1971.
In his home state, Gujarat, though, what made Taarak Mehta immensely popular was his autobiography Action Replay. Still regarded as one of the boldest contemporary books in Gujarat, it burnished the reputation of the humorist, columnist, writer and playwright.
Taarak kaka was my grandfather’s elder step-brother. His mother passed away after giving birth to him and subsequently my great grandfather married my grandfather’s mother. My grandfather and Taarak kaka grew up as siblings. We had three houses in a pol, or neighbourhood, called Jhumkhi ni Khadki in Khadia, in central Ahmedabad.
At my birth, Taarak kaka sent a postcard to my mother from Mumbai (where he lived at the time) saying that I shared his raashi, or zodiac sign, and that tula, or the sign of Libra, always finds happiness. He loved reading horoscopes and was very accurate in his readings. He never took astrology up professionally and only read for family members. The combination of interesting contradictions that he was, he became an atheist later in life.
I grew up with the same distinguishing curiosity for life as Taarak kaka, surrounded by writers and artists. No topic was ever barred and no question was ever left unanswered in our home. A few years ago, before he was awarded the Padma Shri, kaka had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be the chief guest at one of his book launches. At the time, Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat – a busy and important man. Nevertheless, he inaugurated the event and spoke fondly of Taarak kaka, remembering an interview he had given to Taarak kaka for Chitralekha. That was the first time I realised what an important man Taarak Mehta was.
At home, he was humour and humility personified. He had only one daughter. Eshani foi and I often draw parallels about being the only daughters to our respective parents – it meant that we were both brought up like sons. Taarak kaka and his wife Indu kaki would often take us all out for dinner. Indu kaki would say, “Order whatever you want,” and never “Lets decide what to eat” – we were pampered children, who were allowed to order extravagantly.
One day, Indu kaki called me to their home and placed a big bag before me. Taarak kaka was donating his books and I was being given the first preference to choose the ones I liked. I stuffed my bag with a lot of his books and then enquired about his PG Wodehouse collection. Generous as he was, kaka was not ready to part with those books – Wodehouse was his favourite humorist. He had collected thousands of copies of the Master’s books from pavement booksellers in India and thrift shops in the US.
Both Indu kaki and Taarak kaka loved travelling to exotic locations. We had gone for a long road trip to Kutch – Ashapura mandir, Mandvi beach, the White Rann (where he was felicitated) and a few villages on the way. Taarak kaka loved road trips, because he loved exploring places and living life. Just two days before he passed away, he enjoyed a movie in a theatre.
Taarak kaka used to write at night – he would stay up all night to write his articles and books. The milkman thought he was an early riser because he would always fetch milk for the house and then go to bed, after a night of writing. In Gujarati, Taarak means star, and just like a star, night was when he shone the brightest.
