REGRETS, NONE
Author: Dolly Thakore with Arghya Lahiri
Author: Harper Collins, Rs 599
Regrets, None is a straight from the heart book. It shares the dreams and hopes of veteran theatre personality and TV presenter, Dolly Thakore, and chronicles her disappointments and despondency, writes Kumar Chellappan
There was a revolutionary writer in Kerala by name Keshava Dev, a born rebel who questioned everything under the sun. Dev along with Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai and P C Kuttikrishnan (Uroob) formed the triad of modern Malayalam literature. The novels Ayalkkaar (The Neighbours), Odayil Ninnu (From the Gutter) established Dev as the numero uno in Kerala’s literary world. Odayil Ninnu, authored in 1942 was centred on the life and times of a rickshaw-puller. At a time when most writers were keen to come out with works that would please the rulers, Dev who hit the literary world like a hurricane wrote about lives of people belonging to the lower strata of society. The rest is history.
Decades later, when he was asked the secret behind his success, Dev said: “There is no secret or easy way out to write a novel or short story or poem which would be liked and loved by the readers. You should be honest with what you write. You should have first hand experience about life. Learn to live and make use of the sufferings you gained as the building blocks. I am sure once you have enough experience, words would shoot up from the bottom of the heart,” Dev wrote in his memoirs. Don’t forget, this revolutionary writer lived (1904 to 1983) when there were no glossy magazines or satellite television channels which could market his prowess. But till this date Keshava Dev is rated as the one who masterminded the renaissance movement in Malayalam.
Each time I come across a good book, I remember what Dev referred to as the building blocks of a good literary work. It is very rare to find such literary pursuits despite hundreds of books hitting the shelves across the country on a daily basis. Most of the modern books remind the hapless readers about the famous tagline seen in the advertisement of a two-wheeler: “Fill it, Shut it and Forget it,” to drive him the cost of petrol which increases by the hour.
There are exceptions to this pattern. Though I read the books “Roses in December” by M C Chgala, and “My Own Bosewell” by M Hidayatullah as a student, the contents remain as fresh in my mind as I revisited them the other day. Equally enthralling was the book Manoranjan Byapari’s “Interrogating My Chandal Life” (translated by Sipra Mukherjee). All these books would survive the test of time because of the intellectual honesty of the authors. They wrote these books not to earn name or fame (Chagla and Hidayatullah would have remained the same iconic personalities even if they had not authored these books) but to release the pressure that was building up in their hearts after watching their fellow brethren and their times.
These random thoughts came to mind after reading “Regrets, None”, the memoirs of Dolly Thakore who could be considered as the Diva of Indian Television. This beautiful lady was the best English newscaster in Bombay Doordarshan before the state’s lone public broadcaster discontinued the English news bulletins from regional stations and introduced the National Network. Bombay had newscasters like Nirmala Mathan, Luku Sanyal, Gerson da Cunha Sidharth Kaak, Arvind Lavakare, Bhakti Barve and Suresh Saraiya out of which Dolly Thakore stood out because of her beauty, diction and command over the language.
Those were the days when tele-prompters were unheard of in India. Dolly was not a mere newscaster, but she was a news presenter who addressed the audience without referring to the script. Her voice, pronunciation and screen presence were unique and there was nothing surprising in the number of fans she had all over Bombay. She was a well-known theatre personality as well as radio jockey. The history of Indian mass media, theatre, social activism, world of advertisement and philanthropism would not be complete without the name of Dolly Thakore. My knowledge about Dolly Thakore ends here. But watching her in TV shows, I always considered her as the embodiment of all that is good. What added to her looks was a pale shadow of pain (or one can call it the aura of sadness) which were visible in her beautiful eyes and the smile.
“Regrets, None” is written from the heart. This is the best work authored by an Anglo-Indian writer which I have read in the last three decades. The book tells the dreams and hopes of Dolly Thakore and chronicles her disappointments and despondency. The book will stand the test of time because Dolly’s words are powered with pains and sour experiences encountered by her to survive and succeed as a girl and lady. This is a must read book for those who want to lead a path of their own in the Mahabharat War of the modern era and crave for liberty. And Dolly Thakore has given us a panoramic view of the world of advertising, theatre, films, glamour and social activism.
We may agree or disagree with Dolly Thakore’s principal of life. Here is a beautiful lady with exceptional professional competence who excelled in her career in the media but was let down by people whom she loved, trusted and adored. There are many youngsters a la Dolly who fall by the wayside when they are let down by persons whom they trusted. But Dolly Thakore is an exception. Her honesty and integrity add that extra punch to her words. Had Dolly Thakore remined the obedient daughter of papa David Rawson and mamma Dora, she would have become a college professor or doctor or even a scientist but a person like me from a village in Kerala would not have heard about her. Dolly Thakore rocked Bombay without being a politician, baroness or super star. Her life is the message — a message which should be studied threadbare, especially by women who pontificate for freedom, live-in relations and what not.
Dolly Thakore deserved a much better personal life and the truth is that neither Dilip Takore or Alyque Padamsee deserved a person like her. I feel sorry for Pearl Padamsee, whom I have seen only in screen as Nargis of Khata Meetha and Rosie of Baaton Baaton Mein and also as the model in TV commercial for Akbar Alis.
My classmate and well known clinical psychologist Dr Mridula Nair once told me: “Writers, actors, movie makers belong to a special category. They could be loved and adored, but only from a safe distance.” The likes of Alyque Paadamsee, Gemini Ganesan and of course South India’s most colorful politician are standing testimonies to Dr Nair’s observation.
Dolly Thakore authored the book in the company of Argya Lahiri and it has made reading “Regrets, None” a lively experience. Dolly makes the reader cry while she cries and makes them smile while she smiles. Throughout the book, one gets the feeling that Dolly herself is speaking to the reader. This is the story of her agonies and uncertainties. She is the best woman writer India has and it is surprising that it took her this many decades to write a book.
Dolly’s revelation that “being Christian meant we were either cooks or bearers or anti-nationalists who had sold out to the British for a tin of milk or rice” is the only jarring note in the 370 page long melody. I never knew that Dolly Thakore was a Christian till I read what she has written. A close scrutiny of India’s history will disclose that the country’s finance minister during 1948 to1950 was Prof John Mathai, and the secretaries to the country’s first, third and fourth Prime Ministers were all Christians. India’s best naval commanders (six of them) too belonged to the Christian community. Prof Placid Rodriguez, Father of India’s Fast Breeder Nuclear Reactor programme too was a God-fearing Christian. And one more thing, Dolly. There are no card-holding members in RSS unlike the CPI(M) and CPI(Maoists). Well, nothing is absolutely perfect, as the sayings go.
If “Regrets, None” is not honored with a Sahitya Academy award, the loser is going to be the latter itself. “Regrets, None” is sure to go places from the Page Three columns in traditional newspapers. Dolly is not a manufacturer of literature but a repository of life’s trials and tribulations. Hope this book does not end up as her swan song. Seventy eight year young Dolly Thakore has miles to go and hundreds of stories to tell the world. More is expected of this elegant lady who deserves at least a Padma Shri award.
