For somebody who was mistakenly perceived as un-Indian, Tom Alter wore his Indianness not just with an ease but with surefooted candour, thereby getting under the skin of your consciousness.
He was part of many films — mostly playing the firang tormentor in a colonial set-up or a foreigner who was a villain in a more contemporary context. Alter was a part of more than 300 films like Gandhi, Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Kranti, Aashiqui and Parinda. Alter’s last film, Sargoshiyan, released earlier this year. He has also featured in television shows like Junoon, Zabaan Sambhalke and Betaal Pachisi. But it was theatre where his Urdu scholarly and viscerally Indian DNA shone through, be it as Bahadur Shah Zafar, Nehru, Maulana Azad and in the end Gandhi. Many did not know that he would drive miles through the night to perform on stage at cities and towns, silently bearing the pain of cancer. Similar was his passion for sports and as a columnist, he analysed India’s core disciplines that could stand us in good stead in the competitive arena. The Padma Shri winner, who passed away at 67, however bowed out of the stadium a round too early.
Beauty covered in sadness; glory dulled by loss-this is how the hills of Mussoorie seem to mourn the passing away of their beloved son. The grief that permeated the mountain breeze on Saturday as news of Alter’s death came in, found its echo in places far and wide as people took to social media to express their shock and sorrow. And amidst all of this, as thoughts meandered to the unanswered questions of life and death, of what is gone and what remains, what nudged the mind were Alter’s own feelings. “I spent my childhood in Rajpur (a hamlet at the base of Mussoorie), so I feel my soul is there; my heart in Mussoorie, my soul in Rajpur, and my body like a leaf in the wind,” he had told this reporter in an interview some time ago, words that were then spoken cheerfully in nostalgia but have found a whole new accent with Alter having breathed his last.
While talent made him famous, it was his kind heart, humility and remarkable character that endeared him to fans and friends in a very special way. The brilliant actor and writer attached high value to human relationships, and as Dehradun-based author Atul Pundir (whose book launch was one of Alter’s last visits to his hometown) expressed, “He was exceptionally down-to-earth, warm and genuine. One thing that struck me about him was how he had chosen to educate himself immensely from the experiences of life, and he never hesitated in sharing these invaluable lessons with others as he lived them by the day.” Even though his life involved constant travel across the world, Alter had chosen not to use a mobile phone and had a strong preference for the old ways of meeting in person for coffee and conversations over the technology driven virtual realities that have come to dominate lives in a huge way today. With a heavy heart, Alter’s long-time friend Rajiv Bhartari, former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand wrote to The Pioneer from America, “Tom was a perfect human being; earthy, compassionate and full of love for people. He gave his time for conservation through pro bono book readings and heritage walks and was able to connect with every kind of audience. Corbett Tiger Reserve has lost one of its most ardent supporters. My wife and myself, both of us have lost one of our dearest friends. Many of my wife’s ballets with Tom such as Ganga and Bhakti have come to a silence, never to be enacted again. (Rajiv’s wife, noted dancer Sharmila Bhartari worked with Tom Alter on several musical dramas).” Going on to describe Alter’s respect for the environment, Bhartari added, “No person that I know of interpreted and so powerfully communicated the coherent philosophy of Jim Corbett to public at large through his innumerable book readings of Jim Corbett books for children, forest staff and tourists. Tom Alter was called a Brand Ambassador for Corbett Tiger Reserve but I think really, he was an aMbassador for Jim Corbett. He kindled interest and understanding and transported the audience to a bygone era bringing Corbett’s philosophy and little nooks and corners of his writings to life providing moral lessons and highlighting the struggle in conservation and Corbett’s love for ordinary Indians. Tom had closely observed Corbett National Park for over five decades from the beginning of his adolescence.
As an adolescent, he used to run every day from Sarpduli to Dhikala and back a distance of over 26 km! Once the forest department of Uttarakhand had organised a book reading of Jim Corbett by Tom Alter in a small village primary school in Salt near Corbett. We had to walk uphill to reach the school and were warmly welcomed by the principal. The students were all full of excitement and just to give an idea of the catchment, I asked who had walked the longest and we learnt that a student had walked for nearly 10 km to hear Tom. And then the Principal had smilingly said “And today is Sunday!” The students had walked several kilometres and were sitting all excited in that small hall only to listen to Tom! That day I realised how much Tom was loved by children in the remotest villages.
Popular as the ‘blue-eyed Saheb with impeccable Hindi’ in the film and television industry, Tom Alter --- born to American missionaries in the summer of 1950 in the spectacular hills of Mussoorie ---was an unpretentious and inspiring individual who practised his passions with success and loved life like an adventure. As a teenager, he made it to the Yale University, only to return to his homeland and graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune with a gold medal in 1974. “My big inspiration to enter films was Rajesh Khanna. For me, in the early 1970s, he was the only hero - romantic to the core, not larger than life, so Indian and real - he was my hero; the reason I came into films and he still is,” he had told The Pioneer. He essayed versatile characters in over 250 Hindi films and 50 TV series and rose to be a legend in Indian theatre. Some of his most popular plays include Ghalib, Maulana Azad and Aakhri Mushaera that continued to have packed houses till his end. Having authored four books, he was also a respected sports journalist and had been honored with the Padma Shri in 2008.
Speaking to The Pioneer some time before he had fallen ill Alter had mused, “While I was studying at Woodstock School, (in Mussoorie, of course) my parents were living and working in Rajpur, running a Christian ashram. Rajpur is at the base of the Mussoorie hill, at an altitude of about 2,500 feet (Woodstock perches at a height of about 6,500 ft.), and every chance we got, my brother and I, or my friends and I, would head for Rajpur and good food and rest and the love of father and mother. The journey required only two legs - and sometimes two hands - and enough energy to propel you downhill for about ten miles, from the Woodstock campus to the gate of the Christian Retreat and Study Centre in Rajpur…. I first made that descent when I was not even ten years old. And I am still making it - and loving it. I know I will keep on making that journey - and my knees and back will keep on supporting me - We must keep on making these journeys - our own special journeys -- for as the chungis (tax collection check- points) of the years take their toll, the chungi of our hearts will also charge us, not for making these journeys, but for not making them.” To this remarkable man for whom happiness was sleeping well after a job done well, respect and love!