Sonia Gandhi's 'Belonging' and the Delhi of 'Chashme Buddoor'

Delhi as a shared character in literature and cinema

The city of Delhi is depicted as a character in Sonia Gandhi's work 'Belonging'. The 1981 film 'Chashme Buddoor' also features the city of Delhi as a character.

Early Delhi memories of jackals and bicycle-filled streets

Sonia Gandhi arrived in Delhi on January 13, 1968, at 5:15 am, and described the airport as a poorly lit hangar sort of building. She recalls hearing jackals howling at night from the forested Ridge near her residence in early Delhi.

She described the early Delhi streets as having very little motor traffic and being filled with bicycles during office hours. She was initially baffled by red stains on walls, which she later learned were from spat-out betel juice.

She later used a Vespa scooter gifted by Rajiv Gandhi's mother to travel around the city.

The South Delhi setting of Sai Paranjpye's 'Chashme Buddoor'

Sai Paranjpye released the film 'Chashme Buddoor' in May 1981, featuring characters Siddharth Parashar, Om Sharma, and Jai Lakhanpal. The movie features a South Delhi colony setting, including a barsaati for the male protagonists and a small house with a garden for the character Neha.

Producer Gul Anand wanted the production to be a feel-good film without any social message, according to Sai Paranjpye in her memoir 'A Patchwork Quilt'.

The paan stall run by Lallan Miyan was on Mathura Road in Nizamuddin, which Paranjpye remembers as the city's outer extremity at the time. Sanjay Gandhi often organized excursions to Tughlaqabad fort, which was the location for the film's kidnapping climax.

The 1982 Asian Games led to the construction of new infrastructure including flyovers, stadia, and hotels. Rajiv Gandhi served on the organising committee for these games, which triggered significant infrastructure changes across the capital.

Personal and political shifts in the capital

Sonia Gandhi describes government bungalows as depressing, noting "the floors of blotchy terrazzo, the windows small, the rooms cold and dingy".

In 1980, the year 'Chashme Buddoor' was filmed, Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi planned to rent a flat to live away from politics. They ultimately remained in the government house on Safdarjung Road after Indira Gandhi and other relatives persuaded them to stay.

Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi frequently visited the lawns of the Central Vista at India Gate to buy ice cream. The decade following 1980, which saw the deaths of Sanjay and Indira Gandhi and the rise of Rajiv Gandhi to Prime Minister, removed the freedoms enjoyed by the characters in 'Chashme Buddoor'.

Cultural influences and the meaning of 'mahaul'

Sonia Gandhi notes that her family spoke a mixture of Hindi and Urdu at home. The streets outside were dominated by the Punjabi language spoken by refugees who had arrived two decades after the 1947 Partition. Usha Aunty, a refugee who fled Lahore in 1947, introduced Sonia Gandhi to Indian handlooms and folk music.

Sai Paranjpye stated that 'mahaul', a word used in her film, is a "very precise Urdu word that cannot be readily translated". A scene in 'Chashme Buddoor' features Mehdi Hassan singing a ghazal by the 18th-century poet Mir Taqi Mir. This piece includes the line "Ye dhuan sa kahan se uthta hai".

Sai Paranjpye originally intended to title her film 'Dhuan Dhuan', which Sonia Gandhi translates as "Castles of Smoke". She chose the Persian-origin phrase 'Chashme Buddoor' instead, which means "far be the evil eye". The report suggests that the original title 'Dhuan Dhuan' may have been an omen given the current state of Delhi's air quality.