Evergreen Memories

CLOSE ASSOCIATE MOHAN CHURIWALA SHARES MUSINGS AND MOMENTS SPENT WITH HIS REAL-LIFE HERO – THE LEGENDARY DEV ANAND. FARHANA FAROOK LISTENS IN

The late Dev Anand eulogised youth. And this fascination began right from his days in Government College, Lahore where he often recited Hafeez Jalandari’s poem Abhi To Main Jawaan Hoon. In fact, Sahir Ludhinavi’s classic romantic number Abhi na jao choddh kar in Dev Anand’s Hum Dono (1961) was based on the same metre as Jalandari’s elegy. It was this undying zest for life that attracted young Mohan Churiwala to Dev Anand. “Ours was an association of 15 years,” says the fan and associate with a faraway look.

Today, six years after Dev Anand passed away, nothing can seal the vacuum in Mohan’s life. A successful share-market professional, the empty spaces are filled by recollections of his hero. He points to the huge photograph of Dev Anand in his bedroom saying, “Yahan roz matha tek kar jaata hoon!” A cushion with Dev Anand’s face on it holds the pride of place in his bedroom. Few days before Dev Anand passed away, Mohan had ordered the star’s favourite cologne 4711 for him. Sadly, he never wore it. “But I’ve kept it near my mandir,” says Mohan. “I’ve preserved his hat, his jacket, his mobile, his pen… in fact I even bought over his old car, a Ford Ikon 524. It’s a scrapped model but it’s a keepsake for me,” he smiles. “When I received the delivery of my new Mercedes, I first kept Dev saab’s hat in the glove box,” he reveals adding, “Every car of mine has his book Romancing With Life.” While Mohan has more memories of the legend than he can share in a lifetime, he shares a handful with Filmfare…

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