My Father Jagdeep

‘When he came to Bombay, he lived on the streets with his mother.’ ‘He had to sell whatever little they had in their bags their clothes, his toys.’‘When they did not have money, a bakery would sell the bread crumbs fallen on the floor for one paisa in a newspaper.’‘But before eating, they had to take out the rat and cockroach shit from the crumbs.’

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Jagdeep is no more but his legend lives on.

There were many untold stories about the actor who passed away on July 8.

His son actor Jaaved Jaaferi, who is trying to come to terms with his father’s passing, My father often spoke about his struggles.

He came from a well to do family; his father was a lawyer with the maharaja of Datia (near Gwalior in present-day Madhya Pradesh).

He was the youngest of 10 siblings. The eldest brother was some 25, 30 years old older than him.

He was about seven or eight when his father passed away.

His mother took him to Karachi, where her two elder sons lived, before the Partition.

After the Partition, she decided to return to India. It was strange because most of the Muslims were going that side.

My father saw the bloodshed in the trains, the riots...

When he came to Bombay, somehow there was no connect with his brothers.

He lived on the streets with his mother.

He had to sell whatever little they had in their bags their clothes, his toys.

The money got over and they were living under a bridge in Byculla (south-central Mumbai; he was buried in a cemetry in the same area). He took us there once to show us.

He did odd jobs like selling kites, soap, combs and all that. That journey was tough.