“We are thoroughly blessed to have Bombay in our DNA”

Saeed Akhtar Mirza 81 screenwriter and art film directorSunil Sampat 81 jazz impresario and authorA beacon of progressive thought parallel cinema veteran Saeed Akhtar Mirzarsquos brilliant oeuvre includes Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro Naseem Nukkad and Intezaar Studying economics and political science at St Xavierrsquos College after a diploma in marketing and advertising he joined the Film and Television Institute of India Pune and was later appointed Chairman of the FTII The son of writerdirector Akhtar Mirza credited with hits like Waqt and Naya Daur Saeed lectures on cinema in universities in India and America and is presently Chairman of the KR Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts in Kerala Internationally acknowledged for his authoritative understanding and critiquing of jazz music Sunil Sampat schooled across India before graduating as a chemical engineer from Syracuse University in New York state Back in Bombay he started an engineering company manufacturing speciality equipment in fibreglass for storing and processing aggressive chemicals He began freelance writing on jazz with Midday and Sunday Midday and covered every Jazz Yatra fest from the very first in 1978 Serving on the managing committee of Capital Jazz helmed by Soli Sorabjee for several years he is on the NCPA jazz advisory committee from its inception in 2010 Contributing editor with Rolling Stone magazine since its India launch he owns an enviable record collection His other passion being cricket he follows the game keenlybull bull bullSaeed Mirza Perhaps we met at the invitation of Sunilrsquos wife Manju to their home for a meeting with the wonderful actor and common friend Tom Alter Or was it for the reading of a play It would have been in the 1980s I was intrigued by Sunilrsquos chequered interestsSunil Sampat We had a mutual good friend in filmmaker Kundan Shah who might have introduced us I was and remain fascinated by the way Saeed analyses life He picks up on nuances others often miss His adding fresh perspective and dimension to ordinary everyday life is uniqueSunil Sampat and Saeed MirzaSM My friend is a free thinker Unburdened by ideology yet with a moral code broadly identified as ldquoleftrdquo He never lets the political stand on issues become ldquofundamentalistrdquo It is open to change and debateSS Truly a ldquofundamentalistrdquo for me the ldquofunrdquo comes before the ldquomentalrdquo Seriously I admire Saeedrsquos openmindedness and clarity of expressionSM Sunil is extremely methodical the time of waking up the walk on Carter Road when to get to work arranging a holiday Irsquom the opposite donrsquot plan ahead into the future When things happen they happenSS That is why yoursquore a creative filmmaker and Irsquom only a Carter Road walker with your wife Jennifer Our writing is a binding factor Saeed encourages me saying ldquoJust keep writing I love the way you thinkrdquo His inputs are invaluableSM He is a great raconteur of tales Itrsquos a pleasure to catch up with Sunil have a drink take on the world I genuinely believe he has his heart in the right place I love his take on life and general understanding of the worldSS We both head out on long adventurous road trips Never together ironically We do plan to drive to Ooty sometime though I have driven from Calcutta to Bombay from Montreal to Acapulco through Europe as well as Brazil the Caribbean the US and Canada My wife daughters and I itch for exciting trips and fortunately enjoy a fair amount of them Saeed keeps crisscrossing India almost on impulse with the imagination and creativity that go into his masterful filmsSM Now I am savouring Maharashtra through Karnataka into Tamil Nadu and returning in May via Telangana And Kerala of courseSS Hersquos listening to Ray Charlesrsquo Hit the Road Jack in his car I was always interested in music My mother an accomplished Hindustani classical vocalist performed at AIR in Nagpur The love for jazz was sparked as an 11yearold on hearing a Benny Goodman record Getting deeper a decade in the US and Canada gave ample opportunities to cultivate friendships with musicians In that fabulous period in jazz history I luckily met legends like John Coltrane Miles Davis Clark Terry Bill Evans Dizzy Gillespie Ella Fitzgerald and Carmen McRae among many othersSM Our major love is for the diversity of India its subcultures languages and religions coexisting for centuries We share a similar vision of the historical melting pot that is this country the heritage we have from harmony And are equally saddened by the stresses impacting this recently Living in an age of superficiality and with a constipated constricted viewpoint we are a crass crude macho nation wanting to be poetic The rule of law doesnrsquot exist human rights are secondary How banana is our republicSS Theyrsquoll slip on the banana peel We have become narrow nervous and parochial There has to be a pendulum swing Sanjay Gandhirsquos was dictatorship This is fascism Tragically slapstick As an electorate we continue being insultedSM The anger seething inside each person is steadily fanned erupting in malice hate fear of ldquothe otherrdquo But I believe even fractured far right however dented this too shall pass The current incredibly bigoted tunnel vision wonrsquot sustain itselfSS It is a battle so worth fightingndashto preserve the poetry we once had Considering the Bombay pace of life Saeed and I stay in touch quite regularly Each has imbibed the ethos of this city and we build on that strong identity factorSM Bombay is a city in the truest sense of the word for the working man and particularly the working woman Underneath the overt tensions it retains urbanity and graceSS I feel itrsquos easier put in perspective this way letrsquos say if we were from Delhi or Chennai our sensibilities would be different We are thoroughly blessed to have Bombay in our DNAAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes monthly on city friendships You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacom