Shashi Kapoor films made me a traveller, and I’ll never be a regular again

Take away nature from his song videos and you might be left with only a wisp of the magic that this man wove on screen. Imagine a Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe shot somewhere in some city, take away the dense pines from O Meri Sharmilee, the lakes of Kashmir from Pardesiyon Se Na, or Shimla (then Simla) from Vaada Karo - take away all that and you might not be left with such warm memories of Bollywood’s classic age.

The more Shashi Kapoor roamed around in the hills (remember his Aa Gale Lag Ja sequences), the more I was addicted to the idea of wandering in thick pine forests. Cannot deny that the idea of having a pet mule (watch O Meri Sharmilee Again) did not appeal to me; come on, I was barely six then and what child can resist fancying such an idea!

Today, as I write this story, a day after Shashi Kapoor’s death, the actor’s name brings back such a flurry of nostalgia. Memories made of vacations, where fellow tourists were spotted wearing orange blazers and caps that resembled the boatmen of Kashmir. Memories that could have made for such viral posts on Instagram if only those were the days of iPhones and not Kodak cameras. But then, those were also the days of Shashi Kapoor and not YouTube stars.


Here’s to the icon who made me a traveller, leaving such strong memories on my rather gullible mind back then, that I still am to be found in hills. Crooning a tune that will remind you of Shashi Kapoor, clutching my green backpack and wishing for a pet mule perhaps.

A traveller, never your regular person again...