Phool khile hain gulshan gulshan

In the good, old days we would wait for ‘aapki Tabassum’ to interview a celebrity. She would wait at the door & invite us with her to enter. As she rang the bell, the door opened & we entered with her to the home of a celebrity!

Much later, Tulsi (Smriti Irani) did the same, inviting us to her house & introducing her family members but it was too cliche! Balaji Telefilms became the landmark.

Tabassum aunty, should I call her that?, was a natural. She would talk less & encourage her guests to be at ease. Being an insider helped. She began acting at the age of three debuting in 1947 film ‘Nargis’ as Baby Tabassum. She was a part of many films later but her success as an interviewer was unparalleled. Today, Karan Johar admits that she was his inspiration!

With a rose tucked in her hair & a sari , her pallu drawn over both her shoulders, she was as popular as some of the stars on her show. She brought out out the best of them. They easily talked of mundane things. I have heard. Without digging, some secrets would come out. Without being sensational, it brought out the humane part of the star. The mask fell off easily.

The article in Indian Express praises her interview with the school girl Nazia Hassan, a rage with her ‘Aap jaisa koi’. Tabassum made her feel at ease & also made her sing the song for the viewers. Nazia’s awkwardness & Tabassum’s calm are contrasted so well. She just knew how to use her words.

‘Koffee with Karan’ by Karan Johar or Simi Garewal’s soft ‘Rendezvous’ have their seeds in the 90s show by Tabassum. She died this week at the age of 78. A whole package of gems for us. Watching her shows is a delight. I remember when we missed her show, it was a misery for an entire week. With no recordings available, one had to be satisfied with the snippets available seen during the week.

TV was a miracle & so was watching Tabassum. As people raved about her, her school mate was known to be practical. ‘Wo jo mere saath baithti hai, bahut baar absent rehti hain, mera homework copy karti hai aur meri botal se sara pani pe leti hai’ Really for a child artist it must have been tough! Would anyone be so candid about their classmate or benchmate? I wonder.