Habib Tanveer

Charan Das chor character played by him

Last year in the winters i was driving back home from the office .. while climbing the akaswani road i saw a man lying on the road. Nearing him i realised he was bleeding and was in pain..immediately i parked the car and reachedout to help him.. he asked me to dial a number.. it was of Mr Habib Tanveer.. My Teacher in Delhi and a legend ..he asked to take him to the hospital than his daughter Nageen will follow it up.. as asked i took him to the Hamidia Hospital and waited for her to reach. she Hugged me ,thanked me and took my contact no.

The next day i was called at his place. Tousled hair, walking stick in hand ..In the dimly lit living room full of books. Tribal artifacts jostle with old files, musty ledgers and frayed folders. He reaches for his pipe and a glass of water before he carefully lowers himself on a sturdy cane chair, dressed in white pyjama and pink kurta.It was a privilege to see vintage Habib Tanvir sahib. Electrifying power he exuded even at the age of 85. The spirit was the same when he was teaching .

He gave me a small star ,red coloured, hand embroidered ,as a token of his greatness.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, he never got upset over the state of Hindi theatre across India but kept on working….all over the world.

Today he is no more.. But he will always be remembered through out with his plays, poems, ideology, classic productions, his crew..

Born on 1 September 1923 at Raipur (Now in Chattisgarh ), he began his career as a journalist and went on to become a playwright. In 1959, he founded a theatre company called the Naya Theatre. He was nominated as a member of India's upper house of parliament, the Rajya Sabha, from 1972 to 1978.