Goutam Ghose trailed Jyoti Basu for eight years, from 1997 to 2004, across campaigns and countries, to film Jyoti Basur Songe. The documentary tracks Basu’s boyhood days in Bangladesh, his student life in London and his political career in Calcutta.
A Journey With Jyoti Basu was screened at Nandan in March 2005 with Basu in the front row. “I thank Goutam for refreshing my memory. I had almost forgotten I had said so many things,” Basu had said after the show.
Goutam Ghose tells Metro about the man he knew and admired
There are so many things that I will never forget about Jyotibabu.
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| Jyoti Basu being introduced to Amitabh Bachchan by Dilip Kumar, with Saira Banu, Rekha and others looking on, at a charity cricket match for the chief minister’s flood relief fund at Eden Gardens in 1979. A Telegraph picture |
When we first landed up at Indira Bhavan to shoot, all my technicians thought his place would be no less than a palace. But we were surprised, there was nothing extravagant in his Salt Lake home.
He lived alone in a room, with strict security around him, of course. Very simple living. No army of servants around him.
A man would quietly leave Jyotibabu’s lunch and dinner in a tiffin box. He was very particular about that, he would have his meal on time every day. I wondered how he could live so completely alone.
Then I got the next shock; he would polish his shoes himself. I thought I would take a shot while he was polishing his shoes, but he told me not to because people would think he was trying to show off.
“This is my childhood habit,” he told me, “it’s part of our family culture to polish our own shoes”.
I will never forget that. It was incredible, part of their generation’s culture.
Irrespective of political leanings, I was really fascinated by Jyotibabu the man. I shared many things intellectual with him. Whenever I would get a good book, I would send it across to him.
I remember gifting him a book by Joe (Joseph) Stiglitz and a book written by Arundhati Roy. Both were about global and national issues, which I found very interesting.
My pisheymoshai (uncle) Satyen Ganguly was very close to Jyotibabu. He told me some very interesting anecdotes, one of which I would like to share.
When pisheymoshai was an active member of the railway union, Jyotibabu had just returned from London. Almost a shahib, he would eat with spoon and fork. Pisheymoshai had accompanied him to Begusarai in Bihar for some union meeting. Jyotibabu had won the railway union seat in the Assembly and they had gone there to campaign. It was around the early 1940s.
When they went to the railway workers’ slums they were offered lunch which comprised iron-hard rotis, insipid dal and bitter pickle! Nobody could eat it except Jyotibabu who enjoyed it without complaining and even asked for a second helping. Pisheymoshai told me that they knew then how far this man would go in life. He was very focussed, and he was determined to mingle with the common man.
While shooting the documentary I had gone to his ancestral home in Bangladesh with him where he shared many anecdotes in a lighter vein. He told me how he would travel by boats from one place to another and how the world had shrunk now. He recalled those days very fondly. He told me how delicious the chicken curry and rice cooked inside a steamer kitchen would taste.
The last time I met him was about a year ago.
(As told to Kushali Nag)
tribute
“The turmoil of a great life has finally come to an end. India is poorer on account of the demise of Jyoti Basu.”
R.P. Goenka, chairman of CESC Ltd
He was a nice, courteous and affectionate human being. He had attended our marriage. I would meet him on occasions.
Sandip Ray, film-maker
When Debasree (Roy) and I got married, we had organised a meal for some needy people. Jyoti Basu and Mother Teresa had come for the occasion. He was a great personality and a visionary…. One of the greatest leaders of our country. I last visited him on his birthday in 2008. He was so frail.
Prosenjit, actor
It’s an irreparable loss. Today’s politicians should learn from him what staying power means. He had come to my wedding. I had met him on his last birthday.
Rituparna Sengupta, actress
I had interacted with him a little while making a campaign video for the CPM.
But he was such a personality that I could never go up to him and talk. I was in awe of him.
Sabyasachi Chakraborty, actor
One of my fondest memories of Jyotibabu was when I became his personal escort for the 125th year celebrations of St Xavier’s College. I was a student at that time…. He was a great statesman.
Arindam Sil, actor