Being Ritu by Sathya Saran

Author:Sathya Saran
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: null
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Published: 2021-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

She loved playing matchmaker too. And was quick in her decisions, bringing latent matters to a head.

‘She found my husband for me,’ Nini, her sister-in-law, says.

And just as she had orchestrated Neila’s marriage with her uncle Shammi Kapoor, it was Ritu who ensured the blossoming romance between her younger brother Rishi and his frequent co-star, Neetu Singh, finally flowered. Neetu tells it with her characteristic candour:

‘Rishi was too shy to talk to his parents about wanting to get married, but, of course, Ritu and the other siblings knew we were going steady. I still had a few films to complete. The first time I met Ritu properly was when she urged me to attend a family occasion at the Kapoor home. I hesitated, and she said, “But you must come, bring your mother along too.” Little did I realize how my life would change with that one visit.’

Neetu remembers donning a simple sari and driving up with her mother to Chembur. To her astonishment, ‘There were twenty people waiting to welcome me. Then Ritu steered me into her room, and said, “You will get engaged today.” Her father, Raj-ji came up to my mother and said, “Aapki beti chaiye.” And that was that!’

What followed was straight out of a fairy tale. ‘She pulled off her own wedding ring from her finger, a friend offered another one, and Rishi and I exchanged rings. I must have been the most badly dressed girl who ever got engaged,’ she says laughing. The bond between the sisters-in-law would remain firm, and the two would draw strength from each other many years later when ill health dogged Rishi, and Ritu and destiny found them in the same apartment building, one floor away from each other, fighting different versions of the dreaded C. But that would be much later.

Between the engagement and the time in hospital, there would be plenty of happy times where Neetu would bask in the love showered on her by Ritu and her mother-in-law. ‘For me, Ritu was the most fascinating of all the people I know, after my mother-in-law,’ Neetu says. ‘The best human being, outstanding in her positivity, and in the way she could always offer the right advice and reach out to people. She kept in touch with everyone; and was there to help any time anyone was facing a crisis. It was superhuman!’

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