130/100
‪#‎100sareepact‬

A Fab India Tussar I bought a few years ago. They brought these out in so many different colours …purple , orange , navy blue , black and red …but somehow it was this olive green that won my attention. I have worn this Saree so many times as it was the perfect one for conferences and meetings . Then , the same story of needing a new blouse and not finding the right one . I have discovered the joy of mixing and matching my sarees with random blouses and believe me it is nothing short of a resurrection , what a bright blouse can do to a Saree, maybe one you are bit of tired of and bored with .
Was lunching with son Vinay and some family friends at the Taj Tea Place in Bandra and as Sunanda and Suranjana can testify , that’s a great backdrop for Pact Photographs so had Vinay take a couple of pictures for the post .
The last time I wore this Saree was a couple of years ago when we launched a Marrow Donor Initiative and Salman Khan had joined us in helping create awareness and getting youngsters to volunteer .
I had to introduce him at the event : an evening he spent with a few families who had to face a diagnosis of cancer in their midst and here is that introduction .
The pictures and the post surfaced on Face Book’s On This Day app a couple of days ago making it easy for me to post here …same Saree with its original blouse.
“It is an incredible honour to present to you all today someone who needs no introduction at all . Such a cliché but when one sets out to say the truth or state facts there seems to be no other recourse!!
This is someone I have known for over 20 years.
Someone who the first time I met him in Tata Hospital, gave me his phone number and said I could call anytime if there was anyone in need.
Someone who has called me every time he changed his phone number.
Someone who spoke and coaxed and charmed over that very phone a 12 year old girl to complete her chemotherapy when she was all set to give up because she was so tired of it all and in so much pain and distress. She is now a charming , exuberant 27 yr old sitting for her Public Administration exam by the way.
Someone who called me one evening saying he was in nearby Sewri , had just finished or cancelled shooting I do not remember and could we go visit the patients in the children’s ward? The children in KEM Hospital had a super treat in store for them that evening.
This is someone who calls me every time he hears of a person in need of support due to a brush with cancer – his best friend’s father , his father’s old studio hand, someone from his neighbourhood who needs counselling …
Someone who took off his gold ear ring and asked me to take it across to the young boy who was dying of a bone malignancy in Meerut.
This is someone who read in the papers that a young girl needed a donor for a marrow transplant and called me to say he was bringing his brothers and coming over to see if their blood would match.
This is someone who said he would take time from his shooting schedule and meet a little patient from Indore in the studios and when the shoot was cancelled just asked us over to his house and entertained the delighted little one for well over an hour.
Ladies and gentleman I present to you all the one and only Salman Khan . my friend in cancer care for many years”