Meeting point

Every once in a while, as expatriates living away from our homeland, we come across foreigners who know more about our country than we do. Take this Jordanian gentleman, for instance. Suave and elderly, he was delighted to meet me, especially when he discovered that I was from India. And then he asked me if I had seen “Sangam”. 

My husband, who had made the introduction, had no idea what he was talking about. But I instantly figured that he meant the classic Indian movie that was a blockbuster hit of my parents’ generation. When I nodded my head in agreement, he was slightly sceptical. The film must have been released before my birth, he reasoned. It was, I agreed again. He looked disappointed but when I told him that it was a story of two men who were best friends, one of whom was a pilot, and they loved the same woman, he brightened up immediately. 

From then onwards he was mesmerised. He could not stop raving about the picture; from the songs to the plot to the cinematography to the actors, he loved everything about it. Soon, we were trading insights about the film. I informed him that this was the first Raj Kapoor (the great Indian actor, director and showman) movie that was shot entirely in colour. He said he knew it already. Then he stated that this picture was shot in foreign locales like Paris, Venice and Switzerland, which was also a first for Indian cinema. I was surprised to learn this bit of information. 

As we settled into our seats around the dining table, he confided that almost every night he listened to the songs of “Sangam”. His American wife could not understand this manic enthusiasm initially but now, if he forgot to do so, she reminded him about it. He found the tunes very soothing even if he could not comprehend the meaning of the songs completely. We disagreed a little with whether the film was about male bonding or a love triangle. The manner in which the two men kept shunting the female love-interest from one to the other without any regard to her feelings, was debated upon. 

The coy and reclusive Vyjayantimala reinvented herself, and even wore a swimsuit, he enlightened me. Giving in to Raj Kapoor’s obsession for the colour white, she was spotted only in white dresses in this entire picture, I conveyed to him. It was nominated for twelve Filmfare awards, out of which the movie won four of them, including best director, actress, editing and sound design, we chorused. 

While we were reminiscing about the bygone era, someone tried to tell us about Hollywood stars Will and Jada Pinkett Smith and Tyrese Gibson’s visit to Amman to attend a Jordanian billionaire’s wedding. It was happening at a nearby hotel but none of us showed the slightest inclination to go there. Not that we were invited but if we wanted to, we could have gatecrashed. However, we treated the news as a slight deterrent before going back to our main discussion about “Sangam”. 

“What does the word mean?” the gentleman asked suddenly. 

“It is a difficult word,” my husband admitted.

“Actually, it’s a Sanskrit word,” I tried.

“But what does it mean?” he repeated.

“I might have to Google it,” I confessed.

“Tell me at our next meeting,” he said.

“That’s it! Exactly,” I exclaimed.

“What’s the point?” my spouse interrupted. 

“Sangam means meeting point,” I smiled.