When they were young

There was a time when Professor CSH Jhabvala,now 88,and his writer wife Ruth Prawer were the toast of Delhi. No wonder then that several luminaries from the past,and some from the present showed up at the IIC for the launch of Professor Jhabvala’s book,Old Delhi New York (Roli,Rs 1,495). While the book has drawn attention for its precise detailing in pencil drawings and water colours of tumbled monuments in old Delhi and the marvels of New York,a gathering of old colleagues,students and friends energetically participated at the discussion moderated by conservation architect Nalini Thakur.

Defying all notions that he is a yesterday’s man,“Jhab”,a distinguished practicing architect and the former dean of The School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) regaled the stuffy lecture room with his sharp memory,forking out anecdotes from his academic days. “I see only old friends,gray hair and toothless people here. I had been dreading to come here but I am glad I made it. And I keep seeing in your faces the reflection of young boys that came for admission. And so many of them are here,” shared Jhabvala. “I would have liked to stay longer but how long can you go on chasing urchins,” quipped Jhabvala to the delight of the gathering. His Booker-winning novelist-screenplay writer wife Ruth and he shuttle from New Delhi to New York,spending the winters in Delhi and summer in New York.

Writer Arundhati Roy,who studied architecture at the SPA ,shared one of her “Jhab” stories. “I don’t remember people as great teachers but as great characters. And he gifted me my first character as a writer. In my film In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones set in the 70s,he is immortalised as a character who students call Yamdoot. I remember he used to call me animal,” recalled Roy,casually pretty in a white kurta.

His colleague from the 50s,Professor Man Singh Rana surveyed the gathering with interest and wondered at the good old faces. “I know him from the days before he was married. I remember sitting in Metro Hotel in Connaught Place and somebody threw a match box from behind. Looking back I realised it was him,” smiled Rana.

The slight Ruth,82,buttoned up in blue-black shirt,sitting amidst the crowd,hasn’t really withdrawn from the writer’s world. Known to be an intensely private person,she said she is working on another book— a collection of her stories that appeared in The New Yorker. Her last book was My Nine Lives in 2005. Long time friend architect Rosemary Sachdev,artist Ram Rehman,curator Alka Pande,Delhi Urban Arts Commission Chairman KT Ravindran,art historian and Rajya Sabha member Kapila Vatsyayan and filmmaker Sanjay Kak were spotted at the launch.