Do Deewane Sheher Mein

When Runa Laila came to Bombay, she did not want to stay at the Taj hotel despite its panoramic view of the sea.

‘Oh, I love this city so much, I want a place of my own here,’ she said to music composer Jaidev, who had invited her from Bangladesh to sing a song in a film.

‘Let’s first record the song,’ he said,

‘No, please, Jaidev ji,’ she said.

‘But you have a house in Dhaka!’ he said.

‘But artists belong everywhere, no?’ she said. ‘We are like the wind, no fixed roots, no fixed home.’

Her exuberance left him with no choice.

‘Leave it to me,’ she said, ‘I will find out myself.’

Runa walked around the queen’s necklace, admiring the art deco buildings dotted across the road. She walked barefoot in the cool evening air, watching the sun, listening to the waves, sauntering at the chowpatty, humming and cooing.

At sunset, she climbed up the Charni overbridge for a bird’s eye view of the skyline. She took a taxi to Malabar Hill and sipped tea at Naaz café. She visited the Bandra fort, ate bhelpuri at Juhu beach and returned to Jaidev’s house at night.

‘Did you find a house?’ he asked.

‘No, I wasn’t looking. I just wanted to soak in the city’s sights and sounds,’ she said.

‘And what did you discover?’ he asked.

‘It is easy to get lost here.’

‘But you find your way back.’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘That is the other thing I noticed. The city never rests. Shall we record tomorrow?’

Jaidev was relieved to hear that.

Runa met her shy co-singer Bhupinder at the studio. They sang the upbeat melody Do Deewane Sheher Mein.

After the recording, in a singsong voice, Runa said: ‘Every time I had to sing aab-o-dana dhundte hain, I felt hungry for sa-bu-dana.’

Everyone laughed.

Lyricist Gulzar said: ‘Laazim hai itna umda gaane ke baad bhookh toh lagegi.’

Where can I get the best sabudana vada? she asked.

‘Matunga,’ said the drummer.

‘Dadar,’ said the violinist.

‘East,’ said the musician playing the cabasa.

‘West,’ said Bhupinder, picking up his guitar and strumming a string.

‘Oh ho,’ said Jaidev. ‘Why don’t you all go out and find out.’

‘Do deewane sheher mein, raat mein ya dopeher main, sa-bu-dana dhundte hain ek…’ Runa laughed before she could complete the line.

The musicians jumped into a taxi and set off in search. Runa felt at home in the world.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction or more formally known as real person fiction. It is not for any commercial use. Read more on Real Person Fiction here.