Today was indeed a sad day for all the fans and admirers of Khushwant Singh the eminent journalist and writer par excellence, who passed away this morning (20th March 2014) at the age of 99. He has left a huge void in the world of the written word. May his soul REST IN PEACE.
Here is what I had posted on my blog on 17th Dec 2011:
Khushwant Singh Inside The Light Bulb…
I have been a great admirer and fan of Khushwant Singh. I have a huge collection of his famous jokes page titled “Ha!” from old issues of, the now defunct but then, very famous “THE ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY OF INDIA “.The Editorial page of THE WEEKLY was a pleasure to read and it was famous for its signature cartoon showing Khushwant Singh inside a light bulb. The cartoon was a creation of MARIO MIRANDA.
Later on, the same cartoon has been used in his famous column in Saturday editions of THE HINDUSTAN TIMES. The column is called: ”With Malice towards One and All” and enjoys a very huge readership.
The media and Facebook are all full of condolence messages and many admirers have expressed their views about how and how much they had loved him and his writings. RIP!
He woke at 4 am, finished three to four crossword puzzles, worked steadily till lunch, again in the afternoon till 7 pm when the good Scotch came out – his sole bad habit he would confess, as he had no other. “Please do not ring the bell unless expected,” read a neatly printed notice outside his ground floor Sujan Singh Park flat. “I don’t see people without an appointment. I can be very rude to anyone who stays even a minute after 8 pm.”
“I have been writing them for ever 70 years without a break. The truth is that I want to die. I have lived long enough and am fed up with life. I have nothing to look forward to and whatever I want to do in life, I have done. So what is the point of hanging on to life with nothing whatsoever left to do,” Khushwant Singh said in his column, “With Malice Towards One and All”. He said the only relief he can think of is to recall memories of his past sweethearts.
His rise to national prominence came as editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India (1969-78), the dowdy Bombay-based magazine he transformed into the sparky, controversial bestseller in The Times of India stable. “I had a three-pronged formula for its success – inform, amuse and provoke”, he later said. “It worked, and a stagnating circulation of 80,000 rose to 4,00,000.” It was in the weekly’s pages that his long-running column With Malice Towards One and All made its debut, forever memorialised by Mario Miranda’s caricature of Khushwant Singh encased in a light bulb, manuscripts and bottle of Scotch on hand.
I WAS A REGULAR READER OF THE ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY OFTEN DUBBED AS ” THE LUST RATED WEEKLY” DURING HIS TIMES.
“Here lies one who spared neither man nor God;
Waste not your tears on him, he was a sod;
Writing nasty things he regarded as great fun;
Thank the Lord he is dead, this son of a gun.”
Ajay Moghe A man with courage and conviction. Publically announced what he enjoyed without preaching. RIP
Dilip Sonar Gr8 soul & writer!
Sharad Dhargalkar I still remember his days in Illustrated Weekly
Chinmay Das may his soul rest in peace
Anuraag Kumar May his soul rest in peace.
Kanchan Majumder May his soul rest in peace
Ankur Kathuria May his soul RIP
Naresh Agrawal It’s really shocking, May his Soul rest in peace ! Tussi hamesha Greatest Rahoge our Beloved KhushwantJi !!
Jasbir Bhatia ….’aisa kahaan se laayein ki tujhsa kahein jise…’ truly an icon, a master of wit..!!
Sanjay Sethi What a wonderful man, who could poke fun at himself…truly a mark of an evolved human being. I’d love to be able to write such an Epitaph about myself!!
Nilouffer Rana His Epitaph shows hw he wanted to be remembered the way he was…he laughed and made others laugh…..one way or the other.
Nilouffer Rana It seems only yesterday that late Mrs Ramma Bans and I saw him stroll into the Taj Health Club awaiting his humour. Yes I remember he would come every single day when he was in Mumbai sit in our Health club office, talk to Mrs Bans in Punjabi and if i did not understand a joke he would oblige by explaining it to me. then he would go to have a steam bath and come back for a hot cup of tea and depending on his mood, he would either sit with us in the office or sit by the poolside watching the bikini clad ladies, getting inspired to write his beautiful thoughts. He used to get me copies of the Illustrated Weekly and say if u find anything beautiful in the magazine, keep it to yourself, but if u find anything not to your liking, tell me so i know what angle I should avoid. Always ready with a joke or a quip we all admired him. Its sad to know he is no more. But Heaven is richer with his presence there Im sure. RIP Mr KS!!!
Nilouffer Rana Just shows his life was an open book. he wrote what he felt..Great Guy..
Nilouffer Rana He was a strict disciplinarian and had a strong will power. No wonder then he had such an agile intelligence. May his soul rest in peace!!
Umesh Sabharwal RIP
Shernaz Wadia RIP. Jitoo, he lived life on his terms, a good life and died as he wished to die. Let all his fans be truly happy for him.
This morning’s editorial in Business Standard is titled KHUSHWANT SINGH’S LEGACY. I liked it a lot and recommend that all fans of KS must read and reflect on it. Here is the link:
Khushwant’s greatest gift is so crucial, and yet very few Indian writers have it: he was no hypocrite. He loved his Scotch and his ribaldry, and he insisted on celebrating all the joys of the world, from the sacred to the unabashedly vulgar. The man who lived a suprisingly clean life revelled in his wonderfully dirty mind. That, in a country of prudes ruled by the pieties of hypocrites, makes him a role model for all Indian writers. May his tribe increase.
KHUSHWANT SINGH’S FAVOURITE LIMERICK
His favourite limerick was from the English poet Hilaire Belloc:
“When I am dead
I hope it will be said
His sins were scarlet
But his books were read.”
How true !!
J S BROCA
NEW DELHI
21ST MARCH 2014
KHUSHWANT SINGH’S DAILY REGIMEN
He woke at 4 am, finished three to four crossword puzzles, worked steadily till lunch, again in the afternoon till 7 pm when the good Scotch came out – his sole bad habit he would confess, as he had no other. “Please do not ring the bell unless expected,” read a neatly printed notice outside his ground floor Sujan Singh Park flat. “I don’t see people without an appointment. I can be very rude to anyone who stays even a minute after 8 pm.”
J S BROCA
NEW DELHI
21ST MARCH 2014
KHUSHWANT SINGH’S CONFESSION…..
At age 94 he allegedly confessed:
“Each time I see a woman I have dirty thoughts about what she would be like in bed”. (Read more in The Delhi Walla.)
HE NEVER WAS AT A LOSS FOR WORDS !
J S BROCA
NEW DELHI
21ST MARCH 2014
KHUSHWANT SINGH ON DEATH….
“I have been writing them for ever 70 years without a break. The truth is that I want to die. I have lived long enough and am fed up with life. I have nothing to look forward to and whatever I want to do in life, I have done. So what is the point of hanging on to life with nothing whatsoever left to do,” Khushwant Singh said in his column, “With Malice Towards One and All”. He said the only relief he can think of is to recall memories of his past sweethearts.
J S BROCA
NEW DELHI
21ST MARCH 2014
KHUSHWANT SINGH’S RISE TO FAME….
His rise to national prominence came as editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India (1969-78), the dowdy Bombay-based magazine he transformed into the sparky, controversial bestseller in The Times of India stable. “I had a three-pronged formula for its success – inform, amuse and provoke”, he later said. “It worked, and a stagnating circulation of 80,000 rose to 4,00,000.” It was in the weekly’s pages that his long-running column With Malice Towards One and All made its debut, forever memorialised by Mario Miranda’s caricature of Khushwant Singh encased in a light bulb, manuscripts and bottle of Scotch on hand.
I WAS A REGULAR READER OF THE ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY OFTEN DUBBED AS ” THE LUST RATED WEEKLY” DURING HIS TIMES.
J S BROCA
NEW DELHI
21ST MARCH 2014
KHUSHWANT SINGH’S OWN SELF COMPOSED EPITAPH
“Here lies one who spared neither man nor God;
Waste not your tears on him, he was a sod;
Writing nasty things he regarded as great fun;
Thank the Lord he is dead, this son of a gun.”
REALLY !!
J S BROCA
NEW DELHI
21ST MARCH 2014
COMMENTS ON KS FROM MY FRIENDS IN BOI
Ajay Moghe A man with courage and conviction. Publically announced what he enjoyed without preaching. RIP
Dilip Sonar Gr8 soul & writer!
Sharad Dhargalkar I still remember his days in Illustrated Weekly
Chinmay Das may his soul rest in peace
Anuraag Kumar May his soul rest in peace.
Kanchan Majumder May his soul rest in peace
Ankur Kathuria May his soul RIP
Naresh Agrawal It’s really shocking, May his Soul rest in peace ! Tussi hamesha Greatest Rahoge our Beloved KhushwantJi !!
J S BROCA
NEW DELHI
21.03.14
SOME MORE COMMENTS ON KS ON MY POSTS
Jasbir Bhatia ….’aisa kahaan se laayein ki tujhsa kahein jise…’ truly an icon, a master of wit..!!
Sanjay Sethi What a wonderful man, who could poke fun at himself…truly a mark of an evolved human being. I’d love to be able to write such an Epitaph about myself!!
Nilouffer Rana His Epitaph shows hw he wanted to be remembered the way he was…he laughed and made others laugh…..one way or the other.
Nilouffer Rana It seems only yesterday that late Mrs Ramma Bans and I saw him stroll into the Taj Health Club awaiting his humour. Yes I remember he would come every single day when he was in Mumbai sit in our Health club office, talk to Mrs Bans in Punjabi and if i did not understand a joke he would oblige by explaining it to me. then he would go to have a steam bath and come back for a hot cup of tea and depending on his mood, he would either sit with us in the office or sit by the poolside watching the bikini clad ladies, getting inspired to write his beautiful thoughts. He used to get me copies of the Illustrated Weekly and say if u find anything beautiful in the magazine, keep it to yourself, but if u find anything not to your liking, tell me so i know what angle I should avoid. Always ready with a joke or a quip we all admired him. Its sad to know he is no more. But Heaven is richer with his presence there Im sure. RIP Mr KS!!!
Nilouffer Rana Just shows his life was an open book. he wrote what he felt..Great Guy..
Nilouffer Rana He was a strict disciplinarian and had a strong will power. No wonder then he had such an agile intelligence. May his soul rest in peace!!
Umesh Sabharwal RIP
Shernaz Wadia RIP. Jitoo, he lived life on his terms, a good life and died as he wished to die. Let all his fans be truly happy for him.
Alfred Dlima He has had a peaceful death. RIL.
Satinder Pal Singh Broca …always with us !!!
J S BROCA
New Delhi
22nd March 2014
KHUSHWANT SINGH’S LEGACY
This morning’s editorial in Business Standard is titled KHUSHWANT SINGH’S LEGACY. I liked it a lot and recommend that all fans of KS must read and reflect on it. Here is the link:
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/khushwant-singh-s-legacy-114032200676_1.html
THE CLOSING PARA of the piece sums it up nicely:
Khushwant’s greatest gift is so crucial, and yet very few Indian writers have it: he was no hypocrite. He loved his Scotch and his ribaldry, and he insisted on celebrating all the joys of the world, from the sacred to the unabashedly vulgar. The man who lived a suprisingly clean life revelled in his wonderfully dirty mind. That, in a country of prudes ruled by the pieties of hypocrites, makes him a role model for all Indian writers. May his tribe increase.
I second that : MAY HIS TRIBE INCREASE !!
J S BROCA
New Delhi
23.03.14