| Meera Dev Burman, SD Burman's valued collaborator and wife — and the mother of RD Burman, who enriched Bollywood music with the popular Western twang — is now a largely speechless resident of a Navi Mumbai old-age home. At 92, Meera is frail and cannot walk. But she seems spiritually intact as she faces life at Sharan, a Vashi-based private home for the elderly.
"She was brought here six months ago by her guardians," an occupant of the home told DNA. The guardian in question is Asha Bhonsle. An attendant takes care of Meera round-the-clock, but she is oblivious to the world around her. "She can barely manage to even sit. That's why I think she was sent here," the occupant said.
Today, few music aficionados are aware of Meera's existence despite her contribution to India's cultural repertoire. Her accomplishments are recognised in SD Burman's grateful testimonial: "In my musical life, the help rendered by Meera through her collaboration, assistance, inspiration, and sacrifice are omnipresent."
But she may receive some public acclaim when Tripura, SD Burman's home state, felicitates her at Sharan later this month. A team of officials and parliamentarians will visit her at the behest of Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar.
Asha Bhonsle's secretary, however, said that the felicitation's arrangements were not clear. "A month or so ago, a Tripura government official told us about the plan to honour Mrs Burman," Vivek Naik said. "I asked for the proposal in writing. I haven't heard from them since."
Meera, once an accomplished singer and dancer, was trained by such stalwarts as Bhismadeb Chattopadhyaya and Ustad Faiz Mohammad Khan. For four decades, Meera was SD Burman's most abiding and inspiring influence. She lost him in October 1975. But a harder blow was the death of her beloved son in January 1994. RD Burman's demise pushed the quiet Meera into the private retreat of grieving silence.
She is believed to have recently told a relative: "I shall die in the old-age home. I will not go elsewhere, though I am not happy here." Meera's aunt, Sukhla Das Gupta, recently met her at Sharan. "She is a very sensitive person and doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. She wants to leave, but she is unable to say so directly," Das Gupta said. source:
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