Those early years of motherhood for a so-called ‘fallen woman’ in Bombay must have been very tough. They say that Yasmin rose above the dishonour and tittle-tattle with a remarkable and healthy indifference. She never really cared what people said. Her father, of course, had been shocked by her scandalous behaviour, but he was a good man and he was always there for her. Looking at her now, I suspect that there is hardly a moment she regrets. Yasmin was different. She always had a rare and enviable confidence, a self-sufficiency that allowed her to turn things to her advantage. When her dear father passed, she dreamed again, this time to turn the café into a place where everyone could be everything they imagined and more. Including her wonderful baby girl.
Born the same year as India’s first talkie, ‘Alam Ara’, was released, spirited little Ruby was surely destined for stardom. I hear that since she watched Hunterwali as an impressionable 7-year-old, she dressed and styled her hair according to her favourite heroine – even wearing shorts and fashioning herself a mask. Demanding of life and buoyed by her mother, Ruby grew up ambitious and determined to be in the films. Glittering lights, red velvet curtains and the films of the silver screen all captured her heart, none more so than those featuring the swashbuckling stuntwoman, Fearless Nadia.
No doubt, the persistence, confidence and striking good looks that she had inherited helped her find her way to the film sets of Wadia Movietone Productions, the very company that launched Nadia. Too briefly, she swung swords, fought lions, ran through fire. Sadly, her dream was cut short after injuring her spine thrice, swinging from chandeliers. No-one thought she would make a recovery.
But she was tough and undeterred, and far too used to being the centre of attention. Her mother’s café soon became her new stage. As I look around, I can see only a few traces of the way it once was. It has changed, and somehow the place now reflects more or less perfectly the polish and poise of mother and daughter. It is certainly anything but sleepy.