In Search of the Fairy Queen Characters
Farid, early sixties, British Pakistani Muslim Manju, early sixties, Gujarati Hindu
Farid and Manju meet on a Zoom call. Farid is humming the song āAanay say uskay aayay baharā before Manju appears on screen. The scene happens on a split screen and as it unfolds Farid and Manju break into singing lyrics from iconic movie songs interspersed within their dialogue. It is the ease with which they communicate with each other and the snippets of song should feel part of the seamless dialogue and not stand out as āperformedā. All the songs are easily accessed on the internet for reference.
FaridYou were right, Manjubhen, but when I sang it in Nairobi, we always ended with (singing) āPariyon ki rani hai meri mehbooba, mehbooba . . .ā
ManjuYou must be thinking of another song, Farid bhai. Iām sure itās (singing) āMaujon ki ravaani hai, meri mahbooba mahboobaā, or in the other verse (singing) āHar koi vo samjhay . . . hogi koi chanchal hasinaā.
Farid (finishing off Manjuās phrase by singing)āPuchay to kaun hai vo? Parioyon ki raani hai, meri mehboobaā . . . thatās how I always remembered it. I could have sworn . . . but then I Googled it . . .
ManjuYou canāt argue with Google.
FaridI watched and searched all the videos. I thought Dharmendra was the hero, but it was Jeetendra, and those lyrics, they are not there. Not in any of the verses.
ManjuYouāre dreaming about your beloved, so you must have changed the lyrics. Sudha bhen, heās still in love with his pariyon ki raani. Still searching for the Fairy Queen.
FaridThatās another story.
Manju (to Farid)Weāre talking about ātouchā. (To Sudha.) Sudha bhen, he daydreams a lot
FaridItās not a crime. Dreaming. Last time I checked.
ManjuOne of the themes is ātouch hungerā. Craving to be touched, I guess? (To Farid.) You can dream about touchings, or whatever. (To Sudha.) Touch reduces stress, Sudha bhen. You feel wanted. Loved. Vo to hai na. If you get hit in anger, vo baat alag hai. Thank God I never had that kind of touch from anybody.
FaridAt this age, music is the only thing that touches. But when you canāt find the words you remember, then you really feel lost . . .
ManjuYes, the wordings still touch us beautifully. Emotions comes out.
FaridRemember our mantra, Manjuben. āTears in the audience, not on stage.ā
ManjuThat is not your original thought. Someone famous must have said it. Elton John broke down in tears when he was singing āYour Songā in New Zealand.
FaridMy song?
ManjuNot your song. āYour Song.ā (Sings the first couple of lines of āYour Songā by Elton John.)
FaridIām not Elton John and youāre not Asha Bhonsle. If we cry on stage, weāll be booed off . . .
ManjuI hardly sing now. (Speaking.) āZindagi ka safar . . . yeh hai aisa safar. . .ā
Farid (singing)āKoi samjha nahin koi jaana nahin . . .ā(To Sudha.) You follow no, Sudha bhen? Weāre all walking on the path of life, but who understands it? Knows it really? (Singing.) āChaltay hain hum maghar, koi samjha nahin, koi jaana nahin.ā
ManjuThat song always makes me cry. Heās dying, isnāt he? In the film? The hero?
FaridI canāt remember but must be no? Judging by the lyrics. (Singing.) āZindagi ko bahut pyaar mainkay kiya, maut say bhi muhobat nibhayaingay hum.ā I loved life to the full and will embrace death equally.
ManjuNot āembraceā, Farid bhai. āNibhaanaā is āto fulfilā ā he says he will āfulfilā his love for death. Like a duty maybe because he doesnāt really want to die.
FaridThese sentiments are lost in translation.
ManjuHindi songs, they pierce straight to the heart. No translation is adequate.
FaridThat is ātouchā you canāt measure.
ManjuFarid bhai used to run a music band and I was one of the singers. Bollywood songs and Hindi bhajans. Garba. Curryoke. Thereās this gentleman in Luton that goes around with the Curryoke, so if I happen to be there they coax me to sing . . .
FaridOur band havenāt sat down for a long time. They all got family; grandchildren like us. Iām going tell you a scenario, Sudha bhen. Her husband wonāt mind. Weāre talking about touch, right? I was always like a protector for her. She would get annoyed, so annoyed about it.
ManjuIf I wanted to make a phone call with my husband, Sudha bhen, he would send somebody with me. I would say, āWhat the hell?ā Cos we didnāt have mobile phones at that time. Those red boxes. Because I didnāt know his culture.
āWhy are you sending somebody with me just to make a phone call? Why am I not allowed to talk to men anywhere?ā
Because their culture is more protective towards women which I never knew. My husband didnāt mind when I came home at one in the morning, after a gig.
FaridNothing to do with my Muslim culture, Manju bhen. The environment we were in. Say a Punjabi wedding or something and a few people have one too many. They have a tradition of giving money, this, that and the other, but when theyāre a bit tipsy they donāt realise this woman is not just another . . . they think anybody is cheap. I could never tell her that.
ManjuTell me what? That you were protecting me from unwanted touch? You were very different then. Now we can speak up.
FaridIn our Asian communities, how we touch is different. There are taboos, boundaries. Then you start getting religious side of things. You must have heard, sometimes people do take advantage when it comes to touch. Especially when it comes to younger generation. Strict upbringing doesnāt help because children . . . if they had spoken up, something could be done. I have worked in community mental health team and dealing with a lot of marital problems, women, children, abuses so we are quite aware of it. This job, sheās going to laugh at me, but it has been beneficial for me because itās changed me a lot. I understand women more than I ever did before. And I changed.
Manju (amused)So, these stories touched you so much, you changed your behaviour pattern towards women?
FaridFor example, coming from menās perception, I didnāt realise even abuse took place sometimes. That there can be another side. Sometimes it can lead to such a scenario that it becomes difficult to control. A person is fed up, then all the other things come into it: life, financial, housing, this that and the other, and then a pe...