My father Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a poet, would spend most of his time in his study amidst his books. My earliest memories of my father involve us all, especially my mother being very conscious of giving him his space. She would ask us to not disturb him. But that never kept him from his children and he would ensure he spent quality time with us.
While my father came from a small town — Allahabad — my mother, Teji Bachchan, came from an affluent Sikh family from erstwhile Punjab, which is now in Pakistan. Given such varied backgrounds, I feel we had exposure to the best of both the worlds. Due to her convent education, my mother was more modern and outgoing of the two. I will always remember how she would take us out to the theatres and cinema halls or for other cultural happenings to expose us to the various fields of art. And it is from my father that we imbibed our habit of reading and an interest in literature. Read more….
