The last of Mumbai's truly romantic figures
Leela Naidu incarnated an ideal of luminous beauty and flawless elegance that was almost too perfect to bear, perhaps most of all for herself. The truth of this poetic speculation can only be borne out by her future biographers, but for many of Mumbai's citizens, Naidu's death on Tuesday closes yet another chapter in the city's history as a cosmopolitan hub. Her claim to the public sphere was not based on her career as an occasional, though memorable, actor. She was, quite simply, a legend, the symbol of a Zeitgeist.
Although she had, for over a decade, withdrawn into a private world peopled mainly by memories, Naidu never lost her hold over the city's imagination. To those who cherish Mumbai as it was before the decades of ethnic tension and road rage, Naidu embodied the grace of a city that allowed actors, poets, journalists, scientists, painters and filmmakers to come together and produce a vibrant culture of conversation and collaboration.
This writer vividly recalls Naidu's home in Colaba, south Mumbai, from the late 1980s. She and the celebrated poet and memoirist Dom Moraes, to whom she was then married, had crafted around themselves an environment replete with carefully chosen books, paintings, textiles and ritual objects.
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Although she had, for over a decade, withdrawn into a private world peopled mainly by memories, Naidu never lost her hold over the city's imagination. To those who cherish Mumbai as it was before the decades of ethnic tension and road rage, Naidu embodied the grace of a city that allowed actors, poets, journalists, scientists, painters and filmmakers to come together and produce a vibrant culture of conversation and collaboration.
This writer vividly recalls Naidu's home in Colaba, south Mumbai, from the late 1980s. She and the celebrated poet and memoirist Dom Moraes, to whom she was then married, had crafted around themselves an environment replete with carefully chosen books, paintings, textiles and ritual objects.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com
Labels: actor leela naidu, actress leela naidu dead, beauty queen leela naidu dead, hindi actor, journalists, leela naidu passed away, Mumbai, painters, poet, poetic speculation, scientists
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