Actresses Asha Parekh and Saira Banu fondly remember their close friend Nanda

Yesteryear actress Nanda who passed away on 25 March had only a few close friends in the industry. And her sudden departure has lead her friends Asha Parekh and Saira Banu go into a shock. The beautiful actresses speak about their friend and remember some beautiful moments that they have spend together. “Aise bhi koi jaata hai kya, I spoke to her on Monday night. We had a long chat. On Tuesday morning she was gone. When I spoke to her in the night she was absolutely normal. She was in no pain at all, not even any uneasiness. It is frightening when you don’t even get a chance to say goodbye. You are reminded of the fragility of life,” a shock Asha says. Asha who was very close to Nanda adds, “We had to meet regularly, all of us friends. Waheeda, Sadhana, Helen and Nanda and I. Sadhana had become too embroiled recently in court cases. So she couldn’t join us regularly. In fact on Tuesday Sadhana couldn’t even come to give her final farewell to Nanda.” Asha recalls all the good times she shared with her suddenly-deceased pal. “We, the entire group of friends, last met for lunch on Saturday just three days before she was snatched away from us. Now I wonder how we girl pals would ever meet without missing her constantly.” Ashaji describes Nanda as a gentle soul. “She was a sweet-tempered, soft-spoken person whom you’d never find losing her temper or creating a scene. She loved being at home. And in recent years she had become more and more of a home-bird. She loved her family. The death of a brother some years ago had left her shattered. She had two other brothers. And she liked to spend time with them.” “We spoke about anything under the sun. My last conversation with her is now etched permanently on my mind. It’s hard to believe that now when I dial her number she won’t be there to answer. I have lost not just a friend but my confidante,” sighs Asha ji. And the other friend Saira Banu shares, “I met her very late. We began interacting when my husband worked with her in B R Chopra’s Mazdoor in 1982. But we struck an instant rapport. Nanda Baaji-that’s what I called her, was a Capricorn just like my mother. I saw a lot of my mother’s beautiful traits in Nanda Baaji.” “Not many knew Nanda Baaji well. She had a tightly cordoned set of friends; Jabin, Shakila and Waheeda. Later that group was extended to Helen, Sadhana and Asha Parekh.” “Like I said I came to Nanda Baaji’s life very late. But the time we spent together was incredibly fruitful. Nanda Baaji would come home to be with us. We would sit and chat on my bungalow’s terrace. I’d serve her delicacies of shrimp and tikkas and other non-vegetarian stuff that she enjoyed at our home. She was a foodie earlier, but later on in life she became a frugal eater just nibbling on food. And then eventually she stopped taking dinner altogether.” “I loved her gentle soft spoken demeanour. There was nothing crass or materialistic about her. She was happy to be who she was and with whatever she had and wasn’t money-minded at all. “She always used to say, ‘Dua karo jab mein jaaoon toh bina kisi taqleef ke.’ It seems God does listen to good people. She went exactly the way she had hoped she would. She came out of the bathroom at 7 am and collapsed. That was it! When death has to come it should be instant. I also wish the same for Dilip Saab and myself. Jaana toh hum sabko hai. Just pray that we remain healthy as long as we are here.”