Grave of Nawab Kashmiri

Grave of Nawab Kashmiri, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Late Nawab Kashmiri was a veteran actor and contemporary of Dilip Kumar, Mukri, Jayant Johhny Walker and had his spacious residence at Khatau Bhuvan now Jony Castle at Wodehouse Road Colaba.


We were his tenants and he had three kids Akthar Baji , Anwar Kashmiri deceased and the ebullient fun loving gourmand Munawar Kashmiri..

Nawab Saab was already dead when my dad came to live here , but he was an undying legend having removed all his teeth for a film called Yahudi Ki Ladki..

His first cousin was the enigmatic , charming Agha Jani Kashmiri, I remember Agha Jani Saab very fondly , he was one of the most stylish man of his time ..unfortunately they dont make such giants anymore.

He always gave us kids money generously and we waited for him and his visits to this house.He stayed at Keki Court Warden Road Kemps Corner.

Nawab Saab helped a lot of Shia families and was related through his wife to the erstwhile family of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.

Nawab Saab had a Kolkatta connection too.

Ammi the grandmother of the three kids was a very strong personality diminutive woman that could shake the ground under your feet if you wronged her or her grand children.

Much of what I am , I owe to her grand daughter Akthar Baji , who put me in a European School at Colaba, I remember her fondly and she was a great photography enthusiast , Dayal the photographer on a cycle shot their pictures early 50s..

Dayal was incidentally very close to actor Chandrashekar Saab.

So every time I come here to the Shia graveyard to pay tribute to my parents , I dont miss Nawab Saabs grave and offer fatiah to his soul.

Nawab saab it is told was a very strict disciplinarian, and his house at Khatau Bhuavan was an entire wing , he was very close to Begum Akthar with whom he had co starred in a film.

The next wing completely belonged to Dossabhai Kanga of New Era Printing Press father of Keith Kanga of Atomic Forest fame.. the pioneer of rock music in India.

We stayed in three room servants quarter of Nawab Saabs palatial home..

Till we moved out of this place in 1963 and shifted to Warden Road for a short while and back to Strand Cinema Colaba..which has been our ancestral family home ever since.