Tag Archives: Geti Khan Kidwai

The Queen of Roses

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MADHYA PRADESH / NEW DELHI :

I enjoy food and do not like to eat like a glutton, but relish each morsel and am ready to experiment with the food which has a touch of Indian roots.

Salma Sultan reveals her fine taste over food at The Park's Fire restaurant in New Delhi.
Salma Sultan reveals her fine taste over food at The Park’s Fire restaurant in New Delhi.

REMEMBER THE newsreader on Doordarshan with a big, red rose in her hair? And then you would wonder, whether it was a season of the rose or not, but she would always have one tucked in her neatly done hair? Yes, one is talking about Salma Sultan. The famous face on the small screen, who also initiated a trend: of draping the border of her sari around her neck in a modern yet traditional way. It was later picked up by almost all the female newsreaders. She now discloses the reason; “I did not have so many blouses to match with each sari so I created a style to hide them.”

You saw her till 1997 then wondered where she vanished after that. Well, she started doing something more worthy of her time. That is, making serials on social topics for Doordarshan under her production house Lensview Private Limited. Serials like “Suno Kahani”, “Panchtantra” and “Swar Mere Tumhare” were among the offerings.

She is averse to those family soaps in which women are scheming and have an extra marital affair at the drop of a hat. But she is definitely not averse to food. “I enjoy food and do not like to eat like a glutton, but relish each morsel,” says Salma, now a grandmother of two, though looking at her well-maintained stature one would not find it hard to believe her on this count. The grace personified Salma is at New Delhi’s Fire restaurant in The Park Hotel. She is ready to experiment with “the food, which has a touch of Indian roots”. This 60-seat restaurant leaves one spellbound for two reasons: one, the space, limestone colour floors, walls and furniture drapes, and seats arranged at considerable distances making the restaurant a comfortable gourmet experience and second, a radiant orange, glass wall on which glittering green, red, orange lights keep interchanging their positions, providing a visual delight. Her starter of sweet corn, ginger and coriander soup has arrived. She warns the photographers, “Please don’t take my picture while I am eating, you would repent seeing those horrifying mouth angles in the frame later.”

You might have wondered why Salma would economise on her smile on DD but a meeting with her ensures a belly laugh for she tells you ample hilarious incidents. She recalls one such occurrence, “Once while reading news, I realised that two words got jumbled with each other. The line read like this, `Purane zamane main aurton ko bandar kaha jata tha’ while it should have been `Purane zamane main auraton ko band rakha jata tha’. The moral of the story is “the alertness of the mind is very important while reading news”.

Her entry into news reading too had been quite a hilarious experience. After doing her post graduation from English Literature from I. P. College, Delhi, she started working with Doordarshan as an announcer and presenter. “Those days (1967-68), they would not take young people for news reading but mature ones. Pratima Puri and Gopal Kaul were regular faces then. But Kaul never wanted to read news so once, when it was time to read news, he came entered the office with a completely-shaven head! Panic-stricken producer started looking for someone to replace him and their choice zeroed on me. I was asked to give a quick audition.” Always ready to take up challenges, Salma followed, “When I came back to the control room after audition, I witnessed a pin-drop silence and everyone sitting stunned. With a chocking voice I asked what happened, and was told that I read the 15-minutes news so quickly that they could not even start the roll!” Such was her nervousness that made DD realise that they should train people for news reading too!

Here she changes the subject to food. She prefers a spicy main course: broccoli, zucchini, asparagus, baby corn and bell peppers with kadai spices.

There is another facet of her personality that is strongly reflected in her serial titled “Jalta Sawal” on women issues currently showing on DD News on Sundays at 11 a.m. The face of a very sensitive and concerned woman and a responsible citizen. In this “very well-received programme” as she gauges from the responses, she has shown insightful and touchy episodes on prostitution, rape, dowry, infertility and foeticide. The next episode on working women can be seen this coming Sunday.

It’s time for some dessert here and Salma is offered a special seasonal fresh-fruit platter with kulfi. “That’s wonderful,” she compliments.

And she too!

RANA SIDDIQUI

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> MetroPlus – Online edition / by Rana Siddique / Thursday – Mar 24th, 2004

She brought ‘ghararas’ to Ludhiana

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In this town of good taste and high living, women score high on the trend-o-meter. Fashionistas, dance divas, art connoisseurs, bloggers or activists, the ladies don their hats with consummate ease. When it comes to their homes, they keep it both chic and regal. Whether it’s designer cutlery they’re picking or a Louis Vuitton  they’re packing,  Ludhiana’s women make both seem effortless. Every Wednesday, TOI traces these euphoric raconteur women as they share interesting tales…

The tiny little board announcing ‘Naurah’ (flower in Arabic) welcomes city’s shopaholics to this designer wear store. Tucked away in a Sarabha Nagar neighbourhood, this place is no less than a fascinating world of floristry.

The banter inside the charming store is a cinch to transport the womenfolk back to the 1980’s Doordarshan days.

Geti  Kidwai, the dynamic young owner of the boutique, is mobbed by the frenzied girls as she greets each with a wall of chatter and a display of unusual bridal wear. With apair of “karan phool” in her ears, she unwittingly reminds one of a diva news presenter from India’s first public service broadcaster.

“Yes yes… we make ‘ghararas’ here. The one that royal women in Lucknow wear. The one that have ‘zari’ and ‘zardosi’ work. Royal blue, pink, purple… all for your princess. And yes, the iconic newsreader Salma Sultanji is my mother-in-law,” she tells them, speaking breathlessly and with enormous liveliness in her voice.

Geti, who moved to Ludhiana along with her husband Saad in 2007, is credited to have brought a breath of fresh air to designer circles of this fashionable city. Four years ago, she had set a new trend by using ‘ghararas’ with their short, mid-thigh length and a pair of wide-legged pants as the trousseau wear for Ludhiana’s beautiful women. The outfit became an instant hit among the affluent and urbane women of the town. And, Geti developed her own fan following from a closed cohort of women looking up to her as their fashion icon, much like her mother-in-law.

If one were to measure Sarabha Nagar outlet ‘Naurah’ on a style-o-meter, the results will please its owner Geti Kidwai no end. High on vintage and also on modern twists to outfits, the place is all about the 21st century woman’s take on trousseau and bridal wear. And Geti, much like her mother-in-law Salma Sultan — a popular presenter on Doordarshan, has a style of her own.

“Style icons… bhai kuch aisa karo ki log kahe aapko dekha kya cheez hain aap bhi koi tareekhi cheez hain..,” she grins, recollecting a couplet that Salma recited to her. Between 1967 and 1997, Salma Sultan had initiated a trend: of wearing a flower low in her hair and draping the border of her sari around her neck in a modern yet traditional way. It was later picked up by almost all the women newsreaders.

All Geti’s ‘ghararas’ are bespoke and come in different varieties. They are either made of Kimkhav, Jamavar or Banarasi tissues. The embroideries are done using a lot of kundan and jadaau.

From graduating in sociology and fine arts in 1997, through post graduation in interior designing, her journey has been eventful.

There are traces of effusive child-like prattling when she talks about her venturing into modelling and choreography that even drew mild ire of her father.

“Shauk bahut tha na har cheez mai kudne ka… papa kehte hai are bhai ab ruk bhi jao…” she recollects and then breaks into peels of laughter again.

“He then asked me to step out of modelling and do something which involved… like getting into choreography. But here again, I will jump onto the stage and start moving my legs,” she adds.

Her zest to conquer everything took her to contesting Miss India pageant, ramp shows and even setting up a gourmet shop called Just Kebabs in south Delhi. “Kakori… tikka… bharra… you could get all of that there… ab Lucknow se hai toh khaane ka shauq toh rakhenge,” she quips.

There is no economisation of smiles on her face. Every long sentence must ensure a belly laugh for she tells you hilarious incidents, some in Urdu and others in English – both impeccable.

“Ab yeh bhi nahi ki hum bilkul hoosh hai (not that I am an ill-mannered garrulous talker)… gappe lagane mai maza aata hai,” she points out.

When fulfilling her professional duties, she is punctilious and spick and span.

“I like dressing up girls, telling them how to comport at their or other’s weddings, how to carry a clutch bag, eye contact…” she goes on.

Her kids — son Samar, 12 and daughter Mehar, 7 — have begun idealizing her. Samar has been focusing on his chess classes and Mehar has taken up choreography. “Dangayee bachche nahi hai… I tell them shareef hona theek hai… but dumb mat hona… thoda mischievious toh hona chahiye,” she laughs.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Ludhiana /  by Rohan Dua / July 18th, 2012

Gracefully yours!

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Salma Sultan at her home in New Delhi./ Photo : Rajeev Bhatt / The Hindu
Salma Sultan at her home in New Delhi./ Photo : Rajeev Bhatt / The Hindu

What makes Salma Sultan click even at 63?

“I belong to a city where women ruled for 100 years. So much is the pride in that place that till date most women don’t attach their father or husband’s surname . Most girls still use ‘Sultan,’ just like I do.”

Personifying pride coupled with grace and humility – meet Salma Sultan, the woman who ruled the small screen as a newsreader for over two-and-a-half decades. A rose became synonymous with her and news reading — an elegant exercise.

Today Salma , over 63 years of age, hasn’t lost her charm and poise. Looking at her on television , no one would have imagined that she possessed such a tremendous sense of humour. Barely a sentence of hers is free of effortless wit and hilarity.

A Delhiite for over two decades, Salma now lives in her palatial three-storey bungalow at Jangpura and has to her credit the greenery of the area starting from Sahi Hospital to its back and beyond. An ardent nature lover, she has turned the ugly , illegal parking area to a lush meadow. “Delhi is my karmbhoomi. It has shaped my confidence and given me immense strength to fight contradictory situations.”

As one enters her drawing room through the Rajasthani fort style gate, peace greets through a painting of the Buddha and class via an original M. F Husain painting . “Husain saab gifted it to my father,” that familiar voice falls on the ears as one spots the beautiful woman with her dimpled smile and motherly warmth in her kohl-less eyes. She has “taken great pains” to get ready – a yellow and brown sari, “touch-ups with talcum powder and lipstick”, and stuck a red rose on insistence for the photo shoot. “I don’t like getting ready and ‘pose’ for pictures,” she says politely. She is shy and camera conscious despite, ironically, being in front of the camera from 1967 till the late nineties.

But Salma , quite contrary to her appearance on the small screen, had been a naughty child. “I was very assertive, irrepressible, naughty but not spoiled. Not a single day of my life would go without a prank in school.” For instance, the day “our teacher would ask us to bring the geography book, I would make it a point to give it to someone to get the ‘punishment’ of standing outside the classroom with three others equally party to this plan,” she laughs as her dimple grows deep.

Born to scholar and secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Mohammed Asghar Ansari and a “Moghul” homemaker mother, Salma was her parents’ second child. “I was an unplanned child but a blessing to my lonely sister (Maimoona Sultan, four-time Member of Parliament) who would protect me from the wrath of my disciplined father who would make sure that I offer all my prayers (namaz) and read the Quran on time. But he has a great contribution in the making of my personality. He used to emphasise education and extra curricular activities in school. He would prepare my debate and make me rehearse in front of him,” recalls Salma about her Sultanpur school days in Bhopal. Salma did her graduation from Bhopal. “I did my post graduation in English from Indraprastha College, and simultaneously gave audition for an announcer on Doordarshan.”

On to news reading

Salma became a newsreader by fluke. “Those days”, she recalls “only Pratima and Gopal Kaul used tor read news. Kaul wanted to become a producer, so his tussle with the DD was a regular affair. Once, as a protest and to make sure not to read news anymore, he shaved his head. As he entered the studio, the producer was shocked.” In the frantic search to replace him, Salma became a casualty. “But there was a hidden desire to read news as it was a well-paid, comfortable job where the newsreader, unlike an announcer like me, had to come at 4 p.m., read the news a couple of times and go back.” A nervous Salma read the 15 minutes news in eight minutes and “paused”. “The hapless producer decided to train me and that’s how the journey began.”

She narrates the story behind the signature rose in her hair. “I once wore a pink rose to match my pink sari and read news. Telephone calls and letters of appreciation poured in. Then the day I wouldn’t tuck a rose, letters of complaints and requests would follow. So, a rose became a regular affair.” And to hunt for matching roses, Salma would either grow her own or “steal from the neighbourhood.”

After her retirement , Salma moved to direction. Her serials Panchtantra, Suno Kahani, Swar Mere Tumhare and Jalte Sawa drew attention. She recalls, “To shoot Panchtantra on minimum budget, I went to Mumbai to look for a set of rajmahal. Someone told me that B.R. Chopra’s set for Mahabharatawas being dismantled after the shooting. I met him and he was kind enough to let me use his set.Panchantra used to be telecast soon after Mahabharata and did very well. I will never forget his compliment , “Mujhe is ladki ki daad deni padegi. Mahabharat ke baad bhi log isse dekhte hain”.”

The mother of an Income Tax Commissioner Saad and a choreographer daughter Sana and two grandchildren, Salma’s quest for learning hasn’t waned. “I am learning synthesiser and , harmonium for my love of music, and computers to be tech-savy.” Salma also does interior designing. She began by doing up her 13-room bungalow in Bhopal followed by an apartment in Patparganj. Her residence is proof of her refined taste.

How does she keep fit? “I do yoga, walk and take supplements. I treat my body as a gift from God…. To purify my inner self, I offer namaz regularly,” she signs off, poise refuses to fade.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Rana Siddique Zaman / February 22nd, 2010