On a certain day in early 1993 I was
visiting Ram Kumar at his then residence
cum studio. It was a smallish two-storied
house on Mathura Road in Nizammudin
East. Ram Kumar and Vimla, his wife,
occupied the first floor. Rooftop barsati
which was no more than 8×10 ft. was
his studio. No sooner dusk had begun
to descend Ram Kumar asked if I’d like
to meet Gai as VS Gaitonde was known
among friends. With a tiffin-carrier in his
hand Ram Kumar led me to a walk thru
the back lane of a nearby street. Within
few minutes we had reached the rear
of a house. In an astonishing contrast to
the surrounding drabness we stopped
at a deep-cadmium red painted metal
door. Thru this door we climbed up on a
dozen or so steps of a poorly lit staircase.
On the back of the roof was a barsati.
Near the entrance sitting on an old and
unkempt upholstered comfort chair sat
Gai watching TV. Earlier Ram Kumar