The legendary actress Suchitra Sen passed away this morning. Thousands gathered to pay respects to her. Well, I guess getting one glimpse of her was also in their minds. After all no one had seen her in the last 30 years. But her body was brought out of the hospital in a coffin and at Keoratala, where she was cremated, her face was covered as she was laid on the funeral pyre of sandalwood. Nobody got to see her in her old, frail body.

She had it her away. She died at 82 without getting old in public. The ignominy of old-age and accompanying pain was hers alone, not to be pitied by the world. If she developed wrinkles and her knee hurt, it all happened far away from the public eye. She never battled the neglect that the world of show business reserves for over-the-hill actors. Instead, they hankered after her, yearned to get one glimpse of her–their desires whetted all the more because she ignored them.

To know more about the ultimate diva of Bengali films, read my piece on New York Times India Ink blog here: http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/suchitra-sen-star-of-bengali-cinema-dies-at-82/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0