Sharing tales of our childhood is our favorite pastime, isn’t it? It all the time leaves us nostalgic in regards to the years passed by. On Day 2, November 19, of the English Sahitya Aaj Tak 2022 held in Delhi, Deepti Naval was invited as a speaker for a session titled A Country Called Childhood. During the session, Deepti, who was born in 1952 in Amritsar, talked about how she spent the early years of her life and the way she ran away from house on the age of 13 to go to Kashmir. Sharing tales of our childhood is our favorite pastime, isn’t it? It all the time leaves us nostalgic in regards to the years passed by. On Day 2, November 19, of the English Sahitya Aaj Tak 2022 held in Delhi, Deepti Naval was invited as a speaker for a session titled A Country Called Childhood. During the session, Deepti, who was born in 1952 in Amritsar, talked about how she spent the early years of her life and the way she ran away from house on the age of 13 to go to Kashmir.

When Deepti Naval ran away from house — Deepti Naval recalled working away to Kashmir on the age of 13. She mentioned, “I was 13, actually. You can’t keep a track on where your thoughts go. I had seen a lot of movies that time whose songs were all picturised in Kashmir. It used to be so dream-like. We used to stay in Amritsar in a walled city and I used to keep dreaming about going to the mountains. So, I decided one day to take off, leave home and live in Kashmir. I took a train to Pathankot, and then I was going to take a bus to Jammu, and then another bus to Srinagar. But I got caught at Pathankot only. The police brought me back to my parents. A complaint was also lodged back in Amritsar.”

Deepti added, “I was so embarassed talking about this chapter in my book but Gulzar saab encouraged me. So finally I decided to write. Now I feel freer because I have said it.”

Deepti additionally talked about how issues have modified now. She mentioned, “At that time, I did not even think if it was safe or not. I just walked out of the house and took a train to the mountains. But times were different then. India was not the same country where a girl can sit in the train by herself and land on a platform that is completely deserted. Obviously, in today’s time, it is not possible to do a thing like that. There is so much crime. India is just not safe for women anymore. I have taken a lot of chances in my life. I came back home unscathed because times were more innocent. People were more protective about you. Times are different now. There are lots of crimes against women, you can’t be adventurous anymore.”

More about Deepti Naval — Deepti Naval made her debut in 1978 with Shyam Benegal’s movie Junoon. Two years later, she performed a lead position in Ek Baar Phir. Starting with Chashme Buddoor in 1981, Deepti was usually forged with Farooq Sheikh and so they turned an iconic on-screen couple of the early Eighties, with movies reminiscent of Chashme Buddoor, Saath Saath, Kissi Se Na Kehna, Katha, Rang Birangi and Faasle. Three a long time later, they reunited in Tell Me O Kkhuda. Their final movie collectively was Listen… Amaya which was launched in 2013, the yr Shaikh died. In 2019, Deepti Naval appeared in an episode of Made in Heaven, an online collection on Amazon Prime directed by Zoya Akhtar.