Dilip Kumar Death Anniversary: 'He Lives in My Memories,' Writes Saira Banu

Saira Banu pens a heartfelt letter on Dilip Kumar's first Death Anniversary.

Actor Saira Banu lamented the loss of her husband, Dilip Kumar. She wrote about her love for her husband and how she will continue to love him despite his passing. In the piece she reminiscences about her marriage and talks about Kumar reaching immortality with his body of work.

In her piece for Etimes, she wrote about the loss that his passing brought, the acceptance that followed and her love for him. She said, "I wonder how many of you who are reading this have experienced the supreme bliss of spending unforgettable moments, days and years with the only man (or woman) you have dreamed of as your life partner. If you have, you will easily feel and understand the sense of desolation I feel today and every day from the time I wake up, seeing the empty space beside me in the bed we shared for over five-and-a-half decades.”

She also spoke about the loss of losing a loved one, she wrote, "When you lose the most precious people in your life, I have reckoned that, more than the loss, it is the painful acceptance of the fact that you are powerless before the will of God. The Almighty does not make exceptions and we have no choice but to accept his will in all humility."

She also spoke about her marriage, stating, "The whole world now knows I fell in love with him at the age of 12 and I grew up with the dream tucked away in my mind that he alone is the perfect man for me. When the dream came true, I knew I was not his only admirer and that I had jumped the long queue of women who were hoping to be Mrs Dilip Kumar. There were countless fans and actors and technicians and students of cinema who looked up to him as their guru."

She also wrote, "I may sound crazy when I say that he is very much alive for me and for millions of his admirers in the unparalleled body of work he has left behind as a precious legacy for us."

For me, as the lucky one to have been his wife, mother, friend, fan - all rolled into one - he lives in the memories I have stored in my heart.

Saira Banu to Etimes

She concluded the piece by writing, "The paradox is that I know that he is in my heart and in the essence of my very being like he has always been and yet I open my eyes every morning with the incredible thought that one morning I will find him asleep next to me."