Ravi Shankar: Bapi...The Love of My Life
My 'Hey-Smoochka'. I miss you! I want to hug you and cuddle you and give you all the love I feel for you—which I was stupid enough to not give to you for various reasons (we must talk about all that, please!) when you were very young! It is never too late—and you are such a wise young lady! Our roles as Guru, father and a friend—and disciple, daughter and friend is not so easy—I know! But enough is enough—and we have wasted too much time and must make up for all the time lost! You will see how much it will improve my health and gloom and how much happier we all would be with you, me and mum as "S P G" chord, we will F(oops!) conquer the world!! I send my hugs and kisses and prayers for all in the world for you. Love Bapi.
In 1978 they began their affair. Mommy knew she was one of the many women in his life, but loved him too much to care. 'I wanted his child,' she says. 'I knew he would never marry me or acknowledge the child but I wanted to have something of his, because I knew I would never find a love like that again in my life.' I was conceived in the Dussehara holidays, my mother tells me, and was born in 1981. Bapi kept phoning to ask about me and saw me as a three-month-old baby for the first time.
I used to pray at nights that he would marry my mother, because I know how happy that would make her. Journalists are always trying to analyse my unusual childhood, but for me it really was that simple. (Ouch!)
