Zeenews Bureau
Mumbai, Dec 21: Teji Bachchan, wife of the famous poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and mother of superstar Amitabh Bachchan, breathed her last at Leelavati Hospital & Research Centre on Friday. She was 93.
Mrs Bachchan passed away at 1.15pm in the afternoon. She was reportedly suffering from various ailments that included Alzheimer’s disease, lung infection and urinary tract disease for a very long time and was hospitalised for over a year. But suddenly 24 hours back her condition became critical and she was shifted to intensive care.
The Bachchans reached the hospital immediately after the news broke. Anil Ambani, Subroto Roy and their families have also reached the hospital to extend support. The family has cancelled all the scheduled engagements for the week. Aishwarya, who was to leave for Kolkata, has also cancelled her trip.
Pundits from Varanasi will be reaching Mumbai to perform the last rituals tomorrow.
Amitabh, his wife Jaya, son Abhishek, daughter-in-law Aishwarya and other family members visited her almost daily in the evening. All the important family functions including the wedding of Abhishek and Aishwarya remained a key affair on account of her illness.
A Dynamic Personality
Teji Bachchan was a good singer and a stage performer. It is said that superstar Amitabh was very close to his mother. She was instrumental in the success of Amitabh. She was also considered an inspiration behind several works of Harivansh Rai Bachchan.
Mrs Bachchan was the second wife of Harivansh Rai Bachchan. After the death of his beloved first wife, Shyama, Harivansh Rai Bachchan went into an inconsolable grief which lasted till he married Teji Suri, a Sikh girl, in 1941.
Bachchan and Teji Suri had met at a common friend's house and a request was made to Bachchan for a poem recital. He chose one of his poems which expressed cynicism about love, titled ‘Kya Karoon Samvednayein Lekar Tumhari’ (what do I do with your sentiments?). Soon after he finished reciting the poem, they both were in tears and were obviously, very much in love. This was the beginning of a strong and life-long bond. They had two sons, Amitabh and Ajitabh. Ajitabh is a successful businessman.
Dr Bachchan and Teji won wide acclaim in their youth as a singing duo at literary meets. Their beautiful mellifluous voices and a fine sense of rhythm brought out the true lyrical beauty of Dr Bachchan’s poetry. Harivansh Rai Bachchan died on January 18, 2003, at the age of 95, as a result of various respiratory ailments.