It’s a title that is attached to many royal Nawab families of India. A Pashtun tribe, the Babis owe their origin to Bahadur Khanji Babi, son of Usman Khan, who migrated to India and entered the Mughal service and received the hereditary title of ‘Babi’ in 1554 from Emperor Humayun. Nawab Babi became the title of the ruler of the Indian princely states of Sardargadh, Radhanpur, Balasinor and Junagadh.
However, the one celebrity who took the Babi name to the world was the sultry, stunning and incredible actress Parveen Babi. Daughter of Janab Wali Mohammad Khan, the dynamic administrator in the Junagadh state, and the elegant Jamal Bakhte, Parveen was recently remembered by Princess Aaliya Babi Farhat of Balasinor in her post where she also shared pictures of the actress as a baby at her mamu’s birthday. It sent me back to the moment when, at a coronation ceremony in Rajkot, I had met another Babi who spoke in equal reverence of the family and the actress.
Her post was so endearing that I reached out to Aaliya to know more of an actress whom people like me grew up admiring. She shared, “Parveen was very close to the family. She was born to her parents 14 years in their marriage and I must admit she was very pampered. Her father and my grandmother were siblings and in theory she was my mother’s aunt (phuphi) but she looked up to my mother right till the end. In fact, her father even named her after my mother’s home name, Parveen. He was so fond of her that he decided that if he was blessed with a girl, he would call her Parveen.”
She recalled further, “When I went to Sophia College in Ajmer, ever so often girls would ask me if I was related to Parveen, and the moment I said yes, they would be full of admiration for me! She did her schooling and college at St. Xavier’s, Ahmedabad and my maternal uncle and mother (Rajmata Saaheb Farhat Sultana Babi of Balasinor) were her local guardians.”
However, the most incredible tale of all was how it was the Balasinor family who gave the actress a befitting send-off. Rajmata Saab Balasinor, known for her magical prowess for their royal cuisine, is also known for her statuesque demeanor and her kind heart – a character that was well reflected in the regal way she rose to the occasion and ensured that Parveen got a decent burial. Aaliya relived the moment, saying, “There were so many people claiming to be her family that the police were confused. Ehsan Khan (Dilip Kumar’s brother) reached out to my mother sharing how they must give her a decent burial. Mummy flew to Mumbai, met the Commissioner and was given claim of her body, especially when people like Nana Chudasama vouched for the fact that we were the relatives closest to her.”
All that she desired was to give Parveen a decent burial, which she did by getting a plot for a grave right next to her mother, and “after which, she returned home,” surely satisfied in the thought that one of the most iconic Babi girls had been given a decent send-off.