My Mother, T Krishna Kumari
SECRET STORIES OF STARS…
…from days when there was no social media
We all love our movie stars, don’t we? Today we follow them, almost stalk them on social media. We drool over what they wear and post on Instagram, copy their red carpet or airport looks. We check out where they vacation. We wait for their film trailers and posters to be released online, shared on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. We download and listen to their songs whenever and wherever we want.
Yet, there was a time when all these social media didn’t exist. (Yes, can you imagine that?!)
There was a time when film stars were still a mystery.
We knew so little about their lives beyond the glitz and glamour, the elegant silk, the beautiful eyes, jewellery and makeup. We were ever so curious to know how they are at home, what they eat, where they holiday.
Very rarely did a star open up about her private life, specially an actress. Rarely did an autobiography get written. Film magazines offered a glimpse of them every now and then; and that’s about all.
One is curious then, to see and learn about one of Southern India’s most beautiful and most successful stars, T. Krishna Kumari. A whole generation of movie-goers has swooned over her. After acting in over 150 Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films between the 1950s and the 1970s, she chose, at the peak of her career, to settle down quietly on a farm in Bangalore. Imagine if Krishna Kumari had been on Instagram in her heyday!
Imagine the number of ‘likes’ a gorgeously glowing
Krishna Kumari would have got if we had Insta back then!
“My Mother, T Krishna Kumari” is a rare book written as a tribute by her daughter Dipika V. Maiya. Krishna Kumari passed away in January 2018.
The book is a personal and heartfelt look of a child at her star mum, through photos from the family’s personal album, posters, newspaper and magazine clippings that Krishna Kumari’s mother collected, favourite recipes and holiday spots of her mother, and so much more that we could never have been privy to.
You could be making Krishna Kumari’s patent mulaga podi or rasam podi that she herself perfected and fed her many famous guests with, in your own home.
Limited editions of “My Mother, T. Krishna Kumari” are now available to buy at a click here.
Go on, and pick up this beautifully produced collectible brimming with photos, posters, recipes, film stills, cuttings, and the most interesting stories of the filmstars of yore.
Psst: You will be amazed to know how Sridevi and Krishna Kumari met, or how Jayalalitha is connected to Krishna Kumari.
Written by Bhumika Kulkarni – https://in.linkedin.com/in/bhumika-k
PC : These images are shot on vintage saris upcycled into bedspreads by hamsini. Visit this link to know more details – https://hamsini.co.in/pages/patchwork-tradition.