It had to take literary and theatre icon Shanta Gokhale’s honest and thoughtful acceptance speech at a recent books’ awards ceremony to remind us to never forget the ones behind the scenes who make our busy lives easier

Shanta Gokhale at her Shivaji Park home. PIC/RANE ASHISH

Let’s invite Shanta Gokhale ji to the stage to accept the Crossword Books Lifetime Achievement Award,” and with that, veteran journalist and author Bachi Karkaria introduced the veteran cultural stalwart on stage amidst a standing ovation from the who’s who of India’s literary circles who were in full attendance at the lawns of an Andheri five-star last week. But prior to that, Karkaria, in her warm, charming, and typically witty introduction of her longtime friend, spoke from a space of familiarity, warmth and great respect for her celebrated, diverse body of work, as a writer, theatre person, as well as translator. She gave the audience an insight into their bonding over culinary exploits, where she reminisced about being thrilled to drop over at her home, where she enjoyed Gokhale’s Hungarian Roulade as much as her Maharashtrian pohe. “Thank you, Shanta, for your friendship,” was the line that warmed hearts the most, before she handed over the........

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