Dilip Kumar reacts to restoration of Peshawar home by Pakistani government

Dilip Kumar has expressed happiness on the restoration of his ancestral home in Peshawar by the Pakistani government. He has shared several childhood memories of growing up with his parents, siblings and cousins in the house and playing around at the Qissa Khwani Bazaar.

The veteran actor conveyed through Twitter, "I am at once full of fond remembrances of my parents, grandparents and numerous uncles, aunts and cousins who filled the house with the sounds of their chatter and hearty laughter. My mother who was frail and delicate was always in the spacious kitchen of the house and as a little boy I would wait for her to finish her chores so that I could just sit by her side and gaze at her beautiful face."

He further said, "I have memories of the sitting room where the family gathered for high tea in the evenings, the large room where the ladies prayed, the terrace, the bedrooms, everything. I can vividly recall the piggy rides on my grandfather's back and the scary stories my grandmother cooked up to forbid me from wandering out of the house alone."

Sharing memories of nearby market, he said, "I have lovely memories of Qissa Khwani Bazaar, where I received my first lessons in story telling, which later provided the impetus to choose meaty stories and scripts for my work. Every day as the trading closed in the market of Qissa Khwani Bazaar, a story teller would sit in the centre of the square narrating stories of valour and victory, deceit and retribution which I would listen to with wide- eyed attention, seated next to my father and uncles."

The provincial government in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has decided to purchase the ancestral houses of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor to conserve the historic buildings which are in dilapidated condition and facing demolition threat.

Raj Kapoor's ancestral home, known as Kapoor Haveli, is situated in the fabled Qissa Khwani Bazar. It was built between 1918 and 1922 by the legendary actor's grandfather Dewan Basheswarnath Kapoor. Raj Kapoor and his uncle Trilok Kapoor were born in the building. It has been declared national heritage by the provincial government. Veteran actor Dilip Kumar's over 100-year-old ancestral house is also located in the same locality.