It’s Children’s Day today, November 14, which also marks the birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. To celebrate the day, Soha Ali Khan took to her Instagram to share unseen black-and-white childhood pictures of her mother, actor Sharmila Tagore, and father, cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, aka Tiger Pataudi, with Nehru.
Soha posted three monochrome pictures on her Instagram account. One picture shows a young Sharmila pinning something onto Nehru’s coat. Another shows her standing beside him at All India Radio (AIR). The third picture features Tiger sitting next to Nehru during an unknown occasion.
“Before they were my parents, they were children too. Today, on Children’s Day, which marks the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, I’m sharing two special glimpses from our family albums,” Soha wrote in her caption. She further added, “My mother as a little girl, my father as a boy, alongside a man who believed that children were the future of the nation.”
Soha further spoke about how Nehru’s birthday came to be celebrated as Children’s Day, writing, “Pandit Nehru ji’s birthday became Children’s Day in India because he didn’t want the day to be about himself – he wanted to celebrate the future of the nation, our children and to give each of them an opportunity to dream big.”
She ended her note with a wish for all the children of the country, writing, “My parents had big dreams – with talent, hard work, perseverance and opportunity their dreams came true. May every child have the same chance turn their dreams into reality. Happy Children’s Day!”
Sharmila and Tiger met at an after-match party in 1965 and dated for about four years. During their courtship, Tiger would woo her with everything from roses to air conditioners. The couple even lived together before tying the knot in 1968.
In June this year, Sharmila, while speaking to Barkha Dutt, recalled how everyone was sceptical about their relationship. “Yash Chopra told me, ‘These Nawabs are very doubtful people, so you have to be very careful.’ He was a good friend and genuinely concerned,” she said.
On Siddharth Kannan’s show, Sharmila’s eldest daughter, Saba Ali Khan Pataudi, revealed that her mother had converted to Islam for the marriage, as was the norm at the time.