By Radhika Nagrath
Mumbai, 22 Aug: ‘Durga Durga,’ said Sushmita Sen, ending her phone call with her aunt Leena Bal, wife of a deceased fighter pilot. Leena was visiting her friend, Subhra Sen, the ‘rockstar’ mom of Sushmita Sen, as she fondly calls her, a few days ago and I chanced to witness the supermom of the former Miss Universe from close quarters in Mumbai. It did not come as a surprise to me since the Sens’ house in Goregaon East had the spiritual ambience with the books of Paramhansa Yogananda, ‘Mejda’, ‘The Fakir’, amongst a few others, aesthetically placed on a little wooden closet, in the living area alongside the sofa. Subhra Sen spends most of her time in this house when she is in India, leaving her jewellery designing business in Dubai with managers to supervise.
The Sens may seem to be living a glamorous life with the utmost tech savvy Wi-Fi enabled house decors to ease their day to day lives, flying high, but their psyches are grounded in spirituality. Subhra Sen proudly shows her son Rajeev’s selection of idols of God, Lord Ganesha, Lord Hanuman and Goddess Durga which form one silent corner of the drawing room.
The Paramhansa Connection
Not many know that Subhra Sen hails from the family of famous yogis of West Bengal. Subhra Sen’s paternal aunt (Bua) is married to the younger brother of Paramahansa Yogananda, the author of “Autobiography of a Yogi”. Picking another book, titled ‘Mejda’ from the book shelf, written by the brother of Yogananda, Subhra Sen shows us the place in the book where her father’s real sister came after marriage.
It took me a little time to understand whom she was referring to, since I was not well versed with Bengali words. “My Pishi (paternal aunt) was married in this family. My Bappi (father) used to tell us, the children, so many stories of Yogiji.” Almost soaked in ecstatic mood, she quips, “I get goosebumps even today while I narrate those divine incidents. I still feel their holy presence and blessings on our entire family.” As a child Subhra had often heard his personal narrative from her father, Subhash Kumar Mittra. “We asked Paramhansa Yogananda, where is your God? Can we see Him,” doubting as if it is just a fancy or ideological thing. But to his surprise, Yogananda showed him God in the form of a bright light enveloping the whole area where they were seated. Flabbergasted and thrilled after that enlightening experience, Mittra never doubted the spiritual connections of the yogis.
Subhra Sen’s deceased father Subhash Kumar Mittra, an Air Force pilot was also a devotee of the Ramakrishna Mission, started by 19th century patriotic monk, Swami Vivekananda. Subhra narrates with a twinkle in her eyes, “Mittra is a name of an Indo Iranian divinity that came out of Rigvedic Mitra. My ancestors are progenies of great saints. This is the reason, our children have those Sanskaras.”
Travelling to Himalayas
The celebrity actor Sushmita Sen’s father Shubeer Sen, hailed as a brave ex-air force officer commissioned in October 1966, married Subhra Sen in 1973. Soon after their marriage, Subhra and Shubeer planned a trip to Amarnath. Not many women used to travel to the Himalayas in the ‘70s. While climbing the tough trek, Subhra had some divine visions too. “A snowman appeared before us when we had walked ahead of many sadhus. He asked for medicine from us and I told him that our men were behind carrying the box. It vanished before us in no time as if he came to test us,” says Subhra.
Sushmita and her ideals
With many firsts attached to her, Sushmita has been a torch bearer to set social standards for many. In the year 2000, Sushmita Sen took the bold decision to adopt her first daughter at the young age of 24 when most of the Indian girls of her age are trying to find a good job or a husband to settle with. Paving the path for many single women, who dare break the traditional customs of Indian society of having children after marriage, Sushmita was supported by her parents to raise her adopted daughter. Out of all her busy schedules and assignments, Sushmita takes time to teach her daughter on her own for her exam. The friendly phone call between Sushmita’s aunt, Leena Bal from Dehradun, visiting Subhra’s house revealed to me that Sushmita was busy giving a final brush up to Renee, her daughter, for her next day exam. “Children need those Samskaras to be imbibed,” said Subhra smilingly, hearing their conversation.
