‘In very different ways, we make women strong and independent’

Jeroo Mulla and Gilda Mathew on their home turf. Pics/Shadab Khan

Jeroo Mulla, 68, social communications and film studies teacher

Gilda Mathew, 62, integral education specialist

They are a familiar pair of walkers in one of the city's most scenic, half-hidden residential enclaves. To accompany Jeroo Mulla and Gilda Mathew strolling through Westfield Estate, off Breach Candy, is to feast the eyes on pretty champa and bougainvillea-brushed gardens with hedgerows of hibiscus circling gracious old buildings. The one-time address of Salman Rushdie and Alyque Padamsee is now home to Cipla chairman Yusuf Hamied and architect Samira Rathod.

Head of the Social Communications Media Department, Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai from 1986 to 2013, Mulla has taught film appreciation, photography and fundamental concepts of communications, besides supervising cutting-edge student documentaries. She currently continues to teach film and photography as a visiting faculty member here and at Symbiosis, Pune.

Qualified in personal counselling and pre-school teacher training, Mathew is the dedicated head and heart behind Shikshaa, where she has been founder and lecturer. Offering parents and teachers a diploma programme in early childhood education, the organisation covers a gamut of learning disabilities and psychological triggers of distress.

"We just walk and talk in our lovely lane," the friends casually remark. You are sure to sense much more than that. The Mulla-Mathew combine brings a confluence of creative minds, social conscience and delectable small talk.

...

Gilda Mathew: I was 29 years old and completely impressed. Jeroo looked so smart and professional when I joined Sophia Polytechnic in 1989. A couple of years later she became my neighbour. Later we worked on the same floor and met for different events at Sophia.

Jeroo Mulla: Sophia Polytechnic is where we got to know each other, but there are solid shared interests beyond. We both like the Dalai Lama and Sri Aurobindo. I've seriously learnt a lot about the spectrum of disabilities from Gilda, while she may have learned a bit about film and photography from me. And we love to gossip!

GM: That we do. One of us often says something slightly funny and we burst out laughing. As I used to learn Bharatanatyam as a child, I like listening to her about it. COVID has been the cementing factor in our relationship. In the last five to six years, plus particularly the pandemic, we have enjoyed nature together. It's right around us luckily - look at the garden at my doorstep. I came to Bombay from Kerala. This space is an extension of the greenery I grew up with
in Kottayam. While travelling, we chat on the phone or WhatsApp. We meet every evening for a walk, otherwise we talk at my house. I'm a good listener and there has been a need in Jeroo to have someone listen to her. I am patient. Being the eldest of five sisters could mould a confidante of you.

JM: Confiding in Gilda is easy. Like her sisters, I appreciate everything she says. I've grown dependent on her during illnesses and other problems. She is extremely kind and generous.

GM: Though a couple of years younger to Jeroo, I feel like the older one, constantly advising and even reprimanding her. Don't even ask what some of our arguments have been about. Many a time she doesn't want to solve her problems and that irritates me. I tell her that I won't talk to her again if she doesn't resolve some of her personal issues.

JM: She may get mad at me, yet I value her above all for being very forthright. She simply says what she thinks. I cannot do that.

GM: Despite problems with some people, Jeroo forgives them so easily, that too at the cost of her emotional self. This is an amazing trait. I admire her enthusiasm for her work and appreciate the fact that she is still awarded for it. She is on several juries and asked to review movies. I've seen her wonderful documentary on her dance Guruji.

I appreciate that she wants to dress up in beautiful sarees to meet people. And how she speaks of her love for her husband's cooking.

JM: Ah, we both like food and go out to eat. I went to Catholic Gymkhana for the first time with her. We watch movies in cinema halls, like Gangubai Kathiawadi at Metro recently.

GM: Jeroo tells me about the world of international cinema. I also end up watching her kind of dark Hindi films like Raaz Reboot. At least we're adults. It is terribly distressing to see the type of role models and ideologies kids are exposed to in media today. Is something like Kashmir Files what they should
be watching?

Because we both deeply respect each other's fields, the stories exchanged on our evening walks are enlightening and entertaining. I have come to hear of her friends, colleagues and ex-students in the media world.

JM: We essentially enjoy being walking buddies and taking pictures of things we find interesting along the way.

GM: I know her photographer husband Mahen and think he knows he can ask me for help if he needs it. My sister studied under Jeroo and respects her tremendously. My son has reached out to her as well. It is a relationship that has become familial.

JM: Like Gilda, Mahen is passionate about plants and trees. If one is at risk of getting cut, he reaches out to raise local support to fight against the felling and protect it.

GM: There's no place like Bombay in the whole world. Friends are always waiting to help. On the personal front, I am grateful to be surrounded by awesome people. Professionally, there is pride in knowing I train women from age 18 to 60 to find their own voice.

JM: I really cannot imagine living anywhere else. This city holds people close in a certain way. This is where I've had the privilege of mentoring for a long time. In very different ways, Gilda and I make women strong and independent. All my students are feminists. I love them and hopefully they love me.

Author-publisher Meher Marfatia writes monthly on city friendships. You can reach her at meher.marfatia@mid-day.com/www.meher marfatia.com