In a moving interview that’s both breath-taking and bittersweet, Bollywood’s indomitable Pooja Bedi revisited the final chapter of her mother’s life, revealing a farewell wrapped in pride, nature, and fierce independence. Her words echo not only loss, but a tender reverence for a mother who chose the way she would say goodbye.
Pooja opened up about the tragic loss of her younger brother, Siddharth, who died by suicide, a tragedy that preceded another heartbreak. Her mother, Protima Bedi, sensing the fragility of life, embarked on a soul-searching journey to Kullu Manali. Before leaving, she entrusted Pooja with everything: her will, all legal papers, heirloom jewelry, handing them over with a quiet warning, “You never know.” Pooja’s instinctive reaction, “Why are you being so dramatic?” was met only with a gentle, “You never know, darling.”
In Kullu’s serene embrace, Protima sent her daughter a soul-bearing letter, 12 pages that chronicled her entire life, from childhood innocence to dance, from loves and heartbreaks to motherhood, right up to her final hours. She wrote from the “Valley of the Gods,” signing off with a soaring note of peace: “I’m in Kullu… may all the gods and goddesses know of my eternal gratitude. I’m happy. I’m so very, very happy.”
Protima’s disappearance in the misty mountains wasn’t tragic, it was triumphant. Pooja reflected that her mother “lived life on her own terms, and quite literally died that way too.” She never wanted her body confined to a ritual or ritualized send-off. Instead, Protima sought a union with nature, an ending that mirrored her wild, uncontainable spirit. As fate would have it, her body was never found, just as she had imagined.
For Pooja, grief and admiration dance together. She carries deep regret that her mother left before turning fifty, so much more she wished to share, to ask, to learn. Still, she finds pride knowing Protima exited life with autonomy and grace. “What a journey, what a life, what a woman, what a mother,” she concluded, her voice laced with both awe and sorrow.
Protima Bedi was no ordinary woman. She began as a fearless model in the late 1960s, even streaking at Juhu Beach for a magazine launch that made headlines for her audacity. Later, she reinvented herself as an Odissi dancer under legendary gurus, eventually founding Nrityagram, India’s first dance village gurukul, which became a hub for classical dance and rural architecture alike. Her final chapter saw her embrace asceticism and the Himalayas, choosing to vanish into nature rather than conform to ceremonial norms.
Pooja Bedi is Protima’s daughter, an actress, talk-show host, columnist, and reality-TV personality who carved her own path in Indian media. She is known for her roles on screen and fearless voice in print, as well as for editing her mother’s memoirs into the book Timepass. Pooja personifies the free-spirited legacy her mother instilled in her.
