But more importantly there has been a sea change in the attitude of the villagers. The shackles of a deeply patriarchal society are being broken . . .

Tod yeh azm-shikan daghdagha-e-pand bhi tod

. . . and women are negotiating greater space for themselves. With financial independence coming their way, the status quo within families has changed. Women have their own bank accounts and are equal participants in the decision-making process both within the family and within the community. The scourge of child marriage which was rampant in Mijwan and its surrounding villages is now a thing of the past. This was the mindset change Kaifi had worked towards.

A bright student from Kaifi Azmi Girls Inter College, Mijwan, Shweta Prajapati, thought nothing of washing dishes at a relative’s house because hers was the last mud hut in the village and she wanted to gift her parents a pukka house. She is now studying at the Mahatma Gandhi International University in Wardha. She says confidently, ‘There is nothing that a girl cannot do. All she needs is opportunity. Thank you, Mijwan, for giving me that opportunity.’

Lalima used to trudge 8 kilometres every day from her village to the school in Mijwan, so determined was she to educate herself. Today she cycles to the embroidery centre and earns enough to look after her ailing parents and educate her younger sister. Her eyes shining, she says, ‘Mijwan has taught me to dream big. I am determined to achieve success and bring glory to my country.’

In two months from now, Baba will be making his first feature film Mee Raqsam, with Aditi from Mijwan playing the fourteen-year-old protagonist. She is the younger daughter of Gopal who was Abba’s loyal attendant till the very end. How empowering for Aditi and how aspirational for the young women of Mijwan who have opened beauty parlours, walked the ramp along with Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor and can now look forward to acting as a career.

All along, Baba had resisted the lure of Mijwan. He was unhappy that Abba had given up the comforts of Mumbai to settle in a tiny village that didn’t have any health facilities. As was his wont Abba never argued with Baba because deep down he was confident that the prodigal son would return. As he did inevitably and inexorably. By using Mijwan as the background for his first film, Baba pays the biggest tribute he could have to his father.

All this would have pleased Kaifi no doubt but he was not one for resting on laurels . . . I can see him up and about, heading towards the next goal . . .