Panaji: Just four days before his death, Nana Patekar was smiling, dancing, and playing the shamel on a stage in Dona Paula.Dressed in a simple white kurta and scarf, the actor who once painted Mumbai’s zebra crossings for a living did not behave like a chief guest. He joined local folk artists mid-performance, clapped with them, danced with them, and tried his hand at the traditional Goan percussion instrument.Then he picked up the mic and said words that now feel like a farewell.“I am here today. Who knows about tomorrow? This is how life should be lived. Serve as much as you can. After all, what are we going to take with us when we leave?” he told the gathering at the Samraat Club International event on Oct 4, recalled former MP Narendra Sawaikar, who was present.He had arrived in Goa on Oct 3, on a single phone call from organiser Akshay Khandeparkar. “He didn’t behave like a chief guest at all. He just became one of us,” Khandeparkar said.In videos from that evening, Patekar spoke about his first love — theatre — and his wish to keep doing plays.For Goa, the loss is personal.“He made immense contributions to Marathi and Hindi cinema and his passing has left a deep void. However, above all, he was a social worker and a friend to many Goans whose departure will leave an even deeper void,” art and culture minister Ramesh Tawadkar said.
